Delivery Diaries: The Podcast

Hi everyone! Welcome to our Mother’s Day special edition episodes. 

Where Flo and I interview our very own mothers. What better way to celebrate and honor the essence of motherhood than to listen to their own birth stories and the advice and wisdom they have to pass down. 

In this episode we hear from Brandy's mom, Liberty Galloway. She’s shares her no frills pregnancy and parenting style. 

And later this week we’ll be hearing from Flo’s mom, Carolyn Speakman and boy does she pass on some nuggets as well.

In some way their generation made birthing and motherhood look so easy but after hearing from them you’ll get a sense that there can be a balance of what worked then and what works in the present day. 

No matter where we get it from or how we decide and decided to give birth it is all valid and we celebrate it all. We also acknowledge the mamas who are trying to become moms, expecting moms, moms who have loss and moms who thrive. We are all in it together and we can do this motherhood thing.

Happy Mother's Day! 

This month of April is a special one. April is Cesarean Awareness Month and
Black Maternal Health Week, spanning from April 11th through April 17th.

Given the alarming rise in black maternal mortality rates in our nation, there's an urgent need to emphasize celebration, awareness-raising, activism, and the voices of Black Mamas and birthing people.

It seemed fitting to continue Season 2 episodes featuring Shardae Webb. Shardae, who has experienced two successful cesarean deliveries with her daughters, took deliberate steps to have her black sister-in-law, who is also a nurse, serve as her advocate and be an integral part of her support network.
 
Shardae also opens up about her challenges with breastfeeding her first daughter and recounts how her husband improvised a makeshift feeding tube like MacGyver. She delves into the concept of a breastfeeding hierarchy and reflects on how she turned this negative stigma into a baby food business, Muva Munch. And she went on to create Webbd Publishing Company and self-published her first children's book, I See Me in the ABCs.

Both endeavors were inspired by her daughters to teach them the value of nutrition and to see themselves in the literary  platform. In the end of the day she emphasizes the importance of mothers doing what's best for their children and family regardless of societal pressures.

You can purchase the book directly from her publishing company's website below
Website: https://webbdpubco.com/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/webbdpubco/
Contact: [email protected]

Welcome to Episode 8.

If we could describe an episode in one word, then the word for this episode would be ‘Resilience.’   That’s who our next guest is, Shannon Totino is resilient. Brandy and Shannon met at their gym, shout out to Oak Park, in the women’s class. They both had their baby girls in tow, strapped in their car seats, watching their mamas go up and down doing squats and burpees. 
 
 Shannon shares about her infertility journey to motherhood. How she faced unsuccessful IUI and IVF attempts and then dealing with obstacle after obstacle. She came to the realization that surrogacy was her only choice of having her own children, yet after she her daughter, Emerson, was born, it was clear that it was the best choice. 

Her vulnerability and courage to keep going  is inspiring and can bring hope for those who are trying to create their family one. Take it from Shannon, her baby 'Em', was the “The Little Embryo That Could”.  

🎧 Happy Listening!

We're excited, this is our first full episode in Season 2 and our first expert guest. 
Dr. Smita is a pediatrician in the Los Angeles area and the author of "The Newborn Handbook: Your Guide to Bringing Home Baby"

She shares about her difficult journey to becoming pregnant and how exploring mindfulness through medication, acupuncture and yoga helped her fertility. 

Since then she changed her practice to empower children and families through mindfulness practices and transform the perspective on how our mind and body are so deeply connected that even child ailments can be healed. 

You can find her on social media sharing little bits of medical, mindfulness and parenting advice to help us navigate what life throws at us and our children.
Instagram: @drsmita_md
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smitamb
X: @DrSmita_MD

Watch her TEDx Talk  sharing about her unconventional career path and the willingness to embrace the unknown and new opportunities.
https://youtu.be/KllBDbjOhRk?si=W4Lc2Q7yaZQPEwga

You can purchase her book "The Newborn Handbook" on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

This episode is not for medical advice, but informational and empowerment purposes only!

