Doula Adriane

Curious about what goes into a postpartum planning session with me?

I offer space for families to reflect on their expectations of their postpartum time to develop a realistic and actionable plan to support healing, bonding and rest.

Some topics we cover include:

🌸 Realities and expectations for caring for newborns including sleep and feeding
🌸 Creating key responsibilities and setting boundaries for family and friends
🌸 Building simple care rituals or routines for yourself and partner
🌸 Normalizing support and resources to building a community network

More info about a postpartum session available on my website- www.doulaadriane.com

🌟Calling all new parents!🌟 Join Doula Adriane for an amazing New Parent and Baby Meetup on Tuesday (9/10) at 10:30 am in the Community Room! 🤱✨ Connect with other new parents, share experiences, and get expert answers to all your baby-related questions.

💜💜 Really enjoyed supporting this Glenside family. So thankful for their sweet review on Google. 💜💜

Lots of opportunities to meet up, make some friends and play!

🌼 7/23- free play at The Jenkintown Night Market
🌼 7/24 & 7/31- family playgroup at The Dovetail & The CO Lab
🌼 8/6- Parent & Baby at Jenkintown Library

The best part of my job are my clients. I love getting to know and caring for my families. 💜

Sharing a sweet testimonial a recent client left on Google. This family was truly wonderful to work with- great people and great parents. Can’t wait to hear about their parenting journey!

So much fun this morning at the April Parent & Baby Meetup at the Jenkintown Library!

See you next month on May 7th.

The monthly parent and baby meet up at Jenkintown Library has a new look! Starting April 2nd I will now have baby gear for parents to try and toys for little ones to play with from Baby Gear Group Jenkintown . Come get out of the house, meet other parents and have your little one explore some new toys!

**Please note that there will be no meetup for March. See you in April!

Check out my new business- Baby Gear Group Jenkintown

So excited to announce Baby Gear Group in Jenkintown, a baby gear and toy library. Accepting orders staring March 18, 2024.

Here's how it works:
💜 Choose from a wide variety of gear, including strollers, bassinets, toys and travel items
💜 Choose your membership plan or borrow a la cart
💜 We deliver to your home. Our service area is within 15 miles from Jenkintown in Montgomery County
💜 Use the items as long as you like and I’ll help you switch out when you’re ready

Go to www.babygeargroup.com to learn more. Happy to chat by email or DM!

My favorite part of my job is building relationships with parents and their little ones. It’s been such a joy to support this little guy and his family this past year, watching him and his parents grow. Going to miss their faces, but so excited for what comes next for them.

One thing I’m adding to my postpartum conversations with clients is making sure they are up to date on recalls and safety issues with baby products and toys with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. You can go to www.cpsc.gov to sign up for the emails or for more info on recalls. In last weeks’ email I learned that a popular lovevery toy was recalled. Go to www.cpsc.gov if you have any questions about that recall.

A cute moment from our December New Parent & Baby meetup. Love seeing these two babies (and moms) making a connection. Thanks to all who attended, see you at our next meetup on January 9th at Jenkintown Library.

No matter how many swaddles, swings, or stroller attachments a family has, nothing beats a parent who is rested, well fed, and loved.

My job is helping to make sure parents are cared for so they can care for their family.

The BeHerVillage registry makes it easy for expectant parents to get the funds they need to pay for their support they deserve.

Find ME in the registry guide at BeHerVillage.com

Happy to facilitate conversation and connection at the first New Parent and Baby meet up at Jenkintown Library. Next one to be held on November 14th.

Happy to announce that I will be hosting a new parent and baby meet-up every first Tuesday of the month at Jenkintown Library. This free meet-up is ideal for new parents of newborns to pre-crawlers. Come meet other new parents and ask a postpartum doula your questions. Can’t wait to meet you and your little one!

