In this episode, we’re talking with Chantal Eder, a movement specialist focused on pre- and post-natal wellness. Jenna and I were lucky enough to take prenatal yoga classes with Chantal—and got so much more than “expensive stretching” (as our dad likes to call it). We’ve learned so much from her earned wisdom on self-care, not just for the body, but for the mind, the spirit, and the soul. Today, we’re lucky enough to have her share some of what she’s taught us with you.
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How to follow Chantal and find her upcoming offerings
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When you’re a new mom, there are a lot of things you need: sleep (a lot more of it!), a hearty meal to fuel you for all that physical labour, and a hot shower. Just one rung higher on the hierarchy of needs: someone to talk to (who really really gets what you’re going through) and probably a bra for whatever new and strange shape your boobs are in.
At The Fourth, a maternity and nursing shop and community in Edmonton, you can get both. Iris’s vision for The Fourth was born from her own personal experience in pregnancy and postpartum—after feeling a lost sense of identity when wearing maternity clothes that weren’t her style and later feeling isolated and not knowing where to look for community when she needed it with a newborn. Today, we’re talking about The Fourth, Iris’s journey to build it, and how she’s supporting moms through all the stages of pregnancy, postpartum and beyond.
(Kasandra’s note: Jenna and I joined many a moms’ group through The Fourth on our mat leave and can personally attest to what an incredible community resource Iris has created!)
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And P.S., here’s a Black Friday nudge to shop local—The Fourth has a 15% off everything sale today!
It’s a big season of change over here—after 13 months off of work, Kasandra’s wrapping up mat leave and heading back to paid work. That means 2 kids in daycare, 2 parents working full time… can we do this?
We don’t know yet! But in this episode, we’ll talk about closing this chapter (pour one out, a bottle my baby never took preferably), what we’ve done to prepare for this new one, and of course—how we’re feeling about it all.
In this episode, we talk about:
Starting a baby at daycare and how we did the transition
Setting up our household for two parents working (the practical prep we did, but also the emotional prep)
Our current daily routines—how we plan to make work work
Reflecting on maternity leave and what’s to come in this new phase of life
The first day back at work after over a year away (first-day jitters and a year's worth of Sunday scaries!)
Trying to remember how to do your job after living a completely different life for over a year
How both parents at paid full-time work impacts family dynamics (eg., am I still the default parent?)
It’s safe to say many (most?) of us have some fears when it comes to pregnancy and childbirth. Everything is new, we know there will be discomfort and pain, and there’s so much that’s unknown and out of our control. But what about when the fear feels too much to handle?
In today’s episode, we’re talking with Sonia about her experience with tokophobia (the fear of pregnancy and birth), how it showed up for her, and how she worked through it.
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Once you've unpacked, recovered from jet lag, and gotten back into routines, what remains from travelling with babes?
For us, it's a lot—today we're talking about the big takeaways we had when reflecting on our time abroad with babies. We're talking cultural observations, family bonding, and developmental changes.
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We’re ba-ack! And we missed you all. We’ve just returned from two weeks overseas with our babes, and we’re pleasantly surprised to report we’re not too much worse for wear! We’re here to recap our trip and talk through all the logistics, planning, and prep of getting two babies and one toddler overseas—and back—in one piece.
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See you next week, where we'll be reflecting more on the privilege and experience of travelling with babies.
Hello dear listeners! Just dropping in to let you know we'll be away the next few weeks—we are *attempting* to take our little families on an adventure involving overnight airplane travel, new time zones, and new languages. We hope to bring back stories (apparently your boobs get jet lagged?) and our very best travel tips (and, as always, our fails).
This fall we'll be bringing fresh episodes on travel, tokophobia, and more, plus speaking to some *very special* members of the Edmonton moms community. We will miss you but can't wait to come back in October! Take care, mamas and friends.
