Is it time to break up with your due date?

Is it time to break up with your due date?

Rachel Parris
Childbirth Preparation

Our culture has a passionate love affair with the estimated due date. I mean – we don’t just love it. We wine and dine it and send it roses on Valentine’s Day.

The first thing you do when you find out you're pregnant? Find a due date calculator to figure out when your baby will be here.

The first question you're asked when others find out you're expecting? “What's your due date?”

Once you have that date, you put it in your calendar, look forward to it, wait for it, count down to it, and (heaven forbid!) if you go past that date you'll often feel anxious (at best) or full blown panic (at worst).

An Ode to Doulas

An Ode to Doulas

Christine Jennings CD(DONA)
Doula Support

The doulas are the guides.

When the way feels uncertain and unknown the doulas pause, hold the space, and ask the questions until your way forward declares itself. Doulas know how to hold the unknown. We know that the world is rarely black and white. When we hold our fear in the light we observe the uncertainty. Naming the fear and allowing it to be held in safety offers up the opportunity to see solutions.

Doulas know their fellow doulas are our net and the safe place to land when the fear gets too big. Doula work is community. We are community and we are love. To my doula colleagues out there doing their work, this one is for you.

Just For Fun

Just For Fun

Rachel Parris
For Fun

It’s been a week, eh? I don’t know about you but I am feeling saturated with information and a little overwhelmed with changes, so today I’m keeping things super simple here.

Here is a recipe for eggless cookie dough (perfect for pregnant folks). Not to be baked - just for eating! 😃

Enjoy!

The Blended Family Life

The Blended Family Life

Jordan Joanisse
Parenting

My 17 year old self would never have guessed that my life would end up here….a husband (who works out of town), three kids (each with a different mom), a roommate, dogs – and all of us living together in one home.

I would have guessed the kids part, and the marriage part, but that’s where the similarities would have stopped – I never would have guessed I would be living the blended family life.

My vision of life was simple – instead, I have had to learn to co-parent, manage other people’s family dynamics on top of my own and, in the process, have discovered an existence that is vibrant, complicated, and 100% worth it.

I am a mother of three children: an adopted daughter, a stepson, and a biological daughter.

Baby Makes Three: What You Really Need to Know About Bringing Baby Home

Baby Makes Three: What You Really Need to Know About Bringing Baby Home

AJ Hadfield PDT/PCD(DONA), CD(DONA), CLE
Postpartum

Stephanie and I recently took the four-day DONA International Postpartum Doula Training here in Calgary taught by AJ Hadfield, PDT/PCD(DONA), CD(DONA), CLE. With so much valuable knowledge shared with Stephanie and myself, we wanted to share some of the wisdom with you directly. I sat down with AJ to share her experience on what families REALLY need to know about bringing their new baby home. Here’s what AJ generously offered us.

Four Commonly Asked Questions About Breastfeeding Your Newborn

Four Commonly Asked Questions About Breastfeeding Your Newborn

Stephanie Gould CD(DONA), CLE
Postpartum

As a lactation educator, I hear commonly asked questions when I support new families. This list of the top three questions and my responses to my clients offers some practical information on breastfeeding your newborn. Whether you are an experienced breastfeeder or entering breastfeeding as a first-time mother or parent, this information will help you establish breastfeeding with your newborn.

The Practice of Practice

The Practice of Practice

Rachel Parris
Parenting

As a recovering perfectionist, I have spent most of my life avoiding trying new things. Basically, the math in my head went something like this:

  • I receive love when I am perfect (when I am perfectly behaved, when I follow the rules, when I get 100% on a test or project, etc)

  • Therefore when I am not perfect, I am not worthy of love

  • Well, that’s terrifying

  • I can’t risk not receiving love

  • Therefore I will only do things that I know I can do perfectly

  • NO NEW THINGS!

Our culture values striving for excellence, which usually turns into striving for perfection – on the surface, this seems really admirable. Why shouldn’t you always try to be perfect at what you do?

6 Tips for Flying with Newborns and Toddlers

6 Tips for Flying with Newborns and Toddlers

Christine Jennings CD(DONA)
Parenting

In my oldest daughter’s first year of life, I took her on 17 plane rides. I wanted my family outside of Alberta to spend as much time with our new baby as possible. We went to Ontario twice and to BC six times. At the time it didn’t seem like a big deal, but reflecting back on that first year it occurs to me that it was A LOT of flying! And it gave me the perfect opportunity to hone the process.

Whether you’re facing a quick 45 minute flight or eight (or more) hours, here are my top six tips for flying with your littles.

My Transformation Into Fatherhood: An Interview with Peter Jennings

My Transformation Into Fatherhood: An Interview with Peter Jennings

Christine Jennings CD(DONA)
Fathers/Partners

Peter Jennings is a realtor, a husband, a father, and a fierce friend. For this Father’s Day, Peter shares his experience of becoming a father and using doula support during his transformation into parenthood.

Peter and I have been married for five years and partnered for ten. Together, we have two daughters and had two very different birth experiences. Our first daughter, Hazel was born in hospital under obstetric care with birth doula support and postpartum doula support. I had an epidural and an augmented labour with pitocin. For the birth of our daughter Zoe, we had a home birth with midwives and doula support.

Read on to hear about Peter’s firsthand experience of becoming a father, how each birth transformed him, and how doula support impacted each experience.

The Limitations of New Parenthood

The Limitations of New Parenthood

Christine Jennings CD(DONA)
Postpartum

Stepping into new motherhood, I felt really prepared. I had an arsenal of doulas in my corner and I had a library of resources to draw from (should I need them). I felt quite confident that I could face the unknown and roll with the punches. Even with all the reassurances, it was still an initiation that my heart wasn’t prepared for.

Load More