If this is your first time having a baby, I’m sure the thoughts you’re currently having about labor and delivery are varied. You might be scared, excited, nervous, overwhelmed, calm, or a combination of all of the above. One of the weirdest parts is that unless you’re having a planned induction or c-section, you really just have no idea when baby will make their appearance. You hit 37 weeks and suddenly it’s like… baby could come, like, tomorrow, or in 5 more weeks. So wild.
One of the best ways to fill your time as you wait is to prepare yourself for labor and delivery. I’ve heard plenty of mamas say, “Oh, there’s just so much that will be out of my control so I’m just going to see how it goes,” and to be frank, I don’t really agree with that statement.
Labor is a marathon. You wouldn’t run a marathon without any training, right? Sure, there are tons of things about a marathon that are out of your control, like the weather, who else is running the race, and what spectators will be shouting at you from the sidelines. But you would definitely be training your body and mind before that marathon, right? I think the same for labor and delivery.
Training your Body
It truly is incredible what the female body goes through during labor. I chose to experience labor and delivery with my daughter unmedicated, so I was really able to feel every sensation as I worked through many hours of contractions, and then pushed my baby out. But even if you go the epidural route and have less sensation, that really doesn’t take away from the fact that physiological birth is AMAZING. And so so so taxing on the body! For this reason, I find it imperative to train the body in advance to prepare yourself for successful labor. Here are some of the things I recommend all pregnant women do in preparation for labor and delivery:
- Pelvic tilts: this helps to strengthen your core, open your pelvis, help baby settle in head-down, and can relieve back and pelvic discomfort. Learn how to do it properly here.
- Pelvic floor exercises: these help to strengthen your pelvic floor, which can prevent tearing during delivery, help push baby out more comfortably, and prevent future incontinence. See which exercises are best here.
- Walking: no surprise here, walking is a great form of exercise during pregnancy and is helpful on many fronts. Try to fit in at least 1 2-minute walk each day as you prepare for the baby's arrival!
- Eating dates: studies show that eating dates during pregnancy helps women to have higher cervical dilation, intact membranes, and more spontaneous labor. 6 dates a day is recommended near the end of the third trimester.
- Contraction practice: yes, really! You might be having some Braxton Hicks contractions, but that’s not what I’m talking about. My husband and I took The Bradley Method birth course (which was 10/10) to prepare for labor and delivery, and one of the main aspects of the course is labor practice. For the last 12 weeks of my pregnancy, we would take 20 minutes before going to sleep to practice contractions. I highly suggest either taking the Bradley Method course, or reading the Bradley Method book, which you can find here.
- Taking a breastfeeding course: this is the part of immediate postpartum that I was *not* prepared for. I assumed that breastfeeding would just come naturally and we would figure it out as we go. Not at ALL how it went. I had soooo many issues, pain, tears, and almost gave up entirely after a few days. This is why I now always recommend to other pregnant mamas that they take a comprehensive breastfeeding course before giving birth. The course that completely saved my breastfeeding journey a few weeks postpartum is The Thompson Method.
Training Your Mind
Just like with a marathon, birth requires a certain level of mental preparedness! There are many ways to go about training your mind for labor, but I don’t recommend just avoiding the thought of labor and delivery until the moment it arrives. There are many excellent resources and birth courses out that that help you prepare yourself for the intensity, beauty, unexpected, and sometimes trauma that can come with labor and delivery. Here are some of my favorite resources:
- The Bradley Method Birth Course
- Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method
- The Christian Hypnobirthing App (amazing, beautiful soundtracks to listen to while you are pregnant and during labor)
- Bridget Tyler’s YouTube Channel (all of her videos for labor and delivery are FANTASTIC, and she has some meditation tracks you can listen to as well)
- Journaling about your expectations, excitements, fears, or hopes and prayers for your new baby
Labor and delivery can be VERY unpredictable. But there’s also a *lot* you can do to keep yourself grounded even when you don’t know what to exactly expect. You’ve got this mama.
Prepping for Postpartum
Eventually, labor and delivery will be over, and it’s on to the postpartum season! For many moms, this part is much harder. Your hormones come crashing down, you’re physically recovering, exhausted, and learning to take care of this new tiny human. It’s a lot. Here’s a list of some random things I recommend having on hand to make the postpartum season just a bit easier:
- Freezer meals: you can either start making these now during the end of your pregnancy, or you can ask family and friends to bring freezer meals for you after the baby arrives. But trust me, you will not want to spend an hour each night trying to figure out what to eat. Freezer meals are THE BEST.
