Postpartum – Page 2 – Doula Group of Evansville

Welcome Heather Spain: Birth & Postpartum Doula

One of the most sought after doulas in Southern Indiana has joined the Doula Group of Evansville team!

Heather is a modest and quiet person until you get to know her a little better. She is a highly intelligent and compassionate doula who knows her stuff because of her professional and personal experience. She is gentle and kind, but isn’t afraid to tell it like it is when that is what is needed in the moment. Heather has been a doula friend of mine for years, and I am honestly honored that she has chosen to join our team here at Doula Group of Evansville. I have had the chance to trust my clients to Heather before as a back-up doula, and now I get to help her find her own clients too!

Doula Heather Spain

Her Experience:

Heather has extensive doula experience both at hospital and home births. She is a highly skilled and trained doula who takes her role very seriously, but knows how to laugh at just the right times too. As a mom of 4, twins sandwiched between 2 singletons, Heather brings a TON of personal experience to the job as well. She’s had to juggle all the things, and she’s looking forward to helping all types of families learn to do the same from pregnancy announcement and into the 4th trimester. Heather is a former board member of our local Moms of Multiples group and fervent reader of all things lactation. She brings her knowledge and fantastic giggle to every interaction you have with her, and her organization skills are legendary. Heather is also an experienced placenta encapsulator, and will be tackling that role for us as well!

About herself:

“I have been a DONA trained birth doula since 2017 and have worked in many capacities within the birthing community. I was raised in Evansville, where I still live with my husband of 11 year and our four amazing children. Their unique births sparked my passion for working with birthing people and their families in all stages of their journey.”

See, I told you she’s modest! I would thoroughly embarrass her if I wrote all the amazing things I think about her here. Please suffice it to say that Heather is a one of a kind dynamite doula who knows her stuff!

Availability

Heather is available to start taking clients as early as mid-September for both birth and postpartum. That continuity of care from 1st trimester through 4th trimester is one of the greatest parts of Heather being able to do both birth and postpartum work! Want to meet Heather to see if she’s the right one to help you welcome your new little(s) into the world? Contact us today: doulagroupofevansville@gmail.com or 812-250-9590.

Postpartum Transition

All Birth Doula Packages with Doula Group of Evansville now include one postpartum planning session, because we think your postpartum transition is that important!

No matter what type of postpartum transition you are facing, we want you to feel prepared and supported. We talk to all kinds of parents about their worries and excitement and plans for postpartum, and while each situation is unique, so is our support. Beginning in 2021, all of our birth doula packages will now include one virtual visit with Kristyn, our postpartum doula.

Kristyn Tromley, postpartum doula at Doula Group of Evansville

We believe that postpartum transitions can be such an amazing time in a family’s life, and honestly think that an ounce of planning can head off many issues. We also know that having a postpartum doula can help ease that transition, even just to have someone to call and check on you and give you unbiased information based on evidence and experience, as Kristyn does for her virtual clients. Postpartum transitions are beautiful liminal periods full of growth, learning, appointments, hormones, diapers, spit-up, and so much more. We are passionate about helping all our clients’ postpartum transitions be less fraught with stress and more full of confidence and support.

First time parents facing their first postpartum transition, often have many questions, and not just about which structured carrier is our favorite. (Though of course we’re happy to tell you what we used and liked!) Sometimes first time parents don’t even know what questions to ask a postpartum doula, or why one might be really helpful. I think that a visit with our postpartum doula Kristyn is so important for first time parents facing that first postpartum transition. She can really help new parents think about some thing obstacles that might be thrown in their path and how to plan ahead.

Once you have one kid, you know it all right? WRONG! Sometimes that second or third postpartum transition can be challenging in ways that you didn’t encounter the first time. Sibling interactions are usually the biggest worry after the first baby, but there are plenty of other things that a postpartum doula can help discuss too. Meal planning and logistics also loom large in subsequent postpartum transitions, with more mouths to feed and car seats to wrangle comes some shifting of responsibilities. Kristyn recently learned about this second postpartum transition herself, when she had her 2nd baby in October 2020, so she definitely has a fresh perspective.

So whether this is your first or eighth baby, we would love to talk to you about how we can help your postpartum transition be a little easier. We know just how important the 4th trimester is!

Postpartum Support

We want to support you without judgement. We want to help you find solutions that work for your family.

4th trimester support: literal and virtual

**This post contains affiliate links, and we may get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Virtual Support

Do you know who to call when you are having trouble getting baby to calm down? Would you love to have a person who knows lots of different tricks and methods and who will listen to you without judgement? What if you had someone calling to check on you as often as you need to answer your questions and reassure you that you’re doing a great job? Postpartum support is something we love to do to help families, especially right now in this isolating pandemic.

Our Virtual Postpartum Package is set up to provide extra postpartum support to families during the time of COVID-19. Postpartum is already a time of introspection and withdrawal while families integrate their new baby into their lives. Currently, parents are faced with increased isolation or fewer social contacts. This package allows families to have access to a supportive, trained doula to process birth stories, explore “what’s normal” with infant care and postpartum recovery. We are happy to provide breastfeeding/bottle feeding/pumping support too! We also have lots of ideas for partners on how to best help and support their birthing partner and baby. We want to help answer your questions regarding sleep, infant development, bonding, baby wearing, soothing, sibling transitions, and navigating relationships. It’s like having a postpartum BFF in your pocket!

This virtual postpartum support package includes

2 one-hour long planning sessions before the baby arrives
6 postpartum support calls (30-60 minutes each)
6 weeks of unlimited email/text postpartum support
Additional time can be purchased for $20/hour if needed

We would love to talk to you about how we can help support your postpartum transition!

Literal Support

Belly Bandit** is all about making products to support your growing family, and I especially love what they have for during the 4th trimester. When you are pregnant your growing baby pushes all of your organs out of the way to make room for your baby. Once that baby isn’t inside there anymore, all of your organs move back into their regular places, though of course not exactly the way they were before you got pregnant. That’s why sometimes even if you weigh the same as before, your clothes might not fit the same way. Your body has still been rearranged. A little extra literal postpartum support can be helpful in your 4th trimester to support your midsection as it retracts. We promise you won’t need it forever, but a little extra literal postpartum support can make a huge difference in the 4th trimester.

This is especially true if you had cesarean surgery to bring your child earth-side. Often after surgery your abdomen can feel very unstable postpartum, and even like you are scared to cough in case your guts are going to spill out. Sorry to be graphic, but if you have had cesarean surgery, then you know! One thing we like to recommend after surgery is a belly band that supports your abdomen, and Belly Bandit** has some very affordable and helpful ones. These can make you feel like your body is going to hold together better and can make a huge difference in recovery.

Support

“I want to be around people that do things. I don’t want to be around people anymore that judge or talk about what people do. I want to be around people that dream and support and do things.”― Amy Poehler

We want to support you without judgement. We want to help you find solutions that work for your family. Contact us today to talk about how we can help support your growing family.