StoryBabe Doula

Much love to all my babies and families!

I have some due dates available this winter and spring! Let me know if you’ve ever wondered what birth support can actually look like. Free first consultation!
-
-

The girls won this fall, but they were all just the sweetest! So thankful for these families that trust me to walk with them through this life changing time in their lives. I’m forever humbled by the strength of moms, the love and tenderness of dads, and the miracle of birth!
-
-

In-hospital labor tip. When it’s time for mom to rest, or better yet sleep, turn lights down, and turn on calming diffuser and sound machine. Here’s the big tip- if mom is facing the monitors cover them up and turn them away so her brain isn’t tempted to watch and keep track of the information. Less screen watching makes for better rest!
-
-

Let me know! 🎃🍂❄️☃️
-
-

It was a summer full of the sweetest baby girls 🌸☀️🌸☀️

-
-

❤ BIRTH FACT ❤
Newborn term babies that go through an uncomplicated birth into an environment that is dark, quiet and calm will initially go through the Quiet Alert State.

This state of alertness will usually last for the first hour after birth as the baby is calm, awake, alert and taking in his surroundings.

All of his attention and energy is focused on seeing and hearing everything around him, especially his mother’s and father’s voice and faces.

This is the perfect time to bond with your newborn. It is the perfect time to cuddle and speak to your baby. Holding your baby's face close to yours will allow him to see you and study your face.

This is a time not to miss or to waste with “hospital routine”. That can wait. This is a precious time to be together uninterrupted.

If the newborn remains close to his mother during this first hour, the Quiet Alert State can last even longer. ❤

Photo courtesy of 📸

So excited about this option!

In case you missed it on Instagram, we have some exciting news to share!!

The news you’ve been waiting for!!!
🥁🥁🥁Here we grow again!🥁🥁🥁We’re headed south! Introducing Midlothian Midwifery! Families of Midlothian, we are coming for you! We are SO excited to *finally* announce that our owner is moving to Midlothian and opening a practice there! She will still catch babies at and have one clinic day a week with us but her primary practice will be in Midlothian, providing home birth and birth center births! More details and photos of the new, lovely, Victorian era home-based office to come! Go give a follow!

Me after supporting a 37 hour birth with 7.5 hrs of that pushing. Yep, you read that right. I have so many thoughts and emotions following this birth. For anyone that doubts the strength, determination, and wisdom of women (especially young ones as this mom is 22), I’d love for you to meet my client. She labored for 30 hours and pushed for 7.5 with a posterior baby and pitocin, and NO PAIN MEDS.

I’m not going to give many more details because it’s not my story to tell, but a few words on this hospital and providers here. I was hesitant when she said her hospital was Baylor Irving. L&D at this hospital does not have birth balls, peanut balls, birth stools, and her room didn’t have a tub. All strikes in my book. The on-call doc, who thankfully was only with us for about 45 minutes after shift change, was fu***ng ridiculous. *Sorry to my parents for the language 😬 He did about 6 things, that I can remember, without her consent or even letting her know he was doing them. When I saw what was about to happen I tried explaining to mom what was going on, but he worked quickly. ***Moms, I give my strongest recommendation DO NOT USE DR. O’NEIL with MacArthur OBGYN in Irving.

The stars of this hospital, if you must birth here, we’re nurses Carley (didn’t get last name), Gina Merrill, Jill Meyer, and Midwife Martha. I would happily work with any of them again. I’m so thankful for their patience with the birth process, for their belief in my client’s ability to do this extremely hard thing, for their endless encouragement, care, and kindness to me and my client, and for their openness to work with me and my suggestions to get this mom the birth she wanted. I’m not just the normal amount of thankful, this one goes beyond. We absolutely could not have done it without them.

So, conclusion to this birth novella. I love this job, it pushes me physically, mentally, and emotionally to places I didn’t know was possible, women turning into moms for the first (or second, third, etc) time is one of the most beautiful things to witness, I will forever be surprised by the mystery of birth, and DO NOT USE DR. O’NEIL as your OB.

Mom is sleeping under her cozy blanket, lying on her side with knees propped wide open, still contracting, and hoping to get through early labor soon.

