Becoming Parents Podcast

-Parent to an almost 2-year-old and one born Aug 10th, 2023 

-I understand firsthand the stress and sleepless nights that come with worrying about the safety of my daughter (whether it is likely or not) 

- My book "Self-defense for Self-development" provides parents with the tools and framework to implement preventative and reactive strategies in dangerous situations. 

I believe that you have the right to live your life safe, protected, and free from fear that you or your loved ones are at risk of harm.

I spent 10+ years in Army Special Forces defending life, family, and country while enabling others to do the same. I know firsthand the importance of self-reliance and have made it my life’s mission to enable and empower others so they may live healthy, thriving lives.

This is why I decided to establish Mind, Shield, and Spear Consulting Group. 

FIND HIM HERE: 

www.mindshieldandspear.com 

https://www.facebook.com/fightforyourbestlife

28 years ago our first daughter was born. Gwendolyn has Down syndrome and has taken us on a wonderful journey. We struggled at times and now celebrate her independence journey which has culminated in continuing education beyond high school, work, independent housing, and self-advocacy. Most parents find independence for those with Down syndrome and other intellectual disabilities to be an overwhelming mystery. 

My website (www.BeyondDownSyndrome.net) and book 'The Essential Guide for Families with Down Syndrome' provide guidance and resources so families can navigate the opportunities and challenges toward success. 

This generation is the first that will outlive their parents/caregivers. This invites great opportunities and many challenges including health, financial, and housing. Regardless of your child's age, the time is now to build an independence plan to achieve your family's goals. 

After 30 years in corporate America, I'm now an author seeking to share experience and guidance to serve my community. 

Award-winning books include 'The Corporate Introvert: How to Lead and Thrive with Confidence' and 'The Essential Guide for Families with Down Syndrome: Plans and Actions for Independence at Every Stage of Life.' 

I enjoy every facet of the process from writing, editing, publishing, and marketing and love to talk to others about my journey and how we can apply learnings to their biggest personal challenges. 

FIND HIM HERE:

www.BeyondDownSyndrome.net (full of blogs and resources) 

https://www.facebook.com/BeyondDownSyndrome 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChY110kognF1X1LHHKbpzgg

Parent of two girls who are now 21 and 19 and an education attorney representing families of children with special needs. 

After beginning work with general education law I have spent more than twenty years working with thousands of families, behavior therapists, psychologists, parents, and teachers on designing success for children with special needs. In addition administrative, state, and federal cases on behalf of students, 

I have attended and assisted in the development of IEPs, Section 504 plans, Functional Behavioral Assessments, and Behavior Intervention Plans, and assisted parents in understanding what services are available to their children. 

I’m a managing partner of a law firm of Connell Michael Kerr, LLP, and founder of Coffee with Catherine, LLC which helps parents navigate education and life. 

MORE ABOUT CATHERINE:

Catherine M. Michael is licensed and practices throughout the state of Indiana, Texas, and Michigan. She represents students and their families in a variety of education and personal injury matters including Special Education Due Process, Section 504 matters, expulsion, disciplinary issues, and personal injury of children including injury, sexual abuse, molestation, and rape cases both in and out of school environments, private school issues, and discipline as well as other civil rights and disability claims experienced by students. She possesses extensive knowledge regarding special education due process, teacher and student discipline and dismissal matters, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), personal injury of children in schools, and other civil rights matters.

Catherine Michael has been featured hundreds of times in both the national and local media. She is a frequent guest on syndicated radio and television shows for her education law expertise. Her nearly two-decade career in education has focused on ensuring that the needs of children in schools are met. She has represented school shooting victims, children abused in school, and hundreds of special needs children whose families needed a voice.

FIND HER HERE:

www.cmklawfirm.com. 

www.coffeewithcatherine.com

- obgyn: saw thousands of births but was still wholly unprepared for the mental, emotional, and spiritual transformation that happened to me during the birth of our first (and the second, for that matter) 

- I help clients get pregnant and have autonomous births, accepting responsibility for their decisions and the outcomes of those decisions

- I help them connect intimately while trying to get pregnant and strengthen their intimacy throughout pregnancy and into postpartum 

1) holistic ob-gyn practice 

2) self-guided course and 12-month coaching course called The Born Free Method (the most comprehensive pregnancy and postpartum course that will ever exist, I imagine); it's a collaborative effort with Sara Rosser, CPM, of "The Farm" 

3) my own podcast 

FIND HIM HERE:

www.belovedholistics.com www.bornfreemethod.com 

https://open.spotify.com/show/5xNx8kUyYE1PR84ND89Mk7?si=6c2d0a982bd44f2f 

Instagram and Tiktok: @nathanrileyobgyn 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanrileyobgyn

I have two amazing girls at home, ages 18 months and 5. I grew up in a family that did foster care and childcare for much of my life, including the adoption of my littlest sister, who I helped raise while my father was away on military assignments. 

The experience of being surrounded by small children made me realize that the most important job I could ever have would be to help guide a young life as they developed and grew. Moreover, I had a responsibility to make the world a better place for them than it was for me and to help them have a better life than I had been accorded. 