- Organic cotton disposable underwear: the disposable underwear they give you at the hospital may be convenient, but it’s full of nasty toxins that I don’t want touching my sensitive lady parts as they are healing. I LOVED these disposable pairs from Rael.
- Period Underwear: another fantastic and non-toxic option for postpartum bleeding. I am obsessed with this brand - I literally own every kind of underwear they sell!
- High-quality protein powder: it is incredibly important that you are being well-fed and nourishing during the postpartum season. A lot of postpartum mood swings can be attributed to under-eating, as well as vitamin and mineral deficiencies. A high quality protein powder can be a quick and easy way to pack in a filling, nutritious smoothie when you’re in a pinch. I love this grassfed beef protein powder from Equip (use code KVG for 15% off!)
- Organic cotton robe: I literally lived in this amazingly comfy and toxin-free robe for 2 months after giving birth. It’s absolutely the best thing in my wardrobe.
- A newborn wrap: for me, babywearing was one of the sweetest parts about that initial postpartum season. I wore my daughter in a newborn wrap pretty much all day long for several weeks. It was such a bonding experience for us, and I really loved these soft, beautiful wraps from Solly Baby.
**Please note, nothing in this article is medical advice; it is purely educational. Consult with your healthcare provider if you have questions.
Looking for weekly pregnancy updates & advice from industry experts?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kristen is a Christ follower, wife, mama, and holistic living enthusiast, with a passion for birth photography. Kristen's journey from illness to wellness led her to embrace toxin-free living. She shares her expertise through photography services and valuable tips for holistic living.
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Got sugar?
Usually sometime between 24 and 28 weeks, your healthcare provider will have you come in for a pregnancy glucose tolerance test. Glucose (sugar) screening is a blood test that is checking you for gestational diabetes, meaning diabetes that specifically appears during pregnancy. If you’re unfamiliar with diabetes, it is a condition where your body does not regulate sugar properly because it cannot make enough of the hormone insulin. Insulin is released from the pancreas to regulate the amount of sugar in your blood. If not enough of it is being produced, then the levels of sugar in your bloodstream will be too high, which can cause high blood pressure which is unsafe for both mama and baby. This can also lead to a pregnancy complication called pre-eclampsia (symptoms including high blood pressure, high levels of protein in your urine, significant swelling, and more) which can lead to serious issues for baby and potential organ damage for mama. If your doctor finds pre-eclampsia, they will most likely want to induce you early, which may lead to other interventions during labor and delivery.
Long story short, it’s important to prevent and check for gestational diabetes!
The Glucose Tolerance Test
So what is this test, exactly? You consume a sugary drink given to you by your care provider, wait for at least an hour, and then have your blood drawn. Sounds easy, right? When I was early in pregnancy I remember asking other women about their experience with the test, and I heard things like “it was horrible,” “I felt so sick,” “I almost passed out,” etc. So that led me to ask… why does it seem to be the worst thing ever?? So it seems to be boiled down to 2 main things:
- The drink that you have to consume at the beginning of the test is disgusting, and
- You consume a TON of sugar from this drink and then are not allowed to eat for at least an hour
… and it seems like for lots of women, this is a very problematic combination. The nasty sugar drink combined with not being able to eat anything afterwards leads many women to nausea, dizziness, headaches, and jitteriness.
Out of curiosity, I asked my care provider if I could see the label on the glucose test drink when I was near the start of the second trimester. The ingredient list said: purified water, 50g Dextrose (D-glucose derived from corn), Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Sodium Benzoate, 0.1%, FD&C Yellow #6.
Let’s break this ingredient list down a little, shall we?
- Purified water: no problems here!
- 50g Dextrose (derived from corn): First of all, 50 grams of sugar is double the recommended amount per day for a female. Second, dextrose is a highly processed form of sugar that is derived from GMO corn (as in, it is also highly processed and has unhealthy chemicals and pesticides added to it).
- Citric acid: a chemical that serves as a preservative and also gives an acidic flavor to foods and drinks; originally extracted from lemons but due to its high demand in processed foods, it is now usually derived from GMO corn (see above note).
