Togetherness - The Birth Journey Done Together with your Partner (Home Birth) Miami Beach, FL | Paulina Splechta Photography

As first time moms, even sometimes second time moms, we often don’t know what we should expect from the last few weeks of our pregnancies, let alone our labors and births. So it is completely normal when the partner (or spouse) is clueless as to how to support their significant other who is in labor.

Even if you’ve spent the entire pregnancy supporting her through hyponbirthing, childbirth education classes, maybe even the Bradley method (which involves both parents, prepares the mother to deliver her baby without pain medications and educates the partner in birth coaching techniques), it is still quite common and normal for partners to freeze during labor.

Birth is complex and often unpredictable. No two labors are alike, not even among a woman’s own three children.

I am a big believer in go with the flow, and fill the role that you feel called to.

You may not know what to say, you may not know what to do, but just being there can often be enough.

When a Birth Photographer Puts Down their Camera

When the camera gets put down: moments rarely documented in a birth story

I cannot accurately describe to the fullest, the positive energy and empowerment in this room in one moment. You know how when you have a child sometimes you think to yourself: wow I had no idea how much I needed this child to become the best version of myself?

I cannot tell you what an overpowering realization it is to me that these two women here make me feel this way. 

When I met Lisa (Lisa Raynor Coral Springs and Boca Raton Childbirth Doula) my mentality and philosophy of my work was almost 180º from what it is today. My confidence level, my energy level; everything in my entire life as a momtrepreneur was so different. It’s not that this level of different was a bad thing, but I was stuck in that post partum 4th trimester for far too long, and Lisa saw it immediately, but more importantly, it’s what she saw that I didn’t see that made the tremendous impact on my life: she saw what I could be. 

And isn’t that a sign of the greatest life coach? Precisely. That is what Lisa has been to me since May 2017. The most unexpected blessing that fell upon my life and I am utterly grateful that this woman, wise beyond her years, so intuitive and remarkable, saw in me what I had lost sight of. 

In comes Kat. (Dr. Kathleen Vigo, Painless Pregnancy) I had no idea what this woman would do for me when I first met her. Even after learning extensively about the amazing work she does in physical therapy with her pregnant and post partum patients, and after recommending her to a dozen of my clients in a year, I still remained so blissfully unaware and unknowing of how powerful her work is.

Who could have possibly predicted that this soulful, stunning individual would come to my home for a 9 month follow up (following our previous physical therapy sessions), literally 10 days before giving birth to her daughter, and heal me of six years of trauma?! I didn’t even know until the night before my daughter's 3rd birthday, barely one month after Kat's visit, when I revisited the slideshow I had made of cell phone pictures from my second child's birth and realized - I was no longer feeling the Pandora's box of the negative range of emotions I have been feeling for the past 6 years of motherhood. Instead, I was feeling gratitude, relief, joy, self-awareness; I felt as though I was for the first time in six long years that had been riddled with emotional trauma from two very off-course labor and birth experiences, instead I was suddenly feeling ONLY full of joy for the first time ever. I shocked myself.

But instantly I was in doubt. The 60mph thoughts racing through my head distracted me from realizing this was all Kat's work from a couple weeks back. I started to doubt and ask myself would I still be as passionate about my work now that my trauma had vanished? I had always thought the foundation for why I was passionate about my career was because I was holding onto two traumatic births.

Then I wondered, would all these positive feelings go away after this celebration of the third year of life for my baby girl passed?

I waited and waited, but saw that none of this came to fruition.

My life had changed.

My perspective had changed.

My heart and soul had healed.

So when Kat went into labor with her second child, there was no doubt in my mind that I would have to give it my all to be present in this moment for her. In a room with two women who had completely changed my life, who had empowered me to become the best version of myself. With one of my favorite OBGYNs in south Florida, Dr. Feldman (of Omega Women's Care). 

The pictures above show a story of what happens when a birth photographer puts their camera down. In the first moment, Kat reached out for me to hold her hand during a contraction while her most amazing doula, Lisa Raynor supported her with affirmations and physical support. And in the second moment I was waiting to receive her placenta to help package it for transport. These pictures show why my relationships with my clients mean everything to me in my work. It is a realization and transformation of the artist unraveling, that it may have been my experiences with my daughters in the form of emotional trauma that inspired me to change what purpose I did my work for, but it is my relationships with my clients that is why I continue to work in this most fulfilling field of supporting women through their pregnancies and births as their birth story artist. 

