We Are The Family Room

Oral health is so important to our overall health and well being and knowing how to support our children to establish oral health is vital. In this episode Karen talks with Dr. Bethany Kum, a dentist who performs tongue and lip tie revisions and mom in our community, all about oral health for our kids including, when to take your baby to the dentist, when to start brushing baby's teeth, and w...

There is no other time in your life than pregnancy and postpartum, when major physical changes combine with the transformative experience of becoming a parent, that make yoga so impactful. In this episode Karen talks with Denise Peyre, Family Room educator and certified yoga instructor, about having a yoga practice in pregnancy and early motherhood. Denise shares her personal experience with yoga,...

With the holidays right around the corner, many of us will be navigating family expectations and dynamics. If you are a parent, or a new parent, this adds another layer. Karen is joined by Kim-Lan Dovan, parent & me educator at The Family Room, to discuss some common situations that can arise and ideas of how to navigate those situations, some of which include: comments and unsolicited advice...

In this episode, Karen is joined by Dr. Veronica Eyo to discuss the importance of friendship in motherhood. Karen and Veronica discuss how vital friendships are especially during such a big transition as becoming a parent, the benefits of friendship, how to move from the playdate to a deeper friendship, and how to put yourself out there (hint: it's kind of like dating). Dr. Veronica Eyo is a...

On this week's episode, Karen is joined by Gia Gamboro Blount to discuss body autonomy, body consent and body safety.  Gia explains the importance of supporting your child's autonomy in eating, sleeping, and toileting; using anatomically correct terms, teaching and modeling the concept of listening to your gut, recognizing tricky people, and when to start broaching consent and safety top...

In this episode Karen is joined by fellow twin mom Liz Fischer who has a set of boy/girl twins. Erika joins the conversation to talk about her experience of raising two sets of boy/girl twins. Karen, Liz, and Erika discuss their pregnancy, delivery, surprising things about raising twins, the best parts of having twins, comments from strangers, and advice for expecting twin parents. Love the show?...

This episode is all about your pelvic floor!  Karen talks with Rachel McCarthy-Moya, pelvic floor PT at Origin in Los Angeles, about how the pelvic floor functions and changes during pregnancy and postpartum. They cover common issues relating to the pelvic floor, including urinary incontinence, painful sex, returning to exercise, prolapse, kegels, diastasis recti, when to seek help from a pelvic f...

 In this episode Karen and Jessica Claire, IBCLC and Family Room educator discuss the ins and outs of making a smooth transition back to work for breastfeeding parents. Jessica talks about how to build up a small supply of milk (hint: it’s not a deep freezer full of milk), tips for pumping at work, communicating with caregivers, introducing a bottle, and importantly, how to care for yourself durin...

Karen is joined by Kim-Lan Dovan who is a licensed marriage and family therapist and has been a parent & me educator at The Family Room for the past seven years. Karen and Kim-Lan discuss the importance of finding community as a new parent and give you an inside look at what Parent & Me looks like at The Family Room. They also talk about how to find community if you don’t have something li...

In this episode, Karen talks with Princess McKinney-Kirk, a Family Room educator and owner/founder of BelliBind, all about the ancient ritual of postpartum belly wrapping. Karen and Princess discuss not just the physical benefits of belly binding, but the emotional and spiritual benefits, too. If you have ever wondered how belly binding can help with your healing postpartum, are a birth and postpa...

Karen talks with Gia Gamboro Blount, longtime Toddler & Me educator at The Family Room, about the inevitable tantrum. Gia gives tips on removing predictable triggers, understanding the sequence of a tantrum, and how to help your child develop emotional hygiene. Karen and Gia discuss dealing with judgment during tantrums in public and how to survive the moment.  Want more from Gia? She offers p...

Parenthood is something that you’ll understand once you get to experience it. We may judge moms based on what we think is correct, but there are circumstances that we can never fully grasp if we are not in their shoes. In this episode, Karen talks with Denise Peyre about practical ways to navigate parenthood when preparing your child for a sibling. This transition could be overwhelming for the fam...

Paid family leave is a big topic, from implications for us as a society and how we value parents to how expecting parents navigate the confusing benefits. In this podcast, Karen Stoteraux talks with Jenya Cassidy, the California Work & Family Coalition director, about the importance of paid family leave and practical ways to navigate these often confusing laws and benefits. Jenya explains that...

Intuition is a beautiful thing. The voice inside us knows what we need, even when we don’t yet know it ourselves. That little nudge in the right direction tells us to trust our gut. For mothers, intuition is significant. We are constantly bombarded with choices and advice, and it can be hard to know what to do. But as mothers, we have a unique ability to trust our instincts and our gut feelings. P...

Welcome to the podcast! In this introductory episode, get to know your host, Karen Stoteraux, and her "why" for starting The Family Room , a modern, inclusive space for expecting parents and young families to learn, find support, and be real – and the podcast and what you can expect from it. Karen also talks with her friends about their first Mommy and Me class over 15 years ago, what th...

With COVID restrictions easing up, our summer plans are finally looking brighter than ever! Brighter because we can literally come out of our long isolation and spend vacations traveling outside. For parents, this is a great opportunity to make up for lost outdoor summertime with the kids. And with overflowing excitement comes challenges when traveling. In this episode, Karen Stoteraux is joined b...

Postpartum planning is essential to ensure that mothers receive the support they need for physical and emotional healing. This is what postpartum doulas like Caryn Fields do. She joins Karen Stoteraux in this interview to talk about the things birthing mothers and the people around her can do to help make the postpartum transition smoother. Caryn emphasizes the crucial role of partners, as well as...