Newborn Care Workshop at Toronto Yoga Mamas

We had such a great time the first time around, we are at it again! Join us for another newborn care workshop as we partner with Toronto Yoga Mamas to offer some experienced tips and strategies for caring for your newborn (and yourselves!) in those first few weeks with your new baby.

Are you expecting a little one soon? Please join us on Sunday, September 29th for a hands-on workshop where Alexandra and I will introduce some of the following topics:

• What to expect the first week with a new baby
• Diapering options and bum care
• What does it mean to wear you baby?
• Sleep (including bed-sharing and crib-sleeping)
• How to comfort new babies
• Preparing your home for your baby
• Practical suggestions for breast and bottle feeding 

This class will pick up where most prenatal classes leave off, that is, what to do after your baby arrives.

To register, or for more information, see here or contact us at info@holisticbirthcollective.com.

And who are we? We are Alexandra Weinberger and Danielle LaGrone, birth and postpartum doulas in Toronto and founders of Holistic Birth Collective. You can reach us for questions, or just to say hello, at info@holisticbirthcollective.com!

Join us for a newborn care workshop in Toronto!

I'm not exaggerating at all when I tell you that my first night at home with my new baby, my first daughter, Alyce, I sat in the dark of my living room, everyone else in the house fast asleep, wondering how in the hell I was going to do this. I had given birth that afternoon to the beautiful wee one I'd been waiting months (years) for, and the adrenaline was starting to wear off. My partner was asleep in bed, my mother asleep on the couch next to me, and I was ready for sleep for the first time in two days. But Alyce was awake, starring up at me, and I had no idea what I was supposed to do with her.

Two years later I found myself sitting in the dark, again, this time holding my second daughter, Shira. She was one day old and had been nursing since she left the womb. Each and every time she fell asleep at the breast , when I would slowly put her down in her co-sleeper, ready to collapse in bed myself (labour is hard work!), she would wake up. Again. And my partner was in bed asleep. Again.

The moral of the story? Newborns can be hard work, or more to the point, they make us work hard. We are tired, hungry, a bit confused, and at least one of us is healing from the work of birth. Fortunately these newborns are also soft, delicious, perfect, tiny-toed, and we'll pretty much forgive them for anything.


We are Alexandra and Danielle, and we'll be leading a workshop this month about how to care for newborns. No, we can't tell you the magic secret of how to catch a full-night's sleep or how not to worry at the overwhelming feelings of responsibility we all feel once a wee one is born. But we can share our experiences as birth and postpartum doulas (and mothers and adorers of babies) and introduce you to some tips and suggestions for an easier transition into life with a new baby. Whether you are a parent, grandparent, or super-excited friend of the new parents, we welcome you to join us for an evening of discussion, hands-on demonstrations (though, not with a real baby!), and encouragement on caring for your newborn.

Alexandra and I will introduce some of the following topics:

• What to expect the first week with a new baby
• Diapering options and bum care
• What does it mean to wear you baby?
• Sleep (including bed-sharing and crib-sleeping)
• How to comfort new babies
• Preparing your home for your baby
• Practical suggestions for breast and bottle feeding

Our next class is offered Monday, July 8th at the Toronto Yoga Mamas studio (in Toronto's east end). For more information about the class see here, or contact Alexandra or Danielle at info@holisticbirthcollective.com.

We'd love to see you there. We love talking about babies.

Alexandra Weinberger and Danielle LaGrone are birth and postpartum doulas in Toronto and founders of Holistic Birth Collective. You can reach them at info@holisticbirthcollective.com.

We took the city by storm

Poor sad blog. Completely ignored in the rush of some of the busiest months I've had in ages. Emotionally busy, physically busy, and the babies. So many babies! They have kept me busy in the best possible way. And then there's these two. But I have little time for catching up today. Instead I'll tell you about yesterday, when I took Shira on eleven different buses, streetcars, and subways.

This is my friend, Alex, in the beautiful red. She's also the one carrying my almost-three year old around Toronto. She's a fellow birth and postpartum doula, a knitter, and a lover of good coffee, so it's pretty obvious that we became friends. We have been brainstorming some exciting doula-related projects lately, which is why we found ourselves traipsing around Toronto on one of the coldest days of winter, with a baby on our backs. Alex is part of the community I was so looking forward to when we moved back to the city. I'm a lucky doula.

