Parenthood Archives | Doulas of Baltimore

Returning to Work After Baby: 4 Tips for a Smoother Transition

When it comes to returning to work after baby, we’ll start with the unfortunate truth: the US does not guarantee paid parental leave on a national level, and not all workers qualify for the six weeks of unpaid leave federal law mandates. According to the Washington Post, “Most Americans do not have access to paid family leave through their employer.”

All of this means that there is no standard for when you return to work after parental leave: it could be six weeks or six months. But regardless, returning to work–for either the birthing person or partner, can be a significant transition. You may be thinking about everything from your energy levels, your schedule, pumping and/or feeding, your partner’s schedule, and how your baby will do without you. Here are 4 things to consider and plan for before you return to work.

Know what your leave looks like and be open with your employer.

Long before delivery you may be thinking about your parental leave options–both what your employer offers and what your ideal scenario might be. Be open with your employer and consider asking for something that might make the transition back to work easier. That might include returning part-time at first or working from home. Your employer might also be willing to be flexible in ways that they haven’t shared with you. Ask other employees or your employer directly about how others have returned to work after leave.

Think about childcare after parental leave, and then come up with a back-up plan.

You may have come up with the perfect childcare solution: you are returning part-time to work and a friend or family member is baby-sitting on the other days. In 2022, that might be problematic because of changes in school openings due to COVID. Or, the caregiver might have to quarantine after a COVID exposure. Problems could arise simply because they are not as reliable as you would like them to be. Whatever your childcare plan involves after you return to work, come up with a backup plan. If you have a family member caring for baby, what happens if they are sick?

If you are working from home, remember that you are still working and taking care of baby is also full-time work. Although working from home can make it easier to care of baby, you should still try to have a secondary caregiver available. Some of our clients have utilized our postpartum doulas while working from home to ease that transition.

Figure out priorities and roles for when returning to work after baby.

You partner may have taken little or no time off after baby arrived. But, your transition back to work is still a transition for them as well. Take time to figure out each of your priorities and roles. If you are not a morning person, consider having your partner take care of baby’s or the family’s morning routine. This way, you can get ready for work in the way that you need to. Discuss who will pickup baby or kids from caregivers, daycare, or school. You may have figured out a postpartum plan of who was cooking and cleaning, but you may need to revisit those plans if both partners are back at work.

Don’t be afraid to acknowledge your emotions and ask for help.

The postpartum period can be difficult: you are adapting to a new family member. If you gave birth, you may be experiencing physical changes in your body as well (link to blog). You are going to have a lot of emotions–from being excited about being back at work to sad that your baby is someone else’s care. Don’t be afraid to acknowledge that whole range of emotions and understand that they are all OK. If you being feeling overwhelmed when you return to work after parental leave, ask for help, whether from your partner, family, friends, or other loved ones.

Carrot Fertility: A Guide to Flexible Coverage

Baltimore, Family, Parenthood

In recent years, fertility benefits have become an important and sought-after part of employee benefits packages. Carrot Fertility is a global fertility benefits provider that helps employers support their employees with reproductive health services. Whether you’re considering fertility treatments, egg or sperm freezing, adoption, or surrogacy, they offer financial and educational support to make these journeys more accessible.

What is Carrot Fertility?

Carrot Fertility is an employer-sponsored benefit program that provides financial assistance and expert guidance for reproductive health and family journeys. Unlike traditional health insurance plans, Carrot offers more flexible coverage tailored to a wide range of fertility and reproductive needs, including:

Fertility treatments (IVF, IUI, egg freezing, etc.)
Adoption and surrogacy support
Pregnancy and postpartum care (hint: that means us!)
Menopause and hormonal health support
LGBTQ+ family assistance

Who Can Benefit from Coverage?

Carrot Fertility is designed for individuals and families at various stages of their reproductive health journey. The program is particularly beneficial for:

Employees seeking treatments like IVF or egg freezing
LGBTQ+ individuals or couples looking to expand their families through surrogacy or adoption
Individuals with medical conditions that could affect reproductive health
Those who want to preserve their eggs or sperm for future family planning
Employees experiencing menopause or hormonal changes and seeking specialized care

By offering this type of coverage, companies can show a commitment to employee well-being, inclusivity, and work-life balance. Many businesses are adding these benefits to attract and retain top talent.