Whether you’ve been on a waitlist since you conceived of conception, or you’re realizing you’re going to need more support with your wee ones as you transition back to paid work, finding childcare can be *stressful*. It involves a lot of sources of stress—money, parenting/childcare approaches, so many unknowns (especially those mystery waitlists, woof), and for many, guilt.
Today, we’re talking about different childcare options we’ve explored and tried, all of the many feelings we’re feeling, and how the heck to juggle it all. (Hint: balls will be dropped)
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When you’re pregnant and early postpartum, everything’s new and feels different. Your body, brain, and relationships. Plus, you’ve got new stressors on your system—lack of sleep, a baby’s cry that feels like a siren’s wail, and less time to cope with it all. All of these changes can make it hard to tell the difference between “normal worry” and a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder (PMAD), like postpartum anxiety or depression.
In today’s episode, we’re speaking to Sarah, a mom of a now-toddler. She’ll share her journey with postpartum anxiety, talk about how she sought and got help, and how she found hope and eventually re-discovered her “colour” after baby.
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Maybe you’ve been told it’s normal to pee your pants a little after you have kids (forever). Or maybe your pelvic floor is a little uptight and she needs to go to yoga. Somehow, pushing 10-pound watermelons out of your vagina throws off the surrounding region’s groove *just a little bit*.
Today, we have our very! first! Guest! Our friend and fellow listener Katie McLeod has been on a pelvic floor journey through and after birthing 3 babes. A former and possible future runner and full-time Swifie, she’s here to share what she’s gone through with each birth and aftermath—from incontinence to too much tension—as well as what’s helping, and what isn’t.
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Alberta Health also offers free pelvic floor physiotherapy webinars.
We like to think of the before times as BC (before children) and the now as AD (after dominance)—adding a baby to your family changes *everything*. Bringing in another flips that upside down (and reverses it, sometimes). In today’s episode, we talk about our experiences going from child-free to child-focused, including all the ways it’s surprised us, delighted us, and slapped us in the face, over and over again.
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Some of the body changes we go through in pregnancy and postpartum are obvious and anticipated—your growing belly, your swollen ankles, your cute new outie belly button. And many, especially the less exciting ones, aren’t—boobs that blow up, deflate, and droop, hemorrhoids that hang on for dear life, and re-landscaped undercarriages… not to mention your relationship with them.
Tune in to hear us talk through our journeys (so far!) of our changing bodies from preconception to the permanent postpartum, and all the feelings that grow along with us.
In this episode, we talk about:
The human body: a miracle!
Lack of privacy from preconception to postpartum (including announcing to your family “I’m having unprotected sex!”)
*Tender* early pregnancy changes
Early pregnancy symptoms or period symptoms—which is which?!
First trimester feelings and *feelings*
Just don’t comment on pregnant peoples (or anyone’s) bodies?
The glorification of youthfulness and thinness, especially in pregnancy and postpartum
The infamous 6-week postpartum visit
Hemorrhoids and other fun “butt stuff”
Things might not be the same/postpartum lasts forever
Identifying with your ever changing body
The revolving closet and love/hate relationships with post-baby/nursing clothes
Thanking your body
Modelling healthy self-talk around kids
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Breastfeeding and bone density (After further research, we learned that there are currently mixed findings on this topic! While there are decreases in bone density during pregnancy and breastfeeding, some studies suggest the changes are temporary and have no long term impact. Always ask your healthcare provider if you have questions.)
Once you’ve had a baby, there’s no going back—you’re a different being than you were before. So of course your relationships are going to change—you have a new set of ever-pressing questions, interests, and activities. For some friendships, this gives you something new to bond over and deepens your relationship. For others, it may challenge or even strain the relationship as your priorities grow apart. And, it may open new doors to friendship—god knows you’ll need to find people to hang out with during those mat-leave-time-warp days when your old pals are working 9 to 5.
Today, we’re talking about how the new versions of “us” show up in our relationships—new, old, and forever changed—hoping to be met where we are now.
