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4/19/2022

"WHAT IS ECOLOGICAL BREASTFEEDING?" A SHORT INTRODUCTION

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One of my most popular posts in this blog is about ecological breastfeeding. Earlier this year, I was asked by Natural Family Planning International to produce a short video about ecological breastfeeding. I wrote the video, filmed it, acted in it, and edited it. This was a fun experience and I hope to produce more parenting videos in the future! Contact me or comment below if you have ideas for parenting videos, or questions I can answer with a video!
Because they go by kind of fast, here are the Seven Standards of Ecological Breastfeeding:
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Do you have comments or questions about ecological breastfeeding (sometimes called eco-breastfeeding)? Do you have eco-bfing experiences to share? Comment below!

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8/12/2021

supporting new MOTHERs during a loCkdown: a guide for friends and extended family

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A mothers' group: the good old days?
The coronavirus pandemic has changed life as most of us once experienced it. Many areas of the world are in lockdown, and even in areas where things have opened up, as the number of COVID-19 cases spikes again, we will likely face more social distancing measures or quarantines to try to slow the spread (if we aren't already).
For some new mothers, this slower, more home-based pace of life has been a good thing. These moms report that being quarantined with their babies has helped them breastfeed, since - just to mention one thing - being separated from a nursing baby tends to make maintaining a milk supply more challenging and if nothing else, lockdown gives us lots and lots of time with our immediate family members. But in other and important ways, social isolation is not great for new mothers. Many important services that mothers need, including lactation help, have been more difficult or impossible to access during lockdown. Aside from access to healthcare, all mothers need other mothers, friends, sisters, cousins, grandmothers, aunts...we need our sisters and our sage femmes to let us know we're not alone; we're loved; we're doing a good-enough job; our kids are normal (usually); and, if they're not, to have faith that eventually, this too shall pass. Lockdowns put a lock on these face-to-face and side-by-side moments...natural social interactions which normally serve to lower our stress levels and restore us - "enhope" us. ​And all this goes quadruple for new mothers.
Dealing with lochia, sore nipples, night feeds, blow outs, the constant guessing games that a newborn brings (a/k/a no instruction manual), keeping a brand new non-verbal human thriving and growing, and caring for everything "down there" is just a lot. In some idealized past, we imagine our ancestral mothers got to lie around while their loving, supportive kin waited on them hand and foot. Sure, maybe that happened sometime, somewhere, but envying our long-departed great-great-grandmother's "lying in" is not really going to help you get through this painful feed, on this lonely day, at this ungodly hour.
So let's break this down. New mothers have physical needs. Food, water, monster sized maternity pads (in the beginning), menstrual pads later on, baths or showers, and (eventually) clean clothes. If you love her, ask about these things. If she needs something, help or ask someone else to help. Leave things on her porch, in her mailbox, send it unaccompanied up the elevator, or throw it through her window if you have to! (Or you could just give to the baby's dad, but that's not as fun.)
If she's good with her physical needs, I guarantee she has emotional needs. Call and ask about her birth. Listen. Bite your tongue if you find yourself starting any sentence with the words "at least." Listen. Celebrate the good stuff with her. Mourn with her anything she found sad. Share her anger if anything made her mad. Don't tell her what she should have done differently. Listen. Are you listening? Keep listening. No matter what, make sure to let her know how amazing she is. No one in the history of the world had her birth. It was her adventure and she is a heroine for having done it!
Call another time and ask how things are going with the baby. Celebrate the joys. Mourn the things that aren't going so well with her. Did I mention don't tell her she should have done anything differently? She is probably already beating herself up about something. If her baby is growing and developing, she's doing a great job. Tell her.
If her baby is struggling, offer to help. If she's got other kids, depending on your local situation, you might be able to have someone in mom's social bubble bring the baby's older siblings somewhere outside for a socially distanced / masked playdate so she can visit (whether in-person or virtual) with the doctor, or the chiropractor, or the lactation consultant, or whoever it is she thinks can help. Moms grow in confidence and feel capable when the people around them support their decisions about their baby's care. Be that person (even if you secretly disagree). Being a great friend / sister / mother / mother-in-law, etc., means supporting the new mom's efforts to become a mother, a big part of which is taking responsibility for her baby. And chances are very good that if the baby continues to struggle, even after that visit with [insert name here] she will try something else, and something else, and something else, and maybe, when she's tried everything else, she may even ask you for your advice! Now is your moment.
A few days or a week later, call her again. And then again. And yet again. And pretty soon she will blossom and her tiny baby will become a chunky monkey, roll over and crawl and take his first steps, and life will settle and she will never forget that you were there, on the sidelines, cheering her on the whole time. Maybe you never carried a meal to her bedside on a solid-gold tray, but you were there. And maybe she'll tell her great-great-granddaughters about you and how you were there for her when great-grandpa was born, during the time of the world coronavirus pandemic.

ways st. croix birth & Parenting can help

  • Twin Cities area Birth Place visits (where permitted)
  • ​Virtual breastfeeding counseling
  • Breastfeeding support groups (for Catholic mothers)

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3/27/2021

3 Minute Infant Massage Video

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Quick Baby Rubdown! 3 minute massage for baby. Easy to fit in after a bath or to relax baby before bedtime. Infant Massage has many benefits for your baby, including better mental health into adulthood!
This video is a mini version of the full body infant massage in our Infant Massage Basics class! Check our schedule for our next online class. Contact us to register!
This video is intended for educational purposes only. Please consult your baby's doctor or medical care provider for specific advice about the care of your baby. It is not recommended that you use any oil on babies under 6 weeks of age. Consult with a certified aromatherapist or your baby's doctor concerning the use of essential oils on babies younger than three months old.

