Three Essential Items for Your Birth Bag

Three Essential Items for Your Birth Bag

Rachel Parris
Childbirth Preparation

Packing your birth bag is a ritual of modern pregnancy.

Maybe you’re the type of person who packs your bag weeks in advance – you like to feel prepared, with lots of time to spare. Or maybe you’re the type to pack your bag during early labor – a practical busy job to keep you distracted during those first crampy contractions.

No matter when or how you pack your bag, you’ll likely have researched what to put in it. There are many sample lists available online (some of them pages long!) and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

We’d like to simplify things for you.

Why Dads Want A Doula

Why Dads Want A Doula

Bethany Galster
Childbirth Preparation

Woman-to-woman support has been a cornerstone of birth support throughout human history. Whether medically, physically or emotionally, women have long been depicted helping other women as they transition into motherhood.

The recent (in the grand scheme of things) addition of fathers to the childbirth process has been a welcome and needed evolution in birth support. But this can sometimes lead to concern about a trained and professional support person also joining the team.

Common fears/questions from partners often include: 

  • What will my role be if a doula is there? Aren't I enough?
  • Will she put pressure on me to aid my partner in a way I don’t feel comfortable with? 
  • That's a lot of money - do we really need her?

Instead of explaining my very biased (yes, doulas are amazing!) point of view, I reached out to some dads I've previously worked with. Here’s what they had to say...

Mother

Mother

Rachel Parris
Relationships

Mother's Day. Simple enough, right? It's a day to honor the mothers in our lives. But it seems that as I get older, this day has become a complex mix of celebration, remembrance, and grief.

I am blessed to be able to honor the mothers of my heart this day. The strong and wise women whom I have chosen to welcome into my life and who have walked along side me on my journey. We have shared laughter and tears, great times and damn crappy times. They have imparted wisdom, forgiven foibles, shored up my confidence, and led by example. I am blessed because this list of women in my life is long...

Using Busy As An Excuse

Using Busy As An Excuse

Rachel Parris
Parenting

This was the tail end of a text conversation I had recently with a dear friend of mine who was (at the time) in her last few weeks of midwifery school. I threw that last comment out without really thinking about it, until I hit send and re-read it.

What she said really did sound like my life. In fact, most of my adult life could be described that way: "Lots of interest and zero time".

That never really bothered me before. But these days, it's kind of getting under my skin...

6 Reasons Holiday Birthdays Aren't So Bad

6 Reasons Holiday Birthdays Aren't So Bad

Rachel Parris
For Fun

If your baby is estimated to arrive sometime this month, you may have felt a little bit concerned when you first did the math - we all know how much it sucks to have a birthday close to Christmas. But have no fear! Since Christine and I both celebrate our birthdays within two weeks of Christmas, we thought we would compile a list of reasons that having a birthday close to Christmas actually rocks...