Pregnant during the summertime? If you’re anything like I was, you may be feeling extra.. ✨glowy.✨ With sweat. It’s hot. The hormonal rushes that surge throughout the pregnancy experience are enough to have you going to sit in dressing rooms in target to strip naked and cool down (surely that couldn’t have just been me?) but then you add SUMMER HEAT?! Glowing, alright. 😉 Here’s some ways to stay cool & comfortable in the summer; whether you’re in the first …
Three Prideful Children’s Stories I’m Sharing With My Children This Pride Month
Happy Pride Month friends! This June has been extra special in getting to share Pride festivities with my kiddo; who’s now 5 and can participate and engage in new, exciting ways. My son, Maddox, and I had a ton of fun attending his first pride parade & learning about what the expression of freedom meant for individual people we encountered. As the month comes to a close, we’ve kept the pride celebrations and talk going in our household all …
How to Feel Your Best Postpartum
Postpartum is among the most challenging times in a familys life. Your body is healing, hormones are running wild, you’re more exhausted than you knew was possible, and in the midst of it all, you’re learning how to be a caregiver to the amazing little human you created. Even if you have not physically given birth, the early days of a new baby can be exhausting and scary, and finding time to care for yourself isn’t easy. Basically — it’s …
So What Exactly Does a Postpartum Doula Do?
What exactly a postpartum doula does is such a hard question to answer, because it is so uniquely tailored to our clients. All I can say is so many people enter a new parents’ home, and the focus is all on the baby. Even all the doctors and lactation consultant visits in the initial months focus almost solely on the baby. The birthing person gets ONE visit at 6 weeks. The Partner doesn’t get a check in. The main thread through everything …
3 Elements Every Parent Should Include in Their Nursery
Being an expectant parent comes with a pretty extensive to-do list. For one, you need to find the right support for the birth of your child, and Balanced Birth Support can provide this. You also need to make sure your home is a safe, warm, and welcoming space for that little one. It all starts with creating a comfortable and soothing nursery. Here’s what you will want to provide for both your baby and you in your nursery: Warmth Keeping …
Ways Birthing from Within Helps Parents
In our Birthing from Within childbirth education class you will… Explore the internal landscape for labor The internal landscape for labor relates to the emotional and mental journey – the internal experience. Regardless of how birth unfolds medically, the inner journey tends to have some common milestones. In addition to learning about anatomy, physical stages of labor, hormones and physiology, we go deep into the internal experience and also help parents prepare for and recognize some of those emotional guide posts …
Benefits of Yoni Steams
This blog post was adapted from the original post by Jasmine Mason of the J. Mason Foundation. What is a Yoni Steam? Vaginal steaming, sometimes shortened to V-steaming, and also known as yoni steaming, is an alternative health treatment whereby a woman squats or sits over steaming water containing herbs such as mugwort, rosemary, wormwood, and basil. Sexual intercourse, mensuration, along with childbirth, can take a toll of the vagina and a Yoni Steam can assist with getting the …
How Smartphone Apps Can Assist First-Time Parents
Technology to the Rescue: How Smartphone Apps Can Assist First-Time ParentsWhen you become parents for the first time, life instantly becomes more challenging. That’s not to say that parenting isn’t full of joy as well, but it can definitely be chaotic. Fortunately, with a great support system in place and a little help from your smartphone, you can reduce the stress and increase the bliss in your life with your little one. Balanced Birth Support invites you to explore the …
5 Key Financial Planning Steps for Families
Daniel Sherwin is a single dad to 2 kids. Recognizing that there aren’t a lot of resources out there for single dads, he developed his website DadSolo to provide support and resources to single parents. For new parents, every day seems to bring new challenges. This is especially true when it’s time to pay bills. Even though most parents anticipate that a baby means added expenses, adding up all of the additional costs can be overwhelming at first. From paying …
10 Questions to Ask Your Provider about Pregnancy, Birth, & Postpartum from BBS Senior Doula Kerry Reynolds
Kerry Reynolds is a Balanced Birth Support Senior Doula serving Metro DC & Greater Maryland. She has been a birth doula for over a decade with tons of experience supporting all kinds of births including home birth, medicated and non–medicated hospital, cesarean birth, twin deliveries, LGBTQ families and VBAC deliveries. Learn more about Kerry by visiting her Balanced Birth Support profile. Getting to know your doctor or midwife is an important part of preparing for birth & postpartum. Its essential that …