Hello,

It has been a busy fall. My new parent groups have taken off and I had to add an additional session in November due to demand. I love spending so much of my time cultivating new parent relationships and providing non-judgmental support and information.

I have been busy building up the provider training part of my business and have spent a substantial amount of time applying to present at various conferences. Check out the Provider Support section of my website for more information and testimonials. Email me if you are interested in bringing me to your organization or workplace. I’m hoping I can impact the quality of care that lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and transgender families receive during the perinatal years.

I look forward to sharing more about this work in 2019. I’m still taking one-on-one postpartum clients as well and registration is already up for my Winter 1 Getting Started group. I expect this group to sell out quickly, so get your spot now!  In addition, my next second time parent group is in March and registration is already online for that group. Spread the word!

Stay warm and enjoy this darkest part of our year by snuggling close with friends, family, loved ones, and, most importantly, caring for yourself.

-Rachel

Hello!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. We have enjoyed lots of library and pool time in my family. I’ve also been lucky enough to snuggle lots of babies.

Registration is up for my Fall parent support groups. I’m running two sessions of Getting Started for new parents (starting September 13th and November 8th). I’m only running one session of my Second Time Parent Group this Fall (starting October 4th).

Details and registration are on my Parent Classes page.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

I hope to see you in one of my groups!

Rachel

Hello!

Yesterday I was lucky enough to present a workshop at the Partners in Perinatal Health Conference. My workshop was entitled “Supporting LGBQ/T Families: Moving from Tolerance and Inclusion to Cultural Competency.” 60 folks were in attendance and they did some good and hard work to think about their roles and the way in which they provide support. It was so fun and I can’t wait to do it again! I’ve added a “Provider Support” page to my website and will soon be adding descriptions of services to help providers who want to make their services more accessible to LGBQ/T folks.

In the meantime, registration is up for my summer groups in Roslindale square. Check out the details below and email me with any questions: rachelhessdoula@gmail.com

Getting Started (For new parents and babies 0-14 weeks)

Join me in a 6 week series with other new parents and their babies. You will find support, information, and fun in these sessions. Each week parents will have a chance to share their fears, questions, and joys in a non-judgmental environment. Every week there will be a different topic of discussion as well as time to get to know each other. Topics include: Sleep, feeding, your new identity as a parent, postpartum mood adjustment, and developmental milestones.  At the end of every class we will spend some time together in a mini “circle time,” learning new ways to play with your newborn.

Join us for this exciting group.

Details:

$155 for one parent and their newborn (multiples welcome at no extra charge)

6 week 1.5 hour series

When: Thursday’s , 1:45pm-3:15pm

Where: Akasha Yoga Studio in Roslindale, 20 Birch Street

Summer Dates: July 12th, 19th, 26th, August 9th, 16th, 23rd (no class August 2nd).

Register here.

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Second Time Parent Group (For parents and second babies 0-6 months old)

Many say that adding a second baby to your family is an even bigger transition than the first time around. Come meet other second time parents for this 6 week series.  We will spend time discussing the new challenges and joys of a growing family in a non-judgmental and supportive environment. Possible topics include: challenges with your older child as they transition to their new role as sibling, how to manage feeding and sleeping with both children, and reviewing typical baby patterns and developmental phases. We will end each class with a mini-circle time, a great way for you to bond with your new baby.

Note: I find most parents get much more out of the group if they can attend without their older child. However, if childcare for your older child is a barrier to attending, please contact me and we can discuss how to make it work.

Details:

$155 for one parent and their newborn (multiples welcome at no extra charge)

6 week 1.5 hour series

When: Thursdays, 11:45-1:15pm

Where: Akasha Yoga Studio in Roslindale, 20 Birch Street

Summer Dates: July 12th, 19th, 26th, August 9th, 16th, 23rd (no class August 2nd).

Register here.

Hello,

I have dates and registration up for my spring classes. I will be running both a first and second time parent group starting in April. The first time parent group filled up a week ahead of time for the winter session, so make sure to secure your spot quickly.

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Getting Started (For new parents and babies 0-14 weeks)

I love running second time parent groups. What makes having a second baby so interesting is the fact that, in theory, parents have done it before. They have successfully cared for a newborn. They know more about feeding, diaper changing, and sleep patterns. However, the piece that often takes most of us by surprise is how to parent both a newborn AND an older child. It can be challenging to figure out how to meet the ever changing needs of both your children, let alone yourself. Talking with people in the same boat is invaluable. It is why I love this group and why I’m excited to facilitate one starting In October.

In a second time parent group, we talk about all the new ways in which your life has changed. What I find most fun about this group is actually talking about the older child. Similar to the first time parent group, we review elements of raising a newborn: sleep and feeding patterns, postpartum adjustment, etc. But what most parents want to explore is what to do with their older child. We talk about how it feels to now be responsible for two human beings with very different needs. We talk about what normal regressions look like for the older child and how to manage them. We talk about the illusive work/life/self-care balance and how utterly impossible it feels when you add a second child to the mix.

Have you recently added your second child? Join me for this wonderful group.

See the description and registration details below:

Second Time Parent Group (For parents and second babies 0-6 months old)

Many say that adding a second baby to your family is an even bigger transition than the first time around. Come meet other second time parents for this 6 week series.  We will spend time discussing the new challenges and joys of a growing family in a non-judgmental and supportive environment. Possible topics include: challenges with your older child as they transition to their new role as sibling, how to manage feeding and sleeping with both children, and reviewing typical baby patterns and developmental phases. We will end each class with a mini-circle time, a great way for you to bond with your new baby.

Note: I find most parents get much more out of the group if they can attend without their older child. However, if childcare for your older child is a barrier to attending, please contact me and we can discuss how to make it work.