- Natural and artificial flavors: there is absolutely nothing natural about these. These are chemicals derived in a lab to make things taste better. They have zero nutritional value and serve as an all-encompassing umbrella label that allows companies to use pretty much anything and everything (animals, plants, eggs, dairy, & more) to create these flavorant chemicals
- Sodium benzoate 0.1%: This chemical also serves as a preservative and is associated with side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
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FD&C Yellow #6: This is artificial coloring. It is created as a byproduct of petroleum. Several different cancer-causing carcinogens have been found in food dyes, and these are also highly processed and created in a lab.
So what should we make of all that? The information about these ingredients might not personally bother you, and that’s okay! For me, I personally feel pretty strongly about avoiding unnecessary chemical exposures through food and drink, especially during pregnancy. So that’s why I started to figure out if there were any alternatives to this dreaded drink.
Glucose Test Alternatives
There’s 4 other options to this orange or lemon flavored “nasty drink.” They are:
- Check with your care provider to see if they offer another version of the glucose drink that does not contain preservatives or food dyes. My office did, and that drink only contained water and dextrose. Even if your office doesn’t have it in stock, they may be able to order it for you.
- Bring your own glucose drink! Yes, you can totally do this. I recommend The Fresh Test, a lemonade-like powder that you buy yourself, take to your glucose tolerance test, mix with water, and drink. The ingredients are: Non-GMO Dextrose, Crystalized Lemon, and Organic Peppermint Leaf Powder.
- Skip the test and monitor your glucose levels at home for about a week. This is much more time intensive as you will most likely be asked by your healthcare provider to prick your finger several times a day for several days to check your blood sugar levels with a glucometer. But, this method would also negate the need to drink a glucose drink.
- Skip the gestational diabetes screening altogether. Ultimately, it’s your choice! Even if your healthcare provider makes it seem mandatory, technically nothing is mandatory in pregnancy and birth – it’s your body, your baby, and your journey, so it’s up to you. If you don’t have a history of diabetes, it doesn’t run in your family, you’re at a healthy weight, don’t consume lots of junk food and sugar, then you probably have an extremely low risk for GD. Lots of women like to do the test anyway for peace of mind, but if you feel comfortable skipping it, you’re totally allowed to!
For my first pregnancy, I personally opted to use The Fresh Test for my glucose tolerance test. For future pregnancies I may opt out of the test since I am at very low risk for GD, but time will tell for sure on that decision! Whatever you decide to do, it’s probably a good idea to make a decision now, because your healthcare provider will likely schedule you for a screening in the next couple of weeks.
**Please note, nothing in this article is medical advice; it is purely educational. Consult with your healthcare provider if you have questions.
Looking for weekly pregnancy updates & advice from industry experts?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kristen is a Christ follower, wife, mama, and holistic living enthusiast, with a passion for birth photography. Kristen's journey from illness to wellness led her to embrace toxin-free living. She shares her expertise through photography services and valuable tips for holistic living.
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Hopefully you’re taking good care of yourself and showering regularly. But actually I’m not talking about personal hygiene, I’m talking about BABY SHOWERS! They can be oh so fun but also oh so stressful. If you haven’t already started a baby registry with all the items you think you’ll need for your little babe’s arrival (in about 16 short weeks, eek!!) then you may be starting to feel the pressure to get going! Family members and friends might already be asking you what they can buy for that sweet growing baby.
I don’t know about you, but I would consider myself pretty picky when it comes to things for my baby. When I was pregnant, I made it very clear to family and friends that I didn’t want to be gifted random colorful toys or baby clothes – I only wanted to receive the items that I had specifically curated and put onto our baby registry. And even at that, I still got several random pink outfits and hand-sewn or crocheted blankets, which hold great sentimental value, truly, but when you see a long list of registry essentials that have yet to be purchased, that can create some mixed feelings.
So maybe you’ve started your list, maybe you haven’t – and that’s ok! I’m bringing you all the knowledge I’ve accumulated as a holistic mama who recently went through the whole pregnancy/baby shower/newborn thing. I’ve curated for you the ultimate list of toxin-free baby registry must haves. Not the things that might be nice but will ultimately end up in a drawer, unused. Nope, none of that. These are the absolute essentials. And toxin-free, too! That was my #1 priority when it came to choosing things for my daughter, so you’re reaping the benefits of my hundreds of hours of painstaking research (you’re welcome ;)).
So here it is! The toxin-free things I *actually* used with my baby. I recommend using Babylist to create your registry. You can add links from ANY website!
