Still Hopeful

Hi Mamas! I cannot believe this will be my last episode before getting induced with my sweet Baby Girl! I am beyond grateful that you have been here with me throughout my pregnancy journey and that we have been able to navigate our pregnancies together. 

My goal is to continue making episodes for the podcast of course. I'll talk about parenting after loss and continue to talk about pregnancy after loss as well!

In today's episode, I talk about three things:
-Setting up a nursery and the complexities that come with it, especially if you already had a room prepared for your Angel
-Preparing pets for baby (I talk about my dog Odin and how I've been getting him ready for Baby Girl!)
-Managing anxiety when we're in the home stretch (it's an emotional roller coaster that you can't get off so might as well make the most of it)

Apply today to share your story on the pod. Whether you are trying to conceive after loss, pregnant after loss, or now parenting after loss; your story can help other moms feel less alone in all of this.
bit.ly/thestillhopefulpodcast

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you can follow along throughout your pregnancy journey.

Instagram: @still.hopeful_podcast
Website: https://stillhopeful.buzzsprout.com/

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*This podcast is intended as a heartfelt discussion around topics related to pregnancy after loss. If you have any questions or concerns relating to your physical health and mental health, please contact your healthcare provider.

There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about fetal movement in the third trimester. Current research shows that babies DO NOT run out of room and that they should continue making movements right through labour. Kimberly from Count The Kicks joins us today to talk about the importance of knowing baby's pattern, how to count kicks, and how this can empower moms who are pregnant after loss.

Count The Kicks is an app that I use everyday for my current pregnancy. It's super user friendly and has helped me monitor by baby girl's movements starting at 26 weeks. Now at 36 weeks, I have ten weeks of data that help me keep track of the intensity of my baby girl's movements and better understand how many minutes it takes her to make ten movements. When something is off, I go in to get checked. It's as "easy" as that. I put easy in quotation marks because nothing about pregnancy after loss is easy. Going back to the hospital where my son was stillborn is incredibly triggering, especially since I went in with him due to a lack of fetal movement.

BUT, counting kicks and connecting with my baby girl in this way has helped me feel empowered in knowing what her normal is and advocating for her when her movements are out of her normal range.

Follow Count the Kicks on Instagram and check out their website to learn more.

Download the app to start tracking your baby's movement. Start at 26 weeks for a high risk pregnancy or a multiples pregnancy and 28 weeks otherwise.

Thank you Kimberly for coming on to the podcast to share your knowledge with us!

Apply today to share your story on the pod. Whether you are trying to conceive after loss, pregnant after loss, or now parenting after loss; your story can help other moms feel less alone in all of this.
bit.ly/thestillhopefulpodcast

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you can follow along throughout your pregnancy journey.

Instagram: @still.hopeful_podcast
Website: https://stillhopeful.buzzsprout.com/

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*This podcast is intended as a heartfelt discussion around topics related to pregnancy after loss. If you have any questions or concerns relating to your physical health and mental health, please contact your healthcare provider.

Angie reached out to me when we were both in our first trimester being pregnant after loss. We learned we both lost our sweet boys, Maximiliano and Christopher within a week of each other in December of 2022. Fast forward a year and a half later, we're both expecting baby girls weeks apart from each other in September 2024. We both say it's no coincidence that we've "met" each other over on Insta. We say it's our boys in heaven who brought us together.

In today's episode, we talk all things third trimester when pregnant after loss. We discuss:

-feeling like we're in the final countdown
-hormones being so intense
-setting up a nursery after loss
-finding ways to include our babies who have passed
-preparing for labour and delivery

Apply today to share your story on the pod. Whether you are trying to conceive after loss, pregnant after loss, or now parenting after loss; your story can help other moms feel less alone in all of this.
bit.ly/thestillhopefulpodcast

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you can follow along throughout your pregnancy journey.

Instagram: @still.hopeful_podcast
Website: https://stillhopeful.buzzsprout.com/

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*This podcast is intended as a heartfelt discussion around topics related to pregnancy after loss. If you have any questions or concerns relating to your physical health and mental health, please contact your healthcare provider.

Yoga facilitator and mama, Manpreet comes onto the podcast today to share her story of motherhood and self-empowerment. About seven years ago, Manpreet had her first child, a beautiful boy and she learned how to navigate motherhood on her own as a single mother. It took an incredible amount of strength and resilience to step into her power and through meditation and yoga, she found ways to strengthen her connection to herself. Most recently, Manpreet suffered the stillbirth of her daughter at 22 weeks. She feels deeply in tune with her daughter and shares a beautiful message that she received from her.

We discuss the benefits of yoga and breath work, specifically how it can help women who are trying to conceive or who are currently pregnant after loss. We also talk about the ongoing benefits of yoga, well beyond fertility as it helps us connect to ourselves and live life with deeper intention and meaning.

