How to Achieve a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) What is a VBAC? A VBAC is an acronym for Vaginal Birth After Cesarean, and it’s used to describe the natural birth of anyone who has previously given birth by c section. This also can be seen used as HBAC, for someone who is giving birth at home after having a prior cesarean. Unfortunately, this often becomes a label to convince perfectly healthy mothers that they are high risk, or that something is inherently wrong with their bodies. This can instill fear and distrust in their abilities to give birth, even to the point of trying to take aw ..read more

Planning Your Home Birth (or Water Birth!) + Resources in GU In recent years, Home Birth has become widely debated and more and more mothers are choosing to return home to give birth. When doctors and celebrities consider their options, shouldn't everyone? The benefits to home birth are many and some would consider the risks to be minimal. Let's look at the potential benefits and risks of birthing at home. The first recommendation I have when anyone is considering home birth is to take some time watching videos of different birth environments, so you can really envision what birth can be. My ..read more

Minimalist Parenting - What Do You Really Need For Baby’s First Year? When I became a mom, I was so overwhelmed by everything I thought I needed to maintain and do every day. With all the clothes, toys, and junk lying around, I became stressed. Now, I won't say it was just the stuff, but it added to my mental clutter and then to my to-do list. That was the main reason I switched to living minimally. With less to clean, less to pick up, less to dust, and less bills (what a bonus!), I worry a lot less. I enjoy my kids and my life a lot more. I'm more spontaneous, and my monthly purge of the hou ..read more

11 Best At Home Date Night Ideas for Parents While I’ve gone over some of my favorite pregnancy date night ideas before, I think it’s fun to focus on staying in now and then. Going out can be expensive or difficult to arrange, and sometimes it’s nice to be alone with just the two of you. Lots of these ideas are great for a lazy afternoon or after the kids are down for the night and you probably have most of the supplies you need. No sitter required! 1. Movie Marathon One of the easiest (and potentially cheapest) ideas on this list is a good old fashioned movie marathon. I love to spend a wh ..read more

The Doula’s Postpartum Guide - Healing, Newborn Care, and More Whether you are planning a home birth or bringing baby home from the birth center, you’re probably nervous about the first few days at home with your new little one. It’s completely normal to feel a little overwhelmed at first! Over the years working with families during this delicate time, I’ve become very familiar with the fourth trimester and the first year postpartum. In this article, I’m going to give you the ultimate guide to postpartum survival, including nutrition, newborn care and feeding, creating support systems, what y ..read more

Growing & Glowing - Gestational Diabetes, Round Ligament Pain, Xiphoid Process, and More! Between your second and third trimester is when you'll be thinking about maternity photos, baby showers/sprinkles, blessingways, baby moons, you name it! Now is the time when you should feel more energy, start to feel baby kicking, and fully grow into your pregnancy. You should feel less tired, less nauseous, and less sore than during the first trimester. Keep up with healthy activity and nutrition to help you feel strong and keep up the energy you need. You might also want to consider booking a pren ..read more

Lyndsay's Pain Free Birth Method (The Equation You Need to Know) I've been present for many births, and everyone handles the process differently. Some say it's the worst, most excruciating pain they have ever experienced, while others simply breathe through their contractions and relax easily. What's the difference? I've come up with a simple equation to explain the relation between your body, your mind, and what you feel during a contraction. Fear + Tension = Pain Truly, that's the easiest way to describe childbirth pain, and what you can do to cope with it. By preparing your mind, body, a ..read more

I Just Found Out I’m Pregnant, Now What? (Childbirth Education Options + Learning Style Quiz) Is Childbirth Education right for you? If you just found out you’re pregnant, you’re likely feeling excited, nervous, maybe even scared at the idea of giving birth to your baby. While there are countless books, videos, and blogs to choose from to educate yourself, there are many reasons you may want to consider taking childbirth education classes! Before we get started, here’s my essential checklist for first trimester parents during this exciting time: Cure Your Morning Sickness - If you don't have ..read more

Why Would You Encapsulate Your Placenta? (& How To Decide if it’s Right for You) From mammals in nature to Traditional Chinese Medicine, consuming your placenta isn't anything groundbreaking. What is groundbreaking are the advancements in medical research and the technology that enables us to study anecdotal benefits from across the world. I consider myself lucky to study placentas and their wonderful qualities and benefits in detail! The first thing I usually hear when someone learns about placenta encapsulation for the first time invariably is something along the lines of “Um, why ..read more

What is Diastasis Recti? - Postpartum Healing Guide Diastasis Recti isn't a term many of us are familiar with until motherhood. While this condition can present in infants and other circumstances in adults, I will be giving you information regarding the abdominal muscles separating during pregnancy and early motherhood. For self diagnosing tips, check out the video embedded below! The statistics are shocking. Even though there are only 200,000 cases of postpartum Diastasis Recti reported each year, sources report anywhere from 2/3 of all women to 98% of mothers experience this condition in th ..read more