It is well known that new parents, especially first-time parents, need time adjusting to parenthood. The sleepless nights, endless feedings and countless diapers can feel like one big blur during the first year. Not to mention all the other adulting and responsibilities on your plate. And with the world changing on a daily basis, it can be difficult navigating parenthood and deciding what is right for you and your family. Friends and family will come to visit and give gifts but in the long run, you may find yourself in isolation and figuring things out on your own. Doula support is one way to acquire the extra support you need and they are typically available during pregnancy, birth and the fourth trimester. But what if you need more?

​For the past several months I have been working to create a way to support more parents. After speaking with several new and expecting moms and learning more about what they really need, I have expanded my virtual care and designed a more personalized way to serve them.

Navigating the Wonder Years is personalized virtual doula support for new parents (pregnancy to 12 months postpartum) who are seeking guidance to be confident and emotionally healthy figures for their children. During pregnancy, parents will receive childbirth education and informational resources to help prepare for birth. During the postpartum period, parents will receive guidance on recovery & healing, newborn care and parenting.

An Overview
Navigating the Wonder Years is not your cookie cutter virtual doula support. It is customized parental mentorship that takes an depth assessment of what you and your family need while mapping out the best course of action to support you mentally, emotionally and spiritually by providing the appropriate resources and individualized care. We will put a plan in place that will give you the necessary time and space to take care of yourself and your family while meeting the parenting and personal goals you set. The main purpose of creating your parenting plan is to build a foundation that will prepare you for the early years of parenthood and equip you with the tools to handle the challenges that will come along with them. For most parents, the first year can prove to be the hardest due to trying to balance home life, work, relationships, health and so many other things. I will help you become a confident, self-aware parent and positive influence for your little ones.

Mental & Emotional Component
Because this program does not provide hands-on or in-person service, the care will comprise of mental and emotional support to ensure that you can be the best parent and person for your family and community. The only way to do that is to make yourself a priority and put you first. You can't pour from an empty cup and we will make sure that you have everything you need to thrive during your baby's first year of life. Remember, you are your child's first teacher and your example will make a lasting imprint on their lives. The investment you make in yourself is an investment in your children.

Spiritual Component
With a deep spiritual background, I serve all of my clients with a spiritual regard. For many of my clients, prayer, church attendance, counseling, mindfulness exercises, spiritual exploration and study help provide a sense of purpose and also guide their thoughts and actions. No matter what you believe, I will help you hone in on the best practices to increase your spirituality and be more conscious of who you are and who you want to be. Expanding your spiritual outlook will be a priority as your discover what type of parent you want to be and develop your parenting style.

Is Navigating the Wonder Years right for you?
Mentorship is available to any pregnant or parent with a children under the age of one. With a monthly membership, you will receive support through virtual check-ins, resources and referrals as well as a customized parenting plan to help you be a successful parent. If you want to be proactive in getting the extra support that provides whole person wellness care, Navigating the Wonder Years may be right for you. I can only take a limited number of virtual clients at a time so don't delay. Contact me and you will receive an email with more details on how I can support you.

To learn more about Pediatric Housecalls, you can email Tiffany at tiffanymg21@gmail.com for general questions. If you would like to schedule an appointment, you can reach out to the Pediatric Housecalls schedulers via text at 919-766-0975. Please note: This is a text-only appointment scheduler. 

1. Tell me about yourself.

My name is Alex Ruth and I live and practice in downtown Raleigh. Before moving to Raleigh in November 2020, I was practicing in Washington, DC. I love the Triangle region and spend my weekends riding my bike on Raleigh's beautiful greenways. 

2. How/why did you become a chiropractor?

I used to compete internationally in acrobatics gymnastics, the one discipline of gymnastics that is not featured in the Olympics. During my time as an acrobat, I became fascinated with biomechanics and saw it as the magic behind how acrobats are able to achieve seemingly impossible feats. I knew I wanted to go into a biomechanics related profession and originally planned to become a Physical Therapist when I chose to major in Kinesiology at the University of Maryland's School of Public Health in College Park, MD. It was not until I got an internship with a chiropractor during my junior year of college that I realized chiropractic was my true calling. During my internship with a chiropractor, I frequently saw drastic and immediate differences in patients' mobility, function, and wellbeing from the time they entered the office to the time they left. I had never seen any other health care profession yield such significant results during an appointment. I enrolled in the Doctorate of Chiropractic program at Life University in Marietta, GA and graduated Cum Laude while also attending as many elective technique seminars as possible and organizing student led technique training workshops several times per week. 