I’m watching, waiting, and witnessing this miracle unfold yet again. This is a young mom who has already shown tremendous strength, control, and wisdom. I can’t wait to see how the rest of this happens. Baby girl coming soon!

Please read this about your milk supply!

Do you know a common reason parents quit breastfeeding? It's not what you think.

It's perceived low milk supply. Perceived. Not actual. And who can blame them? Stores sell 9oz bottles. Social media bombards us with ads for fancy drinks and cookies with pictures of happy moms and overflowing bottles of milk.

But we're here to tell you the real story. Your body is only supposed to produce an ounce of milk an hour. And that's both sides combined. After 4 weeks, your baby will take 20-30oz of milk for their first year. You never have to increase your supply again. The content of the milk changes over time, but the volume doesn't.

Milk has a circadian rhythm, meaning different amounts get made at different times of day. It's normal to pump much more in the morning than in the afternoon. That doesn't mean there's something wrong.

When you leave a bottle for your baby, leave 1-1.25oz/hr you'll be gone. Small, frequent bottles help keep your baby's expectations realistic. If they're getting two 5oz bottles in 8hrs, they're still getting 1.25oz/hr, but do you only nurse your baby twice in 8hrs? They'll start to expect large volumes from you, which can make them impatient or fussy. Some babies refuse to nurse and will only take bottles. Keeping the bottles realistic and having a clear understanding of a healthy milk supply will help you meet your feeding goals.

Save this so you can remember how much to leave in bottles, and to remind yourself you're doing a great job making milk!

StoryBabe clients, each of you are so very special to me. I’d love it if you could leave me a Google review to help me reach and support more families. Much love to all of you!!! 💗💙💗💙
https://g.page/r/CQIdESSy7U-0EAI/review
This is meant for clients. If you’re one of my clients, see my story today for a link to leave me a review under Great Expectations. Thanks!

June moms, where are you at?!?! Also, after June I’m full until October for births. It’s going to be a busy summer! ☀️🌻🕶
-
-

There’s just something about supporting birth in the spring. It seems like moms are joining in with the rest of creation in bringing new life and beauty into the world. Love it!
-
-

This is my forever midwife (although I don’t think we’ll be using her professional services anymore 😉). She wrote this beautiful and very real post looking at the life of a midwife.

Yesterday was International Day of the Midwife. I didn’t post yesterday because I was at a first time mom’s home birth with three other great midwives- Frisco Birth Center (Margie Vaughn Wallis), Barefoot Midwifery, and Neta Tzivoni. What a great way to spend that special day- witnessing the calm, steady, strong, knowledgeable hands and words of women practicing an ancient art. It’s a privilege to work with the midwives of DFW!

My thoughts on the International Day of the Midwife:

Being a midwife has given me everything
And cost me everything

Being a midwife gives me euphoric highs
And Valley of the Shadow of Death lows

Being a midwife gave some of my most amazing relationships
And striped away countless others

Being a midwife is both
Energizing and draining
Fulfilling and frustrating
Fast and Furious
and a Slow Dance
I jump tall buildings to get to you
I Walk a Tightrope with you
I carry you out of burning buildings
I talk you off the ledge
I win Ocsars and then hand them over to you

My kids are proud of me
And also in therapy
My friends love me
But know they can’t depend on me

My life is lived
In 10 month segments
That start with a phone call
Or a text
About a line on a stick
And end when that red line
Is a healthy human, week six
My calendar has notes like
EW 37 weeks
Which means
I’m now on a leash
Until EW wakes me up one night
At 5-1-1
And I go running
And disappear for days

My phone is never off
My gas tank is never empty
Nor is my trunk
Or my back seat

I am loved
And hated
Admired
And feared
Sought out
And avoided

But at night
(Or morning
Or at 2:00 in the afternoon)
When I finally lay down
I’m satisfied
With what I did
With who I am
With how I made a difference
And I wouldn’t want to be
Any else

