Kenia Nuñez is a New Yorker with three children. She lost her husband to Cancer in May 2013. She is no different from anyone else that grieves a loss – however, she made a very conscious decision not to let her husband’s death steal her joy.

She has done her absolute best to live her life with purpose and passion, just as her husband selflessly asked her to. By way of his death, he gave her life.

For years, when life was “perfect” she was praised for being a supermom, but she was secretly running on empty. She began to feel like a fraud; spiraling into a horrifying depression and she couldn’t find her way out.

Not until her husband was diagnosed with cancer did she have an awakening.

Her awakening has led her to teach others how to find balance in chaos, and purpose in pain through the power of self-care.

While working with women, she realized that young girls desperately needed the tools of self-care she was teaching and she wrote the Amazon best-seller “SavvyGems.”

SavvyGems is an acronym whose nine letters stand for nine life practices that can assist you as you encounter the highs and lows of life. It rests on the idea that although we can’t control all outward circumstances, nor predict the uncertainties of life we can take control of ourselves through a systematic, holistic approach of self-care which celebrates all the ways in which we “show up” to our lives.

Purchase a copy at: http://amzn.to/2wXBrt1

And follow Kenia on Instagram @asavvyme and @savvygems

I invited Darleny on the podcast to share her time management skills but what ended up coming out of it was EVEN more. She gave us an example of a mother who is following her heart and teaching her children to do the same.

When her career in corporate America began changing her personality and affecting her personal life. She decided to leave and start her own business.

Its changed everything in her life and she's so proud of the way its changed her relationship with her boys.

Rubi, Dominican and raised in the Bronx, moved to the Faroe Islands for love. Here is where she began the journey of motherhood. In this episode she discusses the prenatal, postpartum, and overall maternal care women receive in the Faroe Islands while going over a few key differences between the US and her new home.

Take a quick drive with me and listen to my first experience with mommy shaming - my reaction and what I wish I said.

I'm also in search of new moms to interview for the winter season. If you know of a mom who should definitely share her story, please have her email me at [email protected]

From the moment I saw Stacey's first post with her daughter, I knew I wanted to learn more about her birth story and her journey to motherhood. Stacey shares how she felt when she learned she was pregnant with her rainbow baby Isabella, the events that led up to her emergency c-section, her postpartum anxiety and care.

One thing we both forgot to touch upon during the podcast was her breastfeeding journey with Isabella. After we spoke, Stacey messaged me to make sure I let other moms know how much anxiety can play a role. She writes, "I continued to pump even though most times I would get less than half an ounce or sometimes an ounce at the most… I just kept breast-feeding and pumping even though Isabella was getting formula for almost all of her meals I would just give her whatever milk I could. I prayed almost everyday that my milk would increase. I started eating oatmeal. Drinking mothers milk tea & drank lots of water. Just kept trying & one day I got 1 full oz (both breast) then I started getting 1 per breast.

Then it just started increasing it was inconsistent in amounts but it was coming. So I just kept at it until I realized omg I've been giving her all pumped breast milk.

Now she nurses and I pump but she's exclusively on bm and I'm so grateful. But I had to take it one day at a time and even accept that maybe I wouldn't be able to Breastfeed. I also noticed a significant increase in supply when I was less stressed & on the other side of anxiety. Stress. C section. Thyroid deficiency but somehow it all worked out."

Never give up mamas.

You can find Stacey as "Stacey Gay" on Facebook and @stacey_stayfit on Instagram

Stephanie became pregnant with her son London, at a busy time in her life. She was planning a wedding, working full time, and naive to what labor was like with little time to research. When the day came to deliver her baby, she ended up having a C-section and although overjoyed with the arrival of her baby boy, she knew the next time around, she would do things differently.

When Stephanie learned she was pregnant with her daughter Paris, she did her research and found doctors that supported a vaginal birth after c-section (VBAC) and was successfully able to delivery her daughter vaginally with minimal medications.

She shares her birth stories and provides us insight on the differences between nursing her children. Stephanie also discusses her continued breastfeeding after she returned to work and how she maintained her supply to successfully breastfeed both children for 6 months and beyond.

One thing that keeps me sane when he’s learning something new is the Wonder Weeks app. Have you checked it out yet? The app is based on the best selling book by the same name “The Wonder Weeks.” And its totally free.

The gist of the app and the book are that All babies go though the same changes in the mental development at the same time. This is called a mental leap. With each leap, your baby is given the possibility to learn new things. And every baby wants to learn, much less master, these new skills, as learning these makes him master that ‘puzzle’ or ‘chaos’ that is in his brain since the leap. Learning new things helps him to get through the fussy phase and is good for his development for the rest of his life.

The book is written by two doctors, Hetty van de Rijt and Frans Plooij, that studied the mental development of babies.

We have all heard about growth spurts and sleep regressions but mental leaps are yet another thing that can totally turn your world around but they are also AMAZING.

I love speaking to more seasoned mothers because it provides perspective for all of us holding babies at three in the morning.

A few years ago, Audrey Robles felt completely unfulfilled. She was married to the love of her life, had two gorgeous little boys, but she somehow lost herself. She stopped taking care of herself and started to gain weight. Audrey was living day to day without purpose, without goals, without a plan to better her life and the life of her family.

One day she woke up, and decided she was worth a change and began to prioritize her health and personal development. And when she did that, she became confident and empowered again. She became a better wife. She became a better mother. Her faith became stronger and her passion came back.

Audrey talks about her back to back C-sections and the shift she had to make in order to become more disciplined and be the example she wanted to be for her two boys.

You can find her at audreyrobles.com

Book recommendations: You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero, The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo, The Charge by Brendon Burchard, and The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

On episode 11 of the Mamáhood Podcast, we hear from Samantha Tully. Sam’s story is about a mother’s strength, when your body doesn’t react as planned but you have a little life to care for. She discusses a lot of the things we don’t hear about when it comes to C-sections, how to cope when your birth doesn’t go as planned, and provides really helpful postpartum self-care tips that include hiring a postpartum doula.

Book recommendation: The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother by Heng Ou, Amely Green and Marisa Belger.