The Ultimate Toxin-Free Baby Registry Of Total Essentials
Diapers: We chose to go the cloth diapering route. No regrets; absolutely none. It has been the best thing of all time. We fell in love with the Esembly cloth diapering system, and literally use all of their products - diapers, laundering, skincare, etc. It’s totally amazing, and totally toxin-free and so great for your little baby’s bum. Shop Esembly here.
If you decide that cloth diapering isn’t for you, I recommend HealthyBaby diapers, or Coterie.
Wipes: We use the cotton wipes that come with the Esembly diapering system. We just wash them with the cloth diapers and use the Esembly foaming wash that goes with them. It’s literally fool-proof.
If you want to go the disposable route for wipes, I recommend these organic cotton dry wipes. Just add a little spritz of water from a tiny spray bottle :)
Diaper Cream: I love to use this beef tallow-based cream for our daughter’s sensitive areas (look up the benefits of organic beef tallow: it’s AMAAAAZING), or we also use the Everyday Balm from Esembly.
Diaper Pail: We love the Ubbi Diaper Pail made from steel. It works with our cloth diapering bags and would also work with regular trash bags too for disposable diapers.
Changing Table Pad: Naturepedic Changing Pad. Doesn’t need a cover :)
Nursing Pillow: Personally I didn’t use a nursing pillow much (I birthed a 10.5lb baby so I didn’t need to prop her *quite large* head up much for nursing), but she liked to use this toxin-free nursing pillow as a support when she started to sit up on her own. I purchased a Boppy brand organic cotton cover for it since they are the same size pillow.
Diaper Bag: This organic cotton convertible tote is toxin-free and spacious (and totally cute!!).
Burp Cloths: If you have a baby that spits up (we did), then you will need WAY more burp cloths than you think. Like way way way more. We loved these.
Bibs: See above comment about burp cloths. Our baby went through 5-10 bibs per DAY because of all her spit up (cue the upside-down smile emoji). These were wonderful and came in multiple cute colors, and these white ones went well with any outfit.
Pacifiers: Pacifiers are pretty highly debated, especially in the holistic health world. We let our daughter use one until she started teething around 6 months, and then quickly weaned her off of it. We really loved these silicone pacifiers.
Baby Blanket: This is the first of many brags I will make about Parade Organics. I truly could not love a baby company more. They are based in Canada and truly have the softest, highest quality baby textiles (blankets, clothing, sleepers, etc.). We couldn’t have been more obsessed. We bought 2 of these organic cotton baby blankets for our daughter and she loved to be swaddled in them as a newborn and still loves to play with them and use them for warmth in her car seat and stroller. 10/10.
Baby Lounger: Although we didn’t use it much past the age of about 4 months, we did love the Snuggle Me Organic when our girl was a newborn. It’s not considered safe for overnight sleeping use, but we would let her nap in it while we kept an eye on her during the day. It’s super nice to have a comfy spot to place the baby so they can snooze while you get other things done (laundry, cooking, watching Netflix, etc.)
Bassinet: I suggest the Nuna Sena Aire. It's a bassinet that converts to a pack-n-play style travel crib that folds up into a super compact bag. It’s toxin free and totally stylish.
Bouncer: I preferred to avoid any electronic baby gear that plugged into the wall because I wanted to limit our daughter’s exposure to harmful EMF radiation, so we opted for this BabyBjorn Bouncer, which truly was amazing. Like honestly the baby loved it and loved the bouncing motion of the seat. We would put her in it while we cooked and ate dinner and she was 100% content to just look at us and smile from her bouncer.
Stroller: The main thing to look out for in baby gear is added flame retardants. There are lots of good stroller options out there that are relatively low in toxins, so feel free to do your own research! We chose the Vista V2 Stroller for our daughter because it has the option to convert to a double stroller (which felt important to us since we hope to have more kids in the future). Another great brand is Nuna - they do not use any added chemical flame retardants in any of their baby gear.
Car Seat: Again, we went with the UPPAbaby system and got the Mesa V2 Car seat… all three colors are flame-retardant free!! Nuna is also a great brand for non-toxic car seats. If you’d rather use a convertible car seat (one that stays in the car and cannot connect to a stroller base but can hold your child up to much heavier weights) then I suggest the Nuna Rava or Nuna Exec.
