Happy New Year: What I would write if Instagram's captions were long enough

 Happy New Year! There are so many things I have loved about the past year.

Soccer Photography

For the past 2 years, I have been the official photographer for my now 12 year-olds soccer team. This year, her team gets the incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to Spain to train. We are so excited for this opportunity for our daughter and her teammates and want to do what we can to help cover the costs for our girls. I've been considering doing something like this for a while and decided to finally go for it!

Film Photography

 

I got back onto social media for a little while to share some of my film photography, but I have learned that I don't do social media very well. Since I became pregnant with Brenden and his birth, I feel like I've changed and become a little more anxious and less confident in a way. Or maybe it's just less trusting? I don't know exactly what it is, but I know that I didn't like how often I was on Instagram and the other social medias and how I would agonize over every single word I wrote and how it would be received. I don't really want to be like that, and I'd like to feel confident again and just start posting, but I haven't quite figured out yet how to make social media a tool for me rather than becoming a tool for the app myself. Not since I laid down my business, anyway.

Brenden's Birth Story

 I guess I'd have to start with Roses.

**all photos c/o McKayl Ford @honeyandhope.doula**

2023 Fall Family Mini Sessions!

Hello Friends! It's been a little while since I've chatted with you as I've been on maternity leave since the birth of our fifth child, Brenden. It has been a wonderful 6 months with him in our home.

*photo c/o Cheyenne Pape*

Doula Chats: But What About the Vitamin K?

After your baby is born, there are three what I call "baby interventions" that all parents need to consider beforehand and decide if they want them. The Hep B Vaccine, Eye Ointment, and Vitamin K shot.

As I began my research on these interventions, it was clear to me early on that Hep B, and the eye ointment weren't necessary for my babies or my clients babies. Both were really only necessary for babies who are at risk of contracting Gonorrhea or Chlamydia from their mother (eye ointment), or some kind of STD (Hep B). On top of that, eye ointment hinders mother-child bonding and, aesthetically speaking, make for poor photos of baby.

But what about the Vitamin K? If it's just a vitamin, it shouldn't hurt, right?

The Hospital Birth Story of Warner

I met Miranda at a park. I was there with a group of my friends, and she was there with a group of hers. The children had all kind of mingled at the beach volleyball court and the two of us began talking. We became fast friends and about a year later, she told me that she was pregnant with her second child and wanted me to be her doula and birth photographer. I was overjoyed. I knew that her journey to pregnancy hadn't been easy, and that her first birth experience wasn't what she had wanted it to be. I was determined to help her to have a different experience this time.

Doula Chats | Second Prenatal Positions

Somewhere around 37 or 38 weeks, we will have our second prenatal visit. At this visit, we talk a little more in-depth about your birth, what your provider is saying, and what we can expect/prepare for. This is also when I teach you and your husband a few positions to try during labor that can help you relax, stretch, and/or help your baby to re-engage if we notice contraction patterns are inconsistent.

Doula Chats: Emotional Signposts

 

How do we predict your exact due date? Dilation? Effacement? Baby’s station? Contraction patterns? Unfortunately, none of these can tell us exactly what day your baby will come. What about how long your birthing time will be?

Just like we can’t predict what day you’ll have your baby, we can’t predict how long your birthing time will be, but we can observe and pick up on different clues throughout your birthing time that can give us an idea of how things are going. How? Dilation, effacement, baby’s station, and contraction patterns can be helpful clues, but these numbers can change rapidly or very slowly. I’ve personally been one of those mothers who went from 7cm dilated to delivery in 15 minutes! I’ve also seen mothers sit at 8cm dilated for hours. A better clue is what we call emotional signposts.

Doula Chats: 4 Positions for Body Birth Prep

Over the past couple of months I have been intrigued with learning about what can be done during pregnancy that will lead to better birth outcomes beyond taking your prenatal vitamins. We know that birth is a physical event and is often compared to running a marathon, so it only makes sense that just as training for a marathon will help you successfully complete all 26.2 miles with better recovery, training for childbirth will result in the same.

Doula Chats: Epidural Alternatives

 

In my previous post having to do with epidurals, I gave a few different suggestions on how to prepare to birth without one. To take it a step further, here is a list of discomfort measures that may be available to you instead of the epidural.

Doula Chats: How to have an Unmedicated Birth

 

“I don’t know how women do it without the epidural. They must have super-powers.”

“I don’t think I could do it without one. My pain-tolerance is super low.”

I'm sure you've heard this before. Maybe you've even said this yourself. But having a baby unmedicated has much less to do with your pain-tolerance and much more to do with your preparation. Mothers who *purposefully* birth their babies unmedicated spend time reading books, taking classes, listening to podcasts, following birth education instagram accounts, and often-times hire a doula because research shows that women who hire a one are 10% more likely to successfully birth unmedicated. Reference

The Birthing Center Birth of Eko

I arrived at the birthing center at about 2:30PM. Kelli was in early labor, meeting each wave with calming, deep breaths, and smiling between waves. Leera was right by her side, along with her mother. There was rap music playing and the lights were dimmed low. 

Doula Chats: Epidural Potential Risks and Benefits

Possibly one of the hottest topics between mothers who are expecting is Epidurals. Before we talk about whether or not an epidural will help you to have the birth experience that you want, let’s talk about what an epidural is beyond the basic, “I get it, and I don’t feel contractions anymore.”

Doula Chats: Home, Birthing Center, or Hospital?

 

I’ll never forget how my eyes widened when I found out as a 21-year-old student teacher that one of my students had been born at home ON PURPOSE. *shock and awe* Honestly, it had never occurred to me that birth happened anywhere BUT a hospital.

Doula Chats: Unmedicated Birth Mindset

An unmedicated birth happens one wave at a time. When each comes, you have a choice: believe that you can, or believe that you can't.

Doula Chats: How Fathers can Prepare

 

One of the things that I always stress with my clients is that I do not replace fathers. In fact, I have often heard of mothers hiring doulas specifically for the role they play in supporting fathers. So often they want to help, but they may not know where to start.

Here are some suggestions!

Doula Chats: Midwife or OBGYN?

Throughout all of history, Midwives have served women as they have entered motherhood, but within the last century or so, Obstetric Gynecologists (OBGYN) have become a normal part of birth. Though they both operate as medical caretakers for women, their method of care is very different.

Doula Chats: Fetal Monitoring

What is fetal monitoring? What valuable information do we gain from fetal monitoring, and what are the risks and benefits? What are my options with fetal monitoring?

Fetal monitoring is when providers use tools to measure the baby’s heart rate and/or the intensity of your contractions. How often this monitoring is done and how it is measured depends on your preferences, the policies of your birthing location, and the preferences of your provider.

Mommy + Me Minis 2022

I love being a mom. I love that I get to develop loving and intimate relationships with these little people who I admire just as much as they admire me - if not more. It's these looks of adoration that I love to have photographed.