Postpartum Better | Postpartum Recovery, Breastfeeding, Mom Overwhelm, Returning to Work, Postpartum Identity

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"Bad sex leads to more bad sex."

That's the spiral Sex Therapist Erinn Hoel, LCSW, sees over and over with postpartum moms — push through it, it doesn't go well, push harder next time, still doesn't. So you decide the problem must be you. It's not. Your body's not broken, it just doesn't feel safe enough yet — and trying harder doesn't speed that up, it makes it worse.

In this episode Chelsea and Erinn cover:

• Why you never feel "in the mood"
• Why men always seem ready "to go"
• How to get the clinical feeling out of the bedroom when TTC
• The foreplay that actually works when you're easing back in postpartum
• The ultimate "go-to" spot to build confidence and connection

If you've ever pushed through, had it not go well, and quietly decided something must be wrong with you — this episode is going to change that story completely.

Disclaimer: The information and stories shared during this episode is intended to offer general guidance and support. However, every individual's health and circumstances are unique. Before making any significant changes, or if you have concerns about your health, it's essential to consult with your healthcare practitioner.

How to connect with Erinn:

• [email protected]
• Desire to Fire Method Overview (with application)
• Free Sex and Intimacy Resources

Next Steps:

• DM me on Instagram @postpartumbetter
  
  
  

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Right before Chelsea went on maternity leave with her first, her VP said three words she’s never forgotten: "You'll be better."

She wasn't being kind. Every woman she'd ever hired, managed, or promoted came back sharper after having kids — not despite them, because of them.

In this episode:

• Why mothers see a 13% productivity increase after having kids, and are top performers in 76% of companies
• Why you're not about to become less capable — you're about to become more capable, in ways you haven't lived yet
• The belief Chelsea wants every pregnant woman to hold onto before she even goes on leave

If you're pregnant and quietly terrified this next chapter will cost you your career — this one's your permission to believe something different.

Disclaimer: The information and stories shared during this episode is intended to offer general guidance and support. However, every individual's health and circumstances are unique. Before making any significant changes, or if you have concerns about your health, it's essential to consult with your healthcare practitioner.

Next Steps:

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If the most relationship you have is with yourself, why is it so hard to prioritize it? 

Most moms skip straight past caring for themselves and go straight to surviving — more coffee, more scrolling, more pushing through. Then they hit a wall and can't figure out why they feel so disconnected from who they are. In this episode, Chelsea Barbine talks with Identity and Empowerment Coach Shannon Danielle, about the real difference between self-love, self-care, and actually caring for yourself. Together they share exactly how small, simple practices can change everything else in your life.

Disclaimer: The information and stories shared during this episode is intended to offer general guidance and support. However, every individual's health and circumstances are unique. Before making any significant changes, or if you have concerns about your health, it's essential to consult with your healthcare practitioner.

Connect with Shannon on purepossibilities.net or on Instagram at @pure_possibilities and listen to her podcast Pure Possibilities 

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It's September. Everyone's back-to-school routine is all over your feed — the schedules, the sports, the "here's how we're staying on top of it all" energy.

But what if you're still on maternity leave or juggling pregnant life with a toddler home part-time?

In this episode you'll learn:

• The three steps for getting the mom mental load out of your head and off your to-do list
• What you might be missing to get the most done in the least amount of time
• The most important step to setting your calendar

If you've been craving a sense of order but didn't think it was possible until your kids are out of the house — this episode is your permission slip.

Disclaimer: The information and stories shared during this episode is intended to offer general guidance and support. However, every individual's health and circumstances are unique. Before making any significant changes, or if you have concerns about your health, it's essential to consult with your healthcare practitioner.

Next Steps:

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Pregnant with your second and wondering how you're going to manage life with two? 

In this episode, Chelsea talks with Emily Higgins, a web and app designer who had three babies back to back to back, which inspired her founding of the Mama Mode app and podcast.

Together they talk about:

• Postpartum rage and what's actually underneath it
• The one comment Emily received at her lowest point in motherhood that completely changed how she shows up for herself and every mom she meets
• How to build a support system out of the small things you already have
• How much intentional time kids actually need
• Why “me time” doesn't have to look like a 4am workout

This is the non-Pinterest version of preparing for life with two. If this episode hits home, follow @postpartumbetter on Instagram and join the waitlist for the postpartum prep mini course, designed specifically for the second-time pregnant mom wondering how she'll manage both kids.