Beautiful Mom of Twin Girls Expecting a Baby Boy

I remember how Dayna and I met. It's not the way I use to meet mommy clients four years ago, and that's why I love it. It made me reflect on how we evolve as women and as mothers and I wanted to share the entire story behind it with you.

I have been a birth photographer for four years, and I could not even imagine 4 years ago how my career would unravel as my daughters grew and as I delve deeper into the birth world as a birth worker.

Dayna and I met through our local community, our girls (her twins and my almost 6 year old) spent the past year going to VPK together in the best preschool at Kids Academy in Coral Springs, FL. One of her girls and my daughter Kate were in ballet the entire year, and her other day and my niece were in the same VPK classroom together. Through the year we got to know each other as mamas in the same community and build a relationship that I had never imagined I could have with moms! As my girls grew and I changed everything about the way I ran my business, the way I approached our lives as a family of four, I began to develop relationships just like with Dayna, with other birth clients. Dayna was one of my last birth clients before I made the huge leaps and changes that have grown my community and my work to the beautiful, organic, living vessel that it is today.

Three and four years ago, to find birth clients, I'd post my photos on facebook as much as possible, with a 2 year old toddler at home. I rarely had the chance to blog. I rarely had the chance for anything because I had a toddler at home and was a work from home mommy! 

I didn't know my community very well. I had made some mommy friends going to the playgrounds, parks and south Florida beaches with my daughter Kate, but I was so new to the field of birth that I didn't know many doulas or midwives, obgyns or labor and delivery nurses at all. I was just starting to dip my feet into the birth world.

Fast forward four years, so much has changed and I have evolved.

About a year and a half ago, I realized that birth was really my passion.

I also realized I was very overwhelmed.

Trying to balance (keyword trying!!) motherhood to two kids under 5 years old as a stay at home mom, run a household, AND run a full time photography business was leaving me really overwhelmed. 

About one year ago I realized what I had to do. I met Lisa Raynor, my dearest friend and doula here in Coral Springs and in Boca Raton, and she helped me with the final push to bring my career goals to fruition. She told me to try out full time preschool.

I was so nervous about this. I was juggling being a full time stay at home mom to two young kids, a full time job, all my maternity, breastfeeding, newborn and family photography clients in addition to my birth clients, my marriage, my home, and I was so nervous how we would pull off putting two young kids in full time preschool. How could we afford it?

That's when all the big changes fell directly into place.

Let me tell you, it was terrifying.

Change #1: 

I put both of the girls in full time preschool.

It didn't happen over night. I started with only VPK hours for Kate from 9-12pm and Emma was going two days a week from 9am-12pm. Slowly I started adding hours, and then days. By the end of three months, both of my girls were attending preschool from 830am-5pm five days a week.

I cannot tell you how much guilt this brought me. Having been a stay at home mom for almost 5 years while juggling a work from home business, I felt SO guilty that I was putting my kids in full time school. So many mommies can do it both, I told myself. I am so embarrassed and ashamed that I am saying I can't do it, I don't want to do it. 

Over the next 6 - 12 months I would start a healing journey to learn to not compare myself to other mothers, what they do, what their approach towards life and parenting is, and what their life looks like. I would learn that it's not my business to worry about what other mothers and women are capable of, it is only of importance for me to focus on what I want out of my life journey.

Change #2:

I gave up all photo sessions besides birth photography.

This was an absolutely terrifying leap of faith.

Family photo sessions, Maternity and Newborn Photography, and Breastfeeding photoshoots consisted of 50% of my years earnings. 

You might be thinking "and she gave it all up?"

Trust me, I WAS THINKING IT.

Let me tell you why I did this change in my life. I decided that if I was going to be paying for two children to go to full time preschool every week, all of those hours at home while they were at school would be dedicated to focusing 110% on my birth clients and my birth photography and birth films. This is after all, my passion, I realized. And the investment I make on the BEST preschool in Coral Springs needs to pay off on me investing all of my time and energy into growing my relationships with my birth clients everyday, every week, every month.

Trust me, I still love all the other sessions I use to do. And it broke my heart when I had so many families reaching out to me after I had slowly started my transition, asking for family sessions, breastfeeding sessions, and I had to turn them away and recommend one of my colleagues.

