Wellness culture tells us to be thin, fit, well-slept, manicured, pedicured, waxed, lasered, satiated by protein shakes and water. We also need to take 1000 supplements, wake up at 5:30, sleep as long as you need, walk 10,000 steps per day, run 5 miles, lift 300 pounds, love your body, rest, take multiple bubble baths daily, ecstatic dance, meditate, make healthy whole-food meals three times per day, chew 40 times each bite, be mindful, be present at all times, process your trauma, Be happy, live laugh love…. Oof! That’s quite a list…but are these things self-care for you, or just READ MORE
Tag: motherhood
Doula Katy #1
Doula Katy, pt 1 Hi y’all! My name is Katy Gladwin. This post is just a start, but I’m going to try to tell you who I am, and why I think the way I do. I grew up in Michigan from the age of 5 and have lived here my whole life (minus a year in Nashville, but that’s an entirely different post). I have 3 little sisters, all of whom are amazing, smart beautiful women who I love dearly. We are all close, and feel very lucky to have them in my life. I am married to a READ MORE
Mother Interview: A Beautifully Healing Birth
Name (Age): Charity (34) City: Dexter Birth Location: St. Joseph Mercy – Menon, Miller & Midwives SRS: When did you decide to hire a doula? Was it always in your plan, or was there a moment when you decided? Charity: With my first I wanted and planned for an unmedicated birth but ended up having a c-section due to him being breech. So when I became pregnant with my second, just 5 short months after my first was born, I knew immediately I wanted an unmedicated vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)! I knew hiring a doula would greatly increase my chances of READ MORE
Mother Interview: Really Drawn Out Change of Plans
We’re going to start doing small interviews with our past clients, not necessarily about birth, but about some of the little things surrounding birth. What was hard, what was the best advice you received, etc… We hope that in sharing these candid little parts of pregnancy and new motherhood, we can normalize this experience for everyone. We so often only see the most beautiful parts, or the hardest struggles, of this major life change. There is so much more! All titles for the interviews are chosen by the mothers themselves. This is MY interview! Nothing profound, just a casual chat. READ MORE
Embracing Doulahood While Waiting for Motherhood
Often times when people learn I am a doula they assume that I have children of my own. There comes a point in interviews with potential clients where the question of my personal labor/pregnancy/baby experience comes up. Until recently I have felt sheepish about admitting that I am not a mother yet (as if it is something to be admitted to). Maybe it’s because I am afraid of not meeting people’s expectations. At the same time, I am not embarrassed that I’m still waiting to become a mother, nor do I think that it diminishes my skills as a doula. I don’t feel that becoming READ MORE
Lactation Nut Butter Balls
When I was newly postpartum, a lovely friend brought me these amazing lactation friendly peanut butter balls that were so nice to have around and just grab when I needed a snack. I scoured the web looking for the recipe that matched. I found this one at TheBabyGoat.com and it is amazing! I have changed it A LOT though over the past year a a half, and have added even more nutritional yumminess! I have also doubled the recipe (sorta). edited version: In stand mixer mix: 2 cups dry rolled oats + 2 cups finely ground dry rolled oats 1 cup READ MORE
My Milk Obsession
There are so many weird and unusual things that I now think about constantly that would have never crossed my mind before having my son. Poop. The color, smell, texture, quantity of the gross stuff. Its always on my mind. Has he pooped? When did he poop last? I’m always concerned. Having said that (Oh gosh, did I say poop again?), the single thing that gives me the most pleasure, pride and strife (and is directly related to poop) is my milk supply. I am certifiably obsessed with it. To think that I am solely sustaining another life through my READ MORE
Stretching
This was originally posted to my personal blog in June 2009. My daughter is 4 now, and she still thinks my belly is the best. Ever since I hit puberty I’ve had these little indentations on my skin, right at the base of my spine. I used to run my fingers over them, unsure of what they were, intrigued by the texture of my skin there. I remember being on the beach and a boyfriend asking about them, but I just shrugged and said it’d been there forever. I never thought much of it until I got pregnant. Right around the seventh READ MORE