The Mama Sisterhood

I am so honored to bring you my interview with Larissa Canestraight - she was one of our amazing NICU nurses and she is here today to share her own journey with her son, Blake. In this episode, Larissa shares about: - Her journey with polyhydramnios - A 3.5 month NICU stay and how being a NICU nurse affected her experience - Making the hardest medical decision, infant loss, and making the most of...

Kaylee Hurt is BACK! To learn more about her journey with her daughter, Kaydee, check out Episodes 11 and 12, but today, she is here to talk about what it's like to raise her daughters on a farm! I learned so much about farm life (pros and cons), and Kaylee has SO much good advice that applies to motherhood, no matter where you live! In this episode: - What it's like living on her particul...

Today, I had the opportunity to chat with Shannon Boggs, a mom of three kids 10 and under, one of whom was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes after a scary medical emergency that landed her in the ICU. Shannon also shares about her daughter's service dog, Spy! This episode includes: - The story of how her daughter, Raelynn, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes after landing in the ICU with severely...

I can't think of a better motherhood story to begin Season 3 than Ina's story today. Ina shares with us what it was like having a daughter, Kirstin, who had a chronic kidney disease, including what it was like to donate her own kidney to her daughter when Kirstin was 5 years old. This episode includes: - Mom to daughter kidney transplant - Caring for a child with a chronic illness, attempt...

It's the Season 2 Finale! I can't think of a better way to end Season 2 than with the interview I did with Amanda Gurman. You might know Amanda from her podcast Honest as a Mother or from her Honest as a Mother books, where she is the lead author and each chapter is written by a different mom. Amanda shares with us about her struggles as a new mom, including her diagnosis of post-partum ra...

Today, I have the honor of talking with Heather Avis (author, podcaster, and speaker) about her unique and heart-warming family journey. Heather and her husband have adopted three children, two of which have Down Syndrome. Heather shares honestly about what it was like to have a plan and then to bravely say yes to a path that was definitely not part of this plan. She shares about open heart surger...

Today, I am so excited to bring you my interview with Trina Shockey. Trina had her first son ten years ago, prematurely and through a dramatic delivery. Following her first birth and learning more about what brought on her pre-term delivery, Trina and her husband chose to grow their family further through adoption. Four years into her adoption journey, Trina was able to welcome baby Oscar into her...

Today, I had the honor to chat with Sarah Hartenberger, IBCLC. Sarah was working in the corporate world in marketing when she had her first child, Calvin, and struggled with breast feeding. After her journey with lactation, Sarah felt called to learn more, pursue her IBCLC certification, leave the corporate world, and start her own business so she could help other moms feed their babies. Since the...

Today's guest is Annie Highwater: Author, Recovery Writer, Podcast Host, Speaker, Family Advocate and Recovery Enthusiast. Her story began with extreme challenges during childhood, ending in pregnancy at age 17. Despite her young age, Annie was mature enough to realize that she wanted a better life for her son. Through hard work, she was able to create a better path for herself and her son how...

On today's interview, I had the privilege to talk with Andi Almond about her family's incredible 13-month world schooling adventure. Andi and her family prepared for 5 years for this epic trip which took them through 27 different countries and 7 continents. She also tells about the details of world schooling her two kids, incorporating their lessons into where they were traveling. You'...

Today's guest is just an incredible human being, and I am so in awe of what she has been doing to help so many children. Sarah Yates shares her story with foster care and adoption, including foster care and then adoption of children with medical needs. I learned so much from Sarah about the foster care system, what is needed, and how to help. Her story is heart breaking at times and hopeful in...

I'm so happy to bring you the finale to our first ever 3-part series! Today, Whitney and I talk about the remaining months of Pepper's hospital stay, what it was like to have all four kids back together again, a cross country move, and what the family is up to today. If you're like me, you're going to be cheering by the end of this one! It has been such an honor to have Whitney as...

Welcome to Part 2 of Whitney's story! Today's episode begins when Kyle, Pepper, and Krew arrive in Las Vegas. Whitney takes us along their recovery journey, covering the first 3 months in the hospital. During this time, her family members undergo multiple surgeries and countless procedures to heal from their burns. Kyle and Krew are able to leave the hospital, and Pepper works hard to prog...

