Dawn has been a lifelong teacher and is taking on a new role as an Assistant Director of a school. She started her mama journey with a step child at the age of 3 (who is now 18) and now has a 6 year old. Being a stepmom has been quite a journey and being a new mom as a stepmom has been a journey she never thought she would be on. Undiagnosed for most of her life, her stepdaughter just was diagnosed with autism so that’s a new challenge. She struggled being a new mom because her own mom passed away 6 months before she gave birth. Her rock was gone and she had to parent an infant all on her own. Her baby also had colic for the first year of her life.  Her husband was her biggest supporter because her mom wasn’t there for her and she knows how lucky she is to have her. Her best mama moment has been watching both girls grow up and become who they are. When you see yourself in your kids, it’s the best part of being a mom. Being an introvert and having an extrovert child is no joke! Knowing she should have slept for years before her daughter was born!!!  SO TIRED!  She knows now that she needs her own unwind time before she can be a good mama. TAKE THE TIME for yourself and then you can be all the things to everyone but take care of YOU!  

Our 100th episode was an in-person party with two amazing mamas as well as our Strong Mamas, Thriving Babies Program Assistant Director!  It was such a great way to celebrate our 100th episode!

Jeanie has two small kiddos and lived in Florida at that time but moved a lot and she had a lot of challenges because she didn't have support.  She is now in Colorado and building her own support system. Meagan is also a mama of two littles (her homies) living in Colorado.  They both felt the massive change they went through after having babies. The new "normal" is no longer like what you thought it would be. The lack of sleep is absolutely life changing. Family and support being nearby is HUGE and finding the people who support you and creating your own "framily" is so important. Sheesh, where have we heard THAT before?   ,  Jeanie shared one of her best mama moments was recently watching her son thrive in an educational setting that changed everything. Meagan is finally feeling pride in her mothering and how she is creating memories for her kids as a good mama. They both think that surrounding yourself with people who nourish you is essential!  So reach out to YANA if you want to be matched with another mama! Worse mama moments come as well and Meagan is working to get her daughter tested after she noticed some concerning behaviors and has struggled feeling like she is winning. Looking back, she sees the positives of her motherhood journey but it took awhile to see them Jeanie's worst mama moments is that she is truly her biggest critic and has had to learn to give herself grace. Doing it on her own is hard but she also knows there is always room for repair. As their own biggest supporters, they realized they needed to be there for themselves. There is NOTHING wrong with being your own best "person."

Kandra is a sleep expert who helps people with their sleeping journey with their children. At the age of 27, she started her mama journey after going through infertility for years. Shaping her journey as a wife and mother, infertility needs to be understood on another level. She had really hard pregnancies and was in and out of the hospitals and threw up every day all day long. Being on the other end of that journey feels really good because it was really difficult. “Being a mom is a growing journey learning who you are.” Having a great childhood doesn’t always mean you don’t have triggers that can really throw you for a loop. She realized through her kids Occupational therapies that she couldn’t regulate her needs to escape the over stimulation. She never realized she had anger issues until it happened but growing and learning as a mom is so important. As a mom, you become a different version of who you have always been. Her village was amazing and so supportive during her start of mamahood. She has 6 grandparents for her boys and has never had to pay for daycare! Her best mama moment happened this last Christmas when she planned, and completed the best movie night with her three boys and how special that was to all of them.  She wishes she knew that some kids don’t sleep during the day!  She felt she was the only person on the planet with a newborn who struggled to sleep during the day. That’s SO normal but she didn’t know that.  You can find her at: rockymountainsleepingbaby.com

Dina was a corporate America person but now holds space for women who are going through transitions. Her one kiddo will be 19 soon and she believes her soul was matched with the two souls who left before she could be their mother on earth. Her wisdom councils and circles change lives and give moms the permission to honor their mama journey’s. Giving up some of the plan you have in mind in motherhood, both birth and motherhood is essential.  Don’t grip so hard!  The control isn’t always in your hands. Loneliness is oftentimes really difficult, especially when they can’t talk and interact. She struggled with that. The empty nest issue happens when kiddo goes off to school full time and that was rough on her. The friendships that come and go can also be really challenging. She is really involved in intergenerational conversations and getting the older generation supporting the younger and vice versa. When you honor even the dark places you flow through, you can find the blessings they bring to your life. There are always opportunities in all things that happen in your life. She wants people to remember that you are the author of only YOUR story. You are not the author of your kids, your husband or anyone else. We are ushering our kids through their journey as a guide. Walk beside them. mavenandsageconsulting.com

As a mama who had her first baby at the age of 35, she wasn’t sure she wanted kids. She was very driven in her career and wasn’t certain kids were in her future.  But when she got married at the age of 34, 2 months into the marriage, they were pregnant! She is not a huge fan of kids, except her own! She joined some mom groups through a nonprofit that turned into a store and found her people.  With her second baby, she was involved in her church and all the moms were amazing supports. In Canada you get 12-18 months of leave and get partial pay. Getting help doesn't mean you failed!!!!  That is what she wishes she would have known as a new mom. She thinks her inability to accept help came from being the youngest or the societal pressure to NOT get help with things. When she was becoming a mom, she thought she had to do it ALL.  But in the long run, she didn’t. Give yourself grace and redefine what doing it all looks like. Growth is good for us. Don’t be afraid of growth and change. 