In this episode, we talk about:
Making new friends as an adult
What to do with your long days during mat leave
Navigating finding your new identity as a parent and sharing that experience with friends new and old
Can having children/becoming a parent be a barrier in friendships?
Sharing the honest truth and trust falling
Being realistic with your expectations on friendships
Showing up for friends life events outside of parenthood
Time and capacity for other relationships
Showing up and being vulnerable
Sharing of information and conversation between parents
You don’t know until you know - mom friends who have done this first and welcoming new moms with open arms and empathy
The joy of having friends who have littles within a similar age
Meeting new people and choosing which parts of your identity to reveal
Supporting your friends when you have less capacity
In this episode, we reference:
The Fourth (Edmonton-specific)
Family Futures Resource Network (Alberta-focused)
Baby’s crying. Your partner’s asking you where your toddler’s blue milk cup is. Your toddler’s yelling at you to wipe their hands with the green cloth (not the yellow one). You just noticed a dried-up spit-up splotch on your shirt (did that happen before or after daycare pick up?), your phone is blowing up, there’s a pile of laundry glaring at you out of the corner of your eye and—WEEE-OOH! Is that an ambulance or your internal alarm screaming “ENOUGH!”? In the postpartum period, there’s a lot going on—you have a full time job taking care of a needy small human, piled on top of regular life and the many roles you already play. It's a super-stimulating load for your nervous system, in a time when your nervous system can biologically handle less than your usual. This episode is all about what we're learning and how we're dealing. In this episode, we talk about: • The nervous system's narrowed window of tolerance in early postpartum • What overstimulation (aka sensory overload or hyperarousal) looks and feels like • How we're learning to regulate our own nervous systems in postpartum, and how we're supporting our babies in doing the same • Plus, Jenna and Sofia are sleeping, finally! We'll talk about what changed for them (it's a lot!)
In this episode, we reference: • The postpartum window of tolerance (lack of sleep is *absolutely* a factor, x major bonus points for difficult birth experience) • Mother brain (book) • The "You feel like shit” self care check in • Paprika app
Yes, we’re still talking about sleep—and this time not just our babies’, but our own too.
We’re finally coming to terms with the fact that we’re not getting enough sleep and probably won’t be for awhile. In this episode, we talk about how we’re creatively coping with the lack of sleep. Plus, we’ll chat through common sleep recommendations (never let them sleep in a car seat! Don’t let them get overtired! Stay in a quiet dark room!) and what happens when they butt up against the realities of life—including mom’s mental health.
In this episode, we talk about:
Where we’re at with sleep
The question, “Is your baby sleeping through the night”? (rage emoji)
Sleep locations, including: anywhere and everywhere!
Recommendations for baby sleep vs. actual real-life scenarios
Wake windows—what the heck are they and how do you ever leave the house?
Tracking baby sleep and *everything else* under the sun
Sleeping cues
Help! My baby’s not sleeping!
Sleep consultants—are they worth it?
Information oh-ver-load
Our baby sleep setups and gadgets, including travel essentials
How many soothers is too many to put in my baby’s crib?
Navigating infant sleep and toddler sleep at the same time
Managing with less sleep and taking care of yourself in periods of less sleep
Finding creative ways to get rest for yourself when your baby is not sleeping at night (it matters too!)
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Now that we’ve talked about breastfeeding, we might as well wade into the even-more murky waters of baby sleep. Apparently some babies sleep just fine on their own, but we’ve never met them (or their moms).
Whether you choose to sleep train, co-sleep, or something in between, you’ve probably struggled with making the right choice for you and your family, and you might have felt guilt or shame over your choice. We have too.
We’re both dealing with baby sleep differently—Kasandra’s sleep trained both kids, and Jenna’s currently soothing to sleep. Both are okay and what’s working for our families right now! We’ll share what we’ve tried, what’s worked, what hasn’t, and how we’re feeling about it all.
In this episode, we talk about:
Where we’re at with sleep (it’s a mixed bag!)