Make sure to watch the full episode with extra content on YouTube. 
LIKE & SUBSCRIBE! 
https://youtu.be/7AjXIHrGUNM?si=mAB18BNY3_WTJsg9

🎧 Happy Listening!

Join Flo and Brandy as they kick off Season 2 with an re-introductory episode.

As they take the time to catch up a little bit on mom life with their kids they share about their personal journey with setting goals, intentions, lessons in failure and how it can relate to planning your birth, your adoption adventure or however you make your family. They remind us and themselves that perhaps we need to have a little more self-compassion for ourselves and empathy for what others are going through in making their families.

They take a look back on some of the past episodes and are for season 1 guests and how they shared their birth stories and family making journey so graciously and authentically. 

Lastly, Flo and Brandy talk about the difference, they hope they made, in Season 1 for you listeners and viewers and the impact they want to make going forward with the  podcast, episode by episode and guest by guest. 

Happy listening! 

New episodes available every Thursday! 
FOLLOW US! 
To contact us, message & follow us on:
Instagram - @deliverydiaries

It's November, and we're celebrating National Adoption Month. Delivery Diaries is about telling the stories of how your child came into your life. Whether by vaginal, cesarean, IVF, surrogacy, or adoption, it's all a part of the fantastic family-making-journey. In this episode we hear from Flo's dear friend, Stephanie Schroeder.

Stephanie shares her inspirational journey to single motherhood and adopting her baby daughter, Grace, from Ethiopia 15 years ago.

What is even more inspiring is she did it on her terms.

Grab your tissues and hang on tight as she explains the logistical and emotional rollercoaster process and how to stack the cards in your favor as a soon-to-be adoptive parent.   
New episodes available every Thursday! FOLLOW US! 

To contact us, message & follow us on:
Instagram - @deliverydiaries

Mabuhuy! Greetings!

We are closing out Filipino American History Month with a special guest, a Filipino American mother who I grew up with in Tampa Bay, FL., Ate Abby or should we say Dr. Abby Loreto Hamilton.  
Dr. Abby is an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist and a Speaker on Unconscious Bias, Assertiveness & Emotional Intelligence. She’s a mom of three kids, all grown up now, yet she makes sure they are not seeking ‘mommy points’ from her and are living happy and empowered lives.
In this episode we talk about non-medicated births, how each kid represented a special food and we break down the generational patterns that work and the ones that no longer serve us on this experience of modern motherhood. Dr. Abby lays it all out on the table. Get ready to pee your pants from laughter and listen to what Dr. Abby means when she talks about ‘poop on a podcast’. 

Follow Her:
Instagram: @abbyhamilton333

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCF-NW3anm-6GN9bqIufmLw

Dr. Abby’s TEDx Talk Episodes: https://www.ted.com/search?q=dr.%20abby%20hamiltoin

Get her books!
- Speak Up, Anak: Assertiveness Strategies for Filipino Americans
- Faith, Trust, and Pizza Crust: Finding God in Everyday Things

New episodes available every Thursday! FOLLOW US! 

You can also watch full podcast episodes here on our YouTube page. 
LIKE & SUBSCRIBE:
https://youtu.be/Lfodthxojm0

To contact us, message & follow us on:
Instagram - @deliverydiaries

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we are recognizing all the mamas out there who are currently beating cancer, have survived it and to those who have lost the battle. 
In this episode we honor Elizabeth Anderson. She’s a painter and is currently an arbitration coordinator and family services administrative assistant at the Clark County Superior Court in Washington State.  Most importantly she’s a 20-year-breast-cancer-survivor. 
Flo introduces us to her friend, this amazing human being who has triumphed through most of life’s circumstances in two years than what people would have to go through in a lifetime: marriage, miscarriage, pregnancy, car accident, preeclampsia, c-section, her dad dying, brother-in-law dying, moving homes, cancer, lumpectomy, chemo and radiation treatment. Yet her motto was ‘Just keep swimming, just keep swimming’ 

If you or a loved one are going through something that seems unbearable to overcome than we invite you to listen to Elizabeth’s words of wisdom, yes, she has a checklist just for you. Through it all, she says, for her, cancer was a gift. She made peace with dying and celebrates each trip around the sun. Perhaps that why she was dubbed ‘a ray of sunshine’ in the episode. You’ll hear why. 

