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HypnoBirthing: How to Have an Instinctive Birth

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Kieran Doucette, HypnoBirthing Instructor, Birth Doula, and owner of Stork to Swaddle. Being very curious about what HypnoBirthing is as well as how to become and instructor, I decided to chat interview style. Here is what we talked about! Q: Kieran, tell me a little about your background and how you got into the world of prenatal care? A: I have my training for being a Birth Doula through DONA and I am a certified HypnoBirthing Instructor through the HypnoBirthing Institute. I got into this world pretty slowly. I noticed I was particularly interested when I had friends and relatives that were pregnant. I really enjoyed listening to their stories but what I realized was that usually, towards the end, they were disappointed with their outcomes from the standpoint of how their labor and delivery went. Healthy babies and healthy moms but maybe they had an intervention during their birth that they didn't want. I was hearing a lot of di
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Two Simple Hacks to Optimize Breast Milk

During your nine months of pregnancy, nutrition was hopefully of high importance to you. Maybe it was the healthiest you have ever treated your body because you knew you were nourishing a growing embryo. Now that you have had baby and have decided to breastfeed, your demand for nutritious food continues. You also have the added bonus of caring for a newborn! No need to fret, I am here to give you some simple and effective ways you can optimize your breast milk. Prolactin is the hormone responsible for lactation. Levels rise from 10ng/ml to 200 ng/ml during pregnancy and fall after birth to around 100 ng/ml in those who are breastfeeding.1 Stress, sleep, environment, movement, and nutrition can all affect our hormones and in turn, our milk supply. Simply stated, if we stress too much about our nutrition we might as well be eating boxed cereal! So first and foremost, chill out Mama! Being prepared before birth can help immensely. Try prepping food in large batches and freezing meals

Becoming a Pre & Postnatal Exercise Specialist: Fit For Birth Q & A

Since I was a young child, I can remember being absolutely obsessed with babies. My friends and I would treat our baby dolls like real babies - feeding them, putting them down for naps, even taking them for walks in their strollers around the block! As I got older that dream of being a mother, while still very prominent, also turned into my career. With my knowledge from  Fit For Birth  (FFB) and my previous education as a Holistic Health Coach, I now run a very successful business catering to none other than pregnant and postpartum moms alike! My education at Fit For Birth completely blew my mind. When I went into the program, I was expecting to learn how to train a women during her pregnancy - what I left with, however, was a very deep understanding of the woman's body during and after pregnancy, and ways to use exercise and movement to correct muscle imbalances and patterns to shift outcomes and prevent injuries. The program I completed was the Pre & Postnatal Corrective

Why You Should Ditch Tampons and Pads: All About Menstrual Cups

I wish I did it sooner! That is always my answer when someone asks me how I like my Diva Cup. Yea, I know most of the menstrual cups on the market look like something straight from an alien spaceship but I can assure you, they will save you, your wallet, and the planet a ton of hassle! Read below my top reasons why you should try a menstrual cup on your next period and make sure to enter my giveaway at the end of this post! Hold up girl, back up, what the heck is a menstrual cup? Well, I am glad you asked because they are my new favorite thing to talk about and refer to all my lady friends. A menstrual cup is a flexible, silicone cup that is inserted like a tampon but instead of absorbing the blood from your period, it simply creates a barrier and catches blood in the cup like shape. Once inserted, the cup comfortably rests up agains the walls of your vagina, allowing blood to pool into the cup and suction prevents all leakage. There are many menstrual cup companies on the mark

Two Easy Steps to Create A Healthier Home

In my opinion, there are two main components to have a healthier home: reducing toxicity and increasing happiness. These are the two concepts I will be writing about today, keep them in mind as an overarching theme throughout the post. While you spend time in your home over the next couple of weeks, ask yourself - Is this toxic for my home? Or, will this increase the happiness in my home? We work so hard to keep our bodies healthy but have you ever stopped to think about the health of your environment? Humans spend a whopping 90% of their time indoors! And in many cases, the quality of our air indoors is 2-5x more polluted than the air outside. I worked hard to make my home exactly how I wanted it, especially because I work from home. See what steps below you can implement into your home to make your environment one that promotes productivity, happiness, and health! Step one - reduce toxicity. An obvious first sign to reducing toxins would be filtering them out with an air fi

My Journey as a Health Coach: A Review of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition

Early this November, I sat down to take my final exam for school. One whole year had gone by in a flash, I could hardly believe it. Now that it is fresh in my head, I wanted to share with you my experience with IIN and working as a health coach to see if it may be the right fit for you. After working as a personal trainer for two and a half years I wanted to go back to school for something more tangible with nutrition. My clients were asking me for nutritional advice and meal plans, I wanted to back up my education and grow even more. State to state, being coined a "nutritionist" has different requirements behind it. In some states even, you need to be a registered dietitian to be able to work with others and discuss dietary guidelines. I had a few things I was looking for: small to no commute from my home, less than two years to complete, and to stay within my budget. With those three guidelines, I set off to research all my different options. A masters degree was out

Why Thrive Market is Key: Plus My Favorite Products

I am normally the type to avoid memberships programs because I fear I will never use them and not get my moneys worth. Totally not the case with Thrive Market. For the first time in history, organic and non toxic products cost the same price as conventional ones. This year alone, I have placed 14 orders, and it's not even December! I have been using Thrive Market since 2015 and so far, my lifetime savings is $2,022.35! Thrive Market is extremely convenient, you can place orders straight though their app or online and receive it in the mail 4-5 days later. Along with convenience, let me tell you why it is so worth it to have a Thrive membership then I will show you some of my all time Thrive favorites! 1. Product selection. Gunnar Lovelace, CEO and co-founder of Thrive, started the company to get healthy food into the hands of everyone, especially those who never though they would be able to afford it. The company stocks the top 3,500 high quality healthy and natural products at