How to Apply for Carrot Fertility Benefits

If your employer provides Carrot Fertility as part of its benefits package, applying is simple:

Check Your Eligibility – Log into your company’s benefits portal or contact HR to confirm benefits are available to you.
Sign Up – If eligible, you’ll receive access to the Carrot platform, where you can explore your available benefits.
Consult with the Experts – Connect with fertility specialists, adoption advisors, or hormonal health consultants for guidance on your next steps.
Use Carrot Benefits – Depending on your employer’s plan, you’ll receive financial assistance, reimbursements, or direct payments for eligible services.

For those whose employers do not yet offer these benefits, consider advocating for it in your company’s benefits package by discussing it with your HR department. You could also request it directly from their website!

Does Doulas of Baltimore work with Carrot?

Yes! We have had the pleasure of caring for many families whose employers provide coverage for families. If you’d like more information, please reach out to us and we’ll discuss your options!

Conclusion

Carrot Fertility has created a simple solution for companies to support reproductive health and family planning. By offering financial assistance, expert guidance, and a broad range of services, Carrot makes care more accessible to employees of participating companies worldwide. If you’re considering fertility treatments, family planning, or reproductive health support, ask if your employer provides Carrot Fertility and take advantage of the benefits available to you!

5 Tips for When Your Newborn Meets Friends and Family

Parenthood

What should you consider when your newborn meets friends and family? Are you introducing your baby to family and friends soon? Warm indoor gatherings can be the perfect cozy setting to meet and we can all imagine what happens next: everyone wants to hold baby, give them lots of love, and share in the joy. Lots of stimulation can be exhausting for both you and your baby! We’ve gathered some of our best tips for keeping everyone happy when your newborn meets family and friends.

Manage Expectations When Newborn Meets Friends and Family

More and more, new parents are setting boundaries early by sending a kind text message with information ahead of having guests meet baby. Within the first month of bringing baby home, you may not want to have visitors at all because it can be exhausting. If you choose to have loved ones come to call, don’t be afraid to ask guests for help. They can bring a meal, help with household chores, or care for pets and siblings. If you’d rather they spend time with baby, set them up in the living room with anything they need so you can focus on you. This might mean taking a shower or a nap, eating a meal, or running an errand.

Be Aware of Germs

There are many common illnesses that can be very serious in newborns and infants even if they’re just a runny nose in an adult or older child. The minimum hygiene requirements for someone holding baby should be thoroughly washing hands and not touching or kissing baby’s face or hands (as hard as that might be for them!). When your newborn meets friends and family, having visitors wear a mask during their visit may also be a good idea! Consider what it might look like to limit the exposure to germs carried by younger children who are in daycare or school. Finally, don’t be afraid to ask about family member’s vaccination status. If you are uncomfortable being around someone unvaccinated, it’s OK to say so.

Think About How Your Baby is Going to React

You know your baby and their routine best! Even if your baby is just a month old, you’ve already learned how they react to different situations. Keep what you know about your little one in mind as you plan meeting friends and family members. Routines are important for baby, make sure feedings are consistent with their comfort and routine. If you’re chest or breast feeding, consider where you’ll do so or pump if necessary where you’re going. It’s a good idea to pack a bag with all the essentials and comforts of home if you’re meeting up outside the house!

Recognize When Your Baby is Overwhelmed

For a baby who is used to being at home with one or two primary caregivers, a room full of people could easily get overwhelming. Use the 5 S’s (swaddle, suck, side, sway and shhh) to help calm baby. Also considering creating a relaxation space if you are traveling for your newborn to meet friend and family. This can be a space for you, your baby, and partner to relax and get away from the crowd. Consider inviting in one or two people at a time, rather than passing baby around. Bring a portable crib or bassinet to make this space a safe one for baby to sleep in. Just like feeding times try to make nap times as consistent as possible.

Make an Exit Strategy

One easy way to make sure you and your baby stay relaxed is by setting parameters for the visit ahead of time. If someone is coming over to your house, ask them to come for a specific amount of time like dinner, a walk, or an afternoon nap. Be straightforward with your communication, and don’t be afraid to say, “We are going to get ready for bed. Thanks for coming over and bringing us dinner. Please don’t forget your dish!” If you are traveling, you can also say when you have to leave by or make it clear what times you will be visiting. If you are staying with a family member or friend, you can also say you are going to bed (or put baby to bed and slip away, too).

Your new baby meeting friends and family members is such a great time to make memories. The memories are even sweeter when we are as relaxed and healthy as possible.

Snoo Bassinet: Should You Buy One?

