Milk and Motherhood

I've gotten this question several times recently, and this was the easiest way to answer it! Please share with your pregnant or newly postpartum friends who are working hard to breastfeed, because how you handle the first week really establishes your long-term breastfeeding trajectory <3

Get my postpartum cookbook PDF for FREE right now when you purchase Breastfeeding Foundations!

Or if your baby is already here and you need more help, check out Earbud IBCLC.

Want to purchase an Earbud IBCLC gift card for an expecting mom? You can find that HERE.

Looking for more help? Visit my website happymamahealthybaby.co to see what your options are, and don't forget to follow along on Instagram @happy.mama.healthy.baby <3

I once had a PT tell me to stop breastfeeding if I ever wanted my pelvic pain to go away. I'm so glad I didn't listen to her. Now I know my pain was from POTS, hypermobility, endometriosis, and, yes, some core weakness. So when we eventually weaned, the pain didn't go away. I'm forever grateful I did it on my timeline and not hers.

I want you to know more about your body and your breastfeeding experinece and this episode is one of the (almost 100!) breastfeeding-specific episodes in Earbud IBCLC. I wanted to share it in full here so you can see what we are doing over there!

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you can find my PDF postpartum cookbook HERE

and the allergen-free one HERE

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More on hypermobility:

> assessing joint hypermobility

> Organic Olivia podcast: Are You Hypermobile?

> Hormone Healing RD podcast: MCAS, POTS, and Hypermobility Part 1

> Hormone Healing RD podcast: MCAS, POTS, and Hypermobility Part 2

In this interview, Carly (@debtfree.mom) and I chat about the shifts that motherhood brings to the family finances, chores and allowance, grocery costs, how to talk about money around your kids, and how to plan for the future. I LOVE her tagline, that care creates contentment. You can find more info on working with Carly at debtfreemom.co.

(And THIS course on Index Funds is the retirement/investement one Carly recommended in our conversation.)

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Click HERE to learn more about Earbud IBCLC, my new affordable breastfeeding and postpartum membership with access to my full lactation library and breastfeeding problem-solving framework.

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This episode is sponsored by SubLuna's Chill Child gummies with real gelatin, tart cherry juice, calcium, magnesium, and calming herbs in a kid-friendly form. You can use code HAPPYMAMA for 10% off your order at ShopSubLuna.com!

In this episode, you'll get to hear Melanie Horstman, IBCLC and I talk about our own introductions to breastfeeding, how our paths diverged from our plans when we realized how important good lactation care was, and why social media has overcomplicated pumping.

If you live in the Omaha area and want to get a pump through Melanie, visit Nurture Omaha's website HERE.

**Click ⁠HERE⁠ to learn more about Earbud IBCLC, my new affordable breastfeeding and postpartum membership with access to my full lactation library and breastfeeding problem-solving framework.**

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This episode was sponsored by SubLuna's Chill Child gummies with tart cherry juice, gelatin, calcium, magnesium, and calming herbs in a kid-friendly form. You can use the code HAPPYMAMA for 10% off at ShopSubLuna.com!

In this episode, I interview Nina-Marie (@doctorninamarie) about 🧁 schedules, herd immunity, vax alternatives, homeoprophylaxis... we talk about all of it and share some of our own stories and growth in this area!

Nina-Marie's website is doctorninamarie.com and her Vaccine Alternative course can be purchased HERE.

Resources we Mention:

Dr. Sears' The Vaccine Book

Homeopathic Medicine for Children

Homeopathy for Breastfeeding and Postpartum

Dr. Suzanne Humpries' interview

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🤱🏼Pregnant and preparing to breastfeed? Check out my ⁠Nourished Beginnings⁠ course! Already postpartum and needing some help? Check out ⁠Earbud IBCLC⁠!

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🍒This episode is sponsored by SubLuna's No More Monkeys Sleep and Calm gummies. They're made with real bovine gelatin and contain tart cherry juice, magnesium, calcium, passionflower, chamomille, and linden. I love that these gummies create a sense of calm without being sedating. Visit shopsubluna.com and use the code HAPPYMAMA for 10% off your order!

This is a short, nerdy solo episode about how cool breastmilk is! A living food perfectly designed to grow human babies.

If you're pregnant and want to prepare more for breastfeeding, check out my Nourished Beginnings breastfeeding and postpartum course. If you're postpartum, my newest breastfeeding resource is in progress! Check out Earbud IBCLC here and use code SOFTLAUNCH for 50% off your first month.

Resources Mentioned

Ep. 01: This is my Body, Broken for You

Ep. 11: Wise Traditions in Early Motherhood with Sally Fallon

Ep. 27: Let's Talk About Breastfeeding Toddlers

The Truth About Raw Milk with Mark McAfee

If you liked this episode, leave a rating and review and subscribe so you're notified when the next episode comes out!

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This episode is sponsored by SubLuna's No More Monkeys Sleep and Calm gummies.  I bought them for my kids but ended up loving them for myself! These gummies are made with real bovine gelatin and contain tart cherry juice, magnesium, calcium, passionflower, chamomile, and linden. I love that these gummies create a sense of calm without being sedating, and the ingredients help regulate mood, restlessness, and irritability. Get 10% of your order at shopsubluna.com with the code HAPPYMAMA.