New episodes available every Thursday! FOLLOW US! 

You can also watch full podcast episodes here on our YouTube page. 
LIKE & SUBSCRIBE:
https://youtu.be/V0tNGt-zAao

To contact us, message & follow us on:
Instagram - @deliverydiaries

We have a special episode for you all. Our one and only co-host, Flo Speakman, is sharing her Delivery Diary with us. She has gained a wealth of knowledge during her own family making journey and would like others to see what’s possible for themselves.   
My friend, is a bad-ass, she's the COO, Chief Operations Officer, for an IT company and CRM consultancy, in another life she would have be a doula or mid-wife, but we decided that it's never too late to be her calling. So for now in this episode we get to hear her wisdom regarding being pregnant at 40 or what they say in the medical books: Geriatric Pregnancy, whatever. Braxton Hicks or false labor pains, pregnancy rhinitis, who knew what that was and the good ol' colostrum, or liquid gold that comes from breastfeeding.
We hear about her and her husband, Sid's, resilience from their miscarriage to finding solace in the movies to expanding their family with their baby girl, Audrey. Not so baby anymore, she's a 12-years-old bad-ass too. We also get a peak into how Sid was the best birthing partner and cooked an unforgettable postpartum beef stir-fry that scared the shit out her. 
Flo believes nothing is perfect, no birth is perfect but being a little bit more prepared for any possibilities can get you closer to the birth experience you dreamed of or at least what was on that birth plan that you may as well throw out the window or at least label 'flexible'. 
Speaking of, check out her Birth Plan on our Instagram page. It's very detailed, ambitious with cute clip art and at least the nurses got a kick out it. 

New episodes available every Thursday! FOLLOW US! 

You can also watch full podcast episodes here on our YouTube page. 
LIKE & SUBSCRIBE:
https://youtu.be/yUjTbOga0Z8

To contact us, message & follow us on:
Instagram - @deliverydiaries

Creating a family doesn’t look a certain way. Which is why in today’s episode we have Mark and Jeff Angeles share their unique journey of creating their family especially being in a same sex marriage.
Mark is an HIR Director and Jeff is a doctor, board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, and Hospice & Palliative Medicine. They spent over $160,000 in making their family, in other words, creating their daughter, Margo.
Their story is with filled endless possibilities, pride of their humble Filipino upbringing, resources around surrogacy and even how to navigate the legalities that same-sex couples have to face when making a baby.
They provide so much detail and share why they want to inspire others or at least people who are in this journey of family making and know you can ‘experience the ups and downs of being a parent and all the good things it brings into you life’.

PS: We had some first-time-podcast growing pains, in other words technical glitches. However, by the power of storytelling, we improvised at the end of the episode so you get to be apart of the authenticity with some laughs, teary eyes and dropped calls. 

Check out their Good Morning America segment and article on how they created their family by getting into debt safely and some tips they share: 
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/video/debt-safely-76807599

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/couple-100000-loan-start-family-shares-planned-debt-76803398

They are also featured in Business Insider where they share how money was never really talked about in their Filipino upbringing but as a couple they were able to create a new and empowering conversion around money to create their dream family:

https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/gay-couple-ivf-loan-conversation-2022-6

Same-sex couple and surrogacy resources that Mark & Jeff provided in the episode.

https://www.sofi.com/

https://menhavingbabies.com/

https://www.samelovesurrogacy.com/


New episodes available every Thursday! FOLLOW US! 

You can also watch full podcast episodes here on our YouTube page. 
LIKE & SUBSCRIBE:
https://youtu.be/NUktY-JuKrw

To contact us, message & follow us on:
Instagram - @deliverydiaries