A midwife or doula’s goal is to see every woman birth in safe, empowering, and beautiful ways. Sometimes, for various reasons, that looks like a Cesarean section, and sometimes that includes planned C-sections. There is no reason to expect less of your birth experience in the case of a planned C-section. When a C-section is the planned birth process, you have some more freedom to work with your doctor than in the case of an emergency.

The first week with a new baby is a haze of sheer bliss and utter confusion. It’s absolutely amazing that you’re getting to know this new little person that was inside of you just moments ago...but it’s absolutely terrifying that you’re getting to know a new person! What do they need? What are they communicating? What is your body telling you? How is it changing? And why is it all still so challenging?

The trap is so easy to fall into. As moms, it feels like we do everything. Gestate the baby, deliver the baby, feed the baby, wear the baby…mom burnout makes sense in the early years, because our children are basically an extension of our own bodies. As the years go on, even when other family members can chip in more and more, the child’s needs change but the demand stays the same. In fact, it probably increases, just in different ways.

Just because the baby is born doesn’t mean you have to slow down your dietary vigilance. You may be surprised at just how much it can take to sustain your body while constantly producing milk and expending energy to nurse a little one. It’s important to plan for the added nutrients and energy in order to keep on making that liquid love.

Newborn colic is so frustrating and painful for babies and parents alike.  It can be so hard to watch your baby cry and cry as you frantically try to figure out how to help them feel better.  I speak from personal experience, remembering how difficult it was when my sweet baby cried because of colic pains.