Finding Your Postpartum Doula Match
Bringing a new life into the world is a magical and challenging experience. Postpartum doulas can be your partner in navigating many of those magical moments and their challenges. As a doula myself, I’ve had the privilege of supporting countless families during this tender time. Today, let’s explore the diverse world of postpartum doulas, and…
Winter with Your Baby
As the colder months approach, we face chilly temperatures, increased risk of sickness, and less daylight hours – all of which can make the postpartum period harder than it already is for many parents. You might be unsure of how to entertain yourself and your baby in a healthy way, but there’s plenty of safe…
Doulas for Disabilities
Have you noticed how everyone talks about pregnancy and birth, but less so about what happens after you have your baby? Adjusting to the “fourth trimester” is difficult for everyone involved, and families are often encouraged to keep the messiness of their experience under lock and key. I’ve noticed that people are especially silent when…
Father’s Day Gift Guide for Expectant Dads
Father’s Day is just around the corner, and every year a whole new batch of guys have moved out of the Dude Zone and into the Dad Zone and are celebrating this day of recognition for the very first time. However, I think that we should also start to make some extra efforts to include…
Postpartum Advice to Survive Parenting Older Children During Covid-19
Now that 2020 is halfway gone, I can’t quite believe all that has happened. As a postpartum doula, my job is to support parents, and that has meant something different this year. Many in our community are 100 days into stay-at-home isolation, but – just like with a newborn – you may have found that…
Postpartum in a Pandemic: What to Do When Takeout and Cleaning Services Aren’t an Option
It’s definitely an interesting time to have a baby! Things are slowly starting to open up in the United States, but many people still feel uncomfortable doing many of the things we used to do a few months ago. Add a newborn to the mix, and things can feel downright terrifying. We often recommend that…
Self-Care With A Newborn
Living with a newborn can be difficult. That’s not news. Often when folks are trying to be helpful to new parents, they will offer advice like “Sleep when the baby sleeps” or “Take time for yourself.” Sometimes those platitudes are helpful, but more often they leave parents at a loss on how to practically add…
“They were here from the very beginning of you, and the very beginning of you and me.”
Written by Client Kate – Silver Spring It was 3 a.m. on our first night home from the hospital when I dialed Metropolitan Doulas, crying and desperate for help. Our daughter, Piper, had been inconsolable for hours. We had tried everything – the (not-yet-recalled) Rock n’ Play, swaddling, white noise, rocking, shushing, bouncing, just holding…
DMV Perinatal Mental Health Symposium
This month, nine Metropolitan Doulas attended a gathering of professionals who work with pregnant and postpartum women – doctors, nurses, therapists, midwives, doulas, massage therapists, social workers, and beyond. We met for four hours to talk about perinatal mental health resources in our region and how we can better work together to serve families. Since…
Getting Out of the House with Your Newborn
During the first few weeks with a newborn, loading everything up and venturing out for a cup of coffee can seem impossible. What if the baby needs to eat? What if she poops? You’re too sleep-deprived anyway — isn’t it easier to just stay home? There are several benefits to getting out of the house,…
Feeding Your Family
Having an infant dramatically changes your daily schedule, and trying to maintain good sleep and eating habits can become very difficult. Your self-care as parents sometimes takes the back burner, but disregarding your needs entirely can affect the health of your whole family. Eating healthy meals and snacks regularly can give you the energy you…
Paced Bottle Feeding
Many of the families we work with use bottles with their infants. It can be used as the primary way to feed the baby, as a supplemental tool, or in transition to both parents returning to work. Though it seems pretty intuitive — insert nipple to baby’s mouth — we do have some tips for…
Planning Beyond Birth
Predicting how we will experience and endure birth and postpartum is near impossible, but planning for both is. The power of a (birth) plan If you are an expecting parent, it is likely you have a birth-plan – a careful piece of research on the setting and support you want during your labor and birth.…
What to *Really* Expect When You Are… Postpartum
It takes a village. As doulas, we say this a lot and, as postpartum parents, we seldom hear it enough. Loud and clear are social expectations for our recovery from birth and our adjustment to life with a newborn. From how we should look in our new skins to ways we must love the babe(s)…
Setting up the Nursery
Questions to Ask Yourself A baby’s nursery can become the heart of a new family’s home, especially for a baby’s first year. Because of this significance we’ve decided to give some tips to help parents prepare the nursery as best they can. When planning the baby nursery, it’s important for families to bear these three…
Post-Birth OB Visit and What to Expect
Importance of Mother’s Health In the first weeks after birth, families see the pediatrician several times for healthy full-term babies. However, the mother’s post-birth health and healing is also important to monitor, but visits to the mother’s caregiver can get delayed or put off. All mothers need to see a caregiver at least once in…
Feeding Your Baby, Part 1 – Solids
Feeding Routine It is a cruel irony that about the time parents feel most comfortable with their infant feeding routine, it is time to consider introducing solids. Whether breastfeeding, bottlefeeding, or a combination, your infant will show interest in “real” food before you are likely ready to start offering solid food. Beginning at just a…
Feeding Your Toddler (Part 2)
Toddlerhood Congratulations, you’ve made it to toddlerhood! Feeding your toddler is a different experience, as they learn to feed themselves and develop stronger opinions about what they want to eat. After her first birthday, there are no restrictions on what you can offer your baby. All foods are on the table…and soon to be on…
Enjoying Summer With Your Baby
As the temperature rises, you may be looking for tips about where to take your child in the summer. There’s plenty of sun, heat, bugs, and water, so how can you work around it and have fun? Here are our best tips and tricks for tackling this season with your baby/toddler. SUN SAFETY Infants are…
All About Teething
Many new parents wait nervously for their baby to begin teething. Will it be painful? Will it take a long time? When should we expect it? How can we help with our baby’s discomfort? Here are some practical answers for parents seeking guidance: Dealing with drool Around three months, baby salivary glands begin producing more…
Metropolitan Doulas featured in the Washington Post!
We here at Metropolitan Doulas are very excited to be featured in the parenting section of the Washington Post on Wednesday August 9th, 2018. “There were many things about being a new mom that Courtney Lee-Ashley didn’t know: How often she’d need to pump. How hard infant poop stains would be to get out. How…
A look at babywearing…
This month we decided to have a conversation with Laci, an incredible postpartum doula and Certified Babywearing Educator. Laci talks with us about some of the benefits of using carriers or wraps with your baby. How did you get interested in babywearing? L: I became interested in babywearing while I was pregnant with my son. My husband…
A Conversation With A Car Seat Expert
This month we wanted to hear more from our Child Passenger Safety Technician, Beverley, about how she got interested in car seat safety and what the journey to becoming a CPST was like. How did you become interested in car seat safety? The rules seemed to change frequently. The car seat designs kept changing, too. …
Sleep and its Impact Postpartum
“Sleep Before the Baby Comes!” This month we are focusing on the importance of quality sleep for the family in the postpartum period. Julie Bindeman, Psy-D, Co-Director of Integrative Therapy of Washington sheds light on how sleep deprivation affects the body and mind, and how to utilize support to increase the quantity and quality of sleep. Integrative…
Preparing for Parenthood if You Have a Disability
Caring for a needy newborn? Keeping up with a busy baby? These tasks can be a obstacle for an experienced caregiver, but can seem almost impossible for a new parent. If you have a disability, preparing for parenthood can be even more challenging. More than four million Americans are parents of kids under the age of 18…