Baby registry, Baltimore, Family, Newborn care, Parenthood, Postpartum, Product Reviews

With promises of extra sleep, little need to sleep train, and an extra set of hands, the Snoo Bassinet by Happiest Baby is a product we often get questions about. As professional overnight newborn care providers, we have absolutely used this product when families request! Newborn sleep is a hot topic on most new parents’ minds so it makes sense that this is an often requested topic of discussion.

Let’s break down the purported benefits of the Snoo, the standard and optional features, the pros and cons, and what we think overall. Should you buy the Snoo?

Snoo Bassinet promises vs reality

On the sales page for the Snoo you’ll find quite a few benefits outlined. Let’s walk through these and share our experiences with each.

Please note, for this section, these are simply our experiences and not meant to dispute the legitimacy of these claims.

Added Sleep

This really depends on the temperament of your baby. It’s true for some families and less true for others. Some babies really love the movement of swings or bassinets and others hate them. There’s really no way for you to know this without testing it for yourself first.

“…in my experience not every baby takes to the Snoo. Some infants, especially those with different sleep needs or temperaments, have not found the motion and noise soothing, like at all” – Rae Braxton, DOB Doula

Sleep Trains Baby

Kind of. The bassinet does help soothe some babies back to sleep from the wakeful part of their sleep cycle. Adult sleep cycles last between 90-120 minutes while a baby’s is more like 40. They also wake during the night because their stomachs are smaller. During their more active part of their sleep cycle, it’s normal for them to make noise and move around sometimes resulting in them waking up. The Snoo detects this movement and soothes them back to sleep. Transitioning out of the Snoo can be simple or could be difficult, again depending on your baby’s unique needs.

Your 24/7 Helper

While it is true that your baby can go into the bassinet while you shower, as the website claims, they could also simply be put down to nap and you take a shower. So long as your baby is in a safe space, they can be put down anywhere. As Postpartum Doulas, we also know that extra hands to help with snack prep, light cleaning, and laundry are also invaluable. You don’t always want to put your baby down, sometimes you just need hands to do the tasks you can’t get to while you’re holding the baby.

Responsive

We can confidently say that the Snoo Bassinet is definitely responsive. When it senses that baby is fussing, it activates shushing and/or movement to soothe them back to sleep.

“While working overnights, I really appreciate having a Snoo because the Snoo helps to soothe the baby. Although I am awake when the baby is fussing, the Snoo is usually able to soothe the baby so that I don’t have to get up from a restful position.” – Amanda Dymond, DOB Doula

Mobile App

Yes, we can confirm there is a Snoo App and it has lots of interesting information. The main thing it does is compile information and in our experience is limited in functionality.

“…I think the app integration works well for more tech savvy parents and caregivers. (The app is not very intuitive but if they like compiling data, it would work well for their needs)” – Rae Braxton, DOB Doula

Added Safety

The claim is that because the swaddle is secure it prevents the baby from rolling into an unsafe position. This one is a tricky one to assess because most swaddles keep your baby in the position they’re in and once your baby is attempting rolling they shouldn’t be in a swaddle anyway. We can definitely confirm the Snoo will keep your baby in their spot while in the bassinet.

Calms Fussing

Much like the added sleep claim, this one is very subjective. If your baby finds the Snoo to be relaxing and soothing, yes! It will definitely calm the fussing. If, however, your baby finds it to be stimulating, it’s unlikely to calm the fussing.

“… it really depends on the temperament of the baby. Some find the automated motion calming, while it can stimulate other babies. “ – Lani Cohen, DOB Doula

Key Snoo Bassinet Features

This bassinet offers a host of features that parents may love to offer their new babies.

Directly from the Happiest Baby website:

“Breathable mesh walls for healthy air flow

5 levels of specially designed sound + motion to soothe babies and boost sleep

Premium motor for quiet and reliability

Advanced algorithm can tell baby cries from room noise

For babies 0-6 months old who cannot roll over consistently

(meaning they have rolled from stomach to back—multiple times—during sleep)”

Sleep Sack Sizing and Snoo Sheets

According to the website, the sizing for the swaddles looks like this:

Small: 5-12 lb

Medium: 12-18 lb

Large: 18-26 lb

X-Large: 26-33 lb

We can attest that these swaddles do run a little small as they’re intended to be snug. There are only 3 included with your purchase: one small, one medium, and one large. This means if your baby happens to have a blowout or spit up on their swaddle you’ll need to wash it quickly before their next nap or purchase additional swaddles in their size. One swaddle will run you $44.95 or you can purchase a set of three for $73.40.

