Kelley's Blog

Those first days with your newborn can feel like a beautiful blur—tiny fingers, sleepy snuggles, milk-drunk smiles, and those sweet newborn sounds you wish you could bottle up forever. Newborn photography is one way to preserve those fleeting moments. But if you’ve never booked a newborn session before, you may have questions: When should you schedule it? Should the photographer come to your home? What happens during the session? And how do you choose the right photographer f

After birth, a mother’s body has been through an incredible transformation. The uterus is contracting, abdominal muscles and connective tissues are recovering, and the entire body is adjusting to life after pregnancy. For generations, cultures around the world have supported this transition with a practice known as postpartum belly binding. Whether you’ve heard of it from a family member, seen it on social media, or are considering it for your own postpartum recovery, you may

waking up soaked can be confusing If you’ve recently had a baby and find yourself waking up drenched in sweat, changing your pajamas—or even your sheets—you’re not imagining it. Postpartum sweating is incredibly common, especially during the first few weeks after birth. It can feel strange, uncomfortable, and sometimes downright alarming. But in most cases, those nighttime sweats are simply your body doing some serious postpartum housekeeping. What Is Postpartum Sweating? Pos

Summer with a new baby can be wonderful—walks in the sunshine, trips to the beach or pool, backyard afternoons, and plenty of time spent outdoors. But babies also need a little extra protection from the summer heat, sun, and water. Their bodies are still developing, which means they can become overheated or dehydrated more quickly than older children and adults. The good news? A few simple precautions can make a big difference. Here are some of our most important summer safet

Weaning is a significant milestone in the journey of parenthood, and it can evoke a wide range of emotions for both the caregiver and the child.

Becoming parent is a major shift in identity. You are literally going from who you have always been as an individual to somebody’s mom or dad. This may cause the feeling of a loss of self, and it doesn’t mean you don’t love your baby. It just means that you’re navigating this new and evolved person that you have become. Give yourself time- you will get your groove as the baby takes on a schedule and you start finding time for yourself again. It’s about accepting this season o

Exploring infant feeding

A Doula usually goes through a training and receives certification from that training as well as having hands on experience. There are many different organizations for a doula to become certified through, so it's just a matter of which ones align with the Doula's wants and goals. A Baby Nurse is not an RN or an LPN. Baby Nurses have experience with infants and advertise themselves as baby nurses. This was common practice in other countries and then brought to the U.S. A P

Postpartum red flags can come in many different ways whether it be physically, emotionally, or mentally.

Becoming parent is a major shift in identity. You are literally going from who you have always been as an individual to somebody's mom or dad. This may cause the feeling of a loss of self, and it doesn’t mean you don’t love your baby. It just means that you're navigating this new and evolved person that you have become. Give yourself time- you will get your groove as the baby takes on a schedule and you start finding time for yourself again. It's about accepting this season o

A Doula usually goes through a training and receives certification from that training as well as having hands on experience. There are many different organizations for a doula to become certified through, so it's just a matter of which ones align with the Doula's wants and goals. A Baby Nurse is not an RN or an LPN. Baby Nurses have experience with infants and advertise themselves as baby nurses. This was common practice in other countries and then brought to the U.S. A P

What Were the Protocols a Doula Followed During Covid As Doula's we always practice good hygiene i.e. extra handwashing, etc., but at the peak of Covid, a lot of extra safety measures were put into place. Whether I was working through another company, another Doula or for myself, I always made sure to wear an N95 mask at all times, minus sleeping (and even sometimes then, depending on my client's level of comfortability). I was also diligent with making sure I was up to date

There are a lot of components to Postpartum Care. One of the main things is guiding new parents in the kind of newborn care they would like to provide for their new baby by teaching them about different parenting philosophies and where they might align based on their family values. As we are teaching new parents a plethora of new things, we as doulas also need to be attuned to all different personalities and emotions that come along in the postpartum time period and tailor

When working with clients or even consulting with protentional clients, it's important to explore their expectations in feeding their baby. To do this, I like to help them formulate a plan by setting some long term and short-term goals. To flesh this out a bit, I like to start with what the needs might be of the parents first in order to create a level of sustainability in feeding methods. For example, starting with how the birth went, if a c-section happened, if the baby was

Diaper rash is no fun for baby's or their parents! To prevent diaper rash from happening, make sure to change baby promptly and not stay in a soiled diaper too long. Be very gentle when wiping to not irritate the skin. Instead of your standard diaper wipe, use "wet wipes" to avoid the alcohol that's in most diaper wipes, further irritating a rash. I like A & D ointment to add in as preventative care but am not a fan once a rash is already present. Once a rash is already prese

A postpartum doula is a person who is trained in supporting new families through the transition into life with a new baby. They are beneficial in helping through the rough spots of new parenthood i.e. sleep, breastfeeding, etc. A postpartum doula's ability can help in building confidence and easing stress levels for new parents. Every family's needs are different, so a doula can be hired for as little as one day or up to a year. You can choose daytime shifts, nighttime shif

When thinking about leaving the hospital or your birthing center with your new baby, what's the first must have item you will need? A car seat! Car seats can be pricey, so if you're having a baby shower ahead of your birth, be sure to register for one. Also, there are different locations for each county where you can make an appointment, have your car seat professionally installed, and they can also show you how to do it yourself and practice and repeat as many times as you n

The Golden Hour is the first hour after birth when mother and baby have skin to skin contact. This is a special and magical time because the baby is content and just wanting to nurse. While the baby stays warm and cozy on its mother, its heart rate, breathing and blood sugar are all stabilizing. The Golden Hour is important because it is the time the baby learns to nurse but also bonds with its mother while acclimating to the world outside of the womb and simultaneously de

There are 3 different kinds of healthcare providers you can choose to care for your new baby. The most commonly used is a pediatrician- a doctor who specializes in infants and children, many of whom will care for the child until the age of 18. There is also a Family Practice Doctor who as you probably already guessed, cares for the whole family. Once these doctors have completed medical school, they spend 3 more years in residence in the specialty of family practice which als

In the early days of bathing your baby, you will be doing sponge bathes until the umbilical cord falls out and then you can move on to submersion baths. I like to think of sponge bathes as less is more- after all, the baby (s) are not outside running around and getting dirty! So, to do a sponge bath, I take a baby washcloth, run it under warm water, squeeze out excess water and then wipe down from head to toe. A submersion bath is a little bit more involved, so I like to ma