Starting healthy conversations with our kids and teens about mental health, nutrition and body positivity can be a daunting task for parents. Having the right resources can be key!  Essentia Health’s Dr. Mari Knudsen helps us unpack weight management for our children.  What the new guidelines for intervention recommend and how getting to know young patients can help break such intimidating subjects.  She also provides some awesome, and surprisingly simple goals to start right now to help your kiddos and the entire family to lead healthier lifestyles.

As women we are inundated with options, advertisements, constant "noise" about our weight, our hormones and our diets.  How do we cut that down.  Be open to what will work for us and not get fooled by the next trend.  Insert the expert!  An Essentia Health Dietician Moriah Anderson.  We'll cover a lot of those hot topics to help you make the right choices for your health.

It’s a trending topic for couples who can no longer sleep in the same bed: Sleep Divorce.  And it’s much bigger than a social media trend.  A National Sleep Foundation survey from 2017 estimated one in four American couples sleep in separate beds.  We’ll chat with one of Essentia Health’s sleep experts, Spring Huffman, APRN, CNP.    We’ll dissect sleep divorce and see if this could be the answer to troubled sleep couples!

HOW do you know when you are in Perimenopause? Essentia Health's Dr. Stefanie Gefroh's makes a comparison that is like the opposite of puberty.   We'll talk about the AHAH moments women can look for including what TWO things most women can and should look for to find their answer if they are in perimenopause. We'll also discuss age ranges, how long it'll last, symptoms, including the weird ones, and many other things that surround this season of life.

To kick off the 3rd season we held a live event with a panelist of 7 female providers and we covered many topics one women's health.
It was a causal atmosphere that brought a sense of humor even when covering big women's health issues. Enjoy the podcast version, and if you'd like to watch the event it's made available on Essentia Healths website.

She gives what she calls pockets of lactation education as a lactation consultant at Essentia Health.
Mom and Baby are learning together when it comes to lactation.
Christofferson and I cover a LOT of ground when we talk about feeding your infant.
From the trends to the education of nursing and feeding a newborn.
She gets vulnerable and real with her own journey with her two oldest
kids and now expecting a new baby. How 'silly' she felt through the struggle
of trying to breastfeed her oldest when she was a nurse. Yet,
with education and resources feeling confident and growing through her personal story.
And how that helped shaped her to be the compassionate lactation educator she is.
It's a journey nearly every new mom can relate too.
We also cover the exciting ways things are changing to be more inclusive,
and less judgmental when it comes to the "how" you are able to feed your
babies. She gets candid about what she calls "annoyingly important" to do
after baby's first few hours here. Less rules and more natural lactation
plus be as prepared as you can be, are some of her words to live by.

Some of the BIGGEST barriers with pelvic floor issues is many women don’t want to mention them. However, Dr. Maetzold approaches urogynecology with wisdom and gentleness that makes you comfortable . Also she is able to do it with a sense of humor, and assures us that we are NOT alone with thesecommon issues! Some hot topics we dive right into like can we prevent pelvic floor disorders like peeing when you cough, laugh or sneeze? She gives us her hot takes on undergarments and when to not wear underwear! We also cover pads and the times she says she doesn't want you to use them..And we talk soap on our vaginas and how we could end up in a cycle of irritation .
How many Kegel exercises are we going to have to do for the rest of our lives?

Nurse Practitioner Spring Boeddeker is someone who has a wealth of sleep knowledge. We connected on a parental standpoint on sleep and kids. While her expertise in the Sleep Clinic deals primarily with adults, She helps with that mother perspective in seeing the signs of your kids who are hungry for sleep. When the best time to do homework is. And when is it totally pointless when our kids can learn if they are deprived of the sleepy goodness. Why does she liken herself to a kind of life coach? Sleep is so much about life with how it’s affecting our overall health. We also discuss how the overall impression of most adults is that their sleep isn’t so bad that it’s hurting them. But the reality is Much different then perception. Also we talk about how a person’s weight use to be a major focal point in sleep disorders, but how current data show There are many other varying factors that play a part.

Back to Basics for kids health with Nurse Practitioner Kalee Wysuph is a conversation that Is like sitting down with your best mom friend who’s been through it all and you just Need that solid boost from. She is a strait shooter with her advise and how getting our Kids feeling their best comes down to the fundamentals of a healthy lifestyle. She has known her whole life that she wanted to be a nurse. Her desire to help a family or a child was her motivation after experience the traumatic loss of her parents as a girl. Kalee had obstacles to get her to where she is and realizing her Dream to be a nurse and then surpassing that to become a Nurse Practitioner. Her heart is all about kids and so Pediatrics was just the right fit. And she also gives us a peek into her family life too with her four kids and husband. Raising kids in a very active family and how they parent is an example of practicing what she preaches at work too. Being able to connect with parents on raising their babies to young adults and she’ll share how that works in her practice . She loves what she does, and her vibe comes out crystal clear in this episode. You’ll get some inspiration and likely find why Parents love to have her as their children’s NP.

Getting to sit down with Mandi Wheeler who's forte is in ENT, Ears Nose and Throat at Essentia Health. It's fascinating the way Mandi can just bring that girl next door vibe to her patients while wearing her Certified Nurse Practitioner professional title. She's a small town girl with a big heart to help and she proves that ENT is a practice where she sees all walks of life. How does she put her medicine practice spin on things....well there's a reason she calls herself a private investigator