by Jacki Johnston Indiana Birth & Parenting childbirth educator, birth & postpartum doula     On November 22, 2022 around 7:00pm, Brianna’s name popped up on my phone. I answered to hear an excited and shocked sweet voice telling me, “My water just broke at Whole Foods!” After gathering more details and laughing together that she had a Hollywood moment, I encouraged her to call her midwife and then call me back. A few minutes later, Brianna called again to say her midwife said to go home and rest, eat, shower… laboring at home for as long as possible was a part of her birth ..read more

Usually our blog posts are carefully thought out, full of positivity combined with real talk, and aesthetically pleasing with time taken to find the perfect photos to fit the feel of what we’re sharing. Well friends, NOT TODAY! This is a little off-brand and written with some powerful keyboard strikes behind the words. The internet got to us this time, and we want to share our feelings with you. You see, a very sweet + loyal postpartum client of ours is in a Facebook mom group- pretty sure not local- and she saw a post that was extremely triggering for her. It started with a question from a f ..read more

    dear indiana birth & parenting families, Every New Year’s Eve has us spending some time reflecting on the year, the experiences that defined it, and life in general. For us, 2020 was challenging, heavy, and unpredictable. AND it was also unforgettable + joyous...because of you. Both of us were in client’s homes when the first COVID case hit Indiana. We watched it unfold, together. We had 11 pregnant birth and postpartum clients to call that day- mostly to make sure they were okay and to be a reassuring + trusted voice. We pivoted quickly, and we were able to support ..read more

       You’re scrolling through Instagram and your favorite influencer just posted about how big of a help her night nanny was. Your mind races through these thoughts- “A night nanny? What is a night nanny? Is that for the rich and famous? Do I to have need a mass following on Instagram to qualify? Would I even WANT a night nanny?” You quickly switch over to Doctor Google to search night nannies in your area. If you’re in Indianapolis not a whole lot of options are going to pop up. We absolutely have them, but they are mostly hidden gems. Insert Indiana Birth & Parent ..read more

Preparing to bring a newborn home during COVID-19 season? A process of gathering info, setting a plan, and navigating the challenges of it all! We’re thrilled to be sharing our first guest blogger- Indianapolis based Courtney Summitt! Together with her husband Ryan, she’s done a ton of work to prepare their hearts, home, and family for their 2nd baby boy during a pandemic. Here’s a look into what they are doing, along with the information they sent to their family for you to use as a guide. Please give Courtney a warm welcome! Jordan + Amy Hey Indiana Birth & parenting community! If you’r ..read more

Mother’s Day is just around the corner! Mamas deserve to be celebrated every year- and even more so this year. Moms have been restructuring and pivoting, all the while comforting her family and dealing with her own worries and fears. Moms are now working from home, homeschooling, isolated from her friends and extended family, in the throes of having a newborn, wiping the tears from disappointed teenagers, and missing her child’s graduation. Being a mom isn’t easy- and being one during a pandemic means Mother’s Day 2020 needs to be EXTRA special!! To get started, we need to center ourselves, t ..read more

    Our Ultimate Hospital Bag Checklist has been downloaded hundreds of times over the past year. We love to help parents from all over the country figure out what comforts from home will help them during their labor and postpartum hospital stay. Now that COVID-19 is changing everything- including labor and delivery- we decided to create a new list for parents expecting a baby during this challenging time. Our goal here is to help you reshape your thinking about what you really need…along with some tactical tips to help prevent cross-contamination from hospital to home and vice vers ..read more

by Amy Well, friends…I wrote this a couple of days after I heard that Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, Ross, and Joey were going to cozy up on the orange couch again. This was originally scheduled to post on March 6th, the same day the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Indiana. There’s no regularly scheduled programming returning to our lives anytime soon. So, this is us, hoping to bring some normalcy back to our work. Here’s to you, our friends…as we continue experiencing one of the BIGGEST PIVOTS of our lives. Warning- I speak fluent Friends.       how you doin ..read more

       NOTE- this post was originally made on March 16, 2020 right after Indiana went into lockdown. Last week we shared a blog post about the elephant in the room- the Coronavirus. Here’s the link in case you missed it. Over here at Indiana Birth & Parenting, we have been preparing for this for many, many weeks. It was clear to us ten days ago that most people weren’t like us, so we gathered the facts we knew at the time and posted hoping others would benefit from being proactive instead of reactive. So here we are, one week later, and life as we know it is changin ..read more

CORONAVIRUS- COVID-19 what we know so far   Here’s the deal! We want to talk about the elephant in the room sooner rather than later.  And so we’re just going to come right out and say it- Coronavirus or COVID-19. Trust us when we say we don't want to strike fear or panic. But we do want to be realistic about how the potential of the virus spreading could impact the daily lives of our pregnant and new parent friends. Since we have careers that put us directly into someone else’s home (almost daily these days- no joke), and at the hospital a couple of times per month, we have ..read more