3. Do you have any specialties or any area of expertise?

Other chiropractors would likely say that my most obvious specialty is extremity adjusting. When another chiropractor refers one of their patients to me, it is generally because they need help with an issue in an extremity. I have extensive training in extremity adjusting which is an often overlooked aspect of chiropractic care. From the feet, ankles, knees and hips to the shoulders, elbows, hands, wrists and even the sutures of the cranium, there is incredible potential to improve patients' relationship with gravity and biomechanical ease with extremity adjusting. I teach extremity adjusting technique seminars several times per year with a group called Extremity Evolution. Within Oak City Chiropractic, I provide care for a significant number of pregnant women and children. While I was in the student and outpatient clinic at Life University, I specialized in the upper cervical region (where the head and neck meet) and had a reputation as the intern who excelled at upper cervical adjusting technique. While I currently do full spine adjusting, I draw heavily on my experience from practicing upper cervical techniques when analyzing and adjusting the neuro-spinal system. 

4. Why did you join Oak City Chiropractic?

I joined Oak City Chiropractic in 2021 after working in a high volume office in Cary that allowed for roughly 5 minutes per patient visit. While I appreciated the experience practicing at a high volume office where I got to adjust 50-60 people each day, I wanted to get back to a practice style that allowed for more personal connection and more time to give a more complete and thorough service. The length of an appointment for new patients at Oak City Chiropractic is between 30 and 45 minutes. Subsequent visits are 15 minutes. Patients are able to get the attention and care they deserve here and I get to better know them and their families while cultivating a deeper understanding of their lives and the bigger picture behind their journey to wellness. 

5. What are the best & most challenging parts of being a holistic practitioner?

The best part of being a holistic practitioner is helping people see improvements in their wellbeing that they did not even think were possible for themselves. Every day I get to see people achieve relief from acute and chronic debilitating pain, improved athletic performance, a greater sense of ease within their bodies and more optimal adaptation to the physical and emotional stresses of life. I frequently tell people that although I am their health professional, they are the ones doing the healing. The body is always striving towards organizing and healing itself. As a chiropractor, my analysis is grounded in listening to what the body is trying to do for itself and then providing a gentle assist so that the body can go through these processes with as little interference as possible. The chiropractic profession builds its success on giving people the support they need to most effectively and optimally heal themselves from the inside out. 

6. Where do you see your business in 5 ­years?

In 5 years, I hope to be the Raleigh area's number one resource for improved health, healing, wellness and wellbeing. While allopathic medicine is crucial for emergency situations, I feel that too many people rely on drugs and surgeries too often without realizing that other more empowering options exist for them. My model for practice is built on getting people the results they want to see as quickly as possible and then doing infrequent wellness visits anywhere between every other week to every quarter to ensure continued optimal functioning. When people are leading a healthy lifestyle focused on being proactive rather than reactive to their health, wellness and wellbeing come much more easily and the community as a whole is healthier. 

7. Who do you look up to or admire in the holistic health community?

In the holistic health community, I have the utmost admiration and respect for Jim Deegan, DC. When I was in my final semester of chiropractic school, I came down with a bad case of Hand Foot Mouth disease. I had sores all over both hands and feet and felt constant burning pain as a result. The first night after the skin lesions developed, I was unable to sleep at all due to the feeling of my hands and feet being on fire. I told my chiropractic mentor Dr. Deegan about what I was experiencing and he volunteered to make a house call to come and help me out. After he finished an evening of practicing in his own office, he came and adjusted me on my own table in the living room of my apartment as I was unable to put enough weight through my feet to drive to his office. Shortly after he left, I slept for 10 full hours - a stark contrast to the sleepless night before. He did nothing to address skin lesions or viral infection. All he did was adjust my spine and my body was better able to respond to the virus that afflicted me. The next morning, the sores were visibly different and less painful than before. It was an important reminder that the nerve system is the master control system of the body and all other systems, including the immune system, depend on optimal functioning of the nerve system to work at full capacity. It also served to remind me that caring for people is at the heart of what we do. Dr. Deegan did not accept any payment for that house call and was solely motivated by an interest in my healing. 
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8. Tell me about your most recent business wi­n.
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My most recent business win has been helping an uninsured patient with a cervical disc herniation. Prior to his first visit, pain in his neck radiated into his shoulder and arm and the stabbing and burning sensations rendered him unable to lie down at all in any bed or position. He spent 2 weeks trying to sleep sitting up at night hoping to eventually get well enough on his own to start sleeping again, but his pain remained constant and unchanging. After being turned away by another chiropractor who was scared to touch him, he came to Oak City Chiropractic. Despite his lack of health insurance, we were able to find an affordable way to give him the care he needed without breaking his finances. He told me on his second visit that he was able to lie down and sleep for 6-7 hours the night after his first adjustment. By the end of that week, he told us that "the dark circles under my eyes are going away!" Members of his family told him that he would have to learn to live with the pain he was experiencing for a long time before it would improve, but after starting care 2 weeks ago he is now able to lift weights and run again. 

Oak City Chiropractic offers a variety of services, including massage therapy and functional nutrition. To learn more about Oak City Chiropractic or to book an appointment, you can find them on Facebook and Instagram.