But as the weeks and months passed, I started realizing that I had made the best decision I ever could have. I went from juggling 120 families every 12 months to working intimately with 24 families. I got to really know every single birth family I was working with, I would remember hubby's name as I walked into labor and delivery. I'd remember that older brother was about to turn 3 years old next month. I'd remember that they just got a new puppy. These details (and many more intimate details ranging from fertility issues, loss, difficult pregnancies) became so vital to me to learn and remember. I realized in the past year that my true passion is not necessarily in birth photography. Rather my true passion is supporting, educating and empowering the women I work with, and building my relationship with them.

The change I had implemented thrust my business into a whole different world that I had never known before. I started having more time to dedicate to things I had never had a chance to even do. I started blogging. I LOVE writing. I've been a writer since I was in elementary school, I wrote my first book when I was 8. Being able to pour my soul into something I am so passionate about made my career so much more dynamic and fulfilling.

I finally had the time to network.

I have met so many absolutely phenomenal astonishing individuals in my community in the past twelve months, I did not even know these incredible human beings and specialists in the birth world existed, and now I have such an esteemed honor of calling them my friends. In the past 12 months I have deepened my relationship with Lisa Raynor, my doula soul sister, I met Martha Lerner, owner of Zenmamalove.com who my maternity/newborn/family photo clients from the past had boasted about for years, I got to meet the most amazing expert in the fertility world, Dr. Scott Roseff of IVFMD, who has a heart of gold by the way and works so closely with women and their partners/spouses to build healthy new families.

I had the privilege of building a close relationship with my favorite birth providers in the birth world ranging from Nurse midwives to OBGYNS to licensed midwives. I learned about baby nurses and how crucial they are to the family in the 4th trimester through meeting and growing close friendship with Mercedes Cabrisas, owner of South Florida Baby Nurse and Jennifer Shapiro, owner of Blissful Baby Nurse and Newborn Services.

I met Jackie Polsky, of South Florida Psychologist Associates, specializing in the post partum mama, Natasha Chamely, owner of Baby Love Spa  in Margate, FL, it was such a pleasure to meet and become friends with the amazing Susan Winograd, who owns Pelvic Rehab.com and works closely with post partum mommies and the entire family, as well as Dr. Moshe Winograd, who is a phenomenal post partum and loss psychologist at Coastal Behavioral Health, and became friends with Carly Tokar (Tokar Family Chiropractic) and Gena Bofshever (Dr. Gena Chiropractor). I got to experience first hand chiropractic care through Dr. Elaina Gill, post partum physical therapy from the amazing Dr. Kathleen Vigo of Painless Pregnancy, and Laura Knecht of Good Little Sleeperzzz helped my toddler and now almost 6 year old finally get on the right routine for a proper bedtime (south Florida's BEST pediatric sleep consultant!)

I've also had the immense opportunity to work with the amazing doulas at the Orchid's Nest, the phenomenal labor and delivery staff at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. I had the pleasure of meeting and growing a wonderful partnership with the OBGYN team at Omega Women's Care. 

It's just been an unreal year.

I cannot believe that my closest friends are all in the same birth world that once was a lonely place, now is filled with the same amazing faces I see but in and outside of work. 

Questions to ask an OBGYN or Midwife in Boca Raton for your pregnancy, birth and postpartum

It is VITAL to make sure the OBGYN or Midwife you are hiring in Boca Raton to care for you and your unborn baby during your pregnancy as well as be the most supportive and experienced medical care provider for you during your birth is the right OBGYN or Midwife for you, it is VITAL to ask questions that are important to you during your first consultation or if you already hired the provider, questions to ask during your first, second and third trimester of pregnancy.

Below you'll find a list of questions to ask an OBGYN or Midwife in Boca Raton during your prenatal visits (if you have already hired them) or at your very first visit or consultation appointment if you are still researching who the best OBGYNS are in Boca Raton and interviewing them.

You'll also find a list of questions to ask your OBGYN in Boca Raton when you're in your third trimester. 

You can print this list by going to File > Print

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR BOCA RATON OBGYN OR MIDWIFE

INITIAL CONSULTATIONS / INTERVIEWS

1. To Yourself: Do you feel supported and respected by this OBGYN during your initial visit / interview? Does this OBGYN listen and answer your questions patiently or are is this OBGYN or Midwife suggesting holding off on your questions until you’re officially under their care or until you are closer to giving birth?

2. Is this OBGYN open to birth plans? What if instead of calling it a “Birth Plan” you have a birth preferences list?

3. What hospitals does this OBGYN have privileges to deliver at? And What is their opinion of the various labor and delivery units if the doctor has privileges are more than one hospital?