See dates and registration on my Parent Classes page.

Hello,

As we look towards the start of 2018, I have more exciting news! I will be adding a second group to my offerings for families adding another baby to their crew.  This is one of my favorite groups to lead, as the challenges of having a second newborn are so different than first time around. One of the things I love about this group is the opportunity to talk about toddler and older child behavior. I was just discussing with a friend the other day about how wonderful and horrible toddlers are. They are funny, creative, joyful, and totally unpredictable. All of these behaviors are magnified when they welcome a new baby into their home. No matter the age of the older child, we all know that sharing is hard.

Check out the description and registration below. I’ve also added the dates for my Winter 1 Getting Started group (see my Classes page). I am continuing my groups at Akasha in Roslindale, which has been a wonderful and warm place for these groups to grow.

Second Time Parent Group (For parents and second babies 0-6 months old)

Many say that adding a second baby to your family is an even bigger transition than the first time around. Come meet other second time parents for this 6 week series.  We will spend time discussing the new challenges and joys of a growing family in a non-judgmental and supportive environment. Possible topics include: challenges with your older child as they transition to their new role as sibling, how to manage feeding and sleeping with both children, and reviewing typical baby patterns and developmental phases. We will end each class with a mini-circle time, a great way for you to bond with your new baby.

Note: I find most parents get much more out of the group if they can attend without their older child. However, if childcare for your older child is a barrier to attending, please contact me and we can discuss how to make it work.

Details:

$155 for one parent and their newborn (multiples welcome at no extra charge)

6 week 1.5 hour series

When: Fridays, 1:30pm-3:00pm

Where: Akasha Yoga Studio in Roslindale, 20 Birch Street

Winter 1 Dates: January 19^th, 26^th, February 9^th, 16^th, March 2^nd, and 9^th (no class February 2^nd or 23^rd).

Registration link here.

Questions: rachelhessdoula@gmail.com

Are you a first time parent? Check out the details for my new parent group below:

Getting Started (For new parents and babies 2-14 weeks)

I’m two weeks into the first parent group I’ve run since the spring. While I’m regularly with new parents in their homes, I was reminded the past two Fridays of the power of bringing together first time parents. While many of the folks in the group have other supports; family, friends with older kids, postpartum doulas, those supports are so different than the support they provide to each other.

They say that having a baby is the biggest life transition one can go through. I’ve also heard (and experienced) how when you are removed from the postpartum period and your children are older, you tend to forget what it truly is like.

The empathy these parents provide for each other is inspiring. The head nodding, sighs of “yes” or “me too!” create an environment of love and understanding. And when facilitated correctly, those with different experiences also feel the space to share and have their experiences validated with notes of “that sounds hard” or “wow that’s great.”

The shared experience of being thrown into new parenthood, an experience you can’t fully prepare for, no matter how hard you try, creates lifelong bonds. From my view as the facilitator, I can almost see the warm energy created in the room. It is magic.

Sign up for my next session of Getting Started here. Starts November 3rd!

Hello!

Thank you for all the amazing support. My first session of Getting Started will start next week, if you have been meaning to sign up, do it now!

I’ve also gotten many requests to set up the following session. So here it is:

Getting Started (For new parents and babies 2-14 weeks)-Fall 2

Join experienced postpartum doula Rachel Hess in a 5 week series with other new parents and their babies. You will find support, information, and fun in these sessions. Each week parents will have a chance to share their fears, questions, and joys in a non-judgmental environment. Every week there will be a different topic of discussion as well as time to get to know each other. Topics include: Sleep, feeding, your new identity as a parent, postpartum mood adjustment, and developmental milestones. At the end of every class we will spend some time together in a mini “circle time,” learning new ways to play with your newborn.
Join us for this exciting new group.
Details:
$135 for one parent and their newborn (multiples welcome at no extra charge)
5 week 1.5 hour series
When: Fridays, 1:00pm-2:30pm
Dates: November 3rd, 17th, December 1st, 8th, and 15th (no class on November 10th or 24th).
Where: Akasha Yoga Studio in Roslindale, 20 Birch Street.
You can find the registration link here. 

We often talk about how breastfeeding is a natural, but learned process. You have never done it before, your baby has never done it before, and it is a steep and stressful learning curve. On top of that, you are probably recovering from labor and are totally sleep deprived. You don’t recognize your body, your partner, or your messy, diaper filled house. This makes it hard to have perspective on what is going well and what still needs work. But perspective is exactly what we need in order to not get discouraged or scared. 

When I work with new breastfeeding parents who have any sort of struggles, I spend time sitting with them while they try to nurse. I know firsthand that frustration when a baby won’t latch, or falls asleep, or keeps popping off even though they are crying with hunger. And the time you have to take them off your nipple because it hurts, or the latch isn’t right. Those times can be so discouraging. But there are also moments when I sit with parents and baby latches, maybe not the first time, but after a few tries, and after a few minutes things are going so well we talk about other things (after the usual: “How does that feel? Any pain?” and “Are you comfortable? Can you relax your shoulders a bit?”) Those easier, faster, even sometimes relaxed nursing sessions are the ones we forget. Especially when the frustrating ones occur. Especially when they occur in the middle of the night.

I am not saying that breastfeeding always gets better. Sometimes it doesn’t work out. Or sometimes there are longer struggles that involve more interventions. But often, for many people, even with a rough start, things do, slowly, start to get better. Progress is not a straight line up, it takes dips and curves and sometimes goes in unexpected directions along the way. When we can remind ourselves that we had successes in the past week it can make those hard times a little less hard. It is hard to encourage yourself when you are so exhausted. This is why a strong support system is so important in the early stages of breastfeeding. The people around you should be there to remind you of what a great job you are doing and validate the hard times while holding onto the good.