Co-parenting is hard. Sure, there are moments of deep appreciation for some of the things we often hear about: breaks on the days the kids are at their other home, the chance to reflect and recover during the in-between times. But, ultimately, none of those moments happen without an undercurrent of grief and an intense longing that doesn't go away. And when it comes to that, no one really talks about it. So, in this episode, Brie and Claire do.

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For statewide resources to support Montana families in the 0-3 years of parenting, please visit LIFTS ( Linking Infants and Families to Supports) at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

In this Episode, Joe Salyer joins us to share his story of addiction, substance abuse, recovery and how all of those experiences led him to where he is today. Joe works as the social services care manager for the Montana Obstetrics & Maternal Support (MOMS) program, which aims to elevate maternal health in Montana. Which is all just a fancy way of saying that Joe sits with new or expecting mothers who are struggling with substance use disorders and says to them, “I’ve been there. I know how you feel. You don’t have to lose what I lost. Let’s get you some help.” He does this with compassion, humility and the strong belief that, given the right resources, every human can feel empowered and inspired to attain joy and fulfill their glorious purpose in life.

https://www.mtmoms.org/empaths/

LIFTS online resource guide: https://hmhb-lifts.org

Specific services relevant to this episode (found on LIFTS.org)

Substance Use Disorder Treatment Providers:

https://hmhb-lifts.org/services?service_type=Substance+Use+Disorder+Treatment

Peer Support Specialists:

https://hmhb-lifts.org/services?service_type=Peer+Support+Specialists

Medications for Opioid Use Disorders:

https://hmhb-lifts.org/services?service_type=Medications+for+Opioid+Use+Disorders+%28MOUD%29

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For statewide resources to support Montana families in the 0-3 years of parenting, please visit LIFTS ( Linking Infants and Families to Supports) at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

In this episode, we meet Micah Fiske who is, among so many things, a survivor. Micah has so much to share including her lived experience living with Type 1 Diabetes, high-risk pregnancy, infertility, birth trauma and infant loss. As I mention in the episode, I could go on for days about this woman’s strength and spirit but I know that she would give back every ounce of that strength if it meant her son, Owen, was here with her today.

Show notes:
LIFTS online resource guide: https://hmhb-lifts.org
Specific services relevant to this episode
(found on LIFTS.org):

Montana support groups listed by city and county:

https://hmhb-lifts.org/services?service_type=Support+Groups

Infant and child loss support groups:

Missoula:
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Missoula
contact Elizabeth Urshel (406) 412-1512

Helena:
https://hmhb-lifts.org/services/support-groups/helena-infertility-pregnancy-and-child-loss-support-t0kfay

Bozeman:
https://hmhb-lifts.org/services/support-groups/pregnancy-and-infant-loss-support-circle-gi8wkq

Billings:
https://hmhb-lifts.org/services/support-groups/infertility-and-pregnancy-loss-support-group

Kalispell/Flathead Valley:
https://hmhb-lifts.org/services/support-groups/tamarack-grief-resource-center-1

*Micah's other resource recommendations*

It's Okay That You're Not Okay
https://refugeingrief.com/book/

Accounts to follow on Instagram:

@pregnancyandinfantlosssupport
https://www.instagram.com/pregnancyandinfantlosssupport/?hl=en

 @laurenandloss
https://www.instagram.com/laurenandloss/

 @woodnailsandcotton
https://www.instagram.com/woodnailsandcotton/

Meadowlark Initiative: https://mthcf.org/meadowlark/

Connect with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies

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For statewide resources to support Montana families in the 0-3 years of parenting, please visit LIFTS ( Linking Infants and Families to Supports) at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

Haley Peters is here for the first episode of season 2 and we're so glad she is. In this episode, she shares with us what it's been like to enter into motherhood while juggling a budding nursing career, unresolved trauma, the grief and loneliness of a suddenly disrupted partnership with her husband due to work schedules, injury and chronic pain, and how this all led to the manifestation of intense postpartum mood disorders. If that sounds like a lot, it's because it is. But it all adds up to something beautiful and rare: a Family Nurse Practitioner who wakes every day eager to treat those who find themselves facing similar hardships. Haley is an actively healing wounded healer full of hope and purpose.

Resources:
https://hmhb-lifts.org
Linking Infants & Families To Supports
HMHB-MT's Online Resource Guide

Connect with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies

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For statewide resources to support Montana families in the 0-3 years of parenting, please visit LIFTS ( Linking Infants and Families to Supports) at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

In this rare episode, the tables are turned as our host, Claire, shares her own personal journey through a recent mental health crisis in order to shed light on some difficult topics. We talk about what falling apart, intervention, and recovery looked like for her. We don't want to spoil it all here but have a listen to find out what these changes look like for the podcast going forward. At Mother Love, we believe that hope and healing arise when we share our stories. So, we're not going to stop anytime soon and we hope you don't either.


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Need Help Now?  Visit www.postpartum.net for resources to help you on your postpartum journey.  

Connect with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies

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For statewide resources to support Montana families in the 0-3 years of parenting, please visit LIFTS ( Linking Infants and Families to Supports) at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

Raise your hand if, as a mom, you've tried really, really, really hard to "keep it all together". There are so many reasons we do this, particularly in what is referred to as the 4th trimester when we're juggling so much but want to appear that we've got it all under control. In this episode, Kendyall generously shares her experience of Post-partum Anxiety and how scary things got when, after giving birth to her third baby, Abel, keeping things under control really began to feel very out of control. We're so grateful for her courage.