Because although being a midwife has cost me everything

It has also given me

Everything ❤️

During labor, we listen to babies with a , a little machine that projects the baby’s heartbeat in real-time. Studies show that intermittent fetal monitoring is just as safe as continuous monitoring during labor for low-risk birthing people. Continuous fetal monitoring doesn’t statistically improve outcomes, but it does increase the risk of having a surgical birth. ⁠
⁠
Another great thing about the doppler is that they are very easily portable (and waterproof!), so mamas have complete freedom of movement during labor and birth.⁠

📸: Carmen Bridgewater Photography - Dallas Fort Worth Birth Stories

Whew, third unmedicated birth in 4 days. Two in hospitals, one in a birth center. I cannot stress enough, if this is the kind of birth you want, how important it is to choose a provider that will support your choices and be a cheerleader for you. You are doing the hardest thing you will ever do in your life. You need your whole team believing in you, giving your body time to do what it knows to do, and helping you in ways that will get you the birth story you want. Choose your provider wisely! I can help!
-
-

Full moon baby tonight! We all arrived at at midnight and momma pushed out a 9lb 14oz baby at 12:51 am.
-
-

Where are the birth books
that talk about this work
That tell you about how you will likely spiral out
And melt down
In those final days (or weeks!)
Waiting
Wondering
Floating between worlds
Out of your mind
Unbearable in your body

This heavy, sacred work.
One moment- trusting. Breathing. Making soup for the freezer.
And then the next- screaming into the bathroom mirror
Sobbing into your hand towels
Convinced you’ll be pregnant forever
Convinced you can’t stand one more minute
Not knowing

Feeling so beyond ready.
And then wondering
Will I ever be ready?!!

This is the work
One moment- affirmations. Walks around the neighborhood. Red raspberry tea by the gallon.
And then the next- cursing the calendar, the mailman, your partner and his mother and your mother and every human who has ever given birth before you

This is the work
Double checking your due date app 8 times before breakfast and begging your body for any sign that labor is close
And then collapsing on the couch, hoping you never give birth because you can’t even find the energy to sweep the kitchen

There are no answers here.
There’s no timeline or schedule that makes sense
Time is swirling and murky
Breaking us open
Tearing apart the illusion of control we cling to so tightly
This is the work of birth
And without realizing it, you are already doing it.
You’re already in it- deep and real. And so close.

Oh man, would I love to talk with you about what doula support can look like!!! Message me to set up a time to connect!

The best little things!
-
-

New fun offering over here!
-
-

Pic 1- sometimes postpartum visits look like this while mom naps, showers, pumps in peace, eats a complete meal with both hands, finishes things on her to-do list to feel human, sits outside in the sunshine, etc.

Pic 2- sometimes you show up to a pp visit and are greeted by the bust of a wildebeest 🤷🏼‍♀️
-
-

Please, please check your formula if you have some

Recall expanded for another Similac formula due to a new Cronobacter contamination complaint Four products have now been recalled: Here's what you need to know.

Hello Everyone! I am a Deaf Doula-- serving the DFW Metroplex and surrounding areas. So many Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing mothers do not have access to the support they need, in American Sign Language, during childbirth. Often times they have to rely solely on their spouse and interpreter to communicate and receive support.

I want to reach as many Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) moms (experienced and soon-to-be) in the community as possible. My services are on a sliding scale to help those moms who need it most even when they can't afford it. Please consider liking and sharing my business page.

You never know who on your friend's list knows a Deaf or HOH pregnant mother who needs Doula Support.

THANK YOU

Photo Credit: Jump over the moon at DSAL

I mean, some of these aren't wrong. How would you rank your months?

The Nine Months of Pregnancy, Ranked from Worst to Best 9. Third month This is an easy call, because the morning sickness is full steam ahead, all day, every day, with every breath you take. The kitchen’...

"...nighttime breastmilk is a rich source of melatonin. Nighttime breastmilk contains substantial amounts of melatonin, whereas daytime levels are undetectable. This is one of the miraculous reasons that nighttime breastmilk helps babies fall (and stay) asleep."

What Happens When Your Baby Breastfeeds To Sleep - Raised Good Have you been told breastfeeding your baby to sleep is a 'bad' habit? Here are six science backed reasons nursing your baby to sleep is normal and healthy.