4. How many vaginal checks does the OBGYN do during pregnancy and during labor? Should I get routine vaginal checks starting at 37 weeks of my pregnancy, how necessary are vaginal checks or can I opt out? What are the benefits/downsides and when do I need to have them done?

5. Under what circumstances during pregnancy would the OBGYN recommend an induction? How can an induction affect the outcome of my birth (vaginal / cesarean) What type of inductions do you do? (foley balloon, pitocin, cytotech, cervidil) you want to know which induction method the OBGYN uses most often and what they recommend and what the doctor sees as potential downsides of certain induction methods. What percentage of your patients does this doctor induce on or before their due date?

6. What is the OBGYNs' opinion of Birth Doulas? What percentage of the doctor’s patients use a doula? What doulas does the OBGYN recommend?

7. Under what circumstances during labor would you recommend to administer medications such as cervidil or pitocin?

8. How do you handle past due dates? (Over 40 weeks, over 41 weeks)

9. What is your percentage of your patients get an epidural, What percentage have vaginal births? / percentage of c-sections? Under what circumstances during pregnancy would you recommend a scheduled cesarean?

10. Who is your backup Midwife or OBGYN? Who is the OBGYN covering doctor? How is he/she during labor? When can I meet them? What is your opinion of the Hospitalists at the hospital you have privileges at (if the hospital you are choosing for your birth uses Hospitalists) and under what circumstances would I be delivered by one of the Hospitalists instead of you?

11. How do you handle delayed cord clamping? How long do you delay for? Under 1 minute or over 1 minute? Do you do cord blood banking AND delayed cord clamping?

12. Are you planning any vacations, trips, major surgeries, or other events 3-4 weeks before my due date, or up to 2 weeks after my due date that would interfere with your attendance at the birth? If after we are working together you end up scheduling a vacation or trip around my due date, can I request to be notified?

13. What positions do you feel comfortable delivering in? (on back, squatting (using a squat bar), on all fours (knees and elbows)?

14. Is your practice VBAC friendly? (Vaginal Birth after a C-section) If not, please give your medically backed reasons why.

15. What is your policy on breech pregnancies (babies who are not head down in the third trimester)? Do you support doing a version at the hospital and then continuing the pregnancy in hopes of a vaginal delivery? If not, please give your medically backed reasons why.

Questions to ask when you are approaching the third trimester of pregnancy

1. What are your feelings on the dad catching the baby, or me catching my own baby? Will you deliver the baby? Or will you assist me in birthing him/her/them?

2. How do you feel about hypnobirthing? Are you experienced with delivering babies for moms who are using hypnobirthing?

3. How does it work if I am GBS positive - how often do you administer antibiotics during labor and do you do specific procedures with the baby after birth

3b. Are there other options to drinking the orange drink for the gestational diabetes test? Such as eating jelly beans or drinking orange juice?

4. Do you do IV/Heplock? Are you ok with laboring tubs, (or hydrotherapy by standing in the hospital shower), eating small snacks during labor? What if the hospital I am delivering at does not have a good record of supporting laboring tubs or other birth preferences of mine, will you be supportive of me changing to another birthing facility?

5. What are the pros and cons of vitamin K shot and eye ointment

6. Do you offer or suggest taking specific childbirth preparation courses? What classes do you recommend?

7. During labor, how close together should my contractions be before I head to the hospital?

8. If my water breaks before labor (contractions) even begins, how long can I labor at home for before I am required to go to the hospital?

9. What happens in the event of pre-term labor before 38 weeks?

10. Under what circumstances, if any, do you perform episiotomies? How many episiotomies have you performed in the last 2 years? Do you recommend doing perineum massages throughout pregnancy leading up to birth?

11. How early do you arrive to the hospital (when I am 9 or 10cm or earlier if I request?) How long will you and/or your support team stay with mom and baby after the birth?

12. Is breastfeeding support offered by your practice or do I need to rely solely on the nurses / lactation consultant at the hospital?

13. Do you deliver breech if my baby rotates into breech position during the end stages of active labor during transition? [Most babies will move into delivery position a few weeks prior to birth, with the head moving closer to the birth canal. When this fails to happen, the baby's buttocks and/or feet will be positioned to be delivered first. This is referred to as “breech presentation.”] Do you recommend trying to turn the baby if the baby is in breech position during labor or in the last few weeks of pregnancy or do you recommend a cesarean birth?

Birth of a Second Baby Boy! | Boca Raton Regional Hospital

I met this extraordinary mom when we were both pregnant a couple of years ago.

