I’ve also started a facebook group called “Homebirth Cesarean” that is for these mamas and any birth worker.

If you know anyone who is a birth worker (midwife, doctor, doula, childbirth educator, lactation consultant, etc), please share the Homebirth Cesarean website with them and this post.

I am in the interview portion of the book and am interested in speaking with mothers about their HBC experience and any birth worker.

Thank you so much for your interest and support.

Full Moon’s Daughter
fullmoonsdaughter.com
503.737.8834
Brooke Noli
portlandlabordoula.com
971.645.1180
Mothertree Birth Services
mothertreebirth.com
503.343.9911
Birthingway Student Doulas
Low cost/free doulas available through the school
birthingway.edu
503.762.1632

Breastfeeding Resources & Lactation Consultants
Nursing Mothers Council
Free breastfeeding support including prenatal breastfeeding classes, workplace lactation support and peer counselor phone line.
nursingmotherscounsel.org
Portland: 503.282.3338 and SW Wash:360.750.0656

Birthingway Breastfeeding Clinic
Free support provided by student Lactation Consultants.
birthingway.org
503.762.1632

La Leche League
Free breastfeeding support group and breastfeeding help
llli.org
See website for local phone numbers

Beyond Birth Lactation Services at Zenana Spa
Breastfeeding classes and consultations, as well as in-home support. Breast pump rentals.
503.238.6262
beyondbirthservices.com

WIC Breastfeeding Services
For those families qualifying for WIC, lactation consultants are available.
oregon.gov/DHS/ph/wic

Milk Sharing
If you have an extra supply of milk and are interested in donating it, or you have a low supply of milk and are interested in supplementing with another mother’s milk, these facebook pages are wonderful resources.
Modern Milksharing
Human Milk for Human Babies – Oregon
Eats on Feets – Oregon

Counseling Services & Postpartum Depression Support
Brooke Noli
portlandcounselor.net
971.645.1180

Gaby Donnell
motherrootscounseling.com
503.287.2295

Wendy Davis
babybluesconnection.org
503.246.0941

Baby Blues Connection
24/7 message line for postpartum depression support
866.616.3752
babybluesconnection.org

Pregnancy and Postpartum Massage Therapists
Meigra Simon
503.772.0084
meigrasimon.com

Bonnie McAnnis
503.380.4821

Cheryl Greathouse
503.944.9291

Kelley Burke
503.880.5201

Chiropractic Care
Clearwater Clinic – Dr. Bryan Baisinger
503.279.0205
clearh2o.org

Portland Chiropractic Group – Jenny Brocker
She works on both mom and baby
503.224.2100
portlandchiropracticgroup.com

Cranio Sacral Therapy
Clearwater Clinic – Dr. Bryan Baisinger
503.279.0205
clearh2o.org

Portland Chiropractic Group – Jenny Brocker
She works on both mom and baby
503.224.2100
portlandchiropracticgroup.com

Carol Gray
She offers free teaching clinics for babies
503.236.2999
cstdoula.com

Mayan Abdominal Massage
Lorca Wood
503-224-0292

Kwan Yin Healing Arts Center
503.701.8766
kwanyinhealingarts.com

Pelvic Floor Practitioners
Clearwater Clinic – Dr. Bryan Baisinger
503.279.0205
clearh2o.org

Tami Kent
503.232.0547

Acupuncturists
Mary Grabowska
503.236.6006

Nature Cures Clinic
503.287.4970
naturecuresclinic.com

Placenta Medicine
Kelley Burke
503.880.5201

New Parent Support Groups
Providence New Parents Group
You do not need have birthed at Providence or in a hospital to attend
503.574.6595

Zenana Spa and Wellness Center
zenana-spa.com
503.238.6262

New Seasons
Weekly parent groups at various New Seasons Markets throughout Portland
newseasonsmarket.com

Online Support – facebook pages
Portland Mamas
Parenting in Portland

Baby Activities
Getting out of the house is important for you and your baby.
Swim Classes
DolFun Academy
503.343.3004
dolfunswimacademy.com

Music Classes
Music Together
503.236.4304
musictogether.org

Multnomah County Libraries
Storytimes for children from birth to 6 years old.

Clinical signs of PPD in dads, include sadness, loss of interest in everyday activities, unable to sleep or a desire to sleep in excess, withdrawal or anxiety.

What can dads do? Get help. Seek to talk to a therapist who specializes in parenting and postpartum depression. Talk to friends. Talk to your partner. Know that bringing a new baby into this world is an emotional challenge and that what you’re feeling is absolutely normal.

For most women, sometime after the second trimester sleep gets really broken up, sometimes uncomfortable and rarely sound. The pregnant body is going through lots of changes and it’s not easy to lay in bed all night and get one good, solid sleep session in.

Pregnancy Pillow - Worth the Investment

If you’re having trouble sleeping, the first thing I would recommend is investing in a pregnancy pillow. This is a horseshoe shaped pillow that will support your head, breasts, stomach and knees in one go. The other advantage is that when you turn from side to side, you won’t have to be rearranging all the pillows to your new side. Everything will be waiting for you, all ready.

Another great trick to sleeping while pregnant is to try a new location. Does the couch allow you more solid sleep after the first half is spent in bed? What about the guest bed for half the night? For some reason, changing sleep locations part way through the night can really help.

