Kim Wheaton, Birth Doula

03/18/2020

Here is an easy and practical way to help pregnant women and their families during this crazy time!

Many women who were planning on having their babies in the hospital are now wanting to switch to home birth, to protect themselves and their babies from the Coronavirus. Sadly, there are only 11 legally recognized home birth practices in Illinois -- located in just 9 of 102 Illinois counties. Signing this petition would help to free up dozens of professional midwives to serve these women safely and legally. Furthermore, "when Certified Professional Midwives attend home births, hospitals can utilize their resources and staff for more seriously ill patients, while simultaneously protecting healthy mothers and babies from the risk of infection." Win-win!

(And if you are unsure about the safety of home birth, know that "research has shown that when states fully integrate midwives into their systems, families experience better outcomes, including more spontaneous vaginal deliveries, higher rates of breastfeeding, fewer preterm births, fewer underweight newborns and fewer surgical cesarean section deliveries.) Feel free to read my home birth story here! https://www.kimwheatondoula.com/blog/2012/09/augustines-birth-922012.html

Let’s get to 177 signatures by the end of today - can you add yours?

03/03/2020

Such a sweet & accurate animation

10/28/2019

Wonderful, needed article.

After you give birth, you tell your own birth story. What you say and how you say it matters more than you know. Why doesn't anyone tell the inspiring ones?

10/23/2019

So... The Today Show found my pumpkins! Happy Pumpkin Fest everyone!

Whether it's baby-wearing, breastfeeding or epidural-getting, we're not mom-judging these creative carvings!

07/24/2019

After 10 years of doula work, I finally have a birthday buddy 😍 🎉

07/24/2019

Editing pics from a most beautiful and peaceful homebirth yesterday - in a historic Sycamore home on the most gorgeous day of the summer with perfect natural lighting and such a sweet family. So many good photos!!! Such an awesome birth!! So happy for them and privileged to have been able to help 💛

07/21/2019

If you haven't heard, my friend, Jen, has just released an album with songs chronicling her journey of finding hope in the midst of postpartum depression and anxiety. Her album release concert is this Saturday and I have the privilege of opening for her with a few songs I've written on motherhood. You'll also hear my talented husband accompany Jen with his amazing fingerstyle work on guitar.

If you are a mom or know a mom, you should be there. Jen's songs offer such hope, compassion and healing for anyone suffering from any range of postpartum mood disorder 💛

05/23/2019

Wanted to share this text from a client who had her baby last week - she captures beautifully the power and spirit of doula work. The short version is that I offer labor support, but it's more about embodying the steady, constant, compassionate presence of God to the vulnerable and sometime hurting hearts of women I get to serve. Saying yes to sitting with them through hard, messy heart stuff, entering into it with empathy and understanding and grace. Cheering them on toward growth and understanding their identity as beloved.

This is doula work, and I'm so privileged to be called to it.

03/12/2019

As a Harry Potter fan and baby lover, this definitely brought tears ❤

Meet Juniper, a girl who lived.

03/06/2019

As my daughter grows and her body starts to change, I've been reflecting more on my experience of my changing body when I was her age. There was a lot of shame, a lot of fear, even disbelief that this could be my new reality. It felt like I was living a nightmare. I couldn't ask questions, or ask if this was normal.

Now that I'm a mama, I'm working to cultivate a relationship of openness with my daughter. We converse freely about the coming changes, what to expect and how it's all normal, and about how innately powerful and beautiful our bodies are.

And it's so fun. We went swimming with a friend last weekend, and she showered and changed in the locker room with no embarrassment or sense of awkwardness. So far, she's super comfortable in her skin, and knows that her body is good.

I'm so grateful for my husband who is an ally in this - working together with him to create a family culture of respect for women's bodies.

Also grateful for and her book, "Mothers, Daughters & Body Image," which has been so helpful, enlightening, and a powerful tool as we navigate these waters! If you haven't read it, move it to the top of your book pile asap!

02/13/2019

Beautiful day for a birth!

01/24/2019

New on the blog! This is a topic that has really resonated with me recently, and I have loved learning about it. I believe that so many young moms are struggling with postnatal depletion completely unaware. I hope this little post sheds some light on the topic and helps inspire the first step toward healing!

After I had my second baby, I entered into a different, and I want to say darker phase of life than I had ever experienced. I wouldn’t say I was depressed, yet I distinctly remember, when my baby was around a year old, my older daughter looking up at me and saying out of the blue, “Mommy, you ha...

