Happiest Baby Bag

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

(Cutie patootie in front of some of my supplies!)

I wrote about my birth doula bag and my postpartum doula bag and big sibling bag and now I'm writing about my Happiest Baby bag! Though I'll be bringing a few bags to each visit, I'm sure, as there is so much overlap.

- Binder with class outline and forms.
- Folders with handouts.
- Happiest Baby DVD and Super Soothing Sleep Sounds CD (for parents)
- various swaddling blankets
- various baby carriers
- various nursing pillows
- iPod (not shown) with soundtrack on it for lesson
- yoga ball (not shown) to demonstrate rocking baby

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Certified Happiest Baby Educator!!

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

I'm official!!

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World Infant Mortality Rates

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

America is currently 34 - we've been dropping.

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Natural Childbirth Movie

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

We just watched It's My Body, My Baby, My Birth which is a short film discussing natural childbirth (in homes and hospitals) with seven families. I thought it was well done and would be great for partners especially that may have questions about natural birth. I was interested to see how much the children loved watching it, though I am raising kids that are fascinated by all things birth related. 🙂 There were water and landbirths, one VBAC, some first time moms, and lots of neat stories.

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Mothering the New Mother

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

"While we call a woman a mother as soon as she has a child, it will be some time before she herself begins to feel like a mother..." - Andrea Boroff Eagan

Another great quote from Mothering the New Mother: Women's Feelings & Needs After Childbirth: A Support and Resource Guide:

Basically, your needs as a new mother would seem simple to define: rest so you can heal; gentle education and reassurance as you gain confidence in your mothering skills; nourishing food and drink for yourself; a relinquishing of practical chores to someone else so you can withdraw into yourself and your baby; knowledge about what is going on with your body and spirit; some realistic images and guideposts about the range of feelings other women have experienced postpartum; a place to "debrief" and talk about the birth itself and your emotions; and most especially, some mothering for yourself, so you can feel protected and honored and continually replenished at a time when many women say they feel as if they are forgotten, peripheral, or "running on empty."

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made through affiliate links.  This does not impact your purchase price, and helps support this website.

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Your Amazing Newborn

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

I thought this book was fascinating, and here are some quotes I loved:

Many people misunderstand the process of bonding and give too literal a meaning to the word bonding, as though it were a mechanical process - the "epoxy model." Attachment to their infant occurs at different times for different people. For many parents, it happens during the first moments or a day or two after birth; for others, it does not occur until they are hoe from the hospital and taking care of their infant for the first time alone.

More on bonding:
"When a father is asked to play with his infant in the first hours and to establish eye-to-eye contact with the baby, he spends considerably more time with teh baby in the first three months of life than do fathers who don't have this experience."

A Mayan Indian saying:
In the baby lies the future of the world. The mother must hold him close so he will know the world is his. The father must take him to the highest hill so he can see what his world is like.

This book was part of my certification program to become a Happiest Baby Educator and I found it to be really, really interesting. I loved the details about various studies being done with newborns and their ability to recognize and respond to their caregivers. Incredible!

(And with that, I am now DONE with my Happiest Baby program, my exam and paperwork are in the envelope to mail and I just wait on the results to become official!!!)

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Newborn vs. Four Month Old

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

As part of The Happiest Baby program we discuss with parents the contrast between the newborn we imagine and a REAL newborn. Many people, not having experienced much hands on care with a baby, have the image of a newborn that's more like a four month old. That "fourth trimester" (the first three months of life) makes an enormous difference in development! It can be startling for a parent to receive a small, rather floppy, unsmiling & swollen faced baby lump:

(One hour old)

(Five days old)

Versus a baby that's chubby, can hold their own head upright and even sit with assistance, who smiles at everyone, and is a roly poly darling at four months of age:

(I think this one's plotting!)

For those of us that are parents already, we've gone through this adjustment of expectations vs. reality. We may forget that for many new parents, the newborn can be quite a shock when we discover how helpless they arrive. It's interesting to see that contrast in photos, and to remember what a startling and rapid development they experience in their fourth trimester of development!

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Tiara Time!

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

The last night of the childbirth class they shared the story of Inanna and each mom got a tiara. I asked where they found them and today ran to pick some up for my doula bag. Because every mom deserves a tiara. 🙂

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Postpartum Depression in DADS!

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

I suspected this but it was interesting to have it confirmed:

While it's been widely known that some mothers suffer from postpartum depression, a series of studies over the years have suggested that new fathers may become depressed after childbirth, too.

Now an analysis of 43 earlier studies validates the fathers' experiences with statistics. About 10 percent of men whose partners are having babies suffer depression during the time period ranging from three months before the baby is born through the baby's first birthday. That's twice the usual rate of depression in men, and it's in the same range as postpartum depression in women.

NPR has a clip and article about it.

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POSTPARTUM Doula & Happiest Baby Services!

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Heidi Thaden-Pierce

While the idea of certifying as a postpartum doula was in the back of my mind, it was just this weekend that I decided to look further into the program. After much discussion and talking with my program director and Kit, I have enrolled in the certification program and I am now a postpartum doula in training!

Because postpartum doulas work with mothers after the birth, the scheduling is obviously much more flexible and there's not really an "on call" time period. You do need to keep your schedule open around the time they are due so you're available right after, but then you coordinate with the parents to determine when you are needed. Postpartum doulas are there to mother the mother, helping with a variety of things: recovering from the birth, breastfeeding support, preparing snacks or light meals for mom, holding baby so mom can nap, demonstrating infant massage, teaching how to use different types of baby carriers or slings, swaddling, etc, etc, etc!

The postpartum doula's goal is to help ease the new parents' transition, supporting their privacy and protecting bonding time, encouraging them to sleep when they can, eat well, and overall helping to relieve some of the stress of this enormous life change!

While certifying I will be provided my services at a discounted rate, as I need to obtain a certain number of hours to complete my program. Because I am waiting until later this year to take more birth clients, I will actually be certifying as a postpartum doula first! I will be available for a minimum of two hours per visit, though I highly recommend three to four hours. This gives mom time to eat something, shower or soak in the bathe, discuss any breastfeeding or newborn care needs, and get a nap! I will be primarily available for daytime & evening services, though I will offer limited night time hours at a different rate.

In addition to certifying as a birth doula I have begun the training to become a Certified Happiest Baby Educator! While I will incorporate aspects of the class into my postpartum visits, parents can choose to have me come into their home and teach the two hour class before or after their baby arrives. They will also receive their own copy of The Happiest Baby DVD and bedtime CD. I will offer the class as a separate visit or it can be added onto either my birth or postpartum doula services.

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