Dads Love Doulas

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

While reading through some testimonials from clients I wanted to share how moms and dads felt I was able to help their birth experience. Most of these are from doula clients, though some are from photo or childbirth class clients as well:

"My husband was especially encouraged because he knew that she could be counted on for advice and assistance while I was in labor."

Inanna birth doula"I am SO happy that (my husband) was able to just focus on the birth instead of trying to capture it, what a wonderful gift that was!"

"Both of us feel more prepared and excited for the arrival of our baby girl. I especially liked practicing the coping strategies and labor positions. (My husband) also liked going over the labor positions as it made him feel more prepared for the big day."

"She was always there for me and my husband. She made us feel so calm about everything. At the birth she was such a great support. I especially loved how much she truly cared it was like she was my own family member."

"She is very attentive to every family member’s needs. Her wealth of knowledge is deep. We highly recommend Heidi.”

"Her presence was extremely calming to me throughout – she has such an encouraging demeanor. She was constantly my advocate, doing everything within her power to make me as comfortable as possible. My husband greatly appreciated her as well – her presence freed him up to focus completely on me while Heidi took care of other details"

“My wife and I feel so incredibly blessed to have found Heidi. She was an invaluable source of comfort and inspiration to us throughout the pregnancy and birth. We highly recommend her!”

So if you're a father concerned about whether a doula will be an intrusion into your experience, I hope these words will provide reassurance to you! My goal is to always support the father in supporting the mother. YOU know her best, and you are the best advocate for her needs. As your doula I'm there to help ease the concerns and make the day go more smoothly for you both. Any questions? Please shoot me an email and we can talk further. I can be reached at heidi@thadenpierce.org. Thank you!

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Sweet, Sweet Baby!

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

A quick peak at a newborn being weighed during our Birth Stories 101 workshop:

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Sidelines Support – Nancy Veeneman

Posted on November 3, 2012 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

Eight years ago this month my pregnancy developed complications and I was put on bedrest. While searching for information online I found out about the website Sidelines.org - an organization providing volunteer support for moms in situations like mine. I was matched with a buddy who had been through a pregnancy with similar complications. Her emails and insights and encouragement were crucial in helping me survive the next scary three months of bedrest, then our son's premature arrival and the four months he was in the NICU. When he finally came home and I shared his birth announcement with her she cried with joy like we did! I will be forever grateful for her care.

In our next pregnancy things went more smoothly but we were very, very anxious and being watched closely. Sidelines matched me with not just one but two volunteer buddies, one who had experienced pregnancy after a micro-preemie arrival and another who had VBAC'ed after a preemie arrival. They were wonderful!! As a way to express my gratitude for the selfless service of these amazing women I became a Sidelines volunteer as well, and I'm able to now support other moms through challenging pregnancies.

I believe strongly in this organization's mission so I spoke with my director about sharing a bit more about them on my site. If you know anyone needing some extra support through high risk pregnancy then please let them know about Sidelines. I've supported moms as far away as Turkey and cheered and cried when I received a birth announcement for their little one.

Sidelines has been serving women and their families experiencing a high-risk, complicated pregnancy or premature birth since 1991. It was founded on the basis of one-to-one peer support, and has expanded to providing psychosocial support through e-mail, phone, social media, and web site. The web site contains tons of extra information and printables at the top of the resources page. You can also order a copy of Left Side Lines magazine through the web site. Studies have shown that peer support can help extend a high-risk pregnancy by reducing stress and encouraging the mom as the most important member of her healthcare team.

Nancy Veeneman is the Operations Director for Sidelines.
Their toll free number is 1-888-447-4754.
The web site is: www.sidelines.org.
Their Facebook page is: here.
The Pinterest page is: http://pinterest.com/sidelines/
They are also on Twitter @sidelinesmoms

The photos above are of me on bedrest 24 days before our preemie arrived, and our preemie in the NICU. While in our situation the high risk pregnancy did end early, I've been fortunate to also support moms experiencing a high risk birth who delivered at term. Whatever the cause of the bed rest and high risk concerns, Sidelines can help!

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Busy, Busy!

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

I know it's been quiet here on my blog, and here are a few of the reasons why!

* DFW Doulas is a page I created with short bios and links to the websites for an amazing group of women. Each of us is a certified doula serving in the DFW area and we are available as back ups for each other, but if I'm already booked for your birth this is also the group of women I would happily refer you to as a potential doula. Check it out, explore their sites, and let me know what you think! I'm thrilled to have that page up, as until this point when I was telling clients about my back ups or referring on clients I couldn't take I had to copy and paste individual websites into an email. Ta-dah, all in one spot! This are women I know, trust, and would gladly welcome into my own birth space. I feel absolutely confident using them as my back ups, and in fact I feel quite honored! They are brilliant, inspired, and experienced. I learn from each of them with every interaction we have.

