Andrea, the Birth Doula

05/14/2022

Great info! 🥰

“Do you know a common reason parents quit breastfeeding? It's not what you think.

It's perceived low milk supply. Perceived. Not actual. And who can blame them? Stores sell 9oz bottles. Social media bombards us with ads for fancy drinks and cookies with pictures of happy moms and overflowing bottles of milk.

But we're here to tell you the real story. Your body is only supposed to produce an ounce of milk an hour. And that's both sides combined. After 4 weeks, your baby will take 20-30oz of milk for their first year. You never have to increase your supply again. The content of the milk changes over time, but the volume doesn't.

Milk has a circadian rhythm, meaning different amounts get made at different times of day. It's normal to pump much more in the morning than in the afternoon. That doesn't mean there's something wrong.

When you leave a bottle for your baby, leave 1-1.25oz/hr you'll be gone. Small, frequent bottles help keep your baby's expectations realistic. If they're getting two 5oz bottles in 8hrs, they're still getting 1.25oz/hr, but do you only nurse your baby twice in 8hrs? They'll start to expect large volumes from you, which can make them impatient or fussy. Some babies refuse to nurse and will only take bottles. Keeping the bottles realistic and having a clear understanding of a healthy milk supply will help you meet your feeding goals.

Save this so you can remember how much to leave in bottles, and to remind yourself you're doing a great job making milk!”

05/06/2022

💗❤️❤️💚💚💚

04/14/2022

"Dear C-Section Scar,
I didn’t want you. I didn’t plan for you. In fact, I did everything I could to avoid you. But today I touch you with compassion. I smile at you. I send love, grace, and tenderness to you.
You are not weakness. You are not failure. You are not a mistake. You are part of me.
You are not a dead end, the place where my birth journey halted and could travel no further. You are a passage I am still discovering. You are the door that opened to my baby. You are the door that opened into who I am as a mother and as a woman.
Riding over bumps in the car. Laughing and coughing. Bending at my waist. The day I stopped taking narcotics to soften your pain was a milestone. The day I could get out of bed without holding my husband’s arms and without searing pain was a milestone. The day I could stand up from the rocking chair while holding my baby was a milestone. The day I could sit on the floor to play with my son and make my own way back up to my feet was a milestone. The day I could bend over to pull my underwear up by myself was a milestone. These were milestones I resented. I didn’t want to have to be passing through these milestones.
I wasn’t prepared for the numbness. I couldn’t feel anything when my fingertips touched my own skin in the inches between my belly button and p***c bone. My fingers felt like they were touching someone else’s body; there was no feedback from my nerves that had been cut. It felt like I was touching something in me that had died.
The doctor cut through six layers of muscle, tissue, and organ to get to my baby. She separated my abs in the middle and pulled my baby through. I have met at least seven new layers within myself because of you.
You are not my whole story of becoming a mother. But I will never know how my birth as a mother would have been different had I pushed my baby out of my va**na.
C-section scar, You are the dark place cut into me that opened into light. You will never be one simple story, but you will always be mine."
Words by Catherine Gray
📸

04/04/2022

This is so beautiful 🥰 Guided pushing is so a thing of the past!

03/31/2022

“Stretch marks are the poetry our skin writes when it has something important and beautiful to say.” Welcome, new Instagram followers! So happy to have you here. ❤️❤️❤️ Give a 👋🏼 if you see the poetry your body has written into your skin!

03/16/2022

📸PhotoCred: 📸

Did you know that some babies can be born really quickly and get some bruising? And some babies born breech bag inalkh can have some bruising on their bums and legs. It's a good idea to have these markings noted in the medical record at birth as to not raise red flags at future pediatrician appointments. Some injuries caused from the birth itself may be misinterpreted for abuse, prompting providers to alert child protective services. Charting injuries that occurred at birth is particularly important for BIPOC families who are at a higher risk of false cases and removal of children.

-Love,
Flor Cruz

03/07/2022

01/11/2022

11/15/2021

👏👏👏🗣

11/05/2021

HOW COOL IS THAT?? 👇👇

DID YOU KNOW?

Your baby WILL NOT breathe underwater. In the time they are submerged they are supplied all the oxygen they need from the placenta through their umbilical cord.
In the minutes between baby's head being born and their body following, your baby may wriggle and even blink, but they will not breathe. They are not designed to. They do not need to.

The initiation of breathing is kick started by exposure to our nitrogen filled air. A complex chemical reaction takes place triggering the closing of the heart shunts that, until now, have redirected the majority of blood flow away from the lung cells. As this occurs, and oxygen (still from the placenta) begins to transfuse the alveoli, breathing is initiated and baby will take those first big breaths that will fill their lungs for the first time.

