Week 40 All The Experts

The Shift: Birth to Postpartum and Why You Need a Postpartum Doula with Jessica Stapp

Postpartum doulas are engaged in care for the baby and family during the first 12 weeks of life for the new baby.   Jessica Stapp is here to help navigate the ins and outs of hiring and utilizing a postpartum doula as well as give great tips for setting boundaries around your baby, your home life, and your health.   Resources we discussed:   Baby cues video [https://youtu.be/ve7yXXRaYT8?si=4XUYxonFDE6oilWt] What does a postpartum doula do anyway? [https://www.herobirthservices.com/blog/what-does-a-postpartum-doula-do-anyway?format=amp] Connect with Jessica: jessicasacdoula.com [https://jessicasacdoula.com]

Week 41 Are You Still Pregnant?!

Congratulations Mama and welcome to week 41 of your pregnancy. This week your baby is the size of a watermelon, measuring around 20.4 inches long and about 8 pounds. Or more. Or less. There really is no way of knowing until he or she makes their debut.   I know that some of you may have reached week 41 and I want to make sure you know what is going on with you this week!     Chances are, you are totally over this whole pregnancy thing and just want to meet your sweet baby already! All the experts are going to tell you that you should get as much sleep and rest as possible right now, and while I don’t disagree, I also know that this advice can be frustrating and impractical to a mama on the cusp of meeting one of the most important people in your life.   Since you have gone past your anticipated due date, your doctor or provider will want to monitor you extra closely. You may be scheduled or another ultrasound, non stress test and or a biophysical profile just to check in on your little one.   A few tips on trying to naturally induce labor include: eating spicy food, having sex, acupuncture, and lots of walking! Remember to stay hydrated, even if you feel like you visit the toilet so much you may as well move your bed into the bathroom.   So why are you overdo anyway? Well, a family history of going past the 40 week mark can be part of the cause, but of course, your original due date may have been miscalculated, also.   Whatever the reason may be, it’s not important to discuss your thoughts about induction with your provider. They may or may not be on board with your personal plan to serve an eviction notice and there are a few ways they can assist in speeding up the process.  Also, remember that a due date is really just an estimate.   Stripping membranes which can be painful, can be done in the doctor’s office.   You can take medication to help dilate your cervix.    Or the provider can “break your water” or rupture the membranes with a thin plastic hook. This one is usually only done when you’ve been in labor but haven’t progressed past a certain point for hours. With my first pregnancy, I was induced and in the hospital in labor for 12 hours but didn’t progress past to the point my water broke. The on-call doctor said he would break my water when he was out of surgery delivering twins via c-section for another family, and before he came back, my water broke on it’s own.   There are a lot of things I would change about my first birth experience if I had the chance, but my best advice to you is to be your own best advocate. I also recommend having a support person with you that can advocate on your behalf (and that of your baby) in case you aren’t able to, and also to remind you about your birth plan or wishes for your labor and delivery.

Week 40 All The Experts

As you get ready to embark on Motherhood and you've been through 40 weeks of pregnancy, this is the perfect time for you to get a blast of expert advice from our guests.    This podcast episode is a mashup of advice pulled from interviews along your journey.   If you are burdened by the chaos in your life, I want to help you overcome the overwhelm that’s standing in the way of your success!     Join the Conquer Your Chaos free 5 day challenge!  To get signed up for the next challenge!  m.me/chaosqueenspodcast [http://m.me/chaosqueenspodcast]

Week 39 and Hip to Heart with Jodi Congdon

Congratulations, mama, and welcome to week 39 of your pregnancy! This week your sweet baby is the size of a pumpkin. Measuring about 20 inches long and weighing in at about 7.3 pounds, baby just keeps growing, despite being so crowded inside your 39 weeks pregnant belly.   It’s almost eviction day.   I pulled a few common late pregnancy symptoms from thebump.com [http://thebump.com], so if you’re looking for more information on any of these, head over to their website.   One symptom of late pregnancy is your bloody show - a discharge that’s as thick as mucus and sometimes has a tinge of blood in it. Many people consider this to be a sign you’ll go into labor soon, there’s no exact science to it, so it’s hard to say when showtime will be.   A few other symptoms you may be dealing with now include: * Pelvic pressure. While getting into position for birth, baby may be sitting so low that that your lower torso feels heavy and uncomfortable. * Lightning crotch. Because baby’s so low, his or her movements can hit some sensitive nerves, giving you sharp sensations in your pelvis—yep, like a lightning bolt!  This week our interview is with Jodi Congdon from hiptoheart.com [http://hiptoheart.com]   Jodi is a birth and lactation educator and doula. In this interview we discuss Expectations and time management when nursing as well as answer listener questions about nursing with breast implants - it can be done!   Connect with Jodi at: Facebook: Hip to Heart Instagram @hiptoheart [http://www.instagram.com/hiptoheart]

Week 38 and Big Brother Riley

This is week 38 on the BumpCast and I'm interviewing my oldest son, Riley. Tune in to get his big brother perspective on life as a 7 year old.