Parenthood is largely about choices. As you progress through your first pregnancy, the questions begin.
Who will provide your prenatal care? Ob or midwife? Will you give birth in a hospital, a birthing center,
or your home? Who will be with you? Will you hire a doula? Which vitamins should you choose?
Should you eat this, or that, or this? You’re just getting started!
As you approach the arrival of your baby, you face all the choices that surround her care. Which
pediatrician will you choose? Will you breastfeed or use formula? Will you return to work or stay
home? Which day care is best? Which infant carrier should you pick? Stroller or no? Where will baby
sleep? Who will make up your support system?
The questions continue through all the years of parenting—from preschools to iPhones. You’re never
off the hook.
But here is what the doulas at Blessed Arrivals know:
A happy family is the best path to a happy baby.
You don’t need the perfect layette, the perfect birth plan, or the perfect nursery. You don’t need the
ultimate check list and all the expert advice categorized alphabetically on your fridge. You certainly do not need all the answers. You will grow right along with your baby, and sometimes the best way to do that is to let go of the “experts” and become your own expert on the unique relationship between you and your child. There is no other pair like you. When you feel content and confident in your role as the parent, you can take a deep breath and relax. You’re doing the parenting gig, and you’re doing it well!
Pregnancy and parenting can be daunting as you enter a new world and face a wide spread of options. Your birth experience will present many of those choices, and a professional labor doula can help you to sort through the questions that you expect, as well as the unknowns that may arise in your labor and birth. Professional doulas hand the questions to you and support your choices—offering information as needed so that you can make the choices that bring you confidence and peace-of-mind.
In the early days of parenting, many well-intentioned voices will offer plenty of advice, but the
postpartum doula will be the unbiased, unwavering presence you need to find your footing and walk
confidently to the next phase of your family’s life.
If you feel good, your baby will feel even better. Your baby doesn’t need the perfect parent. She only
needs YOU.
Photo Credit to Katie Stockdill