Melbourne Doula

Welcome to 'Melbourne Doula', the place where I share what birth work is teaching is me, and what I am learning from the wonderful families who have invited me to share this most special season of their lives. Here you will find information about me and the doula services I provide, birth stories from remarkable women and their loved ones, as well as all kinds of resources to enrich your own journey of discovery. And welcome also to BLISSFUL HERBS, the home of beautiful herbal teas and bath herbs to support wellness through every season of life.

Umbilical Cord Ties

These umbilical cord ties are made from 100% cotton embroidery thread that is lovingly hand-dyed here in Victoria, inspired by the diversity of colour among the flowers, herbs and foliage of a cottage garden. $7.50 each.
Hospitals are amenable to the use of ties as an alternative to the plastic clips

"Rosalie" Mini-mandala with centre bead, $7.50 (3.5 cm in diameter) BACK IN STOCK!

Umbilical cord ties are a lovely alternative to the plastic clips and can be used whenever delayed cord clamping is practiced, at homebirths or in hospital. (Even if there is a pressing reason why the cord must be clamped and cut immediately, you can always ask them to leave the cord an inch longer than usual; and tie with your cord tie and re-trim later).
Lotus birth is a gentle practice you may wish to consider; otherwise, we normally wait until after the placenta has been born before severing the cord. I believe third stage is safer when it is un-rushed and mother and baby are not separated, and prolonged skin-to-skin contact is facilitated. More on promoting safety in third stage here.

Read about the benefits of delayed cord clamping here.

Some people sever the cord with scissors, and sometimes at homebirths, the cord is severed using the flame from a burning candle.

It's easy to use a cotton umbilical cord tie. Simply wait until the cord is flat, white and empty of blood. Tie the tail of the cord tie around the cord and double knot. If you wish, you can tie another knot around the other side of the cord to make it extra secure.

Some people prefer to clamp the cord as usual with a plastic clamp and then tie the cord tie between the clamp and the baby, and re-trim, later on.


But what about sterilising the cord tie, you may ask? The fabric of the cord tie is just like the fabric of the baby's nappy or clothes. It should be clean, but does not need to be sterile, because the cord doesn't come in contact with the baby's blood stream or any open wound. However, if you still wish to sterilize it, boil the cord tie for 10 minutes in a little saucepan. (Don't forget to boil the fork or whatever you plan on using to lift out the cord tie, or there's not much point!) The lift the cord tie into a ziploc bag and keep it in the freezer until the day of the baby's birth.


The cord ties can be re-purposed to add a motif to a baby's top or jacket, hat or headband:

Cord tie and matching headband set, $15.00



At the moment, we have four designs to choose from:

Mini Mandala, Large Daisy and Small Daisy and Loveheart.

And we have the following colours to choose from:

~ ~ ~ Blues of Sky and Sea ~ ~ ~ 

Blue Wren
Small Daisy in the Blue Wren thread
Quinn
Quinn Mini-mandala
Saskia
Saskia Mandal, Large Daisy and Small Daisy
Cocoon
Cocoon small daisy

Prue
Prue Large Daisy and Mandala 

Peacock
Peacock Small Daisy above and Large Daisy below

Peacock Mandala, left and Mabel Mandala, right.

~~~ Greens of fields and oceans ~~~


Grasshopper
Grasshopper Loveheart and Mandala - BACK IN STOCK!
Sunshower
Sunshower Small Daisy, Mandala, Large Daisy and Little Daisy
Billabong
Billabong Mandala
Tropic Sea
Tropic Sea Mini-mandala and Loveheart

Sweet Gum
~ ~ ~ Pretty Pastels ~ ~ ~

Arlo
Silver and pink shades of Arlo, in a Little Daisy
 Willow
The fading sunsets shades of Willow, in two types on Mandala

Mabel
Mabel Mandala, Large Daisy and Small Daisy

Dragonfly
Dragonfly Mandala and Loveheart.

Larkspur
Larkspur Small Daisy and Mandala

Gerbera
Gerbera Small Daisy - BACK IN STOCK!

Gerbera/Larkspur hybrid Lotus Flower, $10.00

Petunia
Petunia Loveheart and Mini-mandala

Petunia Small Daisy

Fuschia
Fuschia Daisies and Loveheart

Indi

Indi Mandala
Dog Rose

Dog Rose Daisy, Loveheart and Mini-mandala

Gerbera, Dragonfly and Fuschia Lovehearts


~ ~ ~ Purple Rain ~ ~ ~

Heliotrope
Heliotrope Large Daisy
Peacock/Heliotrope Mandala and Heliotrope Mandala

Dahlia
Dahlia Mandala and Daisies

Wisteria
Wisteria Mandala

Comparing Dahlia, Heliotrope and Wisteria

Lennox
Reds and Wines of Lennox, in Loveheart and Mandala

Camellia
Camellia Mini-mandala and Daisy

Granny Bonnet
Granny Bonnet Mandala

~ ~ ~ Earth Mother ~ ~ ~

Hallston


Hallston Small Daisy and Mini-mandala

Hallston Large Daisy and Rosalie Mandala
Rosella
Rosella lovehearts. This is a good example of the subtle variations that can occur between batches with hand-dyed threads. The first batch had a more khaki green, in the second batch, you can see the green is brighter.
Lazlo
The sea-green and sandstone tones of Lazlo, in a Mandala design
Daydream
Daydream Mandala, with beautiful tones of Magenta, Burnt Orange and Indigo. The Indigo looks rather purple in the photo - but in real life, it's the most gorgeous shade of proper Indigo.

Hippeastrum
Hippeastrum daisies. BACK IN STOCK!
Golden Gully
Golden Gully Mini-mandala and Daisies