Until this happens, your baby doesn't need to breathe. They are comfortably transitioning from one aquatic environment to another. Especially in modern maternity settings where water birth is conducted under strict temperature control (where the water is maintained at normal body temperature), your baby will be supported in a warm, buoyant environment just like their womb home.

So, there is no need to fear. There is no need to rush. Water birth is safe because biology works.



• • • • • •
Sunshine Coast, Queensland

𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠
“spiritual growth is like childbirth.
you dilate, then you contract.
you dilate, then you contract again.
as painful as it all feels, it’s the necessary rhythm for reaching the ultimate goal of total openness.”
~Marianne Williamson
captured beautifully by

11/03/2021

Yes!!

We loved the words from one of our amazing followers
———————————————
“Where did we lose our way in birth, and relinquish our power?

Now determined by the system and timed by the hour.

Gone is the trust our body knows when it’s time.

We are warned of ‘big babies’ and join the induction line

Contractions are timed and labour stages assessed

A stall in the process labelled “DID NOT PROGRESS”

Waters broken, drips in place, our labour’s are sped

Sometimes not in our best interests, but to free up a bed

We feel powerless, unheard, lead to believe it’s their choice

Unaware that in fact, we DO have a voice

Our consent MUST be given, the power in OUR hands

These are OUR bodies for which they are making the plans

Speak up, ask questions, to the system we won’t cower

Let’s TAKE BACK OUR BIRTH, be informed and empowered!”

We’d like to extend a huge Congrats to Hayley!

10/27/2021

👻👻👻

These dilation pumpkins are the scariest thing I’ve seen all night. 🎃🙀 🤣

They were set up by midwives at the Royal Oldham Hospital in Lancashire, England as part of a pumpkin decorating competition.

10/26/2021

Get those snuggles 🥰

And sometimes it’s the most important!! 👏👏

10/22/2021

Loooove this! Birth is so unpredictable. 💜

09/16/2021

Some friends and I were talking about this the other day and I had wanted to share it and then this comic came across my feed just now.

I didn't "bond" immediately with my first baby. I knew logically that I loved her and would do anything for her, but I never felt that MOMENT that new moms feel.

That's okay! We have a great relationship today, nineteen years later! ❤️

Some parents have traumatic births and that can make bonding hard. In my case, I think it's something to do with the way my neurodivergent brain handles object permanence (like, no exaggeration, after my second child was born I literally said "oh! A baby!" Lol like I didn't know for nine months that I was expecting one).

Regardless of what contributes to your personal experience- you are not a bad parent for not bonding immediately. Meeting a new human is a LOT to take in. ❤️❤️❤️

Also some babies just look weird 🤣🤣🤣 (those are my favorite babies ftr ❤️)

Image credit Loryn Brantz Books and Illustration

(When I use my own language I do my best to use inclusive language to help trans dads or enby parents know they are welcomed and supported here. ❤️ I did not create this image, however, and do not feel comfortable changing someone else's art. Please do not go *attack* the artist! I know my folx won't, but gotta say it anyway)

Image shows cartoon drawing of two new parents holding newborns. The first looks happy and says "I now know the feeling of true love" and the other says "nice to meet you ...small alien raisin". Above the two images it says "both reactions to motherhood [Parenthood] are normal"

09/04/2021

Yes!! 👏

MIXING PUMPED MILK TEMPS? !

Today my professional lactation forums blew up with this news that posted as breaking news, reposting their visual.

Though it appears that these guidelines may have been updated within the last year its still important to have a source from the AAP stating that you can mix milk temperatures.

I get this question ALL the time. Moms already stressed and time crunched don't need another thing to worry about or another step to take when pumping.
I've even had moms ready to throw out their milk bc they had pumped into pump bottles that were already in the fridge half filled with milk.

Previously I would always go through the science of human milk highlighting the antimicrobial and antiviral properties. But without the backup from AAP or the like, health care practitioners had to be weary about "reccomending" the practice of mixing milk temps.

Bottom line- this can make pumping a lot easier for parents, breakdown barriers, and lift unnecessary anxiety about milk of diff temps mixed together.

Also lots of credit to .to.feed for researching and talking about this for a while!

08/02/2021

Happy World Breastfeeding Week Mommies 🤱🏽🤱🏼🤱🏿🤱🏻🤱🏾

No matter the cup size, no matter the journey, no matter how they look. WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR ALL THE BO***ES and celebrate what they are able to do.

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