Today marks our son’s six-month birthday.  It is the perfect day to reflect on the wonderful team that supported this first-time mom into the world of motherhood. You see, I lost my own mom when I was only sixteen years old. While becoming a mom was something I always wanted, it was also very scary. How was I going to navigate motherhood without my own mom? Fortunately, a team of women came to save the day– and I know my mother would be proud.

First was my doula team that supported me through pregnancy, labor, and postpartum at Chicago Birth & Baby. Kate Ritter and Simone Rowen were my doulas throughout the pregnancy and Simone Rowen was my labor and postpartum doula. Kate and Simone stayed on top of me throughout the pregnancy and helped me pick my labor support team, mapping out my birth plan and making a postpartum support plan. When we came home from the hospital, Simone Rowen was right there with us. She cooked my meals, cleaned the house, and gave me tons of love! But, most importantly, she sat right beside me as I learned to nurse my baby, taught me the mechanics of pumping, did TONS of Amazon orders with me, and showed me the best researched products for my baby.

Juli Billings Walter is an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant. She consistently answered all my lactation questions, came over for a home visit with I came home with the baby, and gently guided me through the nursing process. She has also helped me subsequently when I have needed additional consultation or just a sympathetic shoulder to lay my worries on. I had a great experience nursing and I credit her for it.

Lisa is a sleep specialist. She guided me and held my hand through the process of sleep-training our baby. When I texted her at 1:00 am telling her the baby was up, she texted me right back. Within a few days, our baby was sleeping so much better–and so were mommy and daddy (in fact, baby and daddy are both sleeping as mommy writes this)!

Okay, that’s all for now–this momma needs to join her two boys and go get some sleep for the night! Thank you again to my amazing team; we couldn’t have done this without you.  ~Rita

Happy Birthday Baby!

P.S. Just to be clear, there are many other amazing women in my life who were there for me through the pregnancy and continue to be there for me today.  This post is devoted to individuals who were there for me in a professional capacity–emphasis on professional, as each of them was a consummate one and has my highest recommendation.