This week I’m joined by my friend Natasha, who had to overcome some fears about labor and motherhood before she felt ready to become a parent. After a positive pregnancy and a long labor that included forceps after 4 hours of pushing (!!), she once again had to learn to trust herself and God to manage her postpartum anxiety.

Although her mental health has continued to play a role in her experience, Natasha is a huge advocate for adding positivity and hope to the conversation surrounding childbirth and motherhood. Her episode offers such a wonderfully balanced and uplifting perspective to anyone who has ever wondered, “Can I really do this?”

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Meet Natasha

00:11:56 - Pregnancy: Positive Pregnancy After Overcoming Fear

00:35:53 - Labor: Epidural, 4 Hours of Pushing, + Forceps Delivery

00:46:03 - Postpartum: Mental Health Struggles & Finding Joy in Her Son

01:22:29 - To My Pre-Mom Self…

This week I’m joined by my friend Summer, who gave birth standing up and caught her own baby! Summer takes us through how she prepared for her positive, unmedicated hospital birth, both physically and spiritually. She also gets real about the pain of back labor and how that affected some of her coping mechanisms, as well as the unexpected curve balls of postpartum, including recovering from a tear, postpartum depression, and a migraine that lasted 3 months!

Despite the bumps, Summer seriously has the best energy towards birth and motherhood as a whole. I’m so grateful for the positive perspective she brought to the podcast this week!

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Meet Summer

00:08:30 - Pregnancy: Prepping for Birth & Being Past Due

00:51:42 - Labor: Back Labor, Getting Vocal, & Catching Her Baby

01:13:49 - Postpartum: Learning the Purpose of Resting + Long-Lasting Migraine

01:23:43 - To My Pre-Mom Self…

This week I’m joined by my friend Allie, who endured passing a kidney stone while in her 3rd trimester!! Truly chilling stuff. But, beyond that, Allie shares her experience with high blood pressure near the end of both of her pregnancies that ultimately resulted in two positive, epidural-less inductions that she takes us through beat-by-beat. She also opens up about the difficulty of having a baby who refused to sleep through the night for a whole year and how that impacted her postpartum mental health. Her postpartum experience was then transformed through a few new friendships that serve as a beautiful reminder of the power of community.

Allie’s story is truly uplifting and downright hilarious in many instances. If you’re looking for a motherhood pick-me-up, this episode is for you!

Chapters:

00:00:00 - Meet Allie

00:10:18 - 1st Pregnancy: Inconsistent Periods, 5 Months of Trying, & High Blood Pressure Readings

00:14:57 - 1st Labor: Cervidil Induction at 37 Weeks, Unexpected Transition, & Unmedicated Delivery

00:32:58 - 1st Postpartum: Lack of Sleep, PPA, & Making New Mom Friends

00:48:35 - 2nd Pregnancy: Pubic Symphysis Dysfunction, Staying Active, & Passing a Kidney Stone

01:01:25 - 2nd Labor: Cytotec Induction at 39 Weeks, Rapid Dilation, & Planned Unmedicated Delivery

01:19:41 - 2nd Postpartum: Positive Sleep Training & Supportive Community

01:30:57 - To My Pre-Mom Self…