Our friendship and connection through our previous pregnancies together made it so special when she and her husband reached out to me to capture the birth of their second son. 

Tears welled up in my eyes when I sat with this sweet family talking about their hopes and dreams for meeting their second little boy. It moved me so much to see how excited (and a little nervous) they were, but most of all, you could see the love in their eyes, their faces, the way they looked at each other in eagerness and joy. 

And it made me so happy to hear that they would be meeting their little boy at my favorite hospital in Florida (Boca Raton Regional Hospital) with one of my favorite practices too - Women's Health Partners.

I cannot wait for you to view and enjoy the images from this incredibly sweet and beautiful birth story below. I hope you love them as much as I do!

What Does On-Call Mean & Why You Shouldn't Ask Just Anyone to Photograph Your Birth

Watch a calm, behind the scenes short trailer of the experience of having Paulina Splechta, professional birth photographer and film maker attend your birth

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The most commonly asked question by families who are expecting a new baby and considering hiring a Birth Photographer is..

"So... how does it work?"

I love to answer this question, and its an excellent one. The way birth photography sessions work is unlike any other type of photography you've ever done before. It is similar to a wedding in that it is one of the greatest milestones in your life that happens quickly, and only once, and can never be simulated or repeated exactly the way it happened.

But unlike all portraiture photography (such as newborn and family photography) and unlike wedding photography, birth photography brings with it the element of unpredictability.

Boca Midwifery Nurse Certified Midwives Courtney McMillian and Polina Goldenberg patiently waiting on a mom in labor

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One of my favorite practices to work with in Boca Raton, Boca Midwifery, recently posted the perfect example of how unpredictable birth is with the following quote...

“She chose a midwife. She hired a doula. She stayed at home for hours in early labor. She was active, rocking and swaying to get her baby to come down. She walked the halls, she used the shower. She endured 18 hours of natural labor beautifully. Sometimes you do everything right and birth still doesn’t go as planned. So this baby was born by cesarean. Not at all how this mom had planned to bring her baby in to the world, but she was okay. Why? Because she was still respected. She was educated and part of the decision. Her mom and husband were by her side as she greeted her new baby boy. She saw him emerge from the womb, and stared at his sweet little face as he took his first breaths, while we allowed the cord to pulse. Routine procedures were delayed and he was in his mother’s arms just minutes after being born. He was latched on to the breast as soon as she was back in her room. Not ideal, but ok. In the end, she has no regrets. She was well-prepared for her ideal birth but also realistic about her priorities. She trusted her birth team and is so, so happy with the outcome overall. And she is so proud of herself. THIS is what informed birth is about. THIS is why she won’t be in another doctor’s office, years down the road, still crying about her birth. Unfortunately we hear horrific stories of birth trauma every week in our office. It doesn’t have to be that way. Choose your birth team wisely.”

— https://www.facebook.com/BocaMidwifery/

Boca Midwifery patient with her newborn baby boy, older daughter and husband the day after her cesarean birth.

So the next question is...

"if birth is so unpredictable, how do you make it in time to document the birth story?"

When I start working with my birth clients, we start preparing for their birth story from the very first day they contact me. 

I take limited birth clients each month to ensure there is no overlap, although it is estimated that "only 5% of women go into labor on their due date (In other words, it is wrong for 95%!). [source]"

Once an expecting mother becomes my birth client, I am available to her via text, phone call, and email through her entire pregnancy. And for a healthy pregnancy without any risks or complications, I go on-call for birth clients at 38 weeks gestation. 

Boca Midwifery patient with her newborn baby girl the day after giving birth at Boca Raton Regional Hospital

"So what does being on-call mean?"

Addressing this question requires a multi-faceted answer.

Because working as a 12-month-per-year on-call photographer involves the client, the medical provider, the birthing facility, the photographer, and the photographer's personal life (family/children). 

Certified Nurse Midwife Courtney McMillian of Boca Midwifery with her patient and newborn baby girl.

COMMUNICATION

Me being on-call for a client means that I have my cell phone with the volume always on, even during the night. During the day, my cell phone is never in my purse or in another room, it is with me, in my hand, 24 hours of every day, 7 days of every week from the time my client is 38 weeks pregnant until her baby is born. Furthermore, I instruct birth clients to only call, and never to leave a voicemail after 9pm and before 9am, so that I don't miss a text during the night if they are updating me on early labor progress.