Connect with Emily
Follow on IG
Listen to the Mama Mode podcast
Download the Mama Mode App

Research & Resources Mentioned:

• Journal of Marriage and Family Study: Does Maternal Time Matter? (Milkie et al., 2015)
• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) & the 5-Minute "Special Time" Protocol
  
  

Disclaimer: The information and stories shared during this episode is intended to offer general guidance and support. However, every individual's health and circumstances are unique. Before making any significant changes, or if you have concerns about your health, it's essential to consult with your healthcare practitioner.

Next Steps:

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There’s no shortage of free postpartum advice. But is more information actually what moms need?

In this episode, Chelsea unpacks why you show up differently when you invest in something, why generic advice can’t account for your unique postpartum experience, and why having a real plan—and support to come back to when things fall apart—matters.

Join the waitlist: postpartumbetter.com/bootcamp

Find a mom walk near you: https://www.themomwalkcollective.com/walks

Disclaimer: The information and stories shared during this episode is intended to offer general guidance and support. However, every individual's health and circumstances are unique. Before making any significant changes, or if you have concerns about your health, it's essential to consult with your healthcare practitioner.1

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"You get to do it when you make the time."

In this episode, Chelsea sits down with Rebecca — a nurse and a mom of two — to talk about something most people skip over in the postpartum fitness conversation: that getting stronger postpartum was never really about the body. It was about proving to herself, over and over, that she could do hard things.

Rebecca gets real about the difference between the hard of showing up for yourself and the hard of not — and how that choice, repeated daily, is what actually changed her life.

They also get into:

• What the "leisure gap" actually is, and why so many moms let their husbands take the golf trip while they never book the equivalent for themselves
• The concept of "toxic grace" — and how to tell the difference between rest you need and an excuse you're making
• Why physical strength turns into mental strength, and how that shows up in everyday moments as a mom
• Why waiting for the perfect time to start is the thing keeping most moms stuck — and the one small step that actually breaks the cycle

If you've ever felt like self-care is something you have to earn, or like taking time for yourself is selfish instead of necessary — this conversation is going to shift something for you.

Disclaimer: The information and stories shared during this episode is intended to offer general guidance and support. However, every individual's health and circumstances are unique. Before making any significant changes, or if you have concerns about your health, it's essential to consult with your healthcare practitioner.

Next Steps:

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Trigger Warning: This episode discusses maternal mental health crises, postpartum psychosis, and references the Lindsay Clancy case. Please listen with care.

Maternal mental health conditions have nearly doubled in the past decade. So why are we still only reacting after the fact?

In this episode, Chelsea shares her unfiltered response to the Lindsay Clancy trial — and what she believes it reveals about the gap between having access to resources and actually having support. She breaks down why information alone isn't care, why preparation for postpartum deserves the same attention we give to preparing for birth, and the exact steps she took to move through her own fear of birth by understanding it instead of avoiding it.

Moms deserve better. Families deserve better. This is your sign to start preparing instead of waiting until you're in it — join the Postpartum Better Bootcamp waitlist here: https://postpartumbetter.com/bootcamp

Disclaimer: The information and stories shared during this episode is intended to offer general guidance and support. However, every individual's health and circumstances are unique. Before making any significant changes, or if you have concerns about your health, it's essential to consult with your healthcare practitioner.

Next Steps:

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They say one day it'll matter who you marry.

In this episode, Chelsea Barbine sits down with Pauleanna Reid — a mom of two and founder of a wildly successful agency — to talk about something most conversations about motherhood underestimate or completely ignore: that the decisions you make before the baby even arrives are the ones that shape everything after.

Pauleanna breaks down the mom tax — the assumptions, the passed-over opportunities, the quiet ways people start treating you differently the moment they know you're expecting — and why she kept both of her pregnancies almost entirely private because of it.

They also get into:

• Why she says she didn't marry for love — and chose her husband almost like a business decision instead
• What it actually took to run a company through two C-sections and night shifts after bedtime
• The difference between hoping you'll have a village and actually building one
• Why being a little selfish might be the thing that makes you a better wife and mother, not the opposite

This isn't a highlight reel of "having it all." It's a conversation about what it really costs to protect a career while building a family — and what she did instead.

Disclaimer: The information and stories shared during this episode is intended to offer general guidance and support. However, every individual's health and circumstances are unique. Before making any significant changes, or if you have concerns about your health, it's essential to consult with your healthcare practitioner.

Next Steps:

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You "warned" for baby number one. The sleepless nights, the questioning of yourself, how your whole world rearranges overnight. What (almost) nobody warns you about is what happens when baby number two arrives — and it hits somewhere completely different.

Disclaimer: The information and stories shared during this episode is intended to offer general guidance and support. However, every individual's health and circumstances are unique. Before making any significant changes, or if you have concerns about your health, it's essential to consult with your healthcare practitioner.

Next Steps:

• DM me on Instagram @postpartumbetter