Hops, valerian tincture and Calms Forte are two natural sleep aids that are safe for most women during pregnancy. Do they help at all?

When you wake up are you eating? You might be waking up because you’re hungry and you don’t even know it. Eat some cottage cheese or a handful of almonds and try falling back to sleep. That may be all you need.

There is the saying that pregnancy sleep is preparing you for parenting a new baby. While that is completely unhelpful to most women, it is partly true. You’re going to be waking up every 2 or so hours with a newborn, so this is practice in a sense.

The best thing you can do is honor your body and know that you are doing the best you can. If you aren’t able to get solid sleep, at least rest and nap as much as possible. And be kind to yourself.

Being a Homebirth Cesarian can be an incredibly challenging experience and this book is meant to tell the story of what happens to a mom during transport and what her recovery is like. It also focuses on things homebirth midwives can do to help ease the transition.

If you, or anyone you know, is interested in being interviewed for this book, please send an email to: Courtney@FullMoonsDaughter.com. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have and work within your comfort level.

Please share this post with anyone who may be interested.

Healing from a Cesarean is a huge undertaking, not to mention caring for a brand new baby. Your healing will take a significant amount of time and energy. Be kind to yourself and remember that you just had major abdominal surgery. Even 6 months down the road you may not feel like your old self yet, but eventually you will get there.

The Incision
Call your caregiver if the following things happen:
~ Warmth, redness or swelling at the incision site
~ Oozing from the incision
~ Worsening or sudden onset of pain
~ Any fever, even if the incision looks and feels fine

Acute pain at the incision can last up to 8 weeks. As your incision heals, it will turn white, then red again, itch, then not itch and sometimes be painful. Jeans and seams may rub the incision and cause discomfort.

Caring for Your Incision
~ Rest, rest, rest
~ For the first week or two, laying down to sleep is not possible. You will need to lay in a reclined position. Use lots of pillows to support your body.
~ Have someone help you lift the baby to breastfeed and change the baby.
~ Find a breastfeeding position (football hold or cradle with lots of pillows) that keeps weight off your incision.
~ Use lots of pillows to support your body in bed when awake.
~ When you need to get up from bed, use a rolled towel or pillow against your incision. Do this when you need to sneeze, cough or laugh.
~ Never lift anything heavier than your baby for 8 weeks.
~ Avoid stairs for at least a week after your surgery, longer if you can.
~ Ask for everything you need to be brought to you.

Pain Medication
~Take it! Do not allow it to wear off completely. Once the pain catches up to you it os really hard  to get back on top of it again.

Recovery
~ After the first week, consider walking around the house more. After the second week, consider walking around the block.
~ The thing with healing from a C-Section and caring for a new baby is that the rug can be pulled out from under you very quickly. You may feel a sudden burst of energy and decide to go grocery shopping. Mid-way through the trip your energy may drop and you may have a very difficult time getting home again. Conserve your energy. You have the rest of your life to do those things, right now you need to heal.
~ 6 weeks after your surgery, if you still feel pulling at the incision or are still feeling pain when moving, ask your caregiver for a physical therapy referral.
~ Swimming is a great, low impact form of exercise that can help heal.

Bathing
~ Let warm water gently run over your incision.
~ When it’s time to remove your steri strips, do it in the shower with warm water.
~ Do not take a bath for 2 weeks after the surgery. Most likely you won’t be able to lay down in the tub anyway.
~ Avoid hot tubs for 6 weeks.

Driving
~ Do not drive for 3-6 weeks following surgery. You should be able to push on the brakes without hesitation due to abdominal pain.

~ You also need to be off your pain meds before getting behind the wheel.

Doing Too Much
~ Your body needs to heal. That is most important.
~ When women take on too much after a surgery they are more likely to get breast and uterine infections, have breastfeeding problems and long-term incision issues.

Classes are held at T Michael Healing Arts Clinic at 422 SE 79th Ave. Portland, OR. Located on the corner of SE Stark on 79th above the Bi Partisan Cafe.

Cost of the class is $150 – $200 per mama/couple for 4, 2 hour sessions. The fee is based on what you can afford. Minimum of 3 mamas/couples, max of 6.

Call us at 503.737.8834 to be added to the class list.

Where: Classes are held at T Michael Healing Arts Clinic at 422 SE 79th Ave. Portland, OR. Located on the corner of SE Stark on 79th above the Bi Partisan Cafe.

Cost: $150 – 200 per mama/couple for 4, 2 hour sessions. Minimum of 3 mamas/couples, max of 6.

Call us at 503.737.8834 to be added to the class list or if you have questions.

Breakfast can sometimes be a hard place to get that protein, especially when you want pancakes! The recipe below is full of protein and takes about 10 minutes to prep and 10 minutes to cook. Enjoy!!!

3-4 egg whites

2 cups old fashioned oats

11 ounces of cottage cheese

1/2 cup of milk

1 tablespoon of citrus zest (lemon, orange) (don’t skip out on this ingredient)

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Option blueberries or other fruit to add to batter

• In blender or food processor, combine egg whites, oats, cottage cheese, zest, vanilla and salt. Blend until smooth.
• Pour batter into a greased skillet, sprinkle with fruit
• Enjoy Mamas!