c. Christelle Hagen 2021
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Music Credits:
Birthday
Musician: LiQWID
​URL:
http://soundcloud.com/liqwid

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2/7/2021

Bosom Buddies: tummy to tummy, skin to skin (BONUS Tummy Time Activity Video)

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Did you know holding your baby tummy to tummy and skin to skin counts as tummy time?
​
In Bosom Buddies: Tummy to Tummy, Skin to Skin (BONUS Tummy Time Activity Video) you will learn:
  • The benefits for baby and their caregivers of the tummy to tummy position, especially when skin to skin
  • How holding your baby tummy to tummy is the easiest way for your baby to get tummy time
  • How to make tummy time comfortable for you
  • Baby signs you can use during tummy to tummy time
Sign up for the next Rumble Tumble Tummy Time four-session online playgroup!
This video is intended for educational purposes only. Please consult your baby's doctor or medical care provider for specific advice about the care of your baby.
Music Credits:
Call Me
Musician: LiQWID
URL:
http://soundcloud.com/LiQWID​

Birthday
Musician: LiQWID
URL:
http://soundcloud.com/liqwid​

Someday
Musician: Alexander Delarge
URL:
https://icons8.com/music​

Words
Musician: Jason Shaw
URL:
https://audionautix.com​
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...​

Ice cream
Musician: Ilya Truhanov
URL:
https://icons8.com/music

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1/2/2021

Up, Up, and Away! (Tummy Time Activity Video #4)

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Help your baby's tummy time take off with the Airplane Game! No equipment needed.
In Up, Up, and Away! (Tummy Time Activity Video #4) you will learn:
  • A traditional game to help make tummy time fun
  • Alternative positions for the airplane game
  • A great way dads and other significant people can play with baby during tummy time
This video is intended for educational purposes only. Please consult with your baby's doctor or medical care provider for specific advice about the care of your baby.
Music Credits

Folk Bed
Musician: Jason Shaw
URL: https://audionautix.com
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

Lazy Day
Musician: Jason Shaw
URL: https://audionautix.com

Ice Cream
Musician: Ilya Truhanov
URL: https://icons8.com/music

Don't Stop Now
Musician: ASHUTOSH
URL: https://soundcloud.com/grandakt

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12/23/2020

Rock 'n' Roll Your Baby (Tummy Time Activity Video #3)

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Rock your baby's tummy time by using a large ball!
Rock 'n' Roll Your Baby (Tummy Time Activity Video #3) explains how to:
  • Use a large exercise / stability / birth / yoga ball to add some variety to your baby's tummy time routine
  • Wear your baby as a means to cut down the time baby spends on his or her back
  • Combine babywearing and gentle bouncing on the ball to soothe your baby
This video is intended for educational purposes only. Please consult your baby's doctor or medical care provider for specific advice about the care of your baby. Always follow any baby carrier's instructions for safe babywearing and ensure baby's airway is straight so they can breathe freely.
Music Credits

Chill
Musician: LIQWID
URL: http://soundcloud.com/liqwid

Ice Cream
Musician: Ilya Truhanov
URL: https://icons8.co/music

Lazy Day
Musician: Jason Shaw
URL: https://audionautix.com/

Sweet
Musician: LIQWID
URL: http://soundcloud.com/liqwid

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12/4/2020

Who's that Baby in the Mirror? (Tummy Time Activity Video #2)

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Use safe mirror play to make tummy time more enjoyable for your baby! 

Who's that Baby in the Mirror? (Rumble Tumble Tummy Time Activity Video #2) explains how to:
  • Use mirror play to meet your baby's tummy time goals
  • Support your baby's visual tracking and social skills
  • Use brief periods of tummy time to get some much needed Me Time!
Music Credits:
Lazy Day
Musician: Jason Shaw
URL:
https://audionautix.com

Tiny People
Musician: Alexei De Bronhe
URL:
https://icons8.com/music

Ice Cream Musician:
Ilya Truhanov
URL:
https://icons8.com/music

Whenever
Musician: LiQWYD
URL:
http://www.soundcloud.com/liqwyd

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11/24/2020

Roll Over and Read! (Tummy Time Activity Video #1)

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Make tummy time fun and expand your baby's world by reading books! A complete explanation of the benefits, how to tips, a song, and an alternative position if baby hasn't yet learned to enjoy being on the tummy! Learn to use the sign for BOOK so your baby will learn how to ask you for special "story time" cuddle sessions!
Enjoy what you learned? Want more! Let's get ready to Rumble...and Tumble!  🤣  Sign up for our series of four 45-minute Baby and Me playgroup sessions called Rumble Tumble Tummy Time.  😄

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11/20/2020

How to Make Tummy Time GREAT!

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St. Croix Birth & Parenting's President, certified Baby Signs instructor, Christelle Hagen, HCHD, ICI, shares tips for making tummy time fun and a great way to bond with your baby in this new video recently posted to our new YouTube channel!
Curious? Want more? Sign up now for our four-session tummy time online playgroup!

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    The St. Croix
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    Christelle J. K. Hagen, HCHD, ICI is a certified birth doula, certified Baby Signs instructor, perinatal loss doula, fertility educator, and the President and Founder of St. Croix Birth & Parenting. Christelle helps mothers develop strategies to get pregnant naturally, give birth with confidence, and succeed when they breastfeed!

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  • Home
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