Jogging Stroller: This stroller is an investment, for sure, but a worthwhile one. It is free of flame retardants and PFAs, is made from recycled plastic bottles, and it brags the OEKO-TEX certification (meaning it has been tested for toxic substances and passed the test!). You can also add the organic cotton seat liner so that your baby’s skin is only touching the cleanest of materials.
Car Seat Cover: This muslin car seat canopy.
Clothing: You’ll need mostly full-body onesies at first (some brands call them sleep & plays). We love the 100% cotton ones (ideally organic cotton) from brands like Parade Organics, Little Plant by Carters, Old Navy, Rabbit + Bear, and O2 Baby (on Amazon). You’ll want to avoid polyester fabric as much as possible, as it contains chemicals that can be harmful to your baby’s hormones and lungs.
SleepSacs: Parade Organics. We got 2 of each size.
Swaddler: Our daughter hated having her arms confined, so we gave up on a swaddle for sleeping within about 10 days, but this one is great if your baby likes to have their arms held down.
Laundry Detergent: We use the washing powder that comes with our cloth diapering system to wash our clothes too, but I also recommend Branch Basics for a toxin-free laundry option for your sweet lil babe.
High Chair: We have loved the Stokke Tripp Trapp.
Baby floor seat/booster seat: The Upseat (code KRISTENVANGILSE10) is the only hip-safe baby floor seat on the market. Other brands (like Bumbo) can cause hip dysplasia. We love the Upseat!
Breast Pump: I got the Spectra S1 breast pump through my insurance, but I also recommend the Haaka silicone breast pump for collecting the letdown from the opposite breast to create a freezer stash of breast milk.
Breast Milk Storage Bags: I highly suggest silicone storage bags, because plastic can leach harmful chemicals into the breast milk. We have used these silicone bags as well as these silicone pouches, and both are wonderful. Another great option is to freeze your milk in glass Mason jars (just make sure to leave room at the top for the milk to expand as it freezes!).
Bottles: We wanted to avoid plastic bottles since plastic contains harmful chemicals that can transfer to liquids, especially when warmed. We opted for these glass and silicone bottles, which we started using with our baby around 6 weeks old. We love them!!
Bottle warmer: Some people say that a bottle warmer is unnecessary, but we personally use ours for every bottle and love it! We have this one.
Bathtub: I spent a lot of time researching baby bath tubs. There aren’t very many options that are plastic free, so I ended up choosing this one that is BPA, PVC, and phthalate free. We used this tub with our daughter until she was able to climb out of it around 7.5 months. Another option is this Puj tub that is used in a regular sized sink (our daughter was almost 11lbs at birth so even though we had this tub, she was almost too big for it from the beginning).
Baby Wash: Pipette Baby Shampoo and Body Wash - Fragrance Free.
Comb + Brush: Green Sprouts.
Wash Cloths: Any organic cotton washcloths will do, but we loved these from Carter’s.
Towel: Look for organic cotton. We love these animal towels.
Crib: I recommend choosing a wooden crib over a metal one. This crib from Dadada is a sturdy, beautiful, high-quality option that is GREENGUARD Gold Certified (an awesome certification for low-VOCs). If you’ve got an unlimited crib budget, then you might want to check out the Kalon Caravan crib - it’s the ultimate non-toxic, eco friendly crib on the market these days.
Crib Sheets: Again, organic cotton is the way to go. Honest Baby is a great company for organic cotton baby gear. We use these sheets!
Crib Mattress: I recommend Naturepedic or Kalon for a crib mattress. Avoid foam mattresses which are not certified GOLS (Global Organic Latex Standard, organic latex) because of chemical off-gassing.
Sound Machine: A sound machine that uses rechargeable battery power is preferable over one that needs to be plugged in constantly because of “dirty electricity” (harmful EMF radiation) that comes from outlets. We like this one.
Baby monitor: Personally I am not a big fan of baby monitors because of the massive amount of EMF radiation that they put off in a baby’s room (near their bed while they are sleeping), especially ones that utilize bluetooth and/or WiFi. If you are keeping EMFs in mind, you’ll want to avoid wearable tech for babies, like bluetooth or Wifi-enabled devices. If you really want to have a monitor that uses video, I suggest this audio-only baby monitor. The safest option as far as radiation goes is to opt out of baby monitors entirely, which is what we decided to do after a couple of months.
Snot Sucker: The NoseFrida.
Nail Trimmer: This thing is awesome.
Teethers: Anything 100% food-grade silicone. We like the ones from Mushie.