To connect with the beautiful Manpreet, click here to access to her website and her Instagram page.

Manpreet facilitates kundalini yoga classes in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario and offers incredible retreats, all of which are mentioned on her webiste and Instagram page.

Apply today to share your story on the pod. Whether you are trying to conceive after loss, pregnant after loss, or now parenting after loss; your story can help other moms feel less alone in all of this.
bit.ly/thestillhopefulpodcast

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you can follow along throughout your pregnancy journey.

Instagram: @still.hopeful_podcast
Website: https://stillhopeful.buzzsprout.com/

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*This podcast is intended as a heartfelt discussion around topics related to pregnancy after loss. If you have any questions or concerns relating to your physical health and mental health, please contact your healthcare provider.

A baby shower after experiencing a full-term stillbirth is different from a regular shower. I’ve “done this” before and I’ve lost everything. It would make perfect sense for me to have chosen not to celebrate anything until Baby Girl arrives safely and many of my mom friends who have walked this path with me do choose that and I completely understand why. For me, I chose to have a celebration even before she arrives because I need to focus on the hope…the hope that we will get to bring her home, the hope that the carseat we’ve had in storage for the past two years will be used, the hope that she will get to wear all of these adorable outfits. My baby shower was an act of bravery for me because I'm putting all my faith in God and promising Him that I will make the most of every day. 

I talk about why I chose to have a baby shower for my Rainbow and all the beautiful signs that guided me to see this was the right step for me. I'd love to hear from you: are you planning on a shower? A sip and see? On the fence? 

Apply today to share your story on the pod. Whether you are trying to conceive after loss, pregnant after loss, or now parenting after loss; your story can help other moms feel less alone in all of this.
bit.ly/thestillhopefulpodcast

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you can follow along throughout your pregnancy journey.

Instagram: @still.hopeful_podcast
Website: https://stillhopeful.buzzsprout.com/

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*This podcast is intended as a heartfelt discussion around topics related to pregnancy after loss. If you have any questions or concerns relating to your physical health and mental health, please contact your healthcare provider.

Julie radiates light and love when she talks about both of her boys: Evan in Heaven and her Rainbow, Sean. Her sweet Evan passed at 8 days old after being born at approximately 30-32 weeks. She talks about how she continues to include Evan in family events and outings because he will always be a member of their family. Three months after his passing, Julie became pregnant with Baby #2. Julie discusses how she navigated pregnancy after loss and ways she found hope that this little one would be coming home. Now, Baby #2, Sean is two months old and as cute as can be. Julie and I talk about the importance of building up your village during PAL: meal trains postpartum, therapy, lactation consultants, doulas, faith, finding other moms who "get it" and who can offer support...the list goes on.

Tune in to hear Julie's story and reach out to Julie via Instagram using this link.

Apply today to share your story on the pod. Whether you are trying to conceive after loss, pregnant after loss, or now parenting after loss; your story can help other moms feel less alone in all of this.
bit.ly/thestillhopefulpodcast

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you can follow along throughout your pregnancy journey.

Instagram: @still.hopeful_podcast
Website: https://stillhopeful.buzzsprout.com/

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*This podcast is intended as a heartfelt discussion around topics related to pregnancy after loss. If you have any questions or concerns relating to your physical health and mental health, please contact your healthcare provider.

Sharon McGregor is a psychic medium spiritual teacher who is passionate about connecting us with our loved ones in spirit. Seeing her two months after my baby boy was stillborn, changed the trajectory of my healing and continues to validate the signs I receive from my sweet son in heaven.

When Pregnant after loss, I continue to look for signs that my firstborn is okay. Sharon validates that our babies are safe and are always with us. They send us signs to show they are with us, we just need to be open to their signs.

In her own words,  "I consider serving spirit as a medium and giving readings to people who have lost a loved one, especially a child, to be honour that I will never take for granted.  No parent should go through the pain of losing a child, and through my own loss when conducting a reading I can empathize with the feelings of grief and hopelessness of others. Our souls have lessons to learn, we all have a purpose to fulfil during this life, however hard and cruel it may seem.  It took the death of my beloved son for me to find my purpose in life, which is to help spirit communicate with their loved ones on the earth plane and to help ease the pain of their loss and to affirm that ‘life’ goes on and that our loved ones will always be with us".

Sharon's Instagram Account and Email Address: [email protected]
Book a reading with Sharon here.

Apply today to share your story on the pod. Whether you are trying to conceive after loss, pregnant after loss, or now parenting after loss; your story can help other moms feel less alone in all of this.
bit.ly/thestillhopefulpodcast

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you can follow along throughout your pregnancy journey.

Instagram: @still.hopeful_podcast
Website: https://stillhopeful.buzzsprout.com/

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


*This podcast is intended as a heartfelt discussion around topics related to pregnancy after loss. If you have any questions or concerns relating to your physical health and mental health, please contact your healthcare provider.

