Finding Your Village

I am celebrating two huge milestones today. The first is that Finding Your Village  has turned two! The second is that the online Postpartum Class that I have been working on with my partner, Amanda Israel, is live and available for families to take!

I would love to hear your feedback about what you would like to hear more about in this podcast. I would also like to hear about the season of life you are in, how I can best support you in that and if you have a specific podcast episode length that you prefer. The survey will only take a couple minutes to fill out!

Here is the link to the feedback survey!

Thank you so much for being a listener of the show. You are the reason why I show up every week and do this!

If you would like to learn about the Postpartum Class that I launched today, here is the link: www.pregnancytopreschool.net

Thank you so much for listening to this special episode today!


Follow me on Instagram and on TikTok

Find other episodes at: www.findingyourvillage.com/podcast

Download for free: https://pregnancytopreschool.ck.page/tummytime

Visit www.keepsakecastle.com today!

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In today’s episode we are discussing baby temperament and specifically, we talk about alert babies or live wire babies. Our guest to talk about this is Macall Gordon. Macall is a researcher, author, sleep coach, and mom of two. She has a B.S. in Human Biology from Stanford and a master’s in Applied Psychology from Antioch University Seattle. She has conducted research on sleep, temperament, and parenting advice, and has worked with thousands of parents of alert, intense, sensitive non-sleepers. 

In this episode, Macall talks about what characteristics babies with this temperament have and gives tips on what parents can do. 

In the episode we discuss: 

• What baby temperament is
• What makes up their temperament
• Alert babies aka spirited babies aka “live wires”
• Things that parents of live wires say all the time
• Tips for parents with alert babies
• This temperament can be challenging in the beginning, but it is also a blessing

How to get in touch with Macall: 

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook

How to get in touch with me: 

• Get early access to the Postpartum Online Course!
• Follow me on Instagram and on TikTok
• Find other episodes at: www.findingyourvillage.com/podcast
• Download for free: https://pregnancytopreschool.ck.page/tummytime 

Visit www.keepsakecastle.com today!

Support the show

In today’s episode we are discussing how you can support your partner’s mental health during the postpartum period. Our guest today is Zach Watson, who lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Alyssa and their 5 month old daughter. He is a teacher, self published author, a YouTube creator and a TikTok creator. In today’s episode we are going to be talking about his journey as a new Dad and how he has supported his wife and her mental health as they experienced the postpartum period together. 

In this episode, we discuss: 

• Expectations for new parents vs. reality
  • Zach’s advice: keep expectations low and calendar open
• Parents don’t always fall in love with their baby immediately after they are born
• Ways that husbands/partners can support new moms during postpartum
  • Meet your spouse where they are
  • Understand your partner’s goals and what they are committed to
  • Listen to issues without immediately jumping to problem solving
• Postpartum depression can occur in Dads too
• Zach’s choice to abstain from drinking alongside his wife during pregnancy 
• Being curious to understand others’ perspective and the importance of empathy

How to get in touch with Zach

• TikTok
• Youtube
• Book

Announcement: I am launching a new online course to help prepare parents for postpartum. This class will be self paced and my partner and I are looking for a few expecting or new parents who are interested in getting early access to the course, to join us when we release it in late February as the Founders Round. If you are pregnant or just had a baby and are interested in participating please send me an email at [email protected] to find out more info or click this link to sign up!

How to get in touch with me: 

• Get early access to the Postpartum Online Course!
• Follow me on Instagram and on TikTok
• Find other episodes at: www.findingyourvillage.com/podcast
• Download for free: https://pregnancytopreschool.ck.page/tummytime 

Visit www.keepsakecastle.com today!

Support the show

Thank you so much for listening to the episode today. We are going to be talking about how to reduce stress during pregnancy. Our guest is, Cheryl Furer, is a practicing midwife who has empowered hundreds of clients throughout their pregnancy, birth, and the first year postpartum. Her signature brand, Your Thriving Pregnancy, is helping to bring midwifery to pregnant women, so that clients discover their innate power and confidence, flourish through every transition, and celebrate changes with a community.

