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If you haven't heard of "Occupational Therapy," join the club! I literally never heard of this until Kayln reached out to me and it's something I think every mom should be aware of. In case you have NO idea what OT's do - it's holistic care from professionals that are trained to help people get back to all of their normal things they do in life. It can be as "small" as getting in and out of bed, making sure you're showered for the day, getting back to exercises or rock climbing...literally whatever your normal and joyful day looks like - they help.

It is a completely individualized approach to healthcare. You can head to your OB or pediatrician and ask for this kind of care BUT take a listen to see what may or may not qualify. The BEST part? It's usually covered by insurance so it's an inexpensive way to get the support you need no matter where you are at in your pregnancy, birth, postpartum...or life.

Kayln Robertshaw is an occupational therapy doctorate student at Rocky Mountain...

One of the first things on our minds as soon as we have our babies is feeding them. Those first few days can feel like a blur and if you're choosing to breastfeed you may be feeling overwhelmed by ALL of the things you need to learn seemingly overnight. If you're worried about if you're producing enough or whether your baby is eating enough, or what the heck is happening to your nipple, don't worry.

Today, I'm here with our special guest, Sally Wright, an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) and mother of five, to help clear up the confusion and pump out the facts you actually need to know!

Sally grew up in Hawai'i and now lives in Utah. She is the mother of five children, including a set of twins. She has been an IBCLC since 2016 and has served as a volunteer Leader with La Leche League since 2006, providing community breastfeeding support. Sally especially loves helping parents of multiples meet the joys and challenges of a life with abundance. When...

This week we are joined by Annie Roskelley, a mother to 3 kids, certified babywearing educator, and volunteer at Babywearing Weber/Davis County Utah. She's sharing all her tips for making babywearing easy and enjoyable no matter how old your baby is or how much experience you have with carriers.

Show Notes:

1:12 - Reviewer of the week!

3:23 - Introducing Annie Roskelley, a mother of 3 and certified babywearing educator

5:44 - What are babywearing groups and what do they actually offer?

7:07 - Where can you find a babywearing group?

7:50 - I share my (kinda ridiculous) experience going through carriers trying to find the right fit

11:11 - Annie shares the amazing benefits of babywearing (anyone wanna go to the bathroom with both their hands free? )

13:04 - Can you wear your baby after a cesarean birth?

14:40 - All the tips for keeping baby safe in any carrier!

15:45 - When do you switch your baby from inward to outward facing? 

17:35 - What if baby doesn't like...

1:27 - Today's guest is Taylor, a new mom, and student of My Essential Birth.

2:15 - Taylor shares that this is the first baby in her family. She loved being pregnant, although the first trimester symptoms were rough but later got better.

4:15 - Signs like persistent tiredness, and delay in her monthly flow made Taylor suspect that she was pregnant, and she took a test to confirm it.

6:11 - During her pregnancy, Taylor had a very strong craving for watermelons. She also had to struggle with significant discomfort in her legs especially at night. Her chiropractor helped with this but the symptoms completely disappeared after delivery. 99% of the solutions to pregnancy-related symptoms are to just have your baby.

8:36 - While having some doubts when she initially found out she was pregnant, Taylor highlights that she got a lot of encouragement from her husband to go ahead. She had started seeing a doctor for the first 20 weeks and observed the Doctors often did not spend the time to get...

I can't wait for you to listen to this inspiring birth story with Anne, a My Essential Birth Course mama, who takes us through her journey from conception, pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum. It is a perfect story about what it's really like to walk through everything pregnancy, birth, and postpartum for the very first time. Her and her husband did an excellent job preparing and supporting each other. I hope you will find something special and learn tons, for both you and your partner as you listen. Enjoy!!

Show Notes

3:24 Anne tells us a little bit about herself and her husband, a bit of their history and what conception was like for them. 

5:10 Anne gives us some inside on what pregnancy was like for her. She talks about the different feelings she experienced every trimester and the changes she felt along the way. I also ask Anne about her provider experience, how she found her provider and what solidified her choice. We continue of conversation about her provider and...