01/17/2019

I strongly believe that community is essential to our health and well-being as mothers, yet many of the moms I work with are so very isolated. This is an excellent article - I want every mama to read it!

1. Get really clear on one thing.The fact that you're struggling is not a reflection of your inadequacies, but the unnatural cultural circumstances you're living within.2. Own + honor your needs.Most mothers are walking around with several deeply unmet needs of their own while focusing almost exclus...

01/16/2019

Bullying. Harassment. Is this the best a man can get? It's only by challenging ourselves to do more, that we can get closer to our best. To say the right thi...

12/04/2018

I have not even started chapter one and I am already in love with this book.

11/09/2018

This is such a beautiful and grace-filled reminder. Be gentle with yourselves, mamas! Motherhood is a gigantic adjustment and not something we're meant to master overnight (or ever).

So if you're feeling like you don't know what you are doing today, mama, know that one day soon, you will.That day may be 14 weeks, 4 months or 6 months from now, but it will get easier. And if that day feels too far away, don't be afraid to ask for help.Not being a walking encyclopedia of infant ca...

10/26/2018

Dates, baby!

10/01/2018

Hey guys - my friend, Jen, is launching a Kickstarter campaign today, to help fund a full-length album with songs to encourage moms struggling with postpartum depression. She's a beautiful soul, with a unique voice and gifting for song-writing. Please take a look! You will love her music

Help Make an Album of Hope in the Darkness of Postpartum Depression

09/26/2018

This is such a great idea.

Say the word postpartum and most people think depression. And in the U.S., the lack of support for new parents is a wholly depressing situation—e...

09/01/2018

Last night: Went to bed at 9, because client reported she was in early labor, got awoken by my phone at 11:15, arrived at their house at midnight to find her pushing on the toilet, strongly coaxed her to the car for the 30-minute drive to the hospital (while reviewing in my mind how to deliver a baby should the need arise en route), arrived at the hospital at 12:30, coached mama as she pushed her baby girl into the world at 12:45, back home and in bed by 3am.

It was SUCH a whirlwind, and I was actually so bummed that I missed my favorite part - coaching her through labor! MAN! But she did a phenomenal job and her husband was the perfect coach!

Now: I'm grateful to be off-call, not tied to my phone, and free to spend some uninterrupted time with my family this Labor Day weekend! (Not to mention celebrating, MY Labor Day Baby on Sunday ;) )

06/06/2018

Hubby is home on summer break which means I have time to update my blog! Enjoy this wild, hilariously written birth story by one of my past clients!

For Matt and Ashley's first and second babies, I had the privilege of coaching them through the wild ride of labor here in Northern Illinois. After baby #2, they relocated to a super remote village in Northern Canada, which is where they found out they were pregnant with #3! I was so excited for the

04/08/2018

Spending my Sunday afternoon calling/texting/messaging various family members, friends, and neighbors to line up childcare in case I get called to a birth this week. By far my least favorite part of the job, but so grateful for the amazing community I have to call on!

03/31/2018

Yes.

03/06/2018

New on the blog today! This is an area that has brought so much freedom to my life recently. AND I will be speaking on living with less and how it relates to motherhood at our local MOPS next Thursday (March 15th) 9:30am at the YMCA, if you want to hear more! Would love to see you there!

If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts on the postpartum period, you’ll know that it’s not my favorite. I’ve said that I’ll go through labor and delivery ten times before I’ll go through the first month of postpartum once. And after having a particularly rough time after my second ...

02/20/2018

Wow. I've thought about poor women in other countries not having access to menstrual hygiene, but never even considered the need right here. Amazing that this girl saw the need and had the courage to do something about it!

02/17/2018

When can a premature baby start breastfeeding? Only when he reaches 34 weeks gestation? Not true. This photo shows a 28 week gestation baby,10 days old, and yes, latched on and breastfeeding, drinking. This is not "non-nutritive sucking". Experience from Scandinavia shows us this is very possible. Read more at http://ibconline.ca/premature2/

02/02/2018

Haiti has my

02/01/2018

Holy moly! Birth control is no joke, people. It works for some, but there are so many very real and very negative things that often come along with it...

12/23/2017

Apparently I only blog when my husband is on break! Here's a glimpse into one of several beautiful births I was blessed to attend this Fall. Merry Christmas!!

After my initial interview with Candida at the Starbucks in Target several years ago when she was pregnant with #2, I knew I wanted to hang on to this girl and make her my friend. She is one of the most beautifully honest and refreshingly authentic people I know. Fast forward through prenatal meetin

11/09/2017

This is perfect and powerful.