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Fit For Motherhood
Fit For Motherhood episodes
- Author and Storyteller, Alyssa DeRose
In this episode we talk with mom of 2 and author of soon to be released book- Momoir, Alyssa DeRose. Join us for a heart to heart conversation about the joys and struggles Alyssa found in motherhood, along with her journey first as a stay at home mom to rejoining the workforce.
Alyssa DeRose—who is on a first-name basis with Jesus, the local garbage man, and her local Lululemon sales representative—is the Mom to two young boys, Micah and Levi. She has spent the early years of her stay-at-home motherhood questioning her decision to give up her career, making more mistakes than most, and somehow—with the help of her husband and a skilled professional therapist—managing to find freedom in her new identity as a mother. With her debut work, MOMOIR: A New Mom's Journey to Embracing Her Not-So-Perfect Motherhood, she brings her story of becoming a mother to life: with bravery, camaraderie, and a healthy dose of humor.
About her book:
Written from the trenches of early motherhood, MOMOIR: A New Mom's Journey to Embracing Her Not-So-Perfect Motherhood is the book every Mom needs within arm's reach when she hears the baby cry in the middle of the night–AGAIN–and she finds the emotional and physical burdens of her motherhood (and her snoring husband) too much to bear alone. In her debut book, Alyssa's magnetic transparency allows readers to access the intimate–and too-often glossed over–details of her "normal" Mom life in a way that permits us to become truer versions of ourselves. Providing a front row seat to her not-so-perfect journey of becoming a mother–through miscarriage and postpartum depression and marital stress and a surprise second baby–she shares her colorful story of motherhood with authenticity, faith, and a healthy dose of levity; three ingredients she has learned every mother needs to survive. Follow Alyssa @alyssabderose To purchase MOMOIR: A New Mom's Journey to Embracing Her Not-So-Perfect Motherhood Follow Fit For Motherhood @fitformotherhoodpodcast Join our community at www.fitformotherhoodpodcast.com47 min - Life As An Only Parent With Megan Marzano
Today on the podcast we talk with Megan Marzano. Megan is an only parent, recovered alcoholic, full time Executive Assistant, side-hustle go-getter, very regular girl. She lives in Chicago with her 11 year old son, in close proximity to her siblings and their spouses (on purpose). She is grateful for the life she lives- which in itself, is a blessing.
We talk about her life with the joys and challenges as an only parent and her journey to being a recovered alcoholic.
Follow Megan @megan_marzano_1
Follow Fit For Motherhood @fitformotherhoodpodcast
Join our community at www.fitformotherhoodpodcast.com
40 min - From A Mama's Heart: A Conversation on Race and Racism- Part 2 with Kierra Henderson
This week's episode features Kierra of Beloved Mama, your best mom-friend on these internet streets. She is passionate about showing you the grace and love of God through tons of laughs. She is a wife and mama to four boys. The boys bring so much joy to her life — but she says that the more they are in her face the more she is in Jesus' face. For fun, Kierra is a tea drinker and thrift store queen. Every day God is empowering her to do what she never saw and be what she never had.
We talked about the hearts of white people being opened to understanding the privilege that we have in this country. We also talked about her feelings on raising her sons in a country where there is still so much racial injustice.
She shared her heart with us and she has such a spirit of hopefulness and grace for those of us who are still learning.
Kierra also recently started the #iammama movement. On her Instagram post on June 7th, she wrote, "I AM MAMA is a movement bc us mamas are moving. Don't stop! We fight til we win. ———— George, we heard your cry for Mama! We wept as we listened, and we realized that Mama was also justice, air, and love. Black mamas understood and white mamas stood and declared I AM MAMA! We are all running to answer you." You can visit her bonfire website to purchase shirts with the message of "I AM MAMA" and "YOU ARE LOVED". She will be sharing her proceeds with Prison Fellowship. If you want to connect with Kierra you can visit her Instagram page @heybelovedmama or on Youtube at Beloved Mama.www.fitformotherhoodpodcast.com
59 min - From A Mama's Heart: A Conversation on Race and Racism- Part 1 with Gabrielle Payne
This week on the podcast we spoke with Gabrielle Payne about her life growing up in a culturally diverse part of Chicago, what it's been like being a white woman married to a black man and the joys and struggles of raising 7 biracial children.