**Please pardon my poor microphone quality for today's recording! Amy sounds great, but I didn't plug in my mic correctly (pregnancy brain)!**

In today's episode, Amy gives hope to the mamas listening in who are pregnant after loss. I feel so lucky to have her on the podcast as she's a mom who gets it. She knows how hard PAL is and reminds us how beautiful we can make it. Let's try not to hold our breath and enjoy this milestone.

Amy is a certified Life after Babyloss Coach and David Kessler Certified Grief Educator. She combines her own experiences of stillbirth, miscarriage and pregnancy after loss with holistic mind and body practices to help loss parents heal their hearts. She is the host of the Smooth Stones Podcast where she shares everything you need to build a beautiful life even without all your babies in your arms. Amy has spent more than a decade supporting families through volunteer work including sewing thousands of tiny diapers and hats and offering in person support in the hospital after the death of a baby. When she’s not coaching she enjoys spending time with her family, baking yummy treats, and doing DIY projects. Amy is the mom of six living children and two babies in Heaven: Lauren and River.

She also has a page of free PAL journal prompts that you can grab.

Here is a link to learn more about Amy's Coaching support for PAL moms.

Check out Amy's very own podcast!

And here is how to find Amy on Instagram and Facebook.

Apply today to share your story on the pod. Whether you are trying to conceive after loss, pregnant after loss, or now parenting after loss; your story can help other moms feel less alone in all of this.
bit.ly/thestillhopefulpodcast

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you can follow along throughout your pregnancy journey.

Instagram: @still.hopeful_podcast
Website: https://stillhopeful.buzzsprout.com/

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*This podcast is intended as a heartfelt discussion around topics related to pregnancy after loss. If you have any questions or concerns relating to your physical health and mental health, please contact your healthcare provider.

Hi mamas!

Today's episode was a hard one to record...I talk about the importance of going in to get checked at the hospital during our PAL journeys. Going in to get monitored is hard: it's triggering, and it involves a lot of layers. BUT, it's how we can parent our baby right now. We monitor their movements (I use the Count the Kicks app) and we promise ourselves to go in ANYTIME baby's movements are out of their normal pattern (whether that means way too little movement, way more than usual, change in strength, all of that). We're not wasting anyone's time by going in. Let's go in, as many times as we need to during PAL to help make sure baby is A-okay.

I also talk about previous interviews from the podcast to listen to if you haven't already:

• Episode 12: Katherine's Story: Brody in Heaven, Wolfy on Her Hip, and Trey on the Way
• Episode 11: Irma's Story: Helping Children Understand Grief
• Episode 10: Samantha’s Story: Pregnancy After Loss with Baby #4
• Episode 6: Angelica's Story: Pregnancy After Loss with Baby #3

Visit Count the Kicks on Instagram.

More interviews are scheduled for the next couple of weeks!

Apply today to share your story on the pod. Whether you are trying to conceive after loss, pregnant after loss, or now parenting after loss; your story can help other moms feel less alone in all of this.
bit.ly/thestillhopefulpodcast

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you can follow along throughout your pregnancy journey.

Instagram: @still.hopeful_podcast
Website: https://stillhopeful.buzzsprout.com/

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*This podcast is intended as a heartfelt discussion around topics related to pregnancy after loss. If you have any questions or concerns relating to your physical health and mental health, please contact your healthcare provider.

What an honour it was talking to Katherine from the At a Total Loss Podcast! We talk all things Pregnancy After Loss and even an hour and 15 minutes in, and we JUST scratched the surface.

We talk about her beautiful son, Brody who died and was stillborn at full term. We then discuss trying to conceive after loss and the many layers that brings with it. And then we go over her PAL journeys x2 with sweet baby Wolfy and Trey on the way.

Katherine's podcast, At a Total Loss, is a game changer in helping moms feel less alone in their grief. Definitely check it out wherever you get your podcasts.

LossLink: Sign up today to get on the waitlist to connect with other mamas who have experienced a similar loss.

Reach out to Katherine on Instagram and follow her account on stillbirth, grief and surviving loss life.

She also has her very own website with resources to explore.

We also mentioned my episode on Katherine's podcast where we talk about signs from our loved ones in spirit.

Apply today to share your story on the pod. Whether you are trying to conceive after loss, pregnant after loss, or now parenting after loss; your story can help other moms feel less alone in all of this.
bit.ly/thestillhopefulpodcast

Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you can follow along throughout your pregnancy journey.

Instagram: @still.hopeful_podcast
Website: https://stillhopeful.buzzsprout.com/

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


*This podcast is intended as a heartfelt discussion around topics related to pregnancy after loss. If you have any questions or concerns relating to your physical health and mental health, please contact your healthcare provider.