Becoming Parents - Birth Stories and Birthwork Wisdom

LOCAL EPISODE!   First time I ever did a drug I was 5 years old. My father tried to rape me when I was 11 yrs old. My mother tried to beat me when I was 12yo. My brother and I were on meth when I was 14 yo and he tried to have a weird romantic relationship with me. I left home at 16 yo.  I say all that so you know where I came from with how I grew up and the parenting skills I started with. I wait...

Here are some tips to dispel the myths of the miserable divorce, how to talk to children and promote a good divorce, which is one in which the children come first: ● Show your success and happiness with your head held high. Attend your children’s events and school meetings with your ex, gracefully acknowledge your children’s time spent with your ex as an important time for development for your chi...

SPECIAL RELEASE LOCAL EPISODE!   - not a parent yet… but becoming one, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, financially, relationally  - childless doula / I’ve helped many people become parents but haven’t gone through the experience personally yet - I’ve become a parent to many other things / nanny / friends kids (allo-parenting), cat(s), business(s) - becoming a parent to my mom as she ages Emily...

After several miscarriages, we took the in vitro route.  Even before Gabriel was born, he was saddled with multiple disabilities (physical, mental, genetic), so I like to discuss the problems for parents in similar situations when navigating their attempts to secure assistance, services, or equipment for children in need.  It's my hope that our journey in this maze will help others as they beg...

- I am a mom of two kids, ages 7 and 3 at the time of the podcast  - For me, one of the hardest parenting transitions was maintaining a sense of self as a working parent, and finding time for the things important to me.  Travel was always a big one.  - Before kids, travel was how I stayed grounded and inspired and connected to my dreams and life goals. It was how I reduced stress, and cleared my h...

SPECIAL RELEASE LOCAL EPISODE!   I am a homebirth midwife and mother to a 2.8 year old, Max! I completed my apprenticeship and began my primary practice in the middle of a global pandemic! I experienced pregnancy and postpartum in 2020-2021 while I was still actively in my homebirth apprenticeship and supporting doula clients.  I have held space for birth in many different settings since 2017 star...

SPECIAL RELEASE LOCAL EPISODE!   I quit my career for Motherhood  13 yrs as an Architect to Stay at Home Mom Mom died before I knew I was pregnant the first time 6 yrs of severe Postpartum Depression  This Stay at Home Mom thing wasn’t for me! Lessons learned: all about Self-Care (no one is going to care for me except me). Feeling called to empower other moms to find their own self-care, all while...

SPECIAL RELEASE LOCAL EPISODE!   Jamie Vaughn is a retired school teacher, bonus mom of 3 adult children, wife to her amazing husband, Farrell, dog-mom, and “Glamma” to 2 granddaughters.  Jamie is a recent breast cancer survivor, who is a fierce advocate for other breast cancer patients and survivors. Her journey has been an emotional struggle and still is, at times, in her survivorship, yet she d...

~Tough time getting pregnant due to an undiagnosed thyroid condition, Hashimotos.  ~Birth trauma (My daughter wasn't breathing when she was born so she was taken to the NICU immediately with my husband and I broke my tailbone during delivery, so recovering was unique/challenging in many ways)  ~Self-care after birth was non-existent and that's the way I thought it should be. Give everythin...

SPECIAL RELEASE LOCAL EPISODE!   - Mom at 16, step-mom, and surprise baby at 20, paternal infertility - Four-time surrogate - She currently works as a director at SurrogateFirst - She is a pro-life surrogate - Ashley is very well-known in the surrogacy industry for her work advocating for all surrogates  Surrogacy and religion:  Ashley Mareko is a four-time surrogate who is pro-life and was workin...

1. How to reignite fulfilling communication after years of only talking about kids and the to-do list. 2. How to reconnect as a couple when parenting leaves you depleted and exhausted. 3. How to restart sexy time that doesn't require the bedroom. 4. Post-baby changes that every couple should know are healthy and will pass. 5. Reconnecting as a couple post-parenting. Dr Liz personal share: 1st...

-First pregnancy in 2014, ended in miscarriage, no heartbeat at 9 weeks. -Second pregnancy in 2015, at 12 weeks was sent to a specialist - baby had a rare chromosomal defect called Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (1:50,000 chance of happening) and we decided to terminate at 15 weeks. -Third pregnancy again in 2015, this time a healthy baby girl, now age 7. -Began trying again in 2018...no luck for 2-3 ye...

