What I'd tell my younger sister

Wellness at all stages of pregnancy and parenthood: Chantal Eder talks taking care of you while caring for others

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. In this episode, we talk about: * Focusing on learning about your body while also growing another one * Planning for birth—and learning what your body is capable of * Feeling your body in each variation of motherhood, including pregnancy, birth, postpartum and beyond * How postpartum is sooooooo long(/forever!) * Shared community wisdom in group pregnancy/postpartum classes * Body shifts AND identity/mind/spirit shifts * You don’t have to “just live with” pain in pregnancy? * Showing up, sharing, being authentic and just being heard in community * How tacit and conversational knowledge starts with the vulnerability of sharing * The need for a “third space” (or maybe even a fourth) * Being present in moments and reflecting on who you were pre-pregnancy and who you are becoming postpartum (grounding in who you are) * The benefits of getting to know your body (including your menstrual cycle) * Physically slowing down to find more grounding mentally * Having mental health supports ready just like a hospital bag—preparing for perinatal hormones and learning about perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADS) in the same way you’d prepare for birth * Aligning early with your partner or support person about what you need for pregnancy and postpartum—and parenting styles How to follow Chantal and find her upcoming offerings * Website: Yoga for pregnancy and parenthood [https://yogaforpregnancyandparenthood.offeringtree.com] * Instagram: @yogaforpregnancyandparenthood [https://www.instagram.com/yogaforpregnancyandparenthood/] * Website: https://linktr.ee/cominghome.prenatal [https://linktr.ee/cominghome.prenatal] * Maybe we also recommend Chantal’s newsletter [https://yogaforpregnancyandparenthood.offeringtree.com/#contact]—the most grounded and gentle piece of mail in our inboxes In this podcast, we reference: * Alison West Yoga [https://www.yogaunion.com/alisonwest] * The Hormone Repair Manual [https://www.amazon.ca/Hormone-Repair-Manual-Healthy-Hormones/dp/0648352447/ref=asc_df_0648352447/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=706745563165&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14350185000740110076&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1001841&hvtargid=pla-1169790692860&psc=1&mcid=3cf0ab940329340d91038cdba96b95e5&gad_source=1] * Mother Brain [https://www.amazon.ca/Mother-Brain-Neuroscience-Rewriting-Parenthood/dp/1250762286] * Fair Play [https://www.fairplaylife.com/documentary] * Birth Smarter [https://www.birthsmarter.ca] * Birthing from Within [https://www.birthingfromwithin.com]

A shop to support you (and your boobs): talking with Iris from The Fourth

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!) In this episode, we talk about: * Iris’s postpartum journey and how that brought her to open a retail space and community * Baby doesn’t need a new onesie - you need a new bra! * The initial vision for The Fourth, and how that’s transformed over the last 4 years * How The Fourth supports moms beyond moms’ group in building community * Iris’s tips for creating a baby registry that cares for you, too (yes, you can do this!) * Some encouragement for moms out there who might be feeling isolated or scared to come into a big group * What’s next for Iris and The Fourth? In this episode, we reference: * The Fourth's website [https://www.the-fourth.ca/] * The Fourth's instagram [https://www.instagram.com/thefourthca/] And P.S., here’s a Black Friday nudge to shop local—The Fourth has a 15% off everything sale today!

Back to life, back to a new reality: returning to paid work after mat leave

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?)

Fear or pregnancy and childbirth: talking tokophobia with Sonia

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. In this episode, we talk about: * Updates, including: first haircuts, a weekend of solo parenting, teething woes * Fear of childbirth, aka tokophobia and the ways it shows up, including primary tokophobia (fear of pregnancy and birth) and secondary tokophobia (fear following a negative childbirth experience) * Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and how it can manifest * The late-night mom text group * The segregation between age groups in our society and how it prevents us from learning about different life stages - from those with experience * The power of sharing birth stories * When life plans get flipped upside down * Struggles to keep the house in order as parents with ADHD—and what you can do to get on top of them * Feeling “not ready” to start trying for kids, and when it’s more than just not being ready * Overcoming tokophobia with the help of a counsellor * Fear of medical interventions in pregnancy and childbirth * Fear or losing yourself in motherhood * Tackling parenting problems as a team with your partner * The primal experience of childbirth and how it shuts off executive functioning * Managing pre-gestational diabetes (the cravings!!!) * The importance of caring for yourself during pregnancy and as a new parent * What you can do if you’re experiencing tokophobia In this episode, we reference: * Peanut app [https://www.peanut-app.io/] * Tokophobia [https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22711-tokophobia-fear-of-childbirth] (and its etymology [https://www.ifwip.org/tocophobia-tokophobia/#:~:text=The%20word%20'Tokophobia'%20originated%20from,'phobia'%20meaning%20intense%20fear.&text=In%201797%2C%20Dr%20Osiander%20from,the%20intense%20fear%20of%20childbirth.]) * Executive functioning [https://myhealth.alberta.ca/speech-language-hearing/language/for-adolescents/thinking-skills-learning-life-executive-functioning]and the amygdala [https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/24894-amygdala] * Sistema Cheve [https://www.usdct.org/index.php] and the 2021 expedition report [https://www.usdct.org/Cheve_2021-Initial_Expedition_Summary.pdf]

Babies on the go part 2: our takeaways from travel with wee ones

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. In this episode, we talk about: * Giving your babies safe places to explore when you're on-the-go all day * The anxiety-inducing feeling of constantly needing to calm and control your babies in public—and how other cultures welcome babies and kids with literal open arms * Sibling and parent bonding when other playmates and distractions aren't around * Throwing our babes and kiddos out of routines and into new situations, and watching them adapt, learn, and grow (literal leaps!) * Was it worth it? Would we do it again? In this episode, we reference: * Chatbooks photo books [https://chatbooks.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjw68K4BhAuEiwAylp3kmwEHfG_qwH6e94UlXOdG2hwSoySwSCpAU8PaWvQygnUqCuD53De-hoCTXEQAvD_BwE&ko_click_id=ko_c631671157c498f5f]