Being on-call means anywhere from as little as 5 to as many as 200 text messages can be exchanged during day time, as well as multiple phone calls during the day and night updating me with early labor progress, the birth client or her partner or spouse giving me updates from their doula or nurse on labor progress, and sometimes, to tell me there has been a change made by their OBGYN or Midwife to their previous birth plan.

Being on-call also means that I do not travel outside a specific distance from my birth client's birthing location in any direction so that I can attend her birth as soon as she is in active labor and ready for me to arrive and begin documenting her journey. 

PRIVACY

Unlike other fields of the birth world such as obstetrics / midwifery where a birthing woman may occasionally have a different practitioner from the practice who she's met during her prenatal visits deliver her baby if her chosen provider is unexpectedly unavailable, hiring a birth photographer can sometimes be a leap of faith for first time and even second time parents. 

Some of my birth clients understandably need extra privacy and confidentiality, and my goal is to work as closely to my birth clients as possible without a need for hiring a backup photographer to replace me during births. Although it is important for me to work with highly professional and skilled women (who are also mothers) who are put to the strictest standards of high quality birth artwork in the event I have an imminent emergency during a client's labor, my goal is to always be dependable and attend every one of my birth client's births myself, and I am glad to say in four years of birth photography (out of my ten years of working as a photographer), I have attended each of my client's births myself.

Because of this, I refrain from going to locations where I know I won't have cell phone signal when I am on-call for my clients, such as certain grocery stores, movie theaters, malls, etc. Or if I am on-call for a client and need to briefly go somewhere there is no cell phone signal where they would temporarily for 1-2 hours not have access to me, I am sure to check in with my birth clients prior to ensure there have been no early signs of labor and inform them when I will be reachable again.

Certified Nurse Midwife Courtney McMillian of Boca Midwifery steadily waiting on her patient without rushing

Being on-call means I also have a back up contact number, and although this has never happened, if my birth client calls me multiple times and cell towers are being funky, they have a back up number to call me on where they can reach me immediately.

And lastly, being on-call means I have to have my personal life in check. I am fortunate to have a supportive and active spouse, grandparents down the street, full time childcare and meal planning ready to ensure my personal life continues to move smoothly with my absence in mind.

To paraphrase from the awesome post done by Boca Midwifery and changing it a bit to apply it to the artwork I create for my families...

THIS is why my clients won't hire an photographer without years of birth artwork experience, years down the road with subsequent births. Unfortunately I hear sad stories of family portraiture photographers, siblings, husbands, grandparents missing the shot, pictures being blown out (too bright) because they didn't know how to deal with the last minute and unexpected changes in light, blurry pictures, or pictures not being special enough because they were too anatomy-textbook-like.

It doesn't have to be that way. Choose your birth team wisely, including your professional birth photographer who will quietly work around you so as not to disturb the birth process or the birth professionals caring for you. Someone who has formed great relationships with midwives and obstetricians who welcome your birth photographer to document their patient's stories.

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CONTACT ME TO SET UP A COMPLIMENTARY BIRTH PHOTOGRAPHY & BIRTH FILM CONSULTATION TO TALK ABOUT YOUR BIRTH STORY.

I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR FROM YOU.

The Ultimate Guide to the Third Trimester | Things to Do Before You Go into Labor

The Ultimate Guide to the Third Trimester & Things to Do Before you Go into Labor

 

Things To do During the Third Trimester

For all my birth clients with January due dates and February due dates here in south Florida and Boca Raton, a common question is, what should I be doing in my third trimester to prepare for labor, for birth and to prepare for meeting my baby and bringing my baby home?

First things first... 1. Movement

Once you are in your third trimester, its important to be attentive to how active your baby is, and monitor and keep track of your baby's movements, especially if your OBGYN or Midwife suggests it. If you notice a decrease in movement, some medical providers will tell you to let them know. It's always good to be on the safe side and keep a vigilant mind.

2. Prenatal Visits

At some point during your third trimester, your prenatal visits should become more frequent. Some time between 32 and 36 weeks, you will start seeing your provider on a weekly basis rather than once every few weeks. Be sure to ask your provider what kind of exams, tests and discussions you can anticipate to arise over the course of these visits so that you can be well informed.

3. Cord-blood banking

Be sure to talk to your doctor about cord blood banking, what it is, how it is done, what the pluses and minuses are and how to plan for it. If you are planning on doing delayed cord clamping, make sure your provider is aware since these two processes can affect each other and not all providers may offer their agreement to do both.