~~~ Colours of the Rainbow ~~~

Rainbow
Rainbow Mandala
Pansy
Pansy Mandala and Loveheart. This little Loveheart is without a centre bead, but I can add one in if you prefer.
Tulip
Tulip Loveheart
Anouk
Anouk Mandala
Caterpillar
Caterpillar Mandala

Rosalie
Rosalie Mandala

Butterfly
Small Daisy in the Butterfly thread
Snapdragon
Snapdragon Mandala and Small Daisy

I think the above is "Dog Rose" but not totally sure! Maybe it's Rosella? Photo by Lacey Barratt Photography.
A father prepares to tie this Fuschia loveheart cord tie. Exquisite photography by Belle Verdiglione
Heliotrope Mandala by Smitten Images

TO ORDER, GO TO OUR NEW WEBSITE HERE

Please note that colours in the photos may appear different to the actual colours. Also, there are slight variations in different batches of the hand-dyed threads.

We also have cord ties available in a range of other colours (these are not made using the hand-dyed threads). These cord ties are just $5.00 each:






And of course, we can make cord ties to order. Just let us know what colours you like.

8 comments:

Siobhan Parker said...

My cord tie just arrived! I got the 'Rosalie' & it's absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much!! :)

Anonymous said...

I am a midwife and I give a cord tie as a gift to the couples whose births I attend. Thie ties are beautiful and lovely to see the dad or support person attach it. I have found that the cord dries really well - much better than with the big plastic hospital clamps. I just love them :)

Anonymous said...

The cord ties are loved by all the families I give them too.
I find the cord dries and separates much quicker than regular hospital plastic cord clamps.
I'm not sure if delayed cord clamping and tying also helps with this process but either way I love the ties too. Nicole, Midwife

Anonymous said...

I have 2 kids and used one of these ties on my second and his cord dropped off about a week earlier than my first. Unsure if just different babies or if it was actually the tie but I loved it! I love that it's soft and easily hidden under clothes rather than this awkward plastic clamps that caused red marks on baby's stomach from rubbing against.
Also they're super cute and more closer to nature in look and feel. Loved them and will definitely be getting more for next future babies. Mel

Anonymous said...

I purchased a few items last minute before our baby arrived. A cord tie, Birthing Bliss tea, a Post Natal Bliss peri care kit and calendula Soothing Salve and all these items have been lovingly used since Sid arrived almost 2 weeks ago... These products are so carefully crafted and prepared and were a perfect addition to our peaceful home birth. I highly recommend them and I will definitely purchase again for myself and for other birthing mamas. Kate.

Anonymous said...

I recently had the fantastic fortune to have an amazing midwife who sources cord ties (among other beautiful products) through you and just wanted to provide some feedback on how incredibly happy we have been with ours! Our third bubba has had his cord drop off much earlier and cleaner, not to mention the distinct lack of marks on his tummy from the plastic clip our first two babies had. Thank you for this beautiful addition to our birthing journey. Sarah

Anonymous said...

Hi Julie.
I wanted to deeply thank you for the amazing herbal teas, cord tie & bath herbs from you. I had an amazing experience with them all. I'm currently 1 week postpartum and I enjoyed your Birth Vibes tea every night 3 weeks prior to giving birth. I had a spontaneous labour of 45 minutes, no tearing and a beautiful physiological third stage.
My son wore your cord tie, and the midwives were astonished that his umbilical cord came away on just day 4. They all asked for more information on the tie.
Now I'm sipping your Babymoon Bliss tea while breastfeeding my newborn.
He's 8 days old and had his first bath last night with your beautiful herbs and flowers.
Thank you for bringing me peace and joy throughout my pregnancy, labour & postpartum experience. Amy.

Anonymous said...

The umbilical cord tie was the perfect addition to our incredible homebirth. After the placenta had been delivered, my husband cut the cord, then my midwife carefully tied it off and carefully placed the mandala motif against his belly. The natural fibres were gentle on our baby's skin and it was easy to fold nappies underneath the belly button as it healed. We had hours and hours of skin to skin time in those first days and we were able to hold him close with ease and comfort. The cord tie was lovingly crafted with beautiful cotton and came with the most beautiful post natal herbal care package for us. The cord tie is now washed and dried and I'll add it to our baby’s birthing box and tell him his birth story one day. I never knew cotton cord ties existed and I'm so thankful we discovered them just in time for our baby’s birth. Katy