SPECIAL RELEASE LOCAL EPISODE! Parenting journey has been varied:  *a child at 16 that I gave up for adoption * a son at 20, pregnancy was easy, but he was breech at 36 weeks and was turned by the doctor. I had contractions from that point on until he was born at 40 weeks. Became a single mom when he was 3.  * a son at 38, pregnancy was normal except the geriatric point of view constantly wanting...

--I was a single mom after a divorce and raised my daughter Kate on my own. --We moved every few years as I was recruited in the corporate resort business. I wanted to provide the best life possible for Kate so lots of soul searching to define a move as the next best thing for Kate and myself.  --I recently wrote a book called "The Joy of Servant Motherhood. One mom's journey. Through sto...

- 2016 Jessica discover's v-steaming; she and Andrew set out to develop the world's best home electronic v-steam seat - 2017 Married in an beautiful outdoor ceremony in Warwick, NY; fire in September that year forces us to move out. Blessing in disguise, we figured out how to work remotely and moved to a small 250 year old cottage rental in upstate NY - 2018 We decide together its time to...

SPECIAL RELEASE LOCAL EPISODE! Conceived my daughter while living on a cruise ship.  Was stationary in ca for 6 months. From 7 months pregnant til 4 mo old baby. Then flew internationally and lived out of suitcases for the first 4 years of my kids life.  Worked with a midwife in Santa Rosa. Was in a birth center- went into labor Monday eve. Used nitrous for pain. Transferred to a hospital Thursday...

* ex-wife was an only child, her mother was an only child, her grandmother was an orphan * went through multiple fertility treatments resulting in our son * after several miscarriages, we decided to adopt from China, bringing home our daughter * both kids chose to pursue military academies; son graduated from the Naval Academy in 2020, daughter is in the Air Force Academy Class of 2025 In addition...

SPECIAL RELEASE LOCAL EPISODE! What I’ve been working on lately with my kids (and husband) is to stay in the place of love, and holy shit is it hard! We’ve been having meaningful conversations with Tayla (15) and allowing emotional expressions from her and the twins (Hazelleia + Hunter, 9). We’ve been learning to acknowledge, pause, listen, be curious, and let go of our judgments and reactions. Ag...

SPECIAL RELEASE LOCAL EPISODE! - Divorced when my son was 1, got back together, remarried and divorced again in 1 year. - My son's dad moved to Utah and my son wanted to go in Junior High. Long battle.  - Straight A full ride college scholarship down the drain during Covid.  - Son got heavily into drugs. I waited for a call that he had overdosed or committed suicide. - Son got clean and worked...

How hard could it be? That's what Gabriele thought when she became a first-time parent. As a pediatric speech therapist, she thought she had the skills to make motherhood easy. Little did she know. *Postpartum depression is hard *There were lots of "parenting rules" she got to sift through (and get rid of) *There's a reason that sleep deprivation is used a form of torture * There...

SPECIAL RELEASE LOCAL EPISODE NEVADA! - mother of 2 - became a parent in 2016 - raised by a single father of 4 - ended my 9yr military career during my first pregnancy - started doula journey in 2018 ABOUT TIARA: Small Business Marketing Firm (12yrs)  Doula Practice (2021)  FIND HER HERE: www.thephenomenalmama.com www.sumnumarketing.com www.sumnusolutionszone.com https://www.facebook.com/PNMMama h...

I'm a mom of 3. 14, 12 (both girls) and 10 (boy).  I am a relationship and sexuality expert and author of Not Tonight, Honey: Why women actually don't want sex and what we can do about it.  I believe we can reclaim our power through our sexuality and I help clients infuse passion and creativity into their lives by helping them uncover what's preventing them from connecting with their p...

SPECIAL RELEASE LOCAL EPISODE! -I struggle with vaginismus  -Really really wanted to get pregnant but still struggled with vaginismus  -Took 5-6 months to conceive  -Had a beautiful birth center birth  -Struggled with breastfeeding  -Had 4 doctor/lactation appointments and no one could figure out my problems -Switched to formula at 7 months  -We thought it would take longer to get pregnant again a...

•First pregnancy at 33 in 2018 •Severe endometriosis surgery in 2015 removed 1 ovary… would love to discuss that journey since early 20s  •28 hr passive labor resulting in emergency C-section  •baby taken to nicu hours later and staying for 4 days.  I have A LOT TO say about my experience and have never shared about this part of my life before. I’m also a first time mom, but my husband had other c...

SPECIAL RELEASE LOCAL EPISODE! - had my first baby at a birth center and had PPA - had terrible postpartum experience  - got pregnant 5 months postpartum with my second - found out I was pregnant with second a few months before Covid shut everything down - had serious gender disappointment - had second baby at birth center  - found healing in postpartum with second because I knew what I needed - d...