4. Classes

At this point, you may have taken a pregnancy and childbirth class, but this is the perfect time to educate yourself and make decisions about whether you know enough about baby care, breastfeeding, labor, pain management techniques during labor and infant CPR. Sometimes your local hospital will offer some of these classes, there is an amazing childbirth class offered by Diane Ellen at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. Other times you can contact a local birth center such as Natural Birthworks birth center in Margate or an organization such as The Orchid Nest in Delray Beach to find out about their class schedules and offerings. The Orchid Nest offers hypnobirthing classes in Delray Beach as well as at local hospitals, so be sure to inquire asap as classes sometimes have several dates and may be booked out in advance.

5. Breastfeeding

If you are planning on breastfeeding your baby, this is the perfect time to learn as much about breastfeeding as you can. Get yourself a breastfeeding pump, many insurances now cover the cost of excellent, high grade breast pumps. Every city nowadays has a local La Leche League Chapter, which is a group of women who are pregnant and have already had their babies who meet on a monthly basis to discuss important things to prepare for during pregnancy and techniques to use following birth to have the best opportunity at breastfeeding. There are many local lactation consultants in south Florida such as Sandra Lobaina with Peaceful Pregnancy Pathways in Margate, FL who you can contact should you have problems breastfeeding. Be sure to equip yourself with anything you may need to make breastfeeding more comfortable for you, whether that be a nursing cover, nipple shields, nipple ointment to help prevent dried out nipples, or the use of an inverted nipplette from Avent that helps with flat or inverted nipples. 

6. Pediatrician

This is the perfect time to choose the right pediatrician for your baby. 

If you live in south Florida, there are a vast recourse of amazing pediatricians that come with glowing recommendations from south Florida's best OBGYNS/Midwives and doulas. Some of my favorites are: Dr. Edna Tello with Personalized Pediatrics, Pediatric Associates who have many locations making it very convenient to get easy well and sick visits (my favorite location is in Coral Springs but they are also located in Coconut Creek and Boca Raton). Several of my clients love working with VIPediatrics in Boca Raton, and many holistic first-time-moms love working with Dr. Linda Colon in Coral Springs with Coral Springs Holistic Pediatrics. Many of these great pediatricians are affiliated with some of the best hospitals in south Florida including Broward Health Coral Springs, Northwest Medical Center, Boca Raton Regional Hospital (formerly known as Boca Community Hospital) and West Boca Medical Center.

Scheduling in-person interviews with pediatricians is best. That way, you can sit with them, see how comfortable you feel with them, and ask them all the questions you may have about their approach towards pediatric care for your new baby. 

Now it's time to make sure you have everything you need for when you bring your baby home. Here is a list of items you should have prepared and ready for use, just in case your baby makes an unexpected arrival, so you can be totally prepared:

1. Bedding: Have your baby's crib and bassinet set up, bedding washed and put on and ready

2. Stroller: You may want to take your baby for walks in your neighborhood after giving birth, you don't want to have to deal with that assembly after you brought your baby home. I love youtube videos because you can type in the name of your stroller and find instructional videos on how to assemble, open and close your stroller.

3. Baby Monitor: Do you have a registry at Babies R Us or Target in Boca Raton? Did you know that anything that wasn't purchased from your registry for your baby shower, these stores will usually offer you a 10-20% off discount for the remaining items on your registry? This is the perfect time to use that discount on a great monitor. I recommend looking up reviews on the best video monitors on amazon.com because you'll always have more of a peace of mind when you can see your baby on the monitor!

Educate Yourself on the Stages of Labor

Once you have all this done (I know my December due date moms just finished up setting up their nurseries this week!) It's time to educate yourself on stages of labor.

We go over this together during our first meeting because you need to know how to update me on the progress of your labor and when to expect me to arrive at your birth. However, I will also share my resource list with you so that you can contact a some of my favorite local doulas (ranging from Delray Beach and Boca Raton doulas to Fort Lauderdale and Miami doulas) so that they can help you prepare and go over various labor pain coping strategies, especially if you are planning an unmedicated birth (or even leading up to getting an epidural during labor) it is good to learn about your options now so that you can be prepared, know what to expect and know what you want. 

Doula and Birth Plan

When you hire a doula, she should help you to create a birth plan, also known as a birth preferences list. 

Although birth is unpredictable, it is good to have an idea of what you'd like from your birth as long as everything goes smoothly with mom and baby. Things to consider for your birth preferences list are: who would you like to cut the cord, do you plan on having delayed cord clamping, what your pain management tools are, who will be part of your birth team and present during labor and birth and more.