This also goes for the Organic Cotton Snoo Sheets as your bassinet purchase only comes with one. The sheets can be purchased individually for $19.95 or a set of three for $38.50.

Snoo Weight Limit

The Snoo’s weight limit is 25 lbs. Beyond weight, parents should also be aware that babies should not be using the Snoo if they are rolling consistently and definitely not if they can get up on hands and knees.

Pros and Cons of the Snoo Bassinet

Pro: This smart bassinet may help your baby sleep better, getting parents additional sleep that may help aid in warding off things like Postpartum Depression, for which sleep disturbances are a risk factor, and delayed healing.

Con: There’s no way for you to know if your baby will actually like this device besides investing the money to try it.

Pro: This bassinet is great for babies who enjoy being swaddled up for sleep.

Con: That means you may end up retiring this bassinet as soon as 2 months when your baby begins to try rolling over. That’s a potentially very short period of time.

Pro: You get 9 months of premium access to the Snoo Subscription app that accompanies the bassinet when you purchase or subscribe to a Snoo Bassinet Rental through an authorized dealer or Happiest Baby themselves.

Con: If you use that app primarily as your tracker for baby you will have to pay after that 9 month period of time or spend time transferring data out of the app.

Pro: You can rent it at a lower rate than purchasing it.

Con: If you end up keeping it past a couple months it might end up being more expensive anyway with the added fees and taxes, plus you can’t keep it to use with any future babies if that is your plan.

So, should you purchase a Snoo Bassinet?

As with so many other parenting choices you’ll make that depends on your baby. A quick search of the message boards on a website like Reddit will yield many varied results and some insights that might help make the decision based on real-life reviews of the product.

Overall, we think this product can be very useful in some situations. Being that there is the possibility that you don’t use it past 2 months of age, the up front investment is very high, and it’s a case-by-case product, we highly recommend renting or borrowing one to see what you think before diving into purchasing it.

“My advice is to always try renting before making the full commitment! It really can be a fantastic tool and help parents get the sleep they need—but it’s definitely not one size fits all. “ – Rae Braxton, DOB Doula

Should you choose to move forward with the Snoo, we highly recommend purchasing additional swaddles and sheets to ensure you have at least one backup in case your little one soils them.

A useful tool for some, an expensive waste of money for others, the Snoo Bassinet is a purchase you won’t find a definitive answer on!

New Parents | Planning for Your New Normal

Baltimore, Doulas of Baltimore, Family, Frederick, Newborn care, Parenthood, Postpartum

New Parents, your life will never be normal again.

Ok, that’s not entirely true. You will settle into a new normal but when a baby is born, life as you know it comes to an end. That can sound daunting! How will you make sure your new baby is cared for, your home is tended to, your work keeps going? When new parents are settling into a new normal it will take work. With some skilled planning and a willingness to shift when needed, you’ll find yourself in a groove before too long.

End of New Parents Leave

Usually once a baby has arrived one or both parents will get some amount of leave from their job. Circumstances look different for each employer. Explore what options you and/or your partner have for parental leave once your baby has arrived. How long can you take? When preparing to return to work, consider what will make it easiest including a hybrid or virtual work schedule for a period of time or even permanently. Explore these options and what they will look like with your employer.

New Caregiver

New parents transitioning to a new caregiver will take some effort but with planning it can be as smooth as possible. Ensure your new caregiver has adequate bottles and pumped milk or formula available to feed the baby. Pack their bag well with extra diapers, wipes, outfits, and anything else they may need. Discuss any circumstances unique to your family that your new caregiver may need to understand (is your baby on medication? Do they need to be fed a certain way? etc.) Communication is key to make transitioning to a new caregiver as easy as possible.

Balancing Home/Work

A new baby will always change the dynamics in a house. Consider how to make the transition easier for yourself as new parents, your pets, big siblings, and extended family members. Identify how your household tasks are currently split. Who takes out the trash? What about cooking meals? Who does the dishes? Consider a chart or writing out a schedule for when these things occur and think about planning to prepare food ahead of time while you ease into your new routine.

Babies change your life in the blink of an eye and it can feel overwhelming going through all the changes that you will face. With an open mind, lots of communication, and a plan ready, going back to work will feel challenging but not impossible.

Need some extra help? Check out our Free Ultimate Postpartum Planning Guide!