Our current bedtime routines
How we treat interrupted sleep now versus pre-babies
The spectrum of baby sleep and how we as parents approach it
Newborn sleep—sundown scaries (especially in winter/daylight savings!) and what we did to lighten them up, going to bed when babies do, the newborn sleep fairy, the shortest wake windows!
Infant sleep
How we got our motion-loving baby Lucy from needing to be rocked to sleep to sleeping independently
Being told to put you baby down “drowsy but awake”
Kasandra’s take on giving babies some space to learn
Making big decisions under sleep deprivation
Guilt with no matter what approach we take (does society maybe just put a lot of pressure on moms? MAYBE?) and how we protect ourselves from that
Not wanting to tell people about how badly you’re sleeping because you don’t want their unsolicited advice! (Sometimes you just need to vent)
In this episode, we reference:
Safe sleep recommendations: Safe sleep for baby’s first year (MyHealth Alberta), Safe sleep seven (La Leche League)
Babies start to realize they’re separate from us around 6 or 7 months
Pre-baby, we expected breastfeeding would go how we saw it in public—whip out a boob, pop the baby on, move on. Bim bam boom, easy.
Hahahahahahahahaha.
Little did we know those babies were probably 6 months or older—post-graduate-level breastfeeders with tenured expert mom profs.
Breastfeeding takes a lot of practice, and can be really challenging. For us, it was full of more bumps, bites, and bruises than we ever expected. In this episode, we’ll talk all about our experiences learning to breastfeed. (Stay tuned for next week, when we talk about all the breastfeeding side quests—trials, tribulations, and other adventures we’ve had so far along the way.)
And—of course!—these are just our experiences. Fed is best! Do whatever works for your family, and what feels good for you and your baby.
In this episode, we talk about:
Intentions for feeding baby vs. reality
The societal picture of breastfeeding (cue Beyonce with bouquet picture)
The pressure to feed baby a certain way
Yikes! This doesn’t feel right!
Worth and accomplishment around feeding baby and baby gaining weight
Lactation consultants and other resources
Relief for painful nipples (when they feel like road rash)
Tongue ties and hard decisions
Tracking feeds, diapers and naps *oh my
In this episode, we reference:
How the US used military planes (not the military act!) to bring in formula during the recent shortage
Clogged ducts/mastitis
IBCLCs (international board certified lactation consultants)
My birth was the marathon that I was not prepared for and maybe never could have been. For potentially the first time (ever) I tuned in, learning to trust my body and respect its new levels of strength and resilience. Although I was slightly delirious by the time my daughter was born, it was the most meaningful day of my life meeting my new baby, my husband as a new father, and my new version of self.
Join to listen to a short telling of my long, unexpected, yet positive birth story.
In this episode we talk about:
Feeling impatient waiting for the due date, especially when other people are having babies
Pivoting plans when things change
What planning labour and delivery looks like while testing GBS positive
A trip from home to the hospital… and back home again
The birth pool… and why you always see black and white birth photos
What midwivery at-home care looks and feels like
The feeling of not being able to sleep when your baby’s here out of excitement
Jenna’s choice of post-birth meal that puts her solidly in “scrunchy” territory
How the pain of childbirth measured up to what we thought it’d feel like
The struggle to release or surrender to the process of childbirth
Whether you can really prepare for childbirth, and what we’d do differently next time
References:
Only you know your body best—the lesson I learned the hard way (twice!) in the hard labour of childbirth.
We wouldn’t be a new mom podcast if we didn’t take the time to tell our birth stories. In this episode, Kasandra shares her two very different experiences: birthing under the care of an OB-GYN in a California hospital, and at home with a midwife in Alberta, Canada.
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*Correction: In this episode, Kasandra said midwives let you go "40 + 2 days". That's incorrect. In our experience, midwives in Alberta may let you go up a max of 42 weeks (40+14).
A gentle reminder: we are not medical professionals and this is not medical advice—just our experiences.