October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day.
There will be a wave of light ceremony in Eganville at Centennial Park.
All are welcome
Trust
Talk about a loaded word.
What do you think of when you hear that word? The way spouses trust each other, the way children look to their adults…
But what about the way we trust ourselves?
Life has a way of giving all of us individual challenges that require some outside support. Become educated about your body. Figure out its’ strengths and challenges. Lay out all your resources and use them as you need to. Most of all, believe that you are capable of making informed and confident decisions.
And when we truly believe that,
we have then learned to trust ourselves.
Sometimes the only thing stopping us, is us.
You have FULL permission to forgive yourself for being so critical to your newly shaped body.
FULL permission to drop the thoughts that are making you feel so worthless.
FULL permission to turn away from social media and turn towards a life where you start acknowledging yourself as a learning and loving mother,
just as you are.🧡
Happy International Women’s Day from the crew at RCD.
Don’t let the world, dull that smile.
Don’t let those boys intimidate you.
You have the power of women who came before you, and the power to change your own path anytime you want.
Show off those guns, stick that tongue out, wear those mixed matched outfits, rock that mullet and know your still damn beautiful!
I wake up, my eyes groggy from a night of sleep.⠀⠀I thought back to my night.⠀⠀When I had to go pee and I snuck over to your bedroom and woke you up… you came with me. Your whisper in the dark helped me feel safe. ⠀⠀When the shadows seemed scary and I cried into the dark night and you came and your arms comforted me. The shadows disappeared and I felt comfort in your arms.⠀⠀I blink my groggy eyes twice and feel a rumbling in my belly,⠀
I run over to your room and wake you up to tell you I’m hungry. ⠀⠀Moooom! Wake up! I’m ready for breakfast! ⠀⠀I wake you up.⠀⠀I see you wipe your eyes. ⠀⠀You look at Dad, you look tired, but you look at me and I feel ready for another day where I’ll need you.⠀⠀I don’t know if you understand just how much I rest in your love.⠀⠀How much I look forward to our time together.⠀⠀How I cherish your words.⠀⠀You are my first thought when I wake up and my last thought when I go to sleep.⠀⠀Mom, I know some days it feels like I need you too much.⠀⠀It seems like I need you for everything right now.⠀⠀I get that it’s tough. ⠀⠀This is new for you and it’s new for me too. ⠀I like when you take care of you mom. You need to.I feel safe when you set boundaries, when you say “I can’t let you” even if I protest it at the time.It’s because don’t quite know how to be two yet, I’m learning, and I think you’re learning too.⠀I’m two and you are my rock, my secure base to see the world from.⠀⠀When I explore I look back to you.⠀⠀I may not need you like this forever, someday I’ll be older, I’ll be grown.⠀⠀But as I get older I’ll always know you are there to fall back on, my fortress, my home
Many days I feel like this as a work from home stay at home mom. On days that are tough I always find it helpful to take my child’s perspective. It helps ground me back in the reality of raising littles. Some days can be so hard, I had one of those today. Being needed all day long can feel exhausting.
Do you ever have those moments where you feel like you’ve been needed so much?
You are surrounded by a village of parents right there in it with you.
Picture: Spirit Y Sol
The internet is full of information however, sometimes, opinions end up mashed into facts and the result can be far from the truth.
Know your body, trust your body, and have a knowledgeable person or source you can trust too.
Not as common of a term as lost partum depression, but in no way any smaller of a battle. We’re finding a big increase in new parents experiencing this, and it’s completely understood. A pandemic pregnancy is not the pregnancy anyone dreams of or desires. Now baby is born, you’re doing your best to keep the small human alive and well, and all of the normal support groups and drop ins are gone.
It’s not fair.
You remember when your best friend had her baby and how she bragged about the other awesome moms she met a weekly drop in group.
It’s not what you deserve. You just gave birth, and during a damn pandemic to boot. You never knew what to expect things were constantly changing and through it all you kept going.
There have been some changes in the way we offer support at this time in an effort to keep our team, families, and clients safe. Our hearts and ears are still open. Virtual coffee dates are always complimentary.
Peanut balls, squatting knees together and knees apart, walking and using gravity, knowing positions and tricks is great.
Knowing when to use them is the key!
This is where a doula shines.
During pregnancy we know there is no shortage of hormones flowing through our bodies. Sometimes, we cant help but notice that closer to birth we find our pregnant bodies walking a little different then they once did. Your body literally makes it that your joints and bones are more loose in preparation for birth!
Our pelvis is something we often think of as a fairly fixed part of us. In fact, is is hinged and can be maneuvered by something as simple as putting your knees together and feet apart.
Add to that the all fours position, this gives babe a chance to re position their head and become perfectly lined up for decent through the cervix. Not only that, it will take any unnecessary pressure off of the cervix that can lead to swelling and “failure to progress”.
But don’t we need pressure on the cervix for it to dilate?
Knowing tips and tricks is great but knowing when to use them is where an experienced doula shines.
FREE and Informed consent, what does it mean during pregnancy?
When a woman becomes pregnant she can often be flooded with “advice” and feel like she has to do things even when they don’t make sense to her.
From the top of buildings, we say “ASK QUESTIONS“.
Now we’re not talking about just asking friends and family. Ask your doctor or midwife; understand what a procedure involves. This is your birth, asking questions and weighing out options about your care are ways we can feel more comfortable in our decisions.
Ok, so we’ve chatted briefly about informed consent, but what about “FREE and Informed consent”
Informed consent is what we say when we usually mean free and informed consent.
When we are free to find out information, ask questions, weigh out options and make a decision without being shamed or bullied into a different one, then we are practicing free and informed consent.
* Please note, this is not the same as a childbirth education class. This will be a free event however registration will be required. Please be aware this event date is assuming we are not at a birth! In such case we will reschedule the event and let registrants know as soon as possible.
Virtual Birth Prep
Given the recent changes at local area hospitals, we felt driven to find a way to get helpful information and tools for expecting mothers in preparation for their upcoming births.
We are inviting expecting families to join us for a mini prenatal meeting with one of our doulas! We will go over comfort measures that you can do on your own, provide links to various visual aids and videos, grounding techniques, as well as provide activities that can be done prenatally to prepare for life during and after birth.