This is the second part of the conversation about pregnancy and infant loss we started last week. We discuss how to talk with your other kids about loss, how different family members may cope differently, and how grief is a process, not a one-time thing. The conversation is with, for, and about mothers, but birthworkers and loved ones will learn so much by tuning in as well!

You can find Katie on Instagram @griefgardenne and on the internet at griefgardenne.com

Katie's most-loved kids books on grief and loss:

There Was a Baby

Ida, Always

Whistler's Last Song

The Invisible String

The Rabbit Listened

Other resources mentioned in the interview:

Centering Corporation's perinatal loss collection

Center for Loss

Collective for Hope in Omaha

Mourning Hope Grief Center in Lincoln

The Sunny Side Foundation

Star Legacy Foundation

Pregnancy After Loss app

Hot Young Widow's Club podcast

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This episode is sponsored by SubLuna's Peace Nectar. Linden, oat straw, chamomile, cardamom, and ginger in an apple cide vinegar base helps with digestion and provides some calming calcium and magnesium. You can find it at shopsubluna.com and the code HAPPYMAMA gets you 10% off your order.

Trigger Warning: This conversation was facilitated with the pregnancy and infant loss mother in mind.

Katie (@griefgardenne), Abby (@omahachildbirtheducation), and I briefly share our loss stories spanning first, second, and third trimester losses. But there are no vivid descriptions or scary details shared. The unifying factor is loss itself, and this is a safe place to listen, cry, and feel seen and understood.

However, I think anyone who loves a person who has lost a baby should also listen to this, as should birth workers and pediatric care providers. How we navigate loss with families needs to improve, and what Katie and Abby share from a personal and professional standpoint is so so helpful.

Find Abby’s bereavement doula services HERE

Find Katie’s child life services HERE

Additional Resources

Miscarriage kits for mothers before or after loss

Miscarriage kits for providers to have on hand

Companioning at a Time of Perinatal Loss (a book for caregivers)

Dear Mushka’s miscarriage remembrance collection

Jewelry with breastmilk, ashes, cord stumps, or pregnancy test caps (they gave me the code THERESE for a discount for you)

Stillbirthday provider registry and resources for parents

Breastmilk expectations and guidance after loss

*If you need further lactation advice after loss, please don't hesitate to test me at (402) 740-2646 to schedule a free phone consult*

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This episode was sponsored by SubLuna’s Peace Nectar. Linden, oat straw, chamomile, cardamom, and ginger in an apple cider vinegar base helps with digestion and provides some calming calcium and magnesium. You can find it at shopsubluna.com and the code HAPPYMAMA gets you 10% off your order.

“Can I lose weight without losing my milk supply?”

Megan Brister (@postpartum.weightloss.rd) and I talk about this delicate and nuanced subject in today's episode.

Does everyone need to intentionally lose weight postpartum? No.

Do we need to learn to have grace and patience with our softer bodies as we soften into our new roles? Yes.

Do we sometimes mistakenly conflate being at our old weight with feeling like "ourselves" again? Yes.

But also, sometimes, after the initial postpartum recovery phase, weight loss is desired. And you deserve a real answer to the real questions about how to do it wisely, safely, and realistically.

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Find Megan’s new Postpartum Kitchen recipe app HERE

Find Megan's programs and cookbooks here:

https://www.postpartumweightlossrd.com

Find my postpartum cookbook here:

https://happymamahealthybaby.freshlearn.com

and use code TWENTYFIVE to get 25% off

Or if you're not ready to cook yet, check out Mama Meals and use code HAPPYMAMA20 for a discount.

Other podcast episodes that we mention in this interview:

Ep. 06: Minerals and Mother's Milk with Amanda Montalvo, RD

⁠Ep. 10: Baby Tummy Time and Retained Reflexes with Steph Novacek, PT⁠

Ep. 12: Normal Infant Sleep with Taylor Kulik

Ep. 26: Postpartum Exercise with Adina Rubin

Infant Reflux on the Are You Menstrual? podcast

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This episode is sponsored by SubLuna! Their Surf and Sand Wave Spritz has made my hair so shiny and bouncy. Visit shopsubluna.com and use code HAPPYMAMA to get 10% off your order!

Jill Stetson (@compassionatetouchcranial) is a massage therapist with additional training in craniosacral and fascial work. In this episode, she and I explain bodywork, talk about why it can help with breastfeeding, how to find a good bodyworker, and red and green flags for care you're already under.

*This episode is sponsored by SubLuna! Their Surf and Sand Wave Spritz has made my hair so shiny and bouncy this spring. Visit shopsubluna.com and use code HAPPYMAMA to get 10% off your order!*

Places to start looking for a bodyworker near you:

Upledger Providers

Tummy Time Method Providers

Nervous-System Focused Chiropractors

At-home resources for movement and connection:

Infant Feeding Specialist Oral Play Guide

Little Movers PT Bellies, Babies, and Bubbles Course

The Ultimate Breastfeeding Course (we discuss tongue ties, bodywork, good latch, and more)

Milk and Motherhood Ep. 10: Tummy Time, Co-Regulation, and Retained Reflexes

Please leave a rating or review if you loved this episode, and follow me on Instagram @happy.mama.healthy.baby