Baby Moon Midwife Service

Midwife Crystal is due with baby #6 next month. She and Deborah had a fun time drawing her darling baby on her belly. Did you know Deborah has a degree in fine arts? She loves to bring her skills into the practice! We usually do the belly drawings at 37 or 38 weeks, but you may need to remind us! #missourimidwife #finearts #midwiveshavingfun #

Ha! We DO recommend crawling around on the floor, especially later in pregnancy, to help with optimal positioning for baby and to relieve back pain. But we can totally understand not wanting to get down to pick up something you dropped! #missourimidwife #latepregnancyproblems #arewethereyet #helpamamaout

Screenshots from the Evidence Based Birth webinar about "Advanced Maternal Age" aka Pregnancy after 35 years of age. Do you know the risks? Did you know there were benefits? What does the research say? What were you told about pregnancy after 35?#missourimidwife #ebbirth #evidencebasedbirth #themoreyouknow #knowledgeispower #riskvsbenefits

Save the Date! Please come celebrate 13 years of Midwife Freedom in Missouri! This will also be a lovely opportunity to reunite with your birth team, meet area midwives, and build community with other supportive folks. https://fb.me/e/92exDxXO0 #missourimidwife #lovemomidwives #missourimidwivesassociation #midwifefreedomday

I accidentally knocked my dinner plate off the table with my belly. ~Crystal #missourimidwife #pregnancyproblems #pregnancyisfun

Your beautiful, healthy, normal placenta leaves a dinner plate sized wound inside. That's one of the reasons we encourage clients to rest and heal in the early postpartum. How do you prepare for those early days? #missourimidwife #normalizepostpartumrest #postpartum #placenta

The Postpartum Support Course Tok 112 is starting June 1st! If you're looking for ways to support family, friends, and your community in the postpartum, this is the right course for you!

What is your favorite breastfeeding memory from 2020? Was it the first time your baby latched? A moment when everything seemed to finally click? The first time ...your baby signed milk to nurse? Or maybe it was weaning? Tell us all about it and if you have pics, we want to see! My favorite breastfeeding memory from 2020 was the first time I could really tell my baby actually enjoyed breastfeeding. We had a rough start with tongue tie, too much weight lost, difficulty gaining, sleepiness at the breast, and pain. It felt like she didn't even like nursing (or being born, for that matter) but one day around 8 weeks old, she seemed excited and snuggled in for a long feed, completely relaxed. When she finally released my nipple in a deep sleep, there was a little dribble of milk that spilled down her cheek and she let out the sweetest sigh of contentment. My heart nearly burst.

Lots of classes starting this week. Registration is open!

We have a few openings for homebirth dates Mar-July 2021. Springfield, Missouri area. 417-751-0040. MissouriMidwife.com.

Aww, we love these!

I hope everyone has a great and restful weekend!

Three out of my four babies were born at home. After you have a homebirth you will hear things like, "you are so brave" and "you are so strong!" I still giggle ...about those comments. The truth is, I was lazy and scared. My own bed and shower, my own food, no driving, no thousand questions or strange faces? Heck yeah, GIVE ME ALL THE HOMEBIRTHS! Tell me some of your favorite things about your homebirths! Clearly homebirth has my heart, but for some people, a birth center is the only option for a truly non-medicalized birth experience. Every other Tuesday we have an awesome and informative open house at Miracle Midwifery birth center in Layton! We always tell people that we are homebirth midwives and we accidentally ended up with a birth center. We've worked hard to make it as much like home as possible. You still get some of *my* favorite things, and some other perks like no neighbors and the Miracle Tub! If you want an amazing birth center experience, check us out there. #pregnancy #birth #homebirth #whynothome #waterbirth #birthcenter #welcomebaby #growingfamilies #choices #communitymidwife #midwife #midwifelife #midwifelifepartner #miracletub #accessiblemidwiferycare #collaboration #pixistock #healbirthhealearth

Did you need a lot of "stuff" at your birth? What items were essential? https://naturalhomemomma.com/home-birth-checklist/

What is the ONE item you would want to have at your birth if you were birthing on a desert island and only had one thing with you?

Two boys born at home, on the same night, with the same midwives, but in different families!

