Ready or not, summer is here! But just because our Minnesota summer is bringing the heat (and humidity) it doesn’t mean you have to forego being outdoors with your little one. It does, however, mean that you might have to adapt some of your babywearing strategies to keep your baby (and yourself) cool. Read on for a few tips for safe and comfortable babywearing in warm weather:
The stressful and exciting transition of going back to work comes faster than expected for most parents. While the nights feel long, time seems to have flown by when you are on parental leave. There are lots of feelings warring for attention whenever you go back to work, be it after six weeks or six months. If that’s the case for you, you are in good company.
Introducing your older child(ren) to a new baby can be one of the most joyous moments, but it can also cause some anxiety for some. Here are some tips for how to help your older child(ren) meet their new brother/sister in a way that feels joyful and loving, rather than confusing or overwhelming. These are most relevant for when you are having your new baby at an out of home location. Take what you like and what works best for your family!
Creating a baby registry for a first-time parent can be a stressful endeavor. With new products constantly being added to the market and a wealth of information available, it is easy to feel overwhelmed at where to begin. One of the benefits I have as a postpartum doula awaiting my first baby has been the ability to try out and see many baby products.
If you’re considering a home birth, or just curious about what it may look like, chances are you have some questions. In this last section of our home birth series, we’ll cover the most commonly asked questions and help dispel any myths.
As a new parent, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by emotions, responsibilities, and expectations. We’ve all been there—the moment when you realize that you are drowning, and the only thing you want to do is eat a bunch of ice cream, collapse into bed, and not be needed for the next eight hours. While rest is always a good idea and a priority for a new parent (or even an experienced one!), we tend to push away something that we all actually, truly need: friends.
Three years ago, my husband and I decided that we were ready to grow our family and become parents. Being “young and healthy” from a medical standpoint, we believed this would be a pretty straightforward process. As someone who likes to have a solid plan, we even talked about the ideal time of year to welcome our first child, believing we would be able to have control over this.
The night was just cool enough to pinken my cheeks as I journeyed down my quiet suburban street back toward home. The sight of a very vocal pregnant woman, waddling with the aid of two people, may have caused concern for several neighbors who witnessed it, but it didn’t matter – I was doing the work. During a particularly intense contraction, I threw my head up to the sky. There were the same stars and moon from earlier. There returned the same gratitude, strength, and solidarity with everyone else doing the work of birth.
When I was pregnant with my oldest child, I had many friends who were in the midst of raising their second or third child. I admired these friends in many ways, and was hopeful that I would look just like them: snuggling my newborn skin-to-skin, feeding him or her with my own body as I had for the past nine months, and breastfeeding with (what appeared to be) ease. That was not the way it worked out.
Morning sun danced on my bedroom wall, peeking through curtains swaying gently with the fall breeze from the open window. My eyes slowly opened as my hands, out of habit, moved toward my belly to greet my baby. As if in response, I felt my first, ever so gentle, contraction. A smile took over my face. It was happening.
