We have made it to the end of another season at Meet Me Downstairs, and to close it out, we’ve got a super special guest…Chloe Fisher! Chloe is the host of her own podcast called Darling Shine, which she co-hosts with her best friend Ellidy Pullin, a podcast that I have listened to and love dearly. She shares with us today her journey through fertility, miscarriages, IVF, IUI’s, ultimately leading her to a place of peace as she takes a break on her route to motherhood. Her vulnerability and honesty is something that I find so wonderfully comforting. She is a ball of life, and a guest I’ll never forget. Chlo…thank you soooo much for sharing your story with us!

Darling Shine Podcast

On today’s episode we are getting into a controversial topic, toddler and infant sleep, and in particular the way that the sleep industry has impacted natural and intuitive parenting. Our guest Kaitlin Klimmer has made waves on social media talking all about sleep. She’s got a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, a Diploma in Forest School Education, a Baby-Led Sleep and Well Being Specialization, and most recently, a certification in Breastfeeding Education. Her goal and mission is to help educate parents trust their own nurturing intuition and parent from there. This was such an important conversation to have. As Kaitlin states in the episode, the judgements and issues we raise are with the sleep industry only, and not the parents who choose to implement certain methods. We all have to do what is best for our family, so as you listen to our episode today, embrace what feels right and leave what doesn’t. Love always!

Website: https://kaitlinklimmer.com/

Today we are talking about one of my favourite topics every…the pelvic floor! The pelvic floor is such an important part of our bodies, and responsible for so many functions, and it’s only usually through pregnancy or childbirth that we become aware of it! It’s time to get to know this part of our body, and truly forge a connection with it. Thankfully we have a Pelvic Floor guru to help us today!

Allison Oswald, board certified women’s health Doctor of Physical Therapy has such a wealth of knowledge! This episode is packed full of incredibly vital information for all women, especially if you’re a mother or want to have children someday. I can’t wait for you to listen and be like…oh wow I did not know that!

Don’t wait any longer, press play…

Website: https://www.allisonoswald.com/

Today we have Attia Taylor on the podcast to help us chat about making health education accessible for all! Attia is a NYC based musician and creative producer. She is the founder of Womanly Magazine. A publication providing accessible health information to women and non-binary people through visual and literary art. Her work is rooted in social justice, art, and design, to bring inclusive and culturally relevant content to sound, print and digital realms, and that is exactly what we are talking about today. Her work is amazing, and the inspiration behind it is inspiring. Please enjoy and get involved with her work below:

Womanly Mag: https://www.womanlymag.com/

This incredible birth story is brought to us today by Louise de Menthon. She shares with us her experience of having an unmedicated, vaginal twin birth. She takes us down her very non-traditional path when it comes to giving birth to twins, and the amount of strength and bravery it required to stand in her power and have the birth that she dreamed of. This episode is an incredible reminder of the power that the medical system has on us women when we're in labor, and just how far we've removed ourselves from natural birth. It reminds us how important it is to educated ourselves on childbirth and the options available to us. On top of sharing her wonderfully positive and inspiring twin birth story, Louise and I have some empowering conversations surrounding birth itself. This episode is one I recommend listening to if having children (one, two or four), is in your future. It's thought provoking, and incredibly important. 

Louise thank you for sharing this with us. It will be deeply treasured. 

Louise Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loudementhon/

Today we are talking about the practice of Natural parenting. Kind of stepping away from all of the should’s and expectations of what parent has looked like in the past and moving in to a more conscious and understanding way of communicating with our children. Before I get into things I want to just say that this community and podcast is not here to judge the way parents do things currently. I’m a mom who is excited by expanding her knowledge base and this is a way of sharing different points of view. So embrace what feels right and leave what doesn’t.

Our guest of honour today is the amazing Tracy Gillett. She is the founder, writer and advocate behind the award-winning blog, Raised Good - a guide to natural parenting in the modern world. Her instagram is like a parenting bible with some pure gold excerpts that I find deep comfort in. She has reached millions of women worldwide and has some amazing offerings on her website and social media, so be sure to follow and engage with her, you can find her details in the episode notes.

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed recording it!

Website: https://raisedgood.com/

Who else gets anxious about sex?! Am I doing it right, is my partner feeling pleasure, is this thing I like weird, should I be performing a certain way...the list is endless. Sex is a topic that is wrapped up in lots of different values, feelings, and experiences that can leave our own personal relationship with it feeling strained. That's what we're talking about today. We are joined by the charismatic Portia Brown from Froetic Sexology to help us to understand why we may feel a certain way about sex, get up front with our anxieties, heal and hopefully work towards experiencing unencumbered and freeing sexual experiences. 

Portia is a sex educator and coach, she is the founder of Froetic Sexology ~ a blog and social media platform that helps women and femmes do the deep inner healing work necessary to be confident and free sexual beings. She has been featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine, has been named as the top sex influencer by Glamour UK, has an incredible social channel and an energy that is welcoming and warm. 

Website: https://portiabrowncoaching.com/

This episode is all about the transition from woman to mother. From maiden to matriarch. Ultimately being defined as Matrescence. It's a topic that is not widely known, yet it should be, and this conversation is in service of that. Those early years of motherhood are often experienced in silence and leave women feeling as though the things they're experiencing are meant to be dealt with alone, or that they aren't doing a good enough job, or experiencing perhaps things that are considered 'normal' and actually shouldn't be. That's what this episode is in service of. The mother, making space for her to feel understood as she moves through this epic transition.  Please enjoy this amazing and deeply comforting breakdown of Matrescence with our guest Amy Taylor-Kabbaz. 

Amy is a Best-Selling Author, Speaker, Journalist, Matrescence Activist and Mama of three. She is the author of Mama Rising, the host of the ‘The Happy Mama Movement’ podcast and creator of the #1 iTunes meditations for children with more than 12 million downloads - ‘Bedtime Explorers’. In 2019, she launched her world first Matrescence Facilitator Training - Mama Rising - sharing her unique formula of coaching and support into mother’s transition through matrescence. 

Website - www.amytaylorkabbaz.com

Birth, the most epic thing on this planet, and today we are sharing another story. The home birth of Rachael Newsam, who brings us in to her experience from a quiet labor, to a roaring birth. It's such a positive representation of the capabilities of birth when we just give ourselves a chance to feel in-tune with our bodies. When we take ourselves back to the instincts of a completely natural place. Rachael is also a Doula and she shares with us some of her knowledge and thoughts on the system of birth, and how women can reclaim their control in a society that tries to silence. Thank you for sharing your words, and your story sprinkled with that fairy dust magic. Check out her IG @motherkind.bb and follow along her journey of supporting women.