MUMS Doula and Lactation LLC

10/29/2025

It is time ❤️

Priming your body for labor isn’t a way to cut the thread or timeline of pregnancy short. It isn’t a way to push your body into overdrive. It is a way to take pause and be intentional with the process. My favorite tricks are as follows during the third trimester:

- eat dates. I prefer raw medjool dates, though the studies show concentrated date syrup to have the same effect: shorter first stage of labor and a softer cervix

- drinking up to 3C of pure red raspberry leaf tea. My blend has some chamomile in there also to encourage relaxation and rest. This is more for overall uterine and feminine health vs anything directly related to labor

- birth ball exercises - help baby down into optimal position and also help stretch loosening ligaments

- breathing exercises — mental focus and relaxation. These can also take the edge off of intense Braxton hicks contractions.

- gentle massage with emphasis on aggravated pressure points

- getting steps in!

- getting 💤 in

- extra focus on kids and family time

37 weeks++

- acupuncture

- colostrum collection — as a type 1 diabetic, this has an extra benefit of giving baby a boost immediately post birth to try to help regulate blood sugar if sugar levels were shaky during labor

It’s been such a fun and special experience supporting so many pregnant mamas along their journey as I grow and support my own final journey. I am so grateful for where life has taken me. On to more growing!!! I will be taking a break from work until at least April 2026, but please never hesitate to reach out for referrals and recommendations! I am feeling empowered to share these next stages, so stay tuned!!

https://www.dona.org/what-is-a-doula-2/find-a-doula/

08/14/2025

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

❤️

via

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08/02/2025

IT’S WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK!!!!!!

Whew. Motherhood. Can look so feminine, gentle, beautiful, and delicate… and it can also hit like a truck.

I have been fortunate enough to have had the support to successfully breastfeed my babies for 6+ cumulative years.. that’s a lot haha

It didn’t start easy. It started with Giuseppe in the NICU with low glucose, and I was being pressured to supplement with formula and “keep him on a schedule” to bring his sugar up. It worked, and it was a battle for breastfeeding. Luckily, I’ve got a screw loose and a really supportive partner that helped us battle that stretchy gut syndrome babies can develop in the NICU with this approach. He nursed until he was 3y2mo.

Lala was born easy. She was my VBAC baby with no drama. She did not go to the NICU. But she didn’t love latching. Fine. She got lots of milk from a bottle, and around 6 months old, she turned a corner and loved being on the b**b 🤪 she was very acrobatic and very expressive. She nursed until she was 3y3m.

Breastfeeding and my babies consuming breastmilk was so important to me because of a strong genetic past with autoimmune disease. There are plenty of other reasons why I decided breastfeeding and breastmilk worked for us, but that’s not to say it wasn’t hard. It was. I wasn’t myself again until I weaned these babies. My endocrinologist looked at me with crazy eyes when I told her I still got up to nurse my toddler over night and asked when I last got a full night’s sleep, to which I had no answer. I leaked through shirts, I had mastitis, I was cranky a lot, I missed out on adult time outs… but you know what… every drop was worth it ❤️❤️❤️

Breastfeeding is both a privilege AND a right. In IL, breastfeeding is protected in the workplace for the first year of your baby’s life. The WHO recommends breastfeeding for a minimum of 2 years with exclusive breastfeeding for up to 6 months. Benefits include and are not limited to:

- 50% reduced risk of SIDS
- reduced risk of gut autoimmune disease development
- stronger cognitive development
- reduced risk of dehydration
- reduced risk of allergy development
++++benefits for mom!

Go BF parents, GO!!!

03/28/2025

🌹 Don’t rush a birth. You might just find it doesn’t take long at all.

02/26/2025

Today in Black History Month we honor Anarcha Westcott. She was a 17 year enslaved girl who underwent roughly 30 operations without anesthesia for a vesicova**nal fistula ( abnormal connection between va**na and bladder= urine coming through your va**na).

She healed after this surgery. James Marion Sim (we refuse to refer to him as doctor) was the racist man who performed these surgeries on her, and is denoted as the father of Gynecology.

However, we would like to say Anarcha is the mother of gynecology. Without her strength, grit, and bravery she wouldn't have survived those procedures. We couldn't imagine doing surgery on someone without some form of anesthesia. Black history is America's history. The story must be told even when it's not pretty.

02/12/2025

Normalize biologically normal sleep patterns and childhood brain development ❤️

📸: Helenetheillustrator

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It's packed full of inspiration, tips, advice and real-life experiences to guide you on your journey through pregnancy, birth and motherhood - whether you are expecting a new arrival this year, are adjusting to life with a new baby, or are deep in the trenches of parenthood.

Get your copy now - available locally and internationally online.
Find your local stockists here: https://linktr.ee/TheNaturalParentMagazine
https://thenaturalparentmagazine.com/product-category/shop/magazine/

You can pick up a copy from your local Countdown or selected stockists in NZ, from your local newsagent in Australia, from WH Smith High Street stores, selected Waitrose & Partners and independent bookstores across the UK, or online from anywhere in the world. 🌸🌸🌸

01/17/2025

My job often fills my cup, but nothing like supporting a fellow VBAC mom (va**nal birth after cesarean) through her TOLAC (trial of labor after cesarean), and witnessing the baddie birth a 10lb5oz baby in under 13 hours from start to finish and just over an hour of pushing 🙌🙌

I PROMISE YOU *as long as your baby cooperates*, if you LISTEN and employ my push talk, you will push effectively and efficiently… I joke with all of my moms that I pushed wrong only to teach you how to push right!!! No, we don’t push babies out of our buttholes. No 4hr pushing over here, matey!

Congratulations to the family of big boy tonight ❤️ please share your pushing success with us!

11/06/2024

Today is hard for a lot of reasons. It’s insane to me that so much of our country is OK and in support of violence against women and inequality amongst race and class. Obviously there is more to unfold, but it’s too raw. I hope everyone takes some time to mentally and emotionally recover and prepare for what’s to come. Hold yourself, your babies, and your loved ones.

#2024 🌈