ABCs of Matrescence

What a Wonderful World: Part 2 - A special interview with Mackenzie’s father—the wise, witty, and passionate Scott Wesley Hopman | EP. 42

We are back this week with another special episode. Instead of focusing exclusively on motherhood, I, Mackenzie, am presenting Part II of an incredible interview that I had the opportunity to do with my father. If you haven’t had a chance to check out Part I, be sure to tune into the previous episode, Episode 41. They say that becoming a parent allows you to see your own parents in a whole new light. In my case, that light shines and shimmers with the admiration that I have for my dad. At my wedding, my dad and I danced to the song “What a Wonderful World“ by Louis Armstrong. It has been his favorite for as long as I can remember. No matter how difficult things become or may seem, my dad always has the ability to see the world through a positive lens. This song embodies his outlook on life and the optimism that guides his spirit. In our time together behind the mic, I get to dive into my father’s past, his thoughts & reflections on his many adventures and experiences, his passions and his yearnings for the future. Scott Wesley Hopman is 77 years young as of this past August. He has nearly eight decades of life experience under his belt, and enough strong opinions to make your head spin. I hope that you enjoy listening to Part II of this wonderful interview as much as I loved being able to record it! A huge thank you, again, to my father for his willingness to record these two episodes—may your transparency, self-examination and never ending optimism be an inspiration to all who hear your passionate voice! I love you, dad ❤️ Thanks as always for listening! You can find us on IG @abcsofmatrescence.com. If you have a moment, please leave us a rating and review. It truly helps to grow our community and connect with other moms.

What a Wonderful World: Part 1 A special interview with Mackenzie’s father—the wise, witty, and passionate Scott Wesley Hopman | EP. 41

This episode is a special one. Instead of focusing exclusively on motherhood, I, Mackenzie, am presenting Part I of an incredible interview that I had the opportunity to do with my father. They say that becoming a parent allows you to see your own parents in a whole new light. In my case, that light shines and shimmers with the admiration that I have for my dad. At my wedding, my dad and I danced to the song “What a Wonderful World“ by Louis Armstrong. It has been his favorite for as long as I can remember. No matter how difficult things become or may seem, my dad always has the ability to see the world through a positive lens. This song embodies outlook on life and the optimism that guides his spirit. In our time together behind the mic, I get to dive into my father’s past, his thoughts & reflections on his many adventures and experiences, his passions and his yearnings for the future. Scott Wesley Hopman is 77 years young as of this past August. He has nearly eight decades of life experience under his belt, and enough strong opinions to make your head spin. I hope that you enjoy listening to Part I of this wonderful interview as much as I loved being able to record it! A huge thank you to my father for his willingness to record these two episodes—may your transparency, self-examination and never ending optimism be an inspiration to all who hear your passionate voice! I love you, dad ❤️ Thanks as always for listening! You can find us on IG @abcsofmatrescence.com. If you have a moment, please leave us a rating and review. It truly helps to grow our community and connect with other moms.

Interview with author Brett Russo on her unfiltered journey through IVF | Ep. 40

We are so excited to share this amazing interview with author, Brett Russo. Brett bravely shares her long journey through infertility, IVF, and the emotional road to motherhood in her bestselling book, The Underwear in Her Shoes. We were honored to have her join our podcast and take a deep dive into all the aspects of infertility that aren’t often talked about. In this episode we chat: - What inspired Brett to write this memoir. - The isolation involved in infertility. - How stressful infertility can be on a relationship and friendships. - Things NOT to say to women going through infertility. - Her pregnancy challenges and realities of postpartum motherhood. - Raising 2 under 2 in a pandemic. We appreciate Brett coming onto our podcast and sharing her powerful story. Her book will make you laugh, cry, and cheer for her along the way. Whether you have personally gone through infertility or have friends that have, this book is a must-read. You can find Brett @brusso18 on Instagram, visit her website on www.brettrusso.com or find her book on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Underwear-My-Shoe-Journey-Unfiltered/dp/1544514638. Thanks as always for listening! You can find us on IG @abcsofmatrescence.com. If you have a moment, please leave us a rating and review. It truly helps to grow our community and connect with other moms.

Life Lately Catch Up - Toddlers, Pregnancy, Social Media, and the End of Breastfeeding | Ep. 39

Welcome back to a new episode of @abcsofmatrescence. Mackenzie and Emma are excited to be back on the mic and just catching up on life lately. This week's topics include: - What’s new, aka all things chasing toddlers. - What’s new developmentally with our newly 2-year-olds. - Catch up on Mackenzie’s pregnancy. - A quick chat on social media, the comparison trap, and why we are both working on using it in ways that make us feel good. - FINALLY being done with breastfeeding. How we weaned the boys, our feelings on it, and enjoying having our boobs back. Coming Up: We are super stoked to have a great guest on next week's episode. Emma had the opportunity to interview author Brett Russo on her IVF journey. Stayed tuned to hear that episode plus more topics on all things motherhood. You can find us on IG @abcsofmatrescence or email us at abcsofmatrescence@gmail.com. As always, we appreciate your ratings and reviews so new mamas can find us as well. Thanks for listening!

It Takes a [Virtual!] Village: Motherhood and the Power of Community | Ep. 38

In this week's episode, Mackenzie had the pleasure of sitting down with Jessica Santana and Amarel Tomney to dive into several different topics that touch mothers from all sorts of backgrounds and circumstances. The ladies had an in-depth conversation about the world of European formula feeding. Plus, discussing a breastfeeding condition known as D-MER, which Jessica experienced with both of her children. Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex, or D-MER, is a condition affecting lactating women that is characterized by an abrupt dysphoria, or negative emotions, that occur just before milk release and continuing not more than a few minutes. The ladies also shared more about Amarel’s VBAC birth, after having endured a less than ideal birth experience via Cesarean with her first. Jessica and Amarel have created a Facebook group that supports women all across the globe in their European formula feeding journeys. Today this group is 20k members strong and Jessica and Amarel run together. In addition to discussing formula feeding, D-MER, and VBACs, the ladies talked through about the power of finding connection, support, and friendship during this season of motherhood. You can find Amarel and Jessica's Facebook group under the name “HIPP and HOLLE formulas parent". As always, thanks for listening! You can find us on IG @abcsofmatrescence.