Fruit of Labor Placenta Encapsulation

02/22/2026

I’ve been encapsulating for others for 14 years. I’ve served countless families and many families for multiple babies over the years. Still, 14 years later, it is humbling and such an honor to be a part of your birth stories.
Today I was invited into the ICU room of a momma I’ve been working with since 2016 as her family has grown. She had pregnancy complications. Praise God 🙌🏼 she and her tiny one are going to be okay. If you feel led, please pray for a quick recovery for C and her preemie, N. Pray also for dad as he’s making sure his family is taken care of. 💜

02/18/2026

They’ll tell you a premature baby can’t breastfeed until 34 weeks.
They’ll call it non nutritive sucking.
They’ll say it doesn’t count.

But this baby proves them wrong.

This is a 28 week gestation baby, just 10 days old.
Latched.
Breastfeeding.
Drinking milk.

Not pretend.
Not practice.
Not symbolic.

Real feeding.

Decades of experience from Scandinavia shows what many hospitals still refuse to believe:
Premature babies are capable of breastfeeding earlier than we’ve been taught, when they are supported instead of restricted.

Breastfeeding isn’t a milestone you unlock by age alone.
It’s biology, readiness, and support.

Sometimes the barrier isn’t the baby.
It’s outdated policy.

Read more via Dr. Jack Newman:
ibconline.ca/premature2

If this surprised you, share it.
NICU parents deserve hope backed by science. 🤱

02/05/2026

Plan accordingly! But if you happen to get pregnant, I’ll be ready for you in November! 💜

01/29/2026

01/25/2026

Roughhousing looks chaotic to adults, but to a child’s brain it is structured learning. Psychological research shows that playful physical interaction is essential for healthy emotional and social development during early childhood.

When children wrestle, chase, and tumble in safe settings, they learn how to regulate force, read social cues, and stop when someone signals discomfort. This teaches self control empathy and boundaries in ways words alone cannot.

Children who are never allowed to horseplay miss critical lessons about power and restraint. Without this practice, the brain has fewer opportunities to learn how to manage strong impulses safely. Research links the absence of rough play with higher levels of aggressive behavior later in life.

Roughhousing also strengthens emotional regulation. During physical play, stress rises and falls naturally. The nervous system practices excitement without losing control. This builds resilience and improves impulse management as children grow.

Parents do not need to fear rough play. When guided with clear limits and supervision, it becomes one of the most effective tools for teaching cooperation respect and emotional balance. Healthy roughhousing is not about chaos. It is about wiring the brain to handle strength responsibly.

01/24/2026

Did someone say something about a snow storm?

01/13/2026

Our bodies are sooo amazing!

Your body literally changes your breast milk when you’re sick.

Read that again.

This isn’t a filter.
This isn’t lighting.
This isn’t “old milk vs fresh milk."

This is your immune system getting a memo and responding in real time.

When you’re sick, your body adjusts the composition of your milk
More antibodies
Different immune cells
Different color
Different purpose

Your baby’s saliva sends signals.
Your body listens.
And your milk adapts.

It’s living. It’s responsive. It’s intelligent.

This is proof that breast milk isn’t just food.
It’s medicine.
It’s protection.
It’s communication.

Your body doesn’t just feed your baby
It protects them.
Custom made. On demand.

And somehow people still call this “just milk.”

🤱✨

12/30/2025

Children often save their most intense emotions for their mothers because they see her as the ultimate “safe base” to release stress and be their unfiltered self, trusting her co-regulation (calming presence) to soothe their nervous system after holding it together elsewhere. Their nervous system literally attunes to the mother’s, and showing big emotions is a sign of deep trust, not defiance, indicating they feel secure enough to “fall apart”.

▶️Why this happens (The Science):
📑Safety & Trust: A child’s nervous system recognizes the mother (or primary caregiver) as the person they can fully trust to handle their big feelings without judgment or threat, allowing them to drop their guard.
📑Co-regulation: Mothers help calm a child’s distressed nervous system through mirroring (heartbeat, breath) and soothing. This teaches the child self-regulation.
📑Mirroring the Nervous System: A child’s internal state (heart rate, stress hormones) mirrors the parent’s. A mother’s calm presence is medicine; her anxiety can become the child’s “normal”.
📑The “Safe Field Effect”: When a child sees their mother, their brain gets a signal they’re safe to release pent-up emotions from school or other situations.

▶️What it looks like
📑“Saving the Worst for Last”: They might behave perfectly at school but have meltdowns at home because the tension has to go somewhere.
📑Not Misbehavior, but Release: The tantrum isn’t defiance; it’s the child letting go of stress in the one place they feel secure enough to do so.

▶️How to respond
📑Regulate Yourself First: Your calm is their medicine. Take deep breaths to signal safety.
📑Validate & Connect: Say, “You held a lot in today. It’s okay to let it out now”.
📑Offer Presence, Not Logic: Their logical brain is offline. Offer connection, gentle touch, and calm, not lectures.

Studies also show that when children don’t have this secure attachment to lean on, it negatively rewires the child’s brain.
Read more here: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250612/Unpredictable-caregiving-rewires-the-braine28099s-threat-response.aspx

12/17/2025

The American Academy of Pediatrics now warns that sleep training before 12 months can disrupt attachment and nervous system regulation. The concern is not parenting style but biology. Babies’ brains are still wiring safety signals through proximity.

In the first year, infants cannot self-regulate. Their nervous system relies on co-regulation with caregivers. When stress rises, closeness to a parent helps settle the amygdala, lower cortisol, and signal safety. Room-sharing is a natural way to provide this support.

Sleep training too early teaches babies to manage stress alone before their brains are ready. Calm is not learned by isolation under stress. Instead, infants need repeated, responsive soothing so regulation becomes internalized over time.

Parents who previously sleep trained are not failing their children. They acted on the information available in a culture that often prioritizes independence over developmental readiness. Understanding the science changes how we view early sleep strategies.

This research emphasizes that proximity wires safety. Babies learn calm through closeness, not isolation. Early care that meets stress with support builds secure attachment, emotional regulation, and lifelong resilience.

11/24/2025

Who likes dates? 🤷🏼‍♀️🥰

An incredible study found that women who ate 6 dates a day in the last 4 weeks of pregnancy were...

• 74% more dilated when they arrived at the hospital
• Had a 77% shorter first stage of labor
• And were 42% less likely to need a C-section

So what makes dates so powerful?

Dates are packed with nutrients that actually prepare the cervix and uterus for labor.
They influence oxytocin receptors, which means the body responds more effectively to the natural hormones that trigger labor.

They also contain prostaglandins that help ripen (soften and thin) the cervix,
and tannins that encourage stronger, more efficient contractions.

On top of that, dates provide natural sugars and fats for energy during labor,
plus calcium and serotonin to support the body through the intensity of birth.

Some studies even suggest dates make the uterus more sensitive to oxytocin—
leading to smoother, more effective contractions and shorter labors.

This is also why women who eat dates late in pregnancy are far less likely to need a C-section.

The most common recommendation is to start eating 6 dates a day from 37 weeks until birth.

I’m a midwife and a home birthing mama,
and I was encouraged to eat dates in my own pregnancy and honestly, I think it helped me.

Share this with a pregnant mama, or save it for later 🖤

Did you eat dates in late pregnancy?
What was your experience?