Join me at this postpartum planning workshop at .co.lab.glenside. This workshop will provide tools needed to develop a postpartum plan that’s based on your needs. Topics include: evaluating your support network, creating boundaries, connecting to yourself, preparing for unexpected challenges and connecting to local resources. We will provide an opportunity for expecting parents to reflect on the life changing journey of becoming a parent and allow for connection and community building. We will use the postpartum planning workbook by as a guide and draw upon other books and resources from leaders and thinkers in partner dynamics, mental health, parental roles, and mothering. This will be a casual and interactive workshop- pregnant people, partners and support people are all welcome. Register at www.thecolabglenside.com

I’ve been revising my postpartum guide and I added this sentence to the instructions. It’s advice that is so close to my heart, something I struggled so much with, especially when I became a mother. There is a lot to this, both on an individual level and a structural and societal level, as women are socialized to put their needs last, that I will save for another conversation. But I encourage new parents to be mindful of their needs, especially in those early days. Consider: How can you get more rest? How can you connect to yourself? How can you find joy? How can you share household responsibilities? What is a valuable way to spend your time? Your baby needs you to take care of your needs, so you have the mental and physical strength to take care of theirs.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the difference between community and company. The feeling of a tight bond versus a cordial relationship. I feel so loved and trusted when I visit someone’s house (family, friend or client) in its natural everyday state. I love to sit with folks in their life- messes or not, hectic or not, loud or not. It makes me feel like I’m a part of their life, not just getting the highlight reel. It’s hard work to be so vulnerable and allow friends and family to sit with you in these moments. I still struggle with pre-visit anxiety cleaning before a guest comes over my home. But imagine the type of support folks might receive if we took away this barrier. The feeling of having to host during postpartum, the need to tidy up before a play date, the need to apologize to a friend for your lack of shower, thinking your the only one who doesn’t have the perfect tidy house, etc. I’m a doula not only because I want to support families with the day-to-day work of welcoming a newborn, but also to explore how I can support culture change- move away from high expectations, IG perfection, and performative mothering. More thoughts on this to come.

Navigating visitors postpartum can be so challenging. Family and friends can be excited to see the baby, but you are exhausted and going through a huge transition. In this time, you don’t need to entertain guests, but rather it’s important to have a supportive community of folks in your corner. When building your community think through: Who can help with meals? Who can be a supportive ear? Who can help around the house? Who can watch the baby so you can take care of your self? What are the resources you can access like lactation consultants, support groups, peer groups and postpartum doulas?

Now booking for January 2023 and beyond!

We spend so much time working on a birth plan or the baby registry that we sometimes forget about planning for postpartum. When planning for postpartum take some of these into consideration:

🤍 Who do I want on my support team?
🤍 What food keeps me nourished and how will I access it? Freezing meals, meal chain, take out, etc?
🤍 What boundaries can I put in place for visitors? Can I make a sign for the door or a running to-do list so I’m being supported and not “entertaining guests”?
🤍 What things, outside of parenthood, bring me joy? How will I maintain my connection to myself? Will I schedule regular calls with a supportive friend, download podcasts or a comfort show for late night feeds, have art supplies on hand for a free moment?
🤍 How will I maintain my connection with my partner? How can I make space for a connection at the beginning or end of each day?
🤍 How can I outsource help? What resources are available to me in my community? Are there breastfeeding support services, support groups, meal delivery services, postpartum doulas?

Reach out for more postpartum planning tips or to create one with me.

So….what does a postpartum doula really do??? Here’s one example of how I support parents. I work with parents in their moment, what they need to support themselves and their little one.

My website is complete! Visit www.doulaadriane.com for up-to-date info on services, packages and contact information.

I’m Adriane and I started a postpartum doula business! I was inspired to become a postpartum doula by my own postpartum experience and as a new parent.

I understand the range of feelings and stressors that early postpartum brings and how needs may shift from day-to-day to hour-by-hour. I work with parents to create a system that works for their needs in this nebulous period.

I have a Master’s Degree in Social Work and 15 years experience as a social worker, community organizer, researcher and project manager.

I’m currently working on my postpartum doula certification thru DONA. I will serve families in Philadelphia and Montgomery and Bucks counties. Looking forward to this next chapter!