Your Baby’s First Bath
Helping parents gain confidence with tub baths for their newborns is frequently part of my job as a postpartum doula. Once the umbilical cord stump has fallen off, you can switch from sponge bathing your baby to immersive baths. These often become lovely bonding times for parents and babies. There are many ways to go…
The Whys & Hows of Postpartum Herbal Baths
Benefits of postpartum herbal baths Postpartum herbal baths can be both physically and emotionally helpful. I have had clients tell me—sounding sort of amazed—how much physical relief from postpartum tenderness and pain they felt after taking tub or sitz herbal baths. The herbs help with healing, soothing, and preventing infection. A postpartum bath is also…
Baby Sleep Basics: Newborn Sleep
Sleep: yours, your partner’s, the baby’s….where do we begin? Society would have us focus on the babies and the correct way to “train” them to sleep well. But wading through the conflicting information (which all seems to be supported by research) in your state of exhaustion only adds to the confusion. That’s why this rant about…
Helping Children Adjust To A New Sibling
Having siblings is wonderful and a special relationship like no other. Of course parents want to support close and caring relationships between our children. You can see from the excitement and adoration many children show when a new child arrives, that great love and closeness are possible and natural. At the same time, having a…
4 Playful Tools to Reduce Sibling Rivalry
If your family is stressed by sibling rivalry, there is hope! Games which bring siblings together as a team to defeat their parents (all in good fun) are good for sibling relationships! You play the role of the less smart and capable, less powerful one, the one the kids can laugh at together and team up…
3 Things Children Need Us To Know When They Hit Or Bite
1. Children Who Hit or Bite Have Lost Their Sense of Connection After young children pass through the stage of hitting experimentally, which is a stage that passes early on, if they show aggressive behavior, they need your help. It might not be obvious from the outside, but when children hit or bite others, they…
The Gift Of Special Time
“Special Time” is one of the listening tools that I teach to parents. I have used it myself as a parent for over 15 years, and it has been a gift to everyone in our family. It helps us recover from our rough patches and makes the good times even sweeter. So, in the spirit of…
10 Tips For When Your Gentle Parenting Is Going Out The Window
As parents, we’ve all been there, or we will be someday. Our busy lives create lots of pressure. It’s awful when the patience, perspective, mindfulness — or whatever we have been working to sustain or cultivate — just slips away from us. It may feel like everything is fine until, suddenly, it’s not. Or, we…
Finding Holiday Balance
Dear Parents, I’m thinking of you as Thanksgiving approaches! For many of us, pressures are mounting as we add more to our busy schedules. Family visits, even when happily anticipated, bring added stresses and tensions. It can be hard to make the decisions that are right for you and your family! Pressure to have holidays…
A Review of Listen: Five Simple Tools To Meet Your Everyday Parenting Challenges
Reading the new book Listen: Five Simple Tools To Meet Your Everyday Parenting Challenges is a little like visiting an amazingly caring, honest and helpful parents’ group. Hearing the stories of other parents, readers will feel less alone with their parenting struggles. Parents will also feel deeply understood by authors Patty Wipfler and Tosha…
Beyond Baby Boot Camp: Five Essential Tips For New Dads
Dads are so great. You play, you provide, you nurture, you support. Often, dads find that they love their children more than they ever thought it was possible to love. And yet, I think it’s safe to say that most new fathers are in for a shock. No matter how ready you try to…
When Birth Doesn’t Go As Hoped
A woman’s experience giving birth will stay with her for the rest of her life. I haven’t met many women who’ve had enough opportunities to talk about and process their birth experiences. When a woman feels disappointed or traumatized by her birth, then the need to process the experience on her own terms is often stymied by…