River City Doulas

05/11/2023

Just a quick reminder about normal sleep patterns in babies and toddlers. It's totally normal for young children to wake up multiple times during the night and to need connection with their caregivers overnight. This is a natural part of their development and helps them feel safe and secure.

So if your little one is waking up frequently or needs your comfort during the night, don't worry! It's completely normal and just means they are growing and learning. Remember to take care of yourself too and don't hesitate to reach out for support if you need it. You're doing a great job!

05/10/2023

Hold the mother, not the baby.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
⁣Because the baby’s being taken care of—⁣⁣
fed, snuggled, and given all the love in the world by not only the mother,⁣⁣
but her partner, grandparents, siblings, cousins, and friends.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
⁣But the mother,⁣⁣ may have gaps in her mind from lack of sleep,⁣⁣ may be mechanical in her motions as she’s healing,⁣⁣ may feel more like a mess than a mother,⁣⁣ may be sitting in bed, crying, feeling overwhelmed in her body and life,⁣⁣ may be full of mom guilt because in her mind, "she's not good enough,"⁣⁣and she’s bleeding, wincing in pain, swollen and emotional.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
⁣And the mother’s that baby's whole world and needs to be seen, so she doesn't disappear into that postpartum fog.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
⁣So, hold the mother, not the baby.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
⁣A mother agrees that her baby matters more.⁣⁣
But she’s hurting, while she’s the person behind the baby,⁣⁣ in the background, making it all happen:⁣⁣ feeding her baby at all hours,⁣⁣
snuggling her baby close to comfort newborn cries,⁣⁣ and being that baby’s everything.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
⁣So, it’s the mother who needs your love.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
⁣And a mother will remember who held her up.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
⁣So instead of “I’m coming to see the baby,”⁣⁣
try saying, “I’m coming to see you 𝘢𝘯𝘥 meet the baby, too.”⁣⁣
⁣⁣
⁣Because the mother needs to be held more.⁣⁣
⁣Repost:
⁣✍️: Living FULL
📸:

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05/08/2023

“A year ago today I was taken to Christchurch Hospital and diagnosed with manic postpartum psychosis, I was sectioned under the mental health act for 3 weeks, separated from Freya for 8 days and then we both spent a further 10 days at Mothers and Babies. Where the amazing nurses were incredibly helpful at transitioning us back home. It’s one of those things that you never expect to happen or you plan for, I had herd about postpartum psychosis but never in a million years thought it would every happen to me. It’s something that I have spoken quite openly about but never shared on social media and have found it really hard to be my self authentically without giving the whole story. —

“Our journey started with over 48hrs of labour, birthing under covid level 3 where there was no support people around, slightly traumatic birth followed by a very serious sepsis almost ending up in ICU. My psychosis started a week after being discharged from hospital, I sent over 150 texts (with none of which I really remember doing) to my midwife in the space of 1 1/2hrs and very few of which made sense. Form there things began to escalate and my memory deteriorated but I do remember living my whole life in forward and reverse a numbers of times, it began to really speed up and in my head the house was burning down. By the evening I was in an ambulance to Christchurch hospital.”

“To say the past year has been easy would be a lie, having to rebounding with Freya, all the struggles that come with motherhood and learning about how to look after my mental wellness all while raising a small dependant human. I had to make some pretty hard decisions at the start like putting my new business on hold and stepping down from my role as the Regional Leader Representative to the Dairy Women’s Network Trust Board all of which I knew I needed to do to focus on getting my self well again, but it didn’t make it any easier. It has definitely been long road with many changes along the way and one I wouldn’t change. I believe that things happen for a reason and what we go through we grow through and that shapes who we are today.”

04/24/2023

"C-section Mama,
⠀
Let me remind you how powerful you are.
How you birthed life.
How because of you and what you’ve been through, someone’s adventure has begun.
You were the beginning and you always will be.
⠀
Let me remind you that birthing this way isn’t the “easier option”. And those who think that don’t know.
⠀
They don’t know what it’s like to have layers of flesh and muscle cut through as you lie on a surgery bed, with many unfamiliar faces around you.
⠀
They don’t know what it’s like to have a sheet in front of you and your partner beside you, as you wait for the sound of your baby crying.
⠀
They don’t know what it’s like to be left in such physical pain. The exhaustion seems nothing compared to the cut on your lower stomach. And that pain doesn’t immediately dissolve with the immense love you feel for your baby. It hurts to move for weeks, sometimes longer.
⠀
They don’t know what it’s like to process a different birth than what you imagined, or mourn what you may have dreamt about for months. To learn to let go of what wasn’t, or couldn’t have been.
They don’t know what it’s like to deal with others who don’t understand your elective choice, and who do nothing but add to the stigma of birthing this way.
⠀
They don’t know what it’s like to see their scar and be reminded every day that their birth was different to what many in the world think it “should” look like.
⠀
They don’t know.
⠀
But C-section Mama,
You and those who have walked this sort of birth story know.
⠀
You know what it takes. What you went through. The details of your birth story.
⠀
You know exactly what that scar represents, what power it shows and how beautiful it is.
⠀
You know how endless your love for your baby is no matter how they came into the world.
⠀
But please know just how worthy you are.
And that it’s not just you who thinks that.
⠀
Birth is birth,
No matter how it happened.
⠀
Birth is the gateway.
And no matter what,
It started with you."
⠀
Words: Words of Emma Heaphy
Art: (on Instagram)
⠀
Thank you for allowing me the space to share your c-section birth stories, and for those who shared their experiences with me. They formed this piece 😘

☀️Our gorgeous issue 49 is on sale in both NZ, Australia and the UK Every store-bought copy comes with a special Journal to document your baby’s first year and note down those special moments! There’s milestone cards, a beautiful first year experiences colouring in section and lots of space to write. Issue 49 is also available to purchase locally and internationally online: https://thenaturalparentmagazine.com/product-category/shop/magazine ☀️

04/24/2023

Just had the most amazing weekend in Palm Spring , FL with a group of the most amazing people training to be labor doulas ! They are going to make a difference for so many families ❤️

04/15/2023

Join us in beautiful Wilmington, NC for Labor Doula training . You can start the birth support career you’ve dreamed of ! Link for registration in comments.

04/08/2023

Milkstash offers freeze-dried breastmilk services. We take your frozen breastmilk and return it to you freeze-dried in powdered form (like formula). Freeze-dried breastmilk is a unique and innovative way of preserving breastmilk, allowing mothers to store and use the best possible nutrition for their babies.
Want to learn more?
Connect with us today!

04/04/2023

Available at no cost

03/31/2023

April is C-section awareness month! Where are all my C-section mama's at 💜

-owner

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1139210602925568/?ref=share_group_link

03/29/2023

No one was there to praise me for how I managed the house or the kids. And the world certainly didn’t exalt my line of work either. No promotion. No monetary compensation. And although I wouldn’t change anything because I knew the seeds that I was sowing were eternal in nature, the temporal feel...

03/11/2023

🦩🦩🦩

03/10/2023

The formation of the fetus is amazing ❤

03/01/2023

03/01/2023

”After almost 8 years of infertility and 7 miscarriages, this morning we finally got to welcome our daughter into the world”

Source: Reddit/willingdeduction94