The Birth Gem Doula

About
Doula Services
Massage and Reiki
The postnatal pantry
Blog
Birth Art Mandala and Belly Painting
Placenta Remedies
Contact

Contact

Phone

07545 061 535

Email

contact@thebirthgem.co.uk

About
Doula Services
Massage and Reiki
The postnatal pantry
Blog
Birth Art Mandala and Belly Painting
Placenta Remedies
Contact

❤️Bereaved mothers are still mothers. mothers

❤️Bereaved mothers are still mothers.
mothers that should be honoured and recognised during their postnatal experience, as deserving of warming and nourishment as all newborn mothers are.
Their postpartum bodies need and deserve massages, wrapping, flower baths and more. There is no guide for navigating the postnatal season after loss but a restful lying in period and loving care is vital for healing from grief too.
Kindness, time, self care and mindful support are all vital for not just the body but the heart.
❤️The village is for bereaved mothers too.
#postnataldoula #motherhood #postnatalafterloss #healing #nourishment #postnatalmassage #mothermassage #doulasupport #4thtrimester

I love baby feet! See how this baby is demonstrati

I love baby feet! See how this baby is demonstrating the Babinski reflex in picture 2 during a massage, so adorable 🥰
Today was my last postnatal visit to an amazing family. It’s always a little hard to say goodbye (though it’s never really goodbye) this mother has certainly achieved the 4th trimester she planned for, full of massage, wrapping flower baths and nourishment and always good chats. This family have been supported by me for a while having booked me as their birth doula and 6 sacred postnatal sessions.
It’s been quite the journey, this calm little person certainly had his own plans and decided to join us much earlier than anyone could have predicted but arrived to parents that felt listened to, fully supported and informed.
The card that she selected for our final session felt very apt, the Deer. A message of kindness and gentleness. So important to remember this for ourselves as mothers. Choosing 6 sacred postnatal visits with me is certainly choosing self kindness and I’m always here for it!
So, my Wednesdays are now open here’s your invite to fill them ❤️
#sacredpostpartum #closing #rebozo #traditionalpostpartumcare #postnatal #the4thtrimester #postnatalrecovery #motherhood #babymassage #postnatalnourishment

Happy birthing day to me and happy birthday to my

Happy birthing day to me and happy birthday to my little bear Dylan!
@kingstondoula and I discovered yesterday that we share this birthing day both with 14 year olds which is pretty amazing!
To think that we where both labouring away together under the same moon 😍
We also share the sentiment that mothers should be celebrated as well as their children on these days too, even if it’s just like I did today with a little time for reflection and a toast to myself with some bubbly!
I mean come on like she said where’s our bloomin cake? I rocked another epic back to back birth that day!
As doulas we remind mothers that they matter too and that they should be cared for just as much as their beautiful babes, this should go for your birthing anniversaries too. Take some time to reflect on your birth, your parenting journey so far and give your self some love. You made it goddess, another year of mothering under your belt! Gentle parenting is more than just being loving to your children, it’s about being loving and gentle with yourself too.
#motherhoodrising #motherhood #birthingday #birthday #motherlove #celebratemotherhood #gentleparenting

💖You don’t just inhabit your body, you are yo

💖You don’t just inhabit your body, you are your body, mind and soul.
During pregnancy we nourish and prepare ourselves for our growing baby and for birth but don’t often think beyond this. How and why will we continue or remember to treat our precious bodies kindly after birth?
What does our body truly need vs what we have been conditioned to believe? Motherhood from the moment we begin to share ourselves body and soul with this tiny new human is a constant act of surrender and discovery.
We must surrender our delicious autonomy and this can be quite the task; learning from deep within ourselves what we can, can’t or want to control even down to our feelings because let’s face it even those aren’t fully in our control at times!
💖One way to prepare is to hire a doula to support you in your postnatal season.
This will help you to rest, recover and replenish lovingly and connect you to that important and often elusive sense of the village we are told it takes.
💖Another is to make a postnatal plan. A postnatal plan is just as important as a birth plan and a great reflective tool.
💖Learn about your postnatal body and the postnatal season alongside learning about your newborn. Again empowerment, preparation and learning around this matters as much as for birth.
Remember. Your body is YOURS, it is precious and magical. You matter and you don’t just need, you deserve, love and kindness. Not just from others but from yourself.
#the4thtrimester #postnatalrecovery #surrender #motherhoodrising #youmatter #doula #postnataldoula #newmother #newborn #motherlove #postpartum #postpartumbody #postpartumtips #doulasupport