* This weekend I will be attending the Birth Stories 101 workshop! I'm thrilled and eager to learn all I possibly can, and I know my birth photography will grow in leaps and bounds from this experience.

* I'm now on staff as a birth assistant at Inanna Birth & Women's Center and I've had four births in the last couple weeks! My training is mostly complete and it has been a fantastic learning opportunity for me. But it also means I'm juggling all sorts of schedule changes and that always takes some adjustment time. It's also a very different role to be the midwife's assistant and providing medical care vs. being the doula and offering the emotional and physical support. I love both roles!

* The childbirth group class is keeping me busy each week, and reminding me how much I love teaching. I've been offering the private class this fall, but coming in January I will be switching to a small group/semi-private (what exactly does that mean??) class with details here. For doula clients I can combine our prenatal visits with the childbirth class as scheduling permits, but because of scheduling I am not currently offering the small group childbirth classes. Those may return at a future date!

I love it, I feel blessed and busy! As I work to handle these new responsibilities I will be less active here, but hope you will find prior posts to still be helpful and informative.

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Yoga and Birth go Hand in Hand – Shannon Josephson

Posted on October 20, 2012 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

Shannon and I trained with the same doula certification program, and we also shared the same doula! We met last year and I've enjoyed so much getting to know and learning from her. In addition to being a doula and birth photographer, Shannon is also yoga instructor here in the DFW area. She was kind enough to share more about how yoga can benefit moms during pregnancy and birth, something I can testify of first hand! Whether you participate in a prenatal yoga class or find some DVDs for learning at home, consider including yoga in your pregnancy prep. Your body will thank you for it!

I loved yoga before I got pregnant and didn’t realize how much it helped me through my labor and delivery until I completed my 200 hour teacher training 2 years after having my son. Now I tell anyone who will listen about the awesome benefits yoga can have for your labor and delivery!

On the most basic level yoga can help a mother get in touch with her breath. Learning to control your breath, or Pranayama, is vital for labor. When we get excited and start exerting energy our breathing tends to become short and shallow, making our muscles work inefficiently. By being able to control your breathing a mother can train her body, using her breath, to actually relax in a time of stress instead of tensing up. By being able to keep the breath calm a mother can control her heart rate better and avoid releasing stress hormones into the bloodstream that work against her during her labor.

When a mother is allowed to labor freely and move around she tends to place herself in various yoga positions that feel good naturally. Lunges, cat position, half downward facing dog, and child’s pose are all positions that seem to come naturally to a laboring mother. These and many other poses can be used to prepare for labor as well. They open and rotate the hips to allow the baby to get ready to pass through.

Yoga is all about mind, breath, and body control. As a doula I use these same ideas to help guide a mother calmly through her labor. A mother must mentally and physically be willing to open and breathe and allow her body to be a willing vessel for the delivery of her baby.

To be able to combine my love for birth with yoga is such a dream come true. To be able to share it with others is a most amazing blessing. Namaste.

Shannon Josephson
Happy Birth Happy Baby

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Surprise – A New Job!

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

It's a pretty amusing story, but the punchline is that I'm now a midwife's assistant, or "birth assistant" at the local birth center! This photo is me (very excited) after the first birth I attended as the birth assistant, which happened to me with MY midwife. I've already attended another birth since with one of the other CNMs working there, two births in less than 48 hours. It's a good thing I live so close, as I got the call that things were going VERY fast and I was out the door in 9 minutes, to the birth center within 7 minutes, and the baby arrived just 9 minutes after that. Hopefully next time I'll have a bit more warning time!

As a birth assistant I am providing support to and am trained by the midwives, as well as certified with CPR and NRP (both of which I did last year only for my own knowledge - not anticipating needing them in this capacity!) Thankfully I've attended over a dozen births at this center already so training went quickly in that regard. I still will be practicing all I can with the hands on care!

I've been asked so to clarify the two roles - I will be a doula OR the birth assistant at a birth, not both. Parents can hire me as a doula, as a birth assistant I work for the birth center. If I have a doula client go into labor while I'm on call as a birth assistant I have back up arrangements both directions - other birth assistants I can call in (my first choice) or if they are all unavailable (unlikely) then I also have back up doulas I can call in to provide care while I'm providing support to the midwife. As the birth assistant I work 12 or 24 hour shifts when I'm on call for any moms coming in to labor, and I can specify when I am not available. As the doula I'm on call 24/7 from 38 to 42 weeks for individual moms.

Each role - doula and birth assistant - are very important and each needs the undivided attention of someone so I will be ensuring I've got good back up for that unlikely scenario of my doula client laboring while I'm on shift as the birth assistant. And as a doula I still do not provide ANY medical care, I am strictly there for emotional and physical support. As a birth assistant I wear gloves and scrubs and have a stethoscope, as a doula I am in my regular clothes without gloves and I am not providing any type of medical support but giving lots of hands on care and verbal encouragement.