Kendyall Cheff lives in gorgeous Polson, Montana with her Husband, Toby, and their 3  children- Elly (7), Olive (4), and Abel (20 months). Kendyall is a registered nurse on the Labor, Delivery, Post-partum Recovery floor at a critical access hospital. She and her husband own and operate their outfitting business, Cheff Legacy Outfitters.

Connect with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies

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Need Help Now?  Visit www.postpartum.net for resources to help you on your postpartum journey.  

Connect with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram

For statewide resources to support Montana families in the 0-3 years of parenting, please visit LIFTS ( Linking Infants and Families to Supports) at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

Jessica (Jesse) Peterson,  joined us to share her wisdom on many subjects including pregnancy, birth, co-parenting, blending of families, supportive and healthy partnership, and how her passion for perma-culture has transformed the way she views the world. Among the many, many roles Jesse has played in her life, she is now the owner of Wild Willow Wellness where she offers beautifully crafted, hyper-local apothecary products as well as healing and heavenly massage experiences in Helena, Montana. We're grateful for Jesse's kind and powerful presence, her willingness to have honest conversations, and her commitment to walk in her values every day. Hope you enjoy this conversation and that Jesse's strong confidence boosts yours.

Show notes:

• Wild Willow Wellness (Jesse’s apothecary and massage offerings):   https://www.wildwillowwellness.com/
• The Bradley Method: http://bradleybirth.com/
• More about Jesse: https://www.permaculturewomen.com/jessicapeterson/

Book Recommendations:

• Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth
• Spiritual Midwifery
• Naturally Healthy Babies and Children: A Commonsense Guide to Herbal Remedies, Nutrition, and Health
• Nourishing Traditions for Babies

Videos that Claire mentions (if you need a good laugh)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh4f9AYRCZY
• https://youtu.be/-Ojvk-4IcOE

Connect with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies

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Need Help Now?  Visit www.postpartum.net for resources to help you on your postpartum journey.  

Connect with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies

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For statewide resources to support Montana families in the 0-3 years of parenting, please visit LIFTS ( Linking Infants and Families to Supports) at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

In this episode of Mother Love, Krysti Walker and Sabrina Navarro share their experience of starting a family via in vitro fertilization with the help of their dear friends Sarah and Tyler Gregson. In episode 14, we got to hear from Sarah and Tyler about what this experience was like for them. Now, we have the chance to talk with the moms little Elliot and how their unique but very natural experience of conception, pregnancy and birth has been a huge gift in their lives and the lives of their family members. Their son Elliot, now four, brings so much light and love along with him. He’s quick to tell everyone he loves them. To Elliot, saying “I love you” is just as common and natural as saying “hello” or “goodbye”. As Krysti describes him she says, laughing, “Elliot thinks everyone is his best friend.” He lives with his heart wide open thanks to all those who’ve steeped him in love from the very beginning.

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Need Help Now?  Visit www.postpartum.net for resources to help you on your postpartum journey.  

Connect with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies

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For statewide resources to support Montana families in the 0-3 years of parenting, please visit LIFTS ( Linking Infants and Families to Supports) at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

When Tyler and Sarah Gregson were invited to help their friend’s Sabrina and Kristi start their family, they knew almost instantly that their answer was a strong yes. They had both known Kristi for years and were thrilled to photograph the magical day that she proposed to the love of her life, Sabrina. Naturally, they also captured their wedding day and left feeling especially connected to both Kristi and Sabrina’s families. Before long, Tyler and Sarah were ecstatic to learn that Sabrina had become pregnant right away via in vitro fertilization with Tyler’s sperm donation - which they hand-delivered in a brown paper bag on a freezing winter day. Trust me, you'll want to hear this piece of the story. Over the next several months, the four of them celebrated the life that would become Elliot, now 5. Tyler describes the unique structure and abundance of love surrounding Elliot "an avalanche of love”.  This is the story of how that one single snowflake gathered speed, grew in size, and is barreling down the mountain in a deafening roar.

Connect with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies

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Need Help Now?  Visit www.postpartum.net for resources to help you on your postpartum journey.  

Connect with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies

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For statewide resources to support Montana families in the 0-3 years of parenting, please visit LIFTS ( Linking Infants and Families to Supports) at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/

After decades of dreaming about becoming a mom and what felt like an equally long time trying to conceive, Carly and her husband Bryan were elated to discover that their dream had finally become a reality when she became pregnant. Weeks later, at their first ultrasound, time stood still as the tech struggled to find a heartbeat. The shock and grief of this trauma consumed them as their heavy loss sunk in. Carly was astounded to find that this very common experience existed mostly in silence. Why aren’t people talking about this? Why are women and families left to suffer these devastating losses in isolation when they could be comforting and supporting one another? She decided to start a conversation by courageously posting their experience on her Facebook page and was amazed at how many people responded with gratitude and encouragement after voicing her pain which, in turn, gave others the permission to voice theirs. We are grateful Carly was game to share here on Mother Love and hope her story breaks even more of the silence surrounding infant loss and miscarriage.

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Need Help Now?  Visit www.postpartum.net for resources to help you on your postpartum journey.  

Connect with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies

• Website
• Facebook
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For statewide resources to support Montana families in the 0-3 years of parenting, please visit LIFTS ( Linking Infants and Families to Supports) at
https://hmhb-lifts.org/