I'll share some of our projects as they continue to develop, but for now we are busying ourselves with preparations. Shira, too, is eager to throw herself snowpants-deep into the groundwork of building a new business. She was happy to be carried on and off buses and streetcars, to nap between appointments on Alex's back, and to enjoy a snack or three when we warmed ourselves up in different coffee shops across Toronto. If this isn't a commercial for wearing your baby, I don't know what is. We didn't have to schlep a single stroller on and off a streetcar. She snacked, napped, and bossed us around all from the comfort of our backs. (And no, it didn't hurt to carry her. She's only 26ish pounds and the Ergo carrier distributesher weight well.)

We have so much to catch up on and I'll do my best to return all week. For now I'll leave you with two fast friends. Shira is still mooning over Alex a day later, she had so much fun.

And how are you? I've missed so much.

Have you seen my doula blog?

It's here! I am excited to share my newest project with you, my business! I have been working hard for months to complete my birth doula certification (almost done!) and I'm so happy to introduce you to my new blog, Birthright. I am now serving as a birth and postpartum doula in Toronto and my new blog gives me the opportunity to share my experiences as a doula, as well as some of my thoughts on pregnancy, birth, and new parenthood. I hope you'll join me over there, stop by, and say hello!

Thank you to everyone who has offered kind words, advice, and some extra courage! And thank you to my first clients for such wonderful feedback.

And please, help me spread the word! You can also follow me on Facebook and on Twitter (@doulabirthright).

And you thought you had a good party trick

A few weeks before Alyce was born in 2007.

I've been sitting on an experience I had a few weeks ago, wanting to shout about it from the rooftops, while at the same time wanting to keep it quietly to myself for just a few moments more. Do you know that feeling?

I have mentioned a few times that I am becoming a labour doula. In fact, I am starting my own doula business here in Toronto. I haven't written about the details of my new business (opening soon!) because there is just so much work to put in first before I'm ready to open the doors, so to speak. I'm still finishing my doula certification and trying to identify all the moving parts of starting a small business (turns out there are a lot of parts).

These details will come, soon I hope, but in the meantime.

Two weeks ago I watched as my first doula client gave birth. This woman and her partner generously allowed me to learn from them as they approached the birth of their baby, through multiple prenatal visits and then for twenty-one hours of labour, delivery, and celebration. What can I say about my first opportunity to support a family during the birth of new baby? It. Was. Amazing. Their story isn't mine to tell, but I will tell you this: I stood next to her, holding one of her legs as she pushed and pushed, and I just started to weep, not only because I was standing before birth of a beautiful and healthy baby girl, but because I was stopped in my tracks by the strength of this woman. How does the world not stop and marvel at this strength every single day? I will never forget what I witnessed that day.


To anyone and everyone who has given birth, no matter how it happened or what it looked like: wow. You did good work. And you are stronger than you ever realized.

What you missed last week

 

• A trip to Riverdale Farm in downtown Toronto. We traveled into the city one day last week with Matt, and while he was working we enjoyed the most beautiful little farm in the centre of an otherwise very busy city. Also: I took Matt to the Riverdale farm on our first (sort of) date in 2005. He didn't know it was a date, but I did.
• Shira napped and I took a walk in the woods near Alyce's school one morning.
• I baked two loaves of pumpkin bread, one for home and one to charm my new classmates at the doula training I began last weekend. Yes, I am on my way to becoming a labour doula (I'll fill you in on that a little bit later) and I can't wait. It's a good way to spend my time this year. Anyone looking for a doula?

• There were many trips to the library. One of my favourite parts of the day is watching Alyce put her bed together each night, carefully placing her best library books in the just the right spot. Also on her bed: Bear and Mrs. Bear, a hair brush, a drawing of her best friend, a valentine, and a certificate she received after a hard morning of entomology training at Kindergarten last week.
• Alyce learned to feed pigeons. 
• We hosted a party for my grandfather (Mary Alyce's husband) this weekend and celebrated his eightieth birthday. At eighty years old my grandfather gardens all day long, has learned to cook for the first time in his life, and is not above playing baby stroller with Alyce.

• Took Alyce and Shira out for breakfast while we were visiting Toronto. 
• Sought refuge at a friend's house after a long day of errands with The Children. I love having friends who let you throw your kids in the tub with their kids.

Now it's a new week. I'm excited for some new beginnings and I'm already working on some strategies for rediscovering my energy. Do you have any suggestions? What works for you?