I get this question a lot and decided to share some information.  There are many differences between a night nurse, a baby nurse, night nanny, newborn care specialist, and a postpartum doula.  First you should know that night nurses don’t generally hold a nursing license. Though they are referred to by the term, they haven’t actually been through nursing school and typically aren’t actually registered nurses. It was explained to be that in this case “nursing” is meant like “taking care of” not a medical nurse.  You should also know that a postpartum doula is not the same thing ..read more

First things first, The After Baby Postpartum Doula Services LLC doesn’t offer placenta encapsulation.  The American Pregnancy Association shares that, “P lacental encapsulation is the practice of ingesting the placenta after it has been steamed, dehydrated, ground, and placed into pills.”  Since some of our clients have questions about it I wanted to share some information that may help you decide if it is right for you. Many women choose to take advantage of placenta encapsulation services. It’s a growing trend with significantly high customer satisfaction anecdotes. As a postpar ..read more

I’m often asked for resources about vitamin D for breastfeeding babies.  Since I’m a postpartum doula, I don’t give medical advice, but I do pass along resources and encourage my clients to discuss them with their pediatrician.   A few years ago a study came out about maternal versus infant supplement of vitamin D which concludes, “Maternal vitamin D supplementation with 6400 IU/day safely supplies breast milk with adequate vitamin D to satisfy her nursing infant’s requirement and offers an alternate strategy to direct infant supplementation.”  That was great news for my client ..read more

As a postpartum doula, I’m here to help you communicate with the newborn you love. Hair tourniquet syndrome is almost certainly not going to happen to your child, but if it does, your baby will suffer less if you are aware of this condition. It happens when a single strand of hair gets wrapped around an appendage like your baby’s toe and blocks the blood flow. It can also happen to fingers and genitalia. Scientists believe that it happens specifically when moist hair ends up wrapped around a digit. As the hair dries out, it shrinks and causes strangulation of the encircled toe, finger, or oth ..read more

I’ve been teaching about caring for newborn babies at Babies R Us for more than four years! Both at their Sterling Heights, and Auburn Hills locations.  In that time, I’ve seen expecting parents become more and more savvy about caring for their little ones, and I’m asked really great questions every month!  One of the concepts that I’ve always taught has become more mainstream – it’s skin to skin time between parents and their babies (also known as Kangaroo Care).    Skin to skin time is one of, if not the most powerful way to lower a newborn’s stress levels and increase b ..read more

New parents often wonder, “Is this ‘normal’?” As a postpartum doula, I love to help normalize all the strange, and wonderful behaviors that your newborn may exhibit.  A few common questions I get are, “Is it normal for my baby to be noisy when they sleep?  My baby looks away when I talk to him/her, is that normal?  My baby cries a lot, or a little, is that normal?”  Normalizing this new experience of parenting is a powerful part of my support as a postpartum doula.  I believe all babies are “good babies” no matter how much they sleep or cry.  I also believe that ..read more

One of the most frequent questions I get about working as a postpartum doula is “What IS a Postpartum Doula?” Many people associate the term “postpartum” with postpartum depression.  I’ve even heard the two terms used interchangeably as in, “I have postpartum.”  The actual meaning of the term “postpartum” is the time after a woman has a baby.  It’s a time period.  Experts disagree on exactly how long that time period lasts. The first three to four months is my area of expertise.  Not only am I an expert caring for and teaching about new babies, I am also trained and c ..read more

The early days of parenting are intense.  I love the word intense because in using one word you can include the wonderful, amazing, overwhelming experience of having a new baby at home.  Often, as our friends and family adjust to our new role, they want to offer us advice and information.  This advice may fall short of being helpful because we are all unique individuals.  Let’s use the topic of sleep as an example.  This is a top concern for expecting parents.  I understand.  I felt the same way when I was expecting my first baby!  It felt like everyone ..read more

Happy New Year!  One of my recent clients gave me a wonderful Christmas gift, a testimonial!  I don’t know if there is anything better than hearing from someone you’ve worked with and having them say beautiful things about the time you spent together.  Even her husband shared his thoughts!   He said that hiring a postpartum doula and a wedding planner is similar.  We both try to decrease your stress, and increase your enjoyment!  Great analogy! I love to share what my clients say about working with me.  Since not everyone is familiar with working with a ..read more

Baby Gear New Parents I’ve Worked with Love! I see so many new products every year in my work with new families as a postpartum doula.  Some of these are favorites of mine as well, others were new to me but I can see why my client’s love them.  Bamboobies – Soft, and re-usable Bamboobies breast pads where a favorite for many of my clients.  Brooklyn Bamboo Swaddle Blankets – There are lots of wonderful swaddle blankets on the market today but these are a consistent favorite!  The designs are fun and gender neutral.  The bamboo fabric is delicate and soft.  I’ve ..read more