You’ve had the baby, now what? This has now become a 24 hour responsibility. In this episode, I walk you through what happens from the time you give birth, until you reach home, and even some tools that can be useful once you've brought baby home and start to manage your everyday life. My husband also share's his dad perspective of what it was like for him when welcoming our children home. Listen in, get some great information and even better, some awesome laughs.

Show Notes

4:40 - Hospital to home, what happens? We chat about a series of things such as, the car being checked and different tests both mom and baby have to pass prior to being discharged from the hospital. 

10:13 - Visitation! We talked about our experience when it came to visitors after the birth of our children, and how it varied from child to child, both in hospital in home. We also made light of how we’re in Covid times and what visitation may look like these days. 

13:10...

If you're considering cloth diapering, I may just firehose you (in a good way) on this episode so I apologize, and you're welcome. It's a ton of information and I hope you give you a better idea of what you are in for. I cover everything from the benefits for baby and parents, what the upkeep looks like, what's not so great about cloth diapering, and onto how to care for them and some options for cloth diapers for when you're ready to buy.

Show Notes

3:45 - Did you know disposable diapers have chemicals? It's true. If you're looking for benefits, this is definitely one to cloth diapering. I list several more here.

8:15 - If you've had a baby who wakes up from a nap and gets into their diaper, and you are considering duck taping your child's diaper so they can't get into it ...I have a little trick for you!

9:45 - Benefits for moms and dads! I'm talking money, cute diaper prints, it's fun, and getting it on your baby registry!

11:41 - The upkeep for diapers may or may not have you...

 Our loving warning to you is to make sure you get pregnant before letting your partner listen to this adorable list! Ha! We must say we had a ton of fun recording this podcast and thinking through all of things our poor partners have to deal with. As moms, we mostly embrace all of the changes that happen to our body like our growing belly, lack of sleep and funny food cravings because, well, it's happening to us. We get excited even if it's not fun, knowing that it is all part of growing a baby. Partners though, they really kind of get taken by surprise with some of the changes and expectations in pregnancy, birth and postpartum so we thought it was fun to dive right in and cover those here. We hope you have a good laugh and learn along the way.

Show Notes

2:38 - As women, we get pretty excited about the changes that happen during pregnancy, but how do our partners feel about all of this?

3:28 - Get ready for the pregnancy list: room on the bed dwindling, lots of pillows,...

Whether you're a Stay-At-Home, Work-At-Home, or Working mom, there are definitely some good things (benefits), some not-so-great things (risks), and ways to make it successful (preparation - sound familiar?). We are here to shower every mother, no matter the situation she feels is best, with love and support!

Show Notes

3:31 - Stay-At-Home Moms

4:40 - SAHM - The Good Things! Staring at your baby, taking pictures, the snuggles, the nursing, not having to get ready for the day unless you want to, especially after a long night of nursing...it's great!

11:29 - The downfalls for stay-at-home moms including not getting to hang out with a lot of adults and having adult conversations, feeling lonely, not getting a break, postpartum mood disorders, and more.

18:23 - How to make being a SAHM successful!

26:45 - Work-At-Home Moms!

27:30 - The Good Things! Supporting your family financially, talking to other adults regularly, breastfeeding is easier, no cost for a sitter unless you...

We asked, you told us, and then we made an entire episode quoting all of your incredible suggestions for what every mom should have during pregnancy, birth, & postpartum! We absolutely LOVE this birthing community that we get to be a part of. You are all so supportive, fun, and wise. We hope you enjoy this week's episode made BY you, FOR you!

Show Notes

3:50 - All the things you need for Pregnancy! These are the things YOU said were the very best to have for pregnancy.

7:01 - The "why" behind going to a chiropractor, because sometimes we need to know a little more.

20:44 - Must-Haves for Birth. These are the things that helped tons of our mamas during that actual birth.

28:56 - Postpartum Must-Haves

35:19 - Specifics for mom postpartum. 

37:00 - Specifics for baby postpartum.