At 4 days old my baby, my 8th breastfed baby, had corrective surgery to release a tongue and upper lip tie (frenotomy). It sucked. Why would we choose for our ...newborn to have this painful procedure done? For both immediate and long term health. The immediate health concern was breastfeeding. The long time health reasons ranged from feeding solids to breathing and sleep (tongue tie often leads to mouth breathing and sleep disturbances that in turn can impact brain development, focus, and behavior) to dental concerns. But it was the immediate concerns that made us move quickly. She was starving. I saw the frenulum restriction under her tongue while still in the birth tub. Within 24 hours my nipples were bright red and chapped and within 48 hours I had small wounds on my nipples. Her lips were blistered and peeling from a poor latch, she was losing weight (some weight loss is normal- she lost more than 10% of her birth weight and since I had no IV fluids during labor that weight loss couldn’t be accounted for), and she struggled to stay awake long at the breast as it took too much energy for her to feed well. Her latch looked good from the outside but I could tell she couldn’t hold it for long and her tongue wasn’t positioned correctly on my breast. Breastfeeding hurt me and wore her out. It was clear we were struggling with feeding. Her weight loss was alarming. We assessed the risk. Many babies with oral tethers go through revision and bounce back quickly, feeding well. Sometimes babies develop feeding aversions and refuse to feed. It could go well or it could be a new obstacle. Ultimately, we had to do something and the sooner the better. She was losing weight far too fast. Handing my days old newborn over to have laser surgery was hard. I cried. It was harder to watch her struggle at the breast, to see her losing weight rapidly, and to know we were headed for hospitalization if things didn’t turn around quickly. I felt it was necessary for her health and wellbeing. Thankfully, our doctor was amazing and the procedure was quick. I’m glad we had the tongue tie release done but it wasn’t the magic bullet I had hoped it would be. Initially, she didn’t want to feed at all. She refused the breast completely for 8 hours before finally latching. Even with me giving her drops of milk directly in her mouth, begging and pleading for her to take my breast. I can’t tell you the relief I felt when she finally latched and fed. The difference was noticeable but not drastic at first. She struggled with low energy and lost a good amount of weight, not getting back to her birth weight until 4 weeks and then gaining much slower than any of us would want (normal newborn weight gain is 5 - 7 ounces a week). The stretches and exercises to prevent reattachment and to strengthen her oral function were difficult and upsetting for both of us. Feeding was still work but at least now her tools were working properly. Now 10 weeks old my baby is back on her growth curve. She’s so much happier and loves to breastfeed, able to complete full feeds. Huge grins light up her face and my world. Some signs of tongue tie or other frenulum restriction Baby: Difficulty latching Sliding off the nipple Tires quickly during feeds Significant weight loss Difficulty gaining weight Blistered or cobblestone lips Jaw tension and gripping the breast with gums Dribbling milk at the breast Frequent coughing and gagging at the breast Clicking sounds while feeding Acts uncomfortable at breast Mouth breathing when not congested or sick Digestive issues such as reflux and excessive gassiness Colic Lactating parent: Pain with feeding Nipple tissue damage Pinched or "lipstick tube" nipples after feeding Milk supply issues (low supply and sometimes oversupply) Breast infections such as mastitis and thrush Prolonged engorgement Slow transitioning of milk from colostrum to mature milk It used to be believed it was just when the frenulum tissue ran to the tip of the tongue restricting tongue movement from extending out of the mouth and causing the tongue to appear heart shaped. Now we know that’s just one way tongue tie can present. Ultimately, having a frenulum is not the problem; compromised tongue mobility and functionality that cause problems for the mother and/or baby are the problem. Read more about the basics of tongue and lip tie here https://bit.ly/3mfGxum (Thanks to Melissa Cole, IBCLC and Dr. Bobby Ghaheri) ********************************************** Was this helpful for you? Consider giving back by joining our circle of support. The education and support The Leaky Boob provides is free and we want to keep it that way. Help us keep going join The Leaky Boob circle of support and be a part of helping us share information, support, and community around baby feeding, pregnancy, birth, and parenting. As little as a $1 a month helps us keep the lights on and continue supporting other families. Become a TLB patron and get access to exclusive content including livestreams, video on demand, articles, and more: https://bit.ly/300FPrL

One of our midwives may enjoy folding the sheets a little too much! "If you are ever late for checkups because you were re-folding the sheets, you may have a problem!" -Jessica