I really enjoyed this episode and think you will too.

In this episode, we discuss: 

• Foundations for wellness: sleep and nutrition
• Mindfulness and Meditation
• Movement and Exercise
• Individualized care
• Chronic stress
• Managing stress helps prepare you for birth and the postpartum period

How to get in touch with Cheryl:

• Website
• Get the App
• Instagram
• Facebook

Announcement: I am launching a new online course to help prepare parents for postpartum. This class will be self paced and my partner and I are looking for a few expecting or new parents who are interested in getting early access to the course, to join us when we release it in late February as the Founders Round. If you are pregnant or just had a baby and are interested in participating please send me an email at [email protected] to find out more info or click this link to sign up!

How to get in touch with me: 

• Get early access to the Postpartum Online Course!
• Follow me on Instagram and on TikTok
• Find other episodes at: www.findingyourvillage.com/podcast
• Download for free: https://pregnancytopreschool.ck.page/tummytime 

Visit www.keepsakecastle.com today!

Support the show

In today’s episode, we are talking about baby massage. Our guest today is Helen Thompson. Helen has spent more than three decades working with babies and toddlers and currently lives on the beautiful North West coast of Tasmania, in Australia. She qualified in the United Kingdom as a nursery nurse/childcare educator. In 2010, Helen heard about baby/infant massage for the first time and decided to train to become an instructor after seeing how it helps build a magical bond between baby and parent whilst helping babies with conditions such as colic and constipation. Helen enjoys teaching mums via her online Zoom workshops. In her spare time Helen enjoys reading and the great outdoors via cycling and walking. She also enjoys getting away from technology and exploring the many delights of Tasmania.

In this episode we discussed: 

• What baby massage is
• What the benefits are and why parents might want to do this with their baby
• When you can start with baby massage and how to get started
• The importance of asking permission/asking your baby for consent before you start to massage them or really do anything with their body
• Here is a video of Helen demonstrating different positions and techniques of baby massage

How to follow/get in touch with Helen: 

• Website
• First Time Mums Chat podcast
• All other link/cheat sheets are linked here

How to get in touch with me: 

• Sign up for a 4 week online birth class with me
• Follow me on Instagram and on TikTok
• Find other episodes at: www.findingyourvillage.com/podcast
• Email me at [email protected]
• Download for free: Seven Experts to have in Your Parenting Village
• Monthly Newsletter

Visit www.keepsakecastle.com today!

Support the show

In today’s episode, I had the honor of interviewing Dr. Jody Thomas, who is a licensed clinical psychologist, and specialist in pediatric medical illness and trauma. She is an internationally known expert on pediatric pain, she is also a founder and CEO of the Meg Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering kids and families to prevent and relieve pain and medical anxiety. She is the former Clinical Director of the Packard Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Center at Stanford, and a former Assistant Professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Though she now lives in Denver, CO, she still serves as Adjunct Faculty for Stanford, providing supervision and teaching. She is passionate about bringing together the power of medical science, technology and design to transform the way we think about kids and pain and ensuring kids have a positive relationship with healthcare.

In this episode we discussed: 

• The importance of pain mitigation strategies for infants and children
• The SuperMeg coping plan builder for kids.  
• Resources for parents: Pain Champions Guide for parents
• The Be The Boss Of Your Brain video that Dr. Thomas did for Stanford. It’s being used in several different hospitals, and they have conducted some great pilot studies looking specifically at parent self efficacy around procedures.  
• ImaginAction is a self hypnosis project that Dr. Thomas did for Stanford 
• The Provider Kit that parents can share with their pediatrician
• Here is an article written by Dr. Thomas talking about this further

How to follow/get in touch with Dr. Jody Thomas

• Website 
• Meg Foundation Website 
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• TikTok

How to get in touch with me: 

• Sign up for a 4 week online birth class with me
• Follow me on Instagram and on TikTok
• Find other episodes at: www.findingyourvillage.com/podcast
• Email me at [email protected]
• Download for free: Seven Experts to have in Your Parenting Village
• Monthly Newsletter

Visit www.keepsakecastle.com today!