Kelly has lived in Colorado since she was 8 and lives in Centennial. She works for a payroll company called PNIHCM and is passionate about her community. The job of being a mama and wife is a 24/7 job. She met her husband way back when she was 19 and got lots of stuff “out of the way” before she had her son. She had her son at the age of 35 and what an adjustment it was! Her pregnancy was a complete surprise because she was on birth control and didn’t expect to get pregnant! At 16 weeks pregnant she had a grapefruit sized cyst removed, which was very stressful and then 5 weeks later she had another cyst appear. Her pregnancy was not what she had in mind but it resulted in a healthy, happy baby boy. With her situation and experience, her body decided that they were one and done. She wishes she could go back in time and tell her younger self that she needs to be kinder to herself and stop looking at the “imperfections.”  One of the biggest challenges she had was wanting her body back. She was “touched out!”  Can you relate?  Her one is done is the light of her life and her need to be herself and understand that it’s OK to not be or do all the things everyone else THINKS you should!  She’s an amazing mama and friend!

Brenna is a single mom of 2 and closing in on 40 and so excited about the possibilities of the “rock star decade!”  She is a police dispatcher for the Colorado State Patrol and her hours are nuts! She also put her application in to be a State Trooper and is starting that process!  She became a mama at the age of 22 and her kiddos have different dads. Not knowing what a healthy relationship looked like, she struggled to find true love. Having two kids on her own, her mom homeschooled her and her siblings and that struggle was rough for Brenna while trying to raise her kids the way she wanted to. She was raised Southern Baptist and after graduating high school she walked away from that church. She ended up finding her OWN community through a totally different church setting. Parenting teens has been tough but she understands they are in their own developmental stages but it’s no joke. In 2021 her whole life came crashing down when her child told her that her ex husband had sexually abused them. With her ex in prison for his abuse, she is doing her best to heal all of the broken parts that her and her kids have experienced. Her advice is to NOT be a helicopter parent but just be in tune with what’s going on with their lives. Let go of the control and choose your battles. 

Michelle is a mom of 2 living in Arvada, Colorado and works with companies to help them with their expansion plans. She is a member of YANA’s Board of Directors and has been an amazing asset to our program. She started her parenting journey later in life and had her son at the age of 40. She was a corporate climber so starting at the age of 40 was a little rough. She had 2 small kiddos for the global pandemic! She made some changes to her career in that time and switched lanes in her work/life balance. After leaving a work trip early because her first born was sick, she learned really quickly that her kids always come first. The pivotal moments in motherhood really makes you stop and think about how you will continue the life and career she built. With no family in Colorado, her support came from her mom who lives in Michigan but she came and spent 2 weeks/month in the first year! Both kids were 3 weeks early into the world, so her c-sections were a bit scary and it was both her best and worst mama moments. As a career focused mom, she wishes she would have known that chaos is normal. Trying to control it all is impossible and she has learned patience and how to roll with it and GIVE YOURSELF GRACE!  It’s ok to not be ok. We do our best and that’s what our kiddos will remember!  

Susanna Peace Lovell is a mama and a life coach and advocate for families with kiddos with disabilities. She has a daughter with many extreme needs and it led her to this work. Her daughter is about to turn 18, living in LA and her and her ex-husband raise her collectively. She had ALL the motherhood answers before she became a mom (like a lot of us do) and then reality hit! Her daughter was diagnosed with a plethora of medical conditions and her mamahood journey was NOTHING like she was prepared for. She, and her daughter cried for the first 18 months of her life and she wondered if she would ever find a “normal” that wasn’t hard. She has had a rough mamahood journey of almost 18 years but she knows that without the support of her mom, and even her mother-in-law, she wouldn’t be the mama she is now. Her mission to help other parents of kiddos with disabilities keeps her grounded and inspired. You can find her at https://www.susannapeacelovell.com and her book at https://a.co/d/hty6wFX

Dianna is a classical homeopath in Littleton who wrote a book about newborn death. She does a lot of grief work with mamas who have experienced a loss. After four pregnancies, she has one living child and her unique experience is what helps her share with other mamas.  There are over one million babies who die before their first birthday EVERY YEAR!  Grieving is something we don’t talk about in this country. She is a member of the Colorado End of Life Collaboration and it is an organization she is very proud of. She is a death expert who says “be there, support them, let them know you care.”  She was an older mama and no one talks about menopause and raising small children. There are so many different “shades” to motherhood and we need to experience all of them!  She is mothering a boy and without having boys in her life before he was born, it’s not always easy but she is learning as she goes. She wishes she would have had some awareness of the challenges and differences in parenting later in life. Some days motherhood is disappointing and it’s ok! Let’s be real!!!  Find her at frontrangehomeopathy.com