I also work in the alcoholic beverage industry. My job is extremely demanding (60-hour weeks are the norm), necessitating a balance between my time with my family and what my company needs. It also means that my daughters have been raised around bars and breweries, something that would be anathema to my extended family that believes alcohol is the root cause of society's ills. It's been a challenge, but also one that I hope will leave them as healthier and more responsible adults 

I work for a startup growing exponentially year over year, and while the majority of investment comes from other sources, I was a co-founder of our disruptive business model, and have helped navigate the struggles of the company's early life and the challenges of explosive scaling 

FIND HIM HERE:

https://shop.bevana.com /

findbevana for all social (IG, FB, Twitter, LinkedIn)

Author Mandy Lemond is a former foster child turned Emmy Award-winning TV Producer. 

At just 7 years old Lemond‘s father raped her and left her for dead, that same night, he murdered little Mandy's mother. Lemond's father's crime left the Kentucky native a true orphan. 

Mandy aged out of foster care after spending more than 11 years in a group home. She recalls, “I went to college with $5 to my name." With the same tenacity Lemond used to overcome her childhood trauma, she graduated on time from Eastern Kentucky University and was immediately hired by the local NBC affiliate as a TV Reporter. 

Lemond continued to beat the odds – statistically only 3% of foster youth have a college degree. 

Mandy's life finally seemed perfect, until December 2020, when Lemond's foster-adopted son, high on drugs, shot into the wrong home. The unintended target nearly died, the gunfire blinding the then 5-year-old. Lemond’s nearly 20-year marriage crumbled. She found herself divorced, with a son in jail, and facing homelessness. But, with the same determination she garnered as a child, Mandy found a new purpose. 

She developed the 5-method, which is featured in her memoir, The Fostered One. Her book release is planned for December 2023, and her second book release is scheduled for spring 2024. Mandy is also a motivational speaker 

FIND HER HERE:

https://www.instagram.com/mandy.leighanne/

The roller coaster of twins' growth as a parent and couple 

- prepare for 1 and get 2 

- living in love it's not about the fall 

- we are born with personalities 

- You are no longer number 1 

More about Roger:My writing is based more on the motive in motivation. From my experience in the classroom, weight room, and football field, the difference between people's actions and words has always intrigued me. The real measurable difference in action and intensity between comfort and tribulation, along with the ability, at times, to bring the two closer together is just an interesting phenomenon.

​

Roger has written 5 books and is a motivational speaker and high school teacher.

FIND HIM HERE: 

motiveinmotivation.com 

@1rogerpollard 

@ourseep on tiktok

Immigrant mom of 2 elementary-age kids. Dealing with pregnancy, birth, and raising kids alone in a faraway land. The first one to have kids so no example to look up to. 

Marketing executive and business owner

FIND HER HERE: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhawnasmarketing

https://www.facebook.com/people/Love-Pray-Laugh-Slay/100063828319192/

https://www.instagram.com/love_pray_laugh_slay/?hl=en

BECOMING PARENTS:

Sharing stories about infertility, miscarriage, pregnancy, labor and delivery, bottle feeding, breastfeeding & relactation, self-care after birth, sex to get pregnant and after kids, birth options, to medicate or not to medicate, adoption, midwife vs hospital, the struggles, surprises, joys and exhaustion, and - holy cow - you’ve become a parent! WHAT NOW?!

Jenn Taylor is Mom Of 18 (yes - 18 kids!). She has written the blog - Mom’s Running It since 2011, has been a published author since 2016, and host of the Becoming Parents Podcast since May of 2017. She is an NLP Practitioner, Speaker, and has 15+ years in the foster care sector as both a parent and a trainer. Jenn spent 12 years as a doula, lactation consultant, and CBE trainer in The Bradley Method and Birthing From Within, and ran LaLeche League meetings with a passion for supporting women who have become Moms. Jenn is grateful to be a Certified Birth & Bereavement Doula® to help families struggling with grief and loss, as well as an Adoption & Surrogacy Doula. She is also married to an amazing man in Reno, NV, and is a runner, minimalist, and healthy lifestyle enthusiast.

CONNECT WITH JENN!

https://linktr.ee/momofeighteen

1. Mom of six wonderful parents :)

2. Why would a Harvard grad become a homemaker?

3. Why do people overeat?

4. How can we fill the emptiness within?

5. The Pleasure Ladder as a guide to finding lasting pleasure in life

6. Helping our children become more grateful people 

Bracha is the author of 41 picture books and a candid memoir about her journey to joy.

HER FIRST PODCAST EPISODE: https://youtube.com/live/7rHT9BoXnns

FIND HER HERE: 

https://www.goetzbookshop.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brachagoetz

https://www.facebook.com/BrachaGoetzBooks

https://www.instagram.com/brachagoetzbooks

https://twitter.com/BrachaGoetz

https://www.pinterest.com/bgoetzster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ygJS275FPg

-My background is in communication - as I teach it at the university level and speak professionally across the country

-Relational communication is a big topic I like to discuss: communication between partners, nonverbal communication, interpersonal communication, how we value time, etc. 

-I have 2 boys: ages 6 and 8 & we focus on being very active and engaged parents

-How to prioritize your time as parents- where you spend your precious time (volunteering, etc.)

- I may not have a story of struggle, but one that can help young parents (and Dad especially) prioritize active play and communication with kids

-We have a big family, lots of cousins and personalities- learning how to navigate a big family, especially as new parents

Jim is a Professional speaker with The Jon Gordon Companies

VP of Schools- running The Energy Bus for Schools program

FIND HIM HERE:

www.JimVanAllan.com

www.EnergyBusSchools.com

@JimVanAllan

Podcast: Search- Communicate to Motivate