Support the show

In today’s episode, I had the privilege of interviewing Marisa Hughes, who is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Perinatal Mental Health Certified Therapist. She specializes in trauma and maternal mental health. She has created a protocol called Repairing While Parenting that helps parents reparent themselves so that they can parent their kids with intention. She is passionate about cycle breaking and helping her clients heal.

I got so much out of this conversation with Marisa and I hope you will too. 

In this episode we discussed: 

• What Marisa’s proprietary process Repairing while Parenting is all about
• One big goal of Repairing while Parenting is learning to tolerate your children’s big feelings so that you can stay calm and respond rather than react
• Reparenting is: getting in tune with your triggers and the underlying roots related to them, so that you can heal them at the source, instead of letting them leak into your relationships with your family
• Marisa’s communication process called VOC, which stands for Validate, Orient and Choose, is a technique to help you talk to yourself and your kids 
• How trauma can get passed down from generation to generation, but we can heal and patterns can be unlearned 

How to get in touch with Marisa

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook

How to get in touch with me: 

• Sign up for a 4 week online birth class with me
• Follow me on Instagram and on TikTok
• Find other episodes at: www.findingyourvillage.com/podcast
• Email me at [email protected]
• Download for free: Seven Experts to have in Your Parenting Village
• Monthly Newsletter

Visit www.keepsakecastle.com today!

Support the show

In today’s episode we are discussing baby sleep and that it is a skill! Our guest is Sierra Dante, who is an experienced Pediatric Sleep Consultant known for her simple, loving, and effective method and her belief that sleep is supposed to be easy. Sierra has helped over a thousand families make sleep easy for their newborns, babies, and school-age children with a 100% success rate.

How to get in touch with Sierra: 

• Website
• Instagram
• Facebook group
• Cheat Sheet!

How to get in touch with me: 

• Sign up for a 4 week online birth class with me
• Follow me on Instagram and on TikTok
• Find other episodes at: www.findingyourvillage.com/podcast
• Email me at [email protected]
• Download for free: Seven Experts to have in Your Parenting Village
• Monthly Newsletter

Visit www.keepsakecastle.com today!

Support the show

In today’s episode I had the privilege of speaking with Leslie Abraham, who is a French perinatal osteopath DO and exercise specialist with over 12 years of international experience. She is the founder of Bonjour Baby, the creator of the Postpartum Body Solution program and the host of The Bonjour Baby podcast. When she moved to the US in 2016, Leslie was shocked by the differences between prenatal and postnatal care in Europe and in the US. And we are going to discuss many of those differences in today’s episode. 

How to get in touch with Leslie:

• Website
• Podcast
• Instagram

How to get in touch with me: 

• Sign up for a 4 week online birth class with me
• Follow me on Instagram and on TikTok
• Find other episodes at: www.findingyourvillage.com/podcast
• Email me at [email protected]
• Download for free: Seven Experts to have in Your Parenting Village
• Monthly Newsletter

Visit www.keepsakecastle.com today!

Support the show

In today’s episode, we discuss the importance of preparing for feeding baby before baby arrives. Our guest is Nicole Schwartz, who is a licensed and registered International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). She serve families in person in the Atlanta area and worldwide via telehealth. Her goal is to empower families along their baby’s feeding journey by providing compassionate and evidence-based lactation support.

How to get in touch with Nicole:

• Website
• Instagram
• Virtual Breastfeeding Support Group

How to get in touch with me: 

• Sign up for a 4 week online birth class with me
• Follow me on Instagram and on TikTok
• Find other episodes at: www.findingyourvillage.com/podcast
• Email me at [email protected]
• Download for free: Seven Experts to have in Your Parenting Village
• Monthly Newsletter

Visit www.keepsakecastle.com today!

Support the show