My Beef With Doulas
Forgive me a few minutes to vent about doulas, those crunchier-than-thou pregnancy helpers that are as necessary now to the Park Slope set as a baby sling or Babycook steamer. But I’m pulling the Boppy...
View ArticleI Loved My Orthodox Jewish Doula
Last week, Julie Satow expressed her disappointing experience with doulas during her first two births. This week, Avital offers a different perspective. When I was six months pregnant with my son, my...
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Here’s to the People Who Made My Son’s Bar Mitzvah Special, Even if They...
Think about when you are in the midst of labor and you are going through the most intense and difficult–yet simultaneously the most meaningful–experience of your life. You are bringing a new human...
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Toughing Out the Pains of Pregnancy to Prepare for a Natural Childbirth
Allow me to kvetch for a moment. At 32-weeks-pregnant, pelvic instability has become my constant companion. The tendon connecting my left leg to the rest of my body feels like it’s been tightened past...
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Sometimes, It Takes an Island to Have a Baby
Living on an island in Maine–unreachable other than by boat, plane, or helicopter–has its challenges and its pluses. For every moment of feeling like I live in a Manhattan-sized fish bowl–for every...
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Leaving the Only Home My Kids Have Known
Three months ago, I moved with my family into a new home six blocks and a few avenues from our former home. This was my first move with young children and I was deeply concerned about how it would...
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Why I (Mostly) Love My Post-Baby Body
Two weeks and one day ago, I gave birth to my daughter. It was a pretty amazing experience, all the way up to the point when she was born. Then, while I was luckily distracted by holding my little girl...
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10 Ways the Second Pregnancy is Different Than the First
Pregnancy is a great divide. My mothering life bears little resemblance to my pre-pregnancy life. But my second go-round is reshaping my thoughts about pregnancy. Being pregnant while parenting a...
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Prayers for Preemie With The Help of Google
The last thing I told her before it happened was, “Oh my goodness, Aliza, you’re so tiny! You’re barely showing!” My oldest childhood friend was starting her sixth month of pregnancy, and she had the...
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The Miracle of Life Begins with Housework
This post is part of our Torah commentary series. This Shabbat we read Parashat Masei. To read a summary of the portion and learn more, click here. Baby #2 is due any day now. Since I never went into...
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My Emergency C-Section Gave Me PTSD
My first delivery went textbook-smooth. From the time my water broke until the time I delivered my daughter was nine hours, which is under the average of 10 to 24 hours for a first labor. The one thing...
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My Sister’s Stillbirth
On October 31st, 2012, I awoke to a phone call from my sister. “I think I’m going to have a baby today. Maybe baby!” I pretended to be calm and collected and told her I would be right over. She …...
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The Importance of Being Honest About First-Time Parenting
After giving birth to my second child about a month ago, I shared a hospital room with a woman whom I’d describe as one of the most cheerful and glass-half-full people I’ve ever met. Mara–the polar...
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I Need to Stop Worrying About My Sister’s Worrying
My sister gave birth to her first baby last night. Her voice on the phone was both heavy with exhaustion and fluttery with joy. My heart ached to be so far away from her during this blessed beginning....
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