Cookie day! 3 types of postnatal cookie made toda

Cookie day!
3 types of postnatal cookie made today, dark chocolate, cranberry & walnut. New addition, marshmallow, cornflake crunch. Fig & fennel all made using my much loved postnatal cookie dough as a base. Cookies are always included in any postnatal nourishment package. You can’t go wrong with the one handed sweetness of a cookie for the postnatal nest.
I thought I’d share the postnatal cookie dough recipe with you. I’m not at all precious about my recipes and am always happy to share, this one has been requested a few times and has been very much loved. It’s quite adaptable and I have vegan and GF versions.
Just one more batch available for this weeks order. Inbox me for a local delivery. Visit my website or inbox me for a menu.
🍪Basic postnatal cookie dough 🍪
1 cup self raising whole meal flour
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
3/4 cup light brown muscovado sugar
2tbsp ground flax in 3tsp tepid water
1tbsp vanilla ext
1tsp cinnamon
1-2 tbsp brewers yeast
1/2 tsp sea salt
1& 1/2 cup oats
🍪method
.Blend butter & sugar until pale, add soaked flax and vanilla, best until combined. I do this in my magimix.
. Add the dry ingredients and mix until it all comes together to form a dough.
. If you are creating something a bit exciting add 1/2 cup of extra ingredients!
. Scoop balls with an ice cream scoop and press onto a lined baking sheet. Test one 1st, if it spreads too much add a little more flour.
. Bake at 180 for 8-10 mins or until golden
. Allow to cool and always taste test… for quality control of course!
Let me know if you try this recipe and ant creative additions you come up with, orange and dark chocolate was great recently 💖
#postnatalfood #lactationcookies #cookies #baking #postnatalnourishment #fooddoula #postnatalrecovery #postnataldoula #cookierecipe #vegancookies #postnatal #motherhoodunplugged

❤️So, back to simple. Reclaiming or rediscover

❤️So, back to simple. Reclaiming or rediscovering rest.
Remember that nurturers need to rest and recharge, take time to get soft and still after the festive season dear ones. Your body heart and soul need and deserve it right now!
2021 can just do one. I have no New Years resolutions, no deep reflections or big plans, I’m just happy to let it go and walk into this new year.
Today I am simply reclaiming some rest and dipping into some of my Christmas gift books. Even Nigel Slater says “so, back to simple.”
❤️There are few opportunities over the busy festive season to rest and recharge when your the spirit of of the season for your family. Gift buyer, busy chef making all the favourites, festive decorator, happy host and feeder. It’s a fun month but can be a pretty exhausting time if you let it and not at all in line with the rhythm of nature that wants us to go slow and retreat around this time of year, but then that’s the Gregorian calendar. Over the years I have stripped Christmas back but this year like many I couldn’t help but gather, host and celebrate a little bigger after being denied so much celebration and togetherness during the restrictions and lockdowns. It’s left me feeling a little wiped out and honestly who isn’t experiencing some kind of burnout after the year we have all had, mothering has never felt quite so relentless… so here on the sofa I return to myself and to simplicity. Coincidentally the 1st day of my bleed was New Year’s Eve eve!
🩸Some yoga nidra, a heat pack, a bowl of ramen and some good books.
No big intentions or plans, just simple softness and small achievable acts of self kindness.
How will you reclaim your rest today? Comment your post festive self care tips.
❤️I fold the good days up and place them in my back pocket for safekeeping. Draw the match. Cremate the unnecessary. The light of the fire warms my toes. I pour myself a glass of warm water to cleanse myself for January. Here I go. Stronger and wiser into the new. ~ Rupi Kaur
#newyear #returntorest #selfkindness #bookday #nigelslater #periodday1 #selflove #periodbox #motherhood #reclaimrest #slowliving #simplerecipes #yoganidra #selfcarematters

Festive fun and lots of food!

Festive fun and lots of food!

💖Postnatal care Just look at this mama. Feeding

💖Postnatal care
Just look at this mama. Feeding after a blissful postnatal massage and sacred flower bath, the very image of goddess! This session was so special and as always it was such an honour to be invited to serve. mothers deserve to be cherished, fed, massaged, held and heard. Welcomed lovingly however they are in all their messy magical selves.
💖Hannah Dahlen speaks of birth as an event that creates many ripples, ripples that are often not followed to shore. And wow, yes! Doesn't this just speak to the heart, good postnatal support is often following those ripples to shore lest they continue into the first year and beyond!
Ina May Gaskin is often quoted as saying 'If a woman doesn't look like a goddess while giving birth them someone isn't treating her right.'
I feel, and I know that this goes for afterwards too and I'm guessing you likely agree. I mean so many times as a doula I have entered the postnatal space and witnessed an anxious, tired and hungry mama, living on packets of biscuits and cold tea. Worried about so much, that her baby isn't 'back up to birth weight'. Yet to share her story, or her worries and be truly seen and heard. Those many ignored ripples.
And often have I noticed that beautiful transformation, just like the mama pictured. We have the honour as postnatal doulas and anyone invited, professionals, family or friends and it truly is an honour to be invited into the postnatal space. After our client or loved one has been seen, heard, fed, and cherished just as she deserves how wonderful it is to see a goddess tucked up in bed or wherever she has settled after being truly nourished body mind and spirit.
💖Birth and the postnatal season has carried with it a lot of grief recently so I know this post may seem a little... romantic but it's just something that I wanted to share. The importance of being there as someone to notice those ripples.
📷 Photo shared with permission. A very proud mother goddess blissfully feeding after an intense first few weeks!
#postnatal #motherhoodrising #motherhood #breastfeedingjourney #sacredpostpartum #postnataldoula #doula #mothergoddess #flowerbath #simplecare

Contact Details

The Birth Gem - Doula, Massage and Reiki
Boxers,
Royal Oak Lane,
High Hurstwood TN22 4AL
07545061535

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