I get asked all the time by clients and other placenta encapsulation specialists about how I make my colorful placenta prints. So, I channeled a bit of Bob Ross and made a video of my process after I made the placenta tour video.
I use Wiltons food coloring gel and paint it on the placenta after it has been rinsed and the amniotic sacs have been trimmed off. I then use watercolor paper to make the print. The placenta is then...
Nobody knows what they are doing at first; this is hard for everyone, so try to realize that just as you only post the beautiful moments on Facebook that make it all look effortless, so do other moms. They haven't figured it out any better than you have.
As a birth doula and childbirth educator I get the honor of witnessing families become families and its sometimes messy and beautiful.
Placentas have been called the tree of life for thousands of years in cultures all over the world. The baby's side of the placenta really does look like a tree and you can see that in the video!
"Everyone gets a person to hold hands with. I take lots and lots of photos, and I have some amazing photos of belly births! We talk about cesarean options during our prenatal meetings so in case its the last tool in the tool box to use, they know what to expect for the procedure and care."
My doula bag is still the Mary Poppins bag or TARDIS bag and I would even say it's a Hermione Granger bag where it is so much bigger on the inside! All the birth doula gear goes in the bag.
Breathing beads are a tactile and visual reminder to bring your awareness back to your breath, letting your lower ribs spread out, air filling your lungs with positive energy and gorgeous oxygen, and then it gently leaving your body and leaving you feeling just a smidge better with each inhale and exhale.
Snacks are so very important. Birth is an endurance event and we need to fuel and hydrate our bodies and no pregnant person ever thought that labor would be better with a hangry partner!