What to do with a Birth Plan / Inductions

Make sure you make a copy for your provider and whoever their backup doctor or midwife is in case of emergency and they are not with you during delivery. You also want to make copies for your nurses. Nurses at the hospital work in 12 hour shifts, so depending on how long you are in labor, you may need a new copy for each nurse if it is not left in the room. If you end up being induced, you may be in the hospital for 1-3 days leading up to birth, depending on what medications your provider will administer and how your body reacts to them.

Long Labors

It is not uncommon for first-time moms to be in labor anywhere from 12 to 24 to 30 hours. 

Most first time moms are in labor for an average of 15 to 20 hours. And usually, it shortens with subsequent births. You won't be in intense labor for the whole time. It usually starts with sporadic uninformed contractions that feel like your belly or the skin on your belly is tightening, stretching, contracting. Then, as they become more uniform and start coming in more consistently, as they become more frequent and intense they may be accompanied by lower back ache or menstrual-like cramps below your belly. 

Hospital Bag

I tell all my birth clients, even my home birth families, to be sure you pack a hospital bag around 35-36 weeks in your third trimester, because in the event you need to go to the hospital, even if its for a non-emergency situation, you don't want to waste your time or energy trying to make sure you have everything last minute. 

Home Care

A lot of my birth clients wonder whether they should hire a house keeper or housecleaner before they have their baby, and the answer should always be yes!!

It is such a calming and relaxing feeling, coming home to a beautifully clean home once your baby is born. And it takes care of everything on your to do list that you won't have to worry yourself with when you are recovering from birth with a newborn. 

Post Partum Care

It is a great idea to stock up on your favorite snack foods, freezer meals, pain medication, toiletries and menstrual pads for postpartum bleeding. A lot of moms like to get underwear just for wearing during the postpartum bleeding time frame.

Install your baby's car seat

You definitely want to install your baby's car seat by 36 weeks. Hospitals won't let you take your baby home unless you install the car seat in your car, and be sure you are using an infant car seat, so you can remove it from the base that is attached to the safety belt in your car and bring it upstairs to securely seatbelt your baby. Again, I love to take to youtube because there are many car seat technicians who help guide you with step by step instructional videos on how to specifically install your car seat. 

Tour Hospital

Make sure to schedule a tour of the hospital you will be birthing at and be sure you register! I didn't realize the two don't go hand in hand! You must do both. Be sure to google list of questions to ask on a hospital tour and bring the list with you, and ask the questions that matter to you. 

Older Children / Fur Babies

Make sure if you have older children or pets that you make arrangements for family or friends or sitters who will be staying with them while you are in labor. Add their contact information to your birth plan. 

Late Pregnancy Complicatons

Sometimes are women near the end of their pregnancy, certain medical conditions may come up such as premature labor, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and GBS. Make sure you educate yourself on these issues and talk to your provider about your concerns if you notice any symptoms. 

Past your due date!

Don't worry if you go past your due date. It is estimated that only 5% of women go into labor on their due date. The next 50% of women will go into labor within 7 days of their due in either direction, and the rest outside of that. It is so normal for first time moms to not go into labor until after their due date and some even at 41 weeks. 

First Time Mom | Jupiter Medical Center Birth with Dr. Dudley Brown

I was so excited to meet Erin and Tad when they first reached out to me. I had never met anyone before who permanently lives in an island and I was excited to meet this couple from the Bahamas about to have their first baby (a baby boy) in Jupiter. 

Jupiter Medical Center is one of my favorite hospitals to work in as a birth photographer in south Florida. I love that somehow, all my births at Jupiter Medical have been overnight. The drive from Broward to Jupiter overnight is always calm, quiet, with empty highways, and good vibes as the highway lamps light the road every few yards.

The hospital is always so calm and quiet during the night. But it's not a creepy feeling like some of those hospitals that have empty, desolate wings that look like they're decades old. 

Everything about Jupiter Medical Center, especially their Labor and Delivery unit is so modern, clean and vibrant. You walk in and you feel the positive energy in the air. It's a happy place to be.

Jupiter Medical Labor and Delivery Nurses are some of the best I have worked with.

Every single one of them is filled with optimism, has a reassuring smile, is well versed in caring for laboring mothers, and easily adaptable to all forms of laboring from unmedicated to inductions, and even cesarean births.

I hope you enjoy these hospital labor and delivery photos from this beautiful first time mom and dad's birth...