This episode is one I have looked forward to recording and sharing for so long because Whitney Copeland's journey is nothing short of incredible. Because of the depth involved in the story, we are going to break this into (at least!) two episodes. A few years ago, Whitney and her family decided to sell their home and renovate a city bus where they could travel the US and home school their chil...

I have wanted to have April Helfery on the podcast since I started recording and what better episode to have a member of my family here than the first annual holiday episode! April's daughter, Addy, is 9 years old and has spina bifida. I have had the honor of watching Addy grow up, and it was so fun to chat about the whole journey. Addy is one tough little girl who has overcome many surgeries...

Today's guest is a running hero of mine! I met Kim Reed over ten years ago, before she was a mom. I am in awe of her running accomplishments including placing 7th in the Boston Marathon and competing in two Olympic trials for the marathon distance. Kim is now a mother of a 2-year-old and a 6-week old. She shares with us about running during pregnancy and about her difficult post-partum journey...

Today's guest is Jacqueline Greenlee, a teacher and mom of two girls. Jacqueline tells us about what it's like raising children of mixed race. She shares resources, such as books and movies, that she has used to talk with her girls and teach them about what matters. The phrase she shares that her family uses about loving someone for who they are really spoke to me and is something we can A...

Today's guest is just incredible, and it was such an honor to hear her story. Emily Webster is here to tell her motherhood story which began when she delivered her boy/girl twins prematurely at 26 weeks, 3 days. Emily lost her precious son, Benjamin, to necrotizing enterocolitis after over 30 days in the NICU, and she shares with us how it felt at the time to not be able to grieve her son beca...

Amanda Fisher is back! Today, for Part 2, she shares her journey with her middle son's food allergies. Landon began showing signs of a food allergy at 5 weeks, and he is now 8 years old. He is allergic to legumes which includes peanuts, beans, peas, and honey. I learned SO much from this episode, and it really opened my eyes to how much work goes into parenting a little one with food allergies...

Every mama needs to know about pelvic health! There are so many symptoms (peeing when sneezing, pain with sex, low back pain with pregnancy - and more!) that mamas don't talk about, but these things are COMMON and can be fixed! Amanda Fisher is a pelvic health physical therapist and owner of Empower Your Pelvis and it's associated online community, her Pelvic Posse. Amanda does all this wh...

Today's story is one of STRENGTH, both of 4-year-old Birdie and her incredible mother, Erika. Birdie was born with an omphalocele, a birth defect where several organs were on the outside of her body. Erika shares about Birdie's 6-month NICU stay, which also included getting a trach and having open heart surgery, and then the unexpected path their journey took when Birdie went into liver fa...

Today, I had the opportunity to talk with CC Davis who shares her story of her children who have been diagnosed with PANS, a sudden onset of neurological symptoms. She shares about the multiple years, incorrect suggestions, and many doctors it took to find the correct diagnosis and from there, the proper treatment for her children. This conversation was SO eye-opening because it's a diagnosis...

Amanda has been my friend for 36 years - and what I didn't realize when we were playing Barbies and jamming to NKOTB was that she was struggling. Amanda herself admits she did not even know at the time that she was struggling. However, her mother was battling multiple sclerosis, and Amanda was having to grow up faster than her peers. She began to provide more and more care for her mother until...

Not all NICU babies are preemies! Today, I had the honor of chatting with Sara Bedwell who had a healthy pregnancy that she carried until 40 weeks. Then, in a matter of a few hours, her life turned upside down when her daughter went from a healthy, full-term baby inside of her to a very sick baby born with meconium aspiration and pulmonary hypertension. Sara's daughter, Claire, was born unable...

Today's interview took me back in time to our micropreemie journey, but in Alisha's story, her daughter was born even earlier and smaller (!!). Hazel was born five years ago at just 1 pound 2 ounces and 23+0 weeks - this means she was born the very first day of Alisha's 23rd week of pregnancy. Despite being born on the edge of viability, Hazel has a miraculous story that reminds us jus...