Toys: We avoid plastic to the best of our ability, so we focus on toys that are 100% organic cotton, 100% food-grade silicone, and 100% natural wood. We love Apple Park for stuffed animals and loveys.
Play gym: Finn + Emma Play Gym.
Play Mat: We have absolutely loved the toxin-free play mats from Toki Mats.
Baby Carrier/Wrap: For a newborn/young baby, I practically lived in my baby wrap. For a more structured baby carrier, I recommend the Nuna CUDL for things like hiking/long walks.
Glider: We have had 2 different DaVinci Baby gliders (we currently have this one), and I honestly couldn’t be happier with them. None of their gliders use any chemical flame retardants which is a BIG WIN in my book. Another great low-VOC and low-tox brand is Babyletto.
Rolling baby station: Okay, this is a random find but I definitely suggest having a metal rolling cart full of baby supplies. I initially had this by my bedside with diapering supplies, pumping supplies, snacks, water, my charger and headphones, tissues, and burp cloths. After several weeks we moved it permanently to sit next to the glider in our daughter’s nursery and it became the home for my pump and some of her blankets and toys. It’s versatile and so helpful to have.
Clothing Hamper: We love this 100% cotton clothing hamper for the nursery. Great for laundry, blankets, or toys.
FOR MOM:
Pads: These organic cotton pads are amazing for postpartum recovery. I also loved their disposable underwear - I lived in these for the first 2 weeks postpartum.
Peri bottle: This thing is so much better than the one they gave me at the hospital.
Perineal Balm: This perineal balm feels like magic *down there.* I kid you not. You just GOTTA have this for your tender lady parts postpartum.
Nursing bras: I have to hand it to Bodily that they legitimately created my ideal postpartum nursing bra on all fronts. Comfortable, lightweight, no wire, strenchy, fits like a glove, and made from non-toxic materials. *Chef’s kiss*
Nursing pads: These organic bamboo nursing pads are perfect for stopping those annoying leaks.
Silver nipple cups: Sore nipples from breastfeeding? These are literally lifesavers. I cannot tell you how much I wish I would’ve ordered these sooner than 4 weeks postpartum.
Robe: Yep, go ahead and register for a robe for yourself, mama. You’ll be living in it for a couple weeks after baby gets here. I LOVE this organic cotton robe from Under the Canopy. So freaking soft and comfy.
Aaaaand that’s it! All my absolute essentials. And just a reminder, mama: what your baby needs more than anything else is YOU. Your love, your body, your heartbeat, your voice. You don’t need the fanciest gear or the most beautiful nursery or the best baby tech. In fact, you don’t need to buy everything 100% toxin free. You just need to give your baby YOU. It’s hard, it’s tiring, it’s painful, it’s tearful, but it’s also beautiful and fulfilling and heartwarming and amazing. You’ve got this mama.
Now get to work on that registry!
Looking for weekly pregnancy updates & advice from industry experts?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kristen is a Christ follower, wife, mama, and holistic living enthusiast, with a passion for birth photography. Kristen's journey from illness to wellness led her to embrace toxin-free living. She shares her expertise through photography services and valuable tips for holistic living.
]]>Choosing a Care Provider
One of the most important things you can do at this stage of your pregnancy is find a care provider. You’ll be due for your first ultrasound here in a few weeks, and this is a great time to pick a healthcare professional to work with, if you haven’t already. If you didn’t know, there are 3 standard location options for where you will deliver your baby. They are: hospital birth, birth center birth, or home birth. Also sometimes a car birth or grocery store birth occur, but that is certainly never the original plan.
Some of the main factors when it comes to your birth location are: your financial and insurance situation, what you and your birth partner/s are most comfortable with, and who your care provider will be. If you choose an OB/GYN to care for you during pregnancy and delivery, you will have to deliver in a hospital. Doctors cannot attend birth center deliveries or home births. Another option is a midwife - they essentially can do the exact same things as OBs can, they just have a different educational background and usually a somewhat different approach to prenatal appointments and birth, although not always. The third option is a free birth, where you intentionally give birth at home without a healthcare professional in attendance, but that is not a common practice.
Your care provider will monitor you during pregnancy, answer questions you have, educate you on birth plans and practices, and, when the time comes, deliver your baby. The number one most important question to ask yourself when you are choosing a healthcare provider is: “Do I feel 100% comfortable with and respected by this person?” If the answer is not a resounding “yes!” then you should not feel bad about searching for someone else. You can change providers right up until you give birth – seriously!