1 hr 1 min - Social Distancing & Isolation in Motherhood
In this episode Ali and Alyssa discuss the impacts that social distancing has had on them and how they have experienced isolation in motherhood.
www.fitformotherhoodpodcast.com
46 min - Adoption Story with Sara Chenery
In this episode Sara Chenery shares with us the story of how she and her husband, Raef, adopted twin daughters into their family through the foster system. She shared the joys and also the hard things of going quickly from a family of three to a family of five. Sara and Raef's passion for adoption is so great that they were able to help create a fund at their church, where Raef is a pastor, that is helping other families with a passion for adoption to be able to afford the costs of the process. She also gave us insight into the mindset that is needed to be able to walk with eyes wide open into the fostering process, her family's adjustment to bringing adopted children into their home, and things that she tries to do to maintain her own health as a mother.
www.fitformotherhoodpodcast.com
36 min - 50 min
- Doula and Mama of 3 with Anna RodneyOur guest this week is Anna Rodney, who is the mother of three girls ranging in age from 3 years to 10 years. She owns Chicago Family Doulas, a full service doula agency supporting families in the entire Chicagoland area. She is also a doula trainer with CAPPA for the postpartum and labor programs and also their childbirth educator program. Anna has supported families as a doula since 2009 and is committed to providing families with professional, compassionate, and personal support. Anna gives 200% in all she does in life and brings this commitment and passion to every aspect of her work as a doula agency owner and trainer. Anna has had the reputation of being a kind, calm, and loving person for as long as she can remember. She has always cared deeply for people and strives to support and care for all around her. She has worked with children and families since she was a teen and later on has supported families in the role of a nanny, preschool teacher, Americorps worker, respite worker, special education teacher, and finally as a birth and postpartum doula. Anna was a special educator for ten years prior to becoming a doula and owner of Chicago Family Doulas. Being a life long learner, Anna earned her Master's degree in Education as well as multiple degrees in Special Education. She is certified as a labor and postpartum doula through CAPPA, a CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator, a Certified Newborn Care Specialist, and is a certified Happiest Baby on the Block instructor. Anna is committed to sharing her vast knowledge with the families she works with. If you are in the Chicagoland area you can find more about her at chicagofamilydoulas.com.41 min
- Alyssa's Birth Stories
In honor of Mother's Day coming up we are taking two weeks to share our birth stories.
This episode Alyssa shares her three birth stories, one at the hospital and two at home.
1 hr 5 min - Social Worker and Mama of 2: Talking Trauma in Childhood with Beth Hofstetter Falb
In this weeks episode we chat with Alyssa's friend of almost 20 years, Beth Hofstetter Falb. Beth and Alyssa were friends and roommates in college. We chatted with her about her life as a mom and her work as a social worker. We also asked her for advice on how to work with our children in times of change (aka a pandemic), behaviors to look for that would indicate they are not coping well and she gave us some practical tips on what we can do to support them during these difficult times.
Beth lives in Northeast Ohio with her Husband of 7.5 years and their two children, ages 5 and 2, on her husband's family farm.
She received her Master's of Social Work from Loyola University Chicago. She is a Licensed Independent Social Worker, and has been practicing in this field for the last 15 years, with a focus on children and parents, and has specialized training in trauma work. She is currently the Director of Family Services for a local Non Profit Community Mental Health Agency.
To learn more about Beth please visit our website, www.fitformotherhoodpodcast.com.
36 min
About Fit For Motherhood
From the publisher's feed
Hi friends, welcome to the Fit For Motherhood Podcast!!! Thank you for taking time out of your day to listen, we are SO excited to have you with us!
We have been friends since early childhood, grew up together and are currently the moms of littles 5 and under.
A LITTLE BIT OF INFO ON US
Ali lives in central Illinois with her husband, Matt, and their three kids (4, 3 & 1). She is a part time hair stylist and spends the rest of her time at home with her kids.
She is an enneagram 9w1.
Alyssa lives in Chicago with her husband, Grant, and their two toddlers (3 & 1). She works part time as a pediatric oncology nurse and is also a certified holistic health coach & life coach and the owner of Grounded Roots Coaching. She especially loves working with women during their first year postpartum.
She is still trying to figure out her enneagram.
WHY ARE WE PASSIONATE ABOUT THE TOPIC OF MOTHERHOOD?
• We're MOMS
• We've both experienced difficulties in our journeys as moms and have felt alone in dealing with those challenges.
• We're tired of the perfect images that are crafted on social media to which we find ourselves comparing our lives.
• For Ali, she has become more self-aware in the last year or so and is tired of being dragged along by life. She has challenged herself to find ways to be more proactive about her mental and physical health because she realizes how much those things affect her ability to parent effectively.
WHY ARE WE DOING THIS PODCAST?
• Letting moms know that they are not alone in questioning their fitness for parenting
• Encouraging other moms to know that we can do the hard things of motherhood, even when we doubt our abilities.
• Sharing practical applications and also ideas that can be helpful in keeping ourselves mentally and physically fit for motherhood.
We would love to have you with us every week as we talk together through topics that are important to us (and hopefully you!), interview other moms who are walking through all the different issues that come with the different stages of motherhood, and bond together over the things we have in common that truly make us fit for motherhood.