I'm booked with doula/photo clients from now through the first of April with one opening mid January. Because of my commitments with childbirth classes and this new role as a birth assistant I will be limiting the number of clients I take as a doula and birth photographer. If you are interested in having me attend your birth then get in touch with me asap! 🙂 I have a fantastic group of doulas I use as back up and refer to so if I'm unable to attend your birth I can still help you find the right doula for you.

Busy and feeling blessed!

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iBirth App is now FREE!

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

So go get it!!

Update: It is now $3.99 again, but a great deal still!

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Pumpkins on the Square and Pumpkin Bread

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

This morning we gathered on the Square and had a lovely time eating goodies, getting photos of adorable babies, and visiting with friends. We even had some surprise guests - one of our midwives and birth assistants came by to see some of the babies they helped welcome into the world! I brought some pumpkin bread and was asked about six times if I would share the recipe. Here it is!

This makes 2 dozen muffins or 2 loaves of bread (or half/half) so the amounts look like a lot and that’s why. We don’t split it but I’m sure you could.

Freezer Muffins/Bread
3 c flour (can do some wheat, add wheat germ, etc)
1 t salt
1 T cinnamon (or pumpkin spice if doing apple or pumpkin)
1/2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda

Mix in large bowl. In another bowl combine:
2 eggs OR 2 T ground flaxseed & 1/2 cup water, mixed and set aside for a few moments
1 c oil (can do half apple sauce)
2 c sugar (We do 1 1/2 cups but could do less. Also could try half sugar/half honey?)
2 c “mix” (see below)
1 T vanilla (or half vanilla, half almond, half orange extract, etc)
1 c nuts (optional)
1/2 cup oats (optional addition, may need more moisture if you add oats)

Mix wet and dry, bake as 2 loaves at 325 degrees for 1 hour or bake as 2 dozen muffins at 375 for 15 minutes.

“Mix” can be:
apples (diced or grated) or applesauce
bananas
blueberries
carrots grated
coconut
orange or lemon juice (1/2 cup)
peaches
pears
pineapple
pumpkin (I do 1 cup pumpkin & 1 cup applesauce)
raisins or craisins (I do only 1 cup)
zuchini grated

You get the idea! I also served mine today with an oat streusel topping - combine 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup oats, pinch of salt and big dash of cinnamon. Stir together and mix in 1 to 2 T coconut oil (melted) until crumbly, then sprinkle over the top of the muffin/breads. You can also add some diced nuts for extra crunch!

Wrap muffins in sets of two or loaf in plastic wrap then in foil, stores well in freezer. Defrost in fridge. Makes great easy breakfasts or fast snacks. Can also be used for mini-muffins.

Every combination we do of these turns out a bit different with moisture, rise, etc. It’s a big experiment but always yummy. If you are planning to freeze them then you may want to do full oil – the applesauce/oil ones are drier and seem to not freeze and defrost as well. Enjoy!

Oh - for those who came to the September park date, this is the same recipe I used for the apple spice muffins.

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Chiropractic Care – Dr. Kristi Corder

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

Dr. Kristi Corder received her Doctor of Chiropractic from Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas, TX in 2003. She's a fellow of the International Chiropractic Pediatrics Association and is also certified in the Webster Technique for Pregnancy, which assists with breech presentation.

"Chiropractic care is just as essential during a woman's pregnancy as going to prenatal appointments. The biomechanics of the body change drastically and quickly during pregnancy. This change causes laxity in the ligaments (which can lead to things like sciatica, low back, or hip pn), a change in a woman's center of gravity (which can lead to clumsiness or increased tension in the low back, neck and shoulders), difficulty sleeping, and general discomfort throughout the body. Getting adjusted by a trained prenatal chiropractor during pregnancy can minimize or eliminate many of the common complaints women experience during their pregnancy."

Learn more about chiropractic care in pregnancy here. Dr. Kristi's site also includes articles on changes to your body during pregnancy and posture tips for pregnancy.

I met Dr. Kristi when experiencing some discomforts in my sixth pregnancy. While I had seen a chiropractor after two of my births because of some hip pain, I hadn't made the time during pregnancy to be seen. After one visit with Dr. Kristi I realized what a HUGE mistake it had been to not seek chiropractic care in each of my pregnancies. Not only did she provide treatment which gave me immediate relief from some of the aches and pains in my pelvis and joints, but she helped ease my round ligament pain as well. Kristi offered me positioning tips and exercises to do at home and demonstrated some ways my husband could help ease my discomforts. I am so thankful that I saw her and would highly encourage EVERY expectant mom to get in and see for themselves how much it can help. Her website is www.family1stchiro.net.

Posted in Birth, Community Resources, Guest Post, Pregnancy | 1 Comment

Testimonials | Denton Birth Photography

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

Inanna birth Denton doula photography

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