Remember, choosing a care provider is no different than hiring someone. You will be spending 9 months visiting that person’s office for checkups, asking them all your questions, and they will most likely be putting their hands where the sun doesn’t shine and seeing you fully naked!! It’s so so so important that you feel completely at ease with your OB or midwife and trust them with your life.
Some good questions to ask when you are “interviewing” a care provider are:
- How much time will you be able to spend with me to answer questions during each prenatal appointment?
- What percentage of your patients deliver via C-section in comparison to vaginal?
- What’s your opinion on induction?
- How many ultrasounds will your office perform during my pregnancy?
- Will I be allowed to carry my pregnancy past 40 weeks if I want to?
- Will you always ask my permission before performing cervical exams and membrane sweeps? And will I be allowed to say no?
- How will I be able to contact you/your office with emergency questions during my pregnancy?
- Do you allow for VBACs (if applicable) or vaginal breech deliveries?
Ask ALL the questions. Don’t be embarrassed! You don’t want to regret choosing a care provider just because your sister/mom/friend recommended them to you. I personally chose a hospital birth attended by a midwife team. My local hospital has a midwifery clinic as a part of the hospital, so I went there for all my prenatal appointments and ultrasounds, and delivered my baby on the hospital’s Labor & Delivery floor… I just had a midwife by my side instead of a doctor. I had a wonderful experience doing so, but you obviously have to make the best choice about a care provider for you and your family!
I HIGHLY recommend watching the 2008 documentary The Business of Being Born. It discusses the role of hospitals and modern medicine in childbirth.
Dealing with Early Pregnancy Anxiety (Trigger Warning: Pregnancy Loss)
Remember to give yourself plenty of grace. These first few weeks may be anxiety ridden as you are waiting for your first ultrasound and hoping for the confirmation of a heartbeat. You may be checking the toilet every time you go pee to make sure nothing looks out of the ordinary. If you’ve experienced loss before, then I’m sure this 6 week mark is really tough and scary. Every day that passes gets you closer and closer to the ultrasound where you hope to walk out with some cute B&W pics and a big smile on your face, but that’s just not always the reality. Loss is not your fault, and it can happen to anyone.
If you’re the kind of person who finds statistics helpful and/or comforting, you may want to check out this miscarriage probability chart. It tells you, based on the average, how likely you are to have a miscarriage at any given week and day of your pregnancy. With each progressing day, your likelihood of loss goes down. I found a lot of comfort during the early weeks of pregnancy to check this chart periodically and see the percentage continue to lessen. At the start of 6 weeks, your likelihood of miscarriage is 13.5%, and by the end of week 6 that number has already gone down to 9.4%. Personally, I think it’s pretty cool to see that!
I also find it really important to focus on the good things to distract from the looming fear of something going wrong. Confide in your partner or a close friend if you are struggling mentally. Practice meditation or prayer. Go on walks outside. Drink plenty of water. Hang in there, mama. You’re doing great. The first trimester is so tough for so many reasons, but so are you!!
**Please note, nothing in this article is medical advice; it is purely educational. Consult with your healthcare provider if you have questions.
Looking for weekly pregnancy updates & advice from industry experts?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kristen is a Christ follower, wife, mama, and holistic living enthusiast, with a passion for birth photography. Kristen's journey from illness to wellness led her to embrace toxin-free living. She shares her expertise through photography services and valuable tips for holistic living.
]]>Hello everybody! My name is Kristen, and I’m here today to give you an honest review of the Naturepedic Breathable Ultra 2-stage Organic Crib Mattress. So let’s dig in!
When you’re thinking about building a baby registry, I think it’s very common, especially if you’re working with a limited budget for your new baby to think like, ”Oh what can I get on Facebook marketplace?”, “What can I get from a friend who’s out of the little baby stage?” and all of that stuff. But I think it is really important to make sure that you buy a crib mattress new. Just because of all the factors - you don’t know what environments they’ve been in - if they’ve been in moldy homes, or homes with pets, or smoking, or anything like that. There’s just not necessarily a guarantee of the cleanliness of a baby mattress when you’re finding something that’s used. So, I find this is one of the most important items, when you’re having a new baby, to buy something new.
