My favorite baby resources

I’ve been a newborn photographer for over a decade. During this time, I’ve had hundreds of conversations with new parents about what was helpful during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. I’ve gathered all these helpful resources to help you with this tricky time.

Pregnancy resources

My favorite pregnancy book is,

Birth podcast

My absolute favorite podcast is The Birth Hour, which I still listen to. There are birth stories from women all over the world, and all different types of births. I found listening to all the stories so helpful since you really don’t know what to expect from your own birth, and everyone is different. I felt like no matter what happened, I would have someone’s story to reference and know that everything would be OK. I honestly feel that I learned more about birth from this podcast than I did from books or even our birth class.

New parent support groups

After Ollie was born, I found mom’s groups to be so helpful. Beth Israel does 3 free groups a week in Dedham, Milton, and Chestnut Hill, and I still go to group when I can. I also went to postpartum doula Rachel Hess’ First Time Parents Group, and couldn’t recommend it more! Being a new mom can be isolating, especially when your partner goes back to work, and it is such a relief to speak with other new moms going through the same things you are.

Sleep resources

We purchased Taking Cara Babies’ sleep training class, and it was the best thing for our family. I was terrified to let Ollie cry it out, but at 7 months he had regressed and we were up for hours each night trying to get him back down. We finally did the TCB sleep training plan and Ollie only cried for 25 minutes! Now we can put him down awake, and he sleeps for 12 hours in his crib. We did the same thing for naps and he will often nap for 2 hours, falling asleep on his own. Her Instagram and blog are also super helpful for tips and tricks for night sleep, naps, wake windows, etc.

Breastfeeding resources

KellyMom is my favorite resource for all things breastfeeding. They have a ton of articles about pumping, breast milk storage, and more. Also, I wrote a blog post with my own personal breastfeeding advice.