There are so many crib mattresses that are out there on the market, so it’s sometimes a little difficult to weed through all the different options and consider like, “Okay, which one is truly the best for me?” and I’m always going to be making decisions from a lens of “Which is the safest for my child?”. We selected the Naturepedic Crib Mattress for Marceline because it’s really stellar on so many levels, so I thought I would share a little bit with you guys today about what makes the Naturepedic Crib Mattress so great, and why we love using it in our nursery.
Okay, so I have the mattress right here. I am not really going to bring it any closer, just because it’s big. Well, it’s not that big… It's a crib mattress. It’s the smallest mattress size that, like, pretty much exists. But, I just wanted to have it here for a visual, just so you guys can see.
First of all, one of the things I really love about this mattress is how lightweight it is. We had a different brand of non-toxic crib mattress before this one, and it was so heavy. I could barely change the sheets without getting some help because it was so heavy. This one, as you can see, is super lightweight - I’m not exerting very much energy to lift it up, which is a great feature. It’s super lightweight, I truly love that part about it, because that means I can change the sheets easily on my own, instead of having to call my husband for help or waiting until he’s home. So, that’s a huge plus about this mattress.
The main feature about this crib mattress that truly is the ultimate selling point for me is that it is organic and non-toxic. Naturepedic doesn’t use any kind of toxic foam to create the body of their mattress, unlike most other companies. And, in addition to that, they also don’t use any vinyl, any phthalates, any PFAs, or pesticides, GMO materials, or anything like that. It’s really really safe for your baby. And, newborns spend, like, around 75% of their day sleeping, so if you’re using a crib for newborn, you want to make sure that you’re choosing a mattress that’s made of safe materials that’s not harming their health or harming their lungs. And, in addition, the Naturepedic crib mattresses are GOTS Certified, which means that they have organic cotton to make up the outside, which is super important. GOTS Certified means that it’s been tested for toxic materials and has come back under the limit. So that’s a really good certification to look for in nursery furniture. And then in addition to the GOTS certification, it’s also GREENGUARD Gold Certified, Certified Vegan, and certified Formaldehyde Free. So those are all really good points of reference for just how clean and non-toxic this mattress really is.
Another popular marketing point by a lot of other mattress brands is breathability. Naturepedic has actually done something kind of amazing and they have made their mattress super breathable while still being waterproof, which is really hard to find. Especially when you’re dealing with non-toxic materials. So, they’re using non-toxic materials to make their mattress completely waterproof and breathable.
I’ve never had any kind of concern about Marceline sleeping face down on this mattress because it is so breathable. And, if there’s ever any kind of leak or body fluid situation, I don’t have to worry at all because it’s completely waterproof and you never have to worry about any moisture getting inside the mattress, and causing issues like mold or smell or anything like that. And also on the subject of waterproofing: Naturepedic uses a non-toxic material to create waterproofing in their mattress, whereas most other brands that are marketing a “waterproof” mattress are generally using toxic materials and toxic chemicals to create that waterproof layer.
Another reason that we really love this mattress is that it’s non-allergenic. Marceline doesn’t seem to have any allergies to latex or wool, but there is a percentage of babies that are born with those kinds of allergies. And so, Naturepedic doesn’t use any wool or latex in their crib mattresses which means it is totally safe for babies even if they have sensitivities or allergies to those ingredients.
In terms of how much we’ve liked it:
I really just can’t speak highly enough about this mattress. I have total peace of mind about Marceline sleeping on it and spending many hours a day breathing on it, or around it - playing on it… and, she likes to pat it because it's nice and comfy, and jump on it.. all the things. I’m sure that this mattress will be in our family for a long, long time, and hopefully be used for many future babies as well. It’s a really good level of firmness on the infant side, which is what we’ve been using. It seems extremely comfortable, and like I mentioned before, it’s really easy to change. We’ve never had any issues with any leaking into the mattress and it’s really convenient to pull off the outer cover if it gets soiled, and just throw it right in the wash.
We give this mattress two thumbs up! You can purchase Naturepedic’s Breathable and Breathable Ultra 2 stage organic crib mattresses through theprestonagency.
If you have any questions about the Naturepedic Crib Mattress feel free to reach out to theprestonagency's customer care team at [email protected].
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kristen is a Christ follower, wife, mama, and holistic living enthusiast, with a passion for birth photography. Kristen's journey from illness to wellness led her to embrace toxin-free living. She shares her expertise through photography services and valuable tips for holistic living.
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