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Having a baby during a pandemic can be incredibly isolating. In this episode, host Lina Forrestal chats with Audrey Nguyen from popular YouTube Channel (93K+), The Nguyen Family, about her story on she was never meant to be a stay-at-home mom, navigating post-partum-depression, and how she uses social media to connect with other moms and make friends. 

In this episode we discuss:

• Strategies for making new mom friends
• Tips for making friends if you're shy or introverted 
• What to look for in a friendship with a new mom
• What it means when people say, "It takes a village"
• Why it's important to have mom friends 
• What it's like being a first-time mom during a pandemic

We also chat about Audrey's YouTube journey: how she got started and what keeps her going! 

Resources mentioned:

• The Wonder Weeks

Connect with Audrey on Instagram: @motheroffawn
Join Audrey's YouTube Hypewoman Community: @yourythypewoman
Get Audrey's "Your YouTube Hypewoman eBook" here.
Read Audrey's blog: www.motheroffawn.com

Connect with Lina:
Instagram: Lina Forrestal Instagram
Blog: Lina Forrestal Blog
Podcast Instagram: New Mamas Podcast Instagram

Artwork Credit: Gabi's Media

Support the show

Connect with Lina on @linaforrestal on Instagram
Follow the @newmamaspodcast on Instagram
Read Lina's Blog: www.linaforrestal.com
Support the Show: Buy Me a Coffee (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newmamaspodcast)

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The average baby uses about 2500 diapers in their first year of life. Americans dispose of around 1 trillion diapers a year, 80% of which just sits in landfills. Diapers are made of synthetic materials that aren’t biodegradable. (source: unsustainable magazine)

In this episode, host Lina Forrestal sits down for an educational discussion with Alyssa Bourmeche from blog, "Viajes con Mami". As a global citizen, traveling has inspired Alyssa to practice sustainability as a new mom. 

We discuss strategies for practicing sustainability:

• How to get started with cloth diapers
• The power of second-hand clothes
• Breast feeding for the environment
• Ways to make bottle feeding sustainable

This is a special episode in that it was the very first episode that I ever recorded for the podcast! I left some of our chatter at the end because I felt like it was a special and raw moment of connection for both of us!

Mentioned in the episode:

• UpChoose Curated sets of organic baby clothes
• GroVia Cloth Diapers
• PlanToys
• Melissa & Doug Toys
• Glass Baby Bottles
• Bidet for Toliet on Amazon

Alyssa's favorite Instagrammers to follow for sustainability:

• The Junk Yard Journals
• Whitney Leigh Morris
• Shop Simple Good

Connect with Alyssa:
Instagram: @viajesconmami
Blog: Viajes Con Mami

Connect with Lina:
Instagram: Lina Forrestal Instagram
Blog: Lina Forrestal Blog
Podcast Instagram: New Mamas Podcast Instagram

Artwork Credit: Gabi's Media

Support the show

Connect with Lina on @linaforrestal on Instagram
Follow the @newmamaspodcast on Instagram
Read Lina's Blog: www.linaforrestal.com
Support the Show: Buy Me a Coffee (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newmamaspodcast)

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Ali was pregnant four times in a five year span. As a mom of 4, she carries a breadth of information for first-time moms. As a new mom, I had a very real, unscripted conversation with Ali about all things motherhood. In this episode, we chat:

• Tips for navigating the newborn phase
• Hormones and expectations while in the newborn phase
• Managing body image expectations
• The power of routine and scheduling
• The importance of moms having a creative outlet
• Ali's inspiration for starting HisseyFit Maternity

Books Recommended: Moms on Call Basic Baby Care,  Moms on Call: Next Steps Baby Care - 6-15 Months, Moms On Call Toddler Book

Check out Ali's business, HisseyFit Maternity: Ali Hissey was pregnant four times in a five year span and had enough of ill-fitting, low quality maternity and decided to start a revolution by introducing a line of maternity activewear staples. HisseyFit Maternity's goal is to make maternity clothing cute, comfortable and uncomplicated.  HisseyFit Maternity melds the activewear fabric, fit and comfort that you are used to with your non-maternity activewear clothing with maternity clothes that are actually constructed for pregnancy. 

HisseyFit Maternity Instagram: @hisseyfitmaternity
HisseyFit Maternity Facebook: HisseyFit Maternity

CONNECT WITH LINA:

Instagram: Lina Forrestal Instagram
Blog: Lina Forrestal Blog
Podcast Instagram: New Mamas Podcast Instagram

Artwork Credit: Gabi's Media

Support the show

Connect with Lina on @linaforrestal on Instagram
Follow the @newmamaspodcast on Instagram
Read Lina's Blog: www.linaforrestal.com
Support the Show: Buy Me a Coffee (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newmamaspodcast)

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I always thought it was cliché when people said that everything changes when you have a baby, but now that I’m here, I completely understand what they mean! No matter how you slice it, your relationship with your partner does change after a baby. In this episode, I sit down with stay-at-home-mom and full-time blogger, Katharine Gonzalez to chat about tips for keeping a healthy marriage after having a baby. 

Katharine and I  are also a huge proponents of couples counseling pre and post baby. We talk about our experiences in couples counseling, how to find a marriage counselor, and when the right time to see someone is. Spoiler alert: we recommend seeking out a couples counselor sooner rather than later. There doesn't need to be a "problem" to start counseling! 

Other topics touched upon:

• Ways that counseling has helped our relationships
• Tips for how to check in on each other
• The biggest challenges that we faced in the newborn phase
• Navigating a relationship after infidelity 
• Identifying love languages

Resources mentioned:

Read Katharine's Blog, "The Bearess of Bad News...with A Makeover"
Connect with Katharine on Instagram
Find a Couples Therapist through Psychology Today

Books mentioned:

Fireproof
The Love Dare
The 5 Love Languages

Connect with me:

Lina Forrestal Instagram
Lina Forrestal Blog
New Mamas Podcast Instagram

Artwork Credit: Gabi's Media

Support the show

Connect with Lina on @linaforrestal on Instagram
Follow the @newmamaspodcast on Instagram
Read Lina's Blog: www.linaforrestal.com
Support the Show: Buy Me a Coffee (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newmamaspodcast)

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In this episode, Lina sits down with Jennifer Gilman who is a Senior Sleep Consultant at Goodnight SleepSite to talk about newborn safe sleep and how to manage anxiety around SIDS. Jennifer is also a mom of two and is passionate about helping families get the sleep they need!

Topics discussed:

• Things a new mom can do to prepare her newborn for safe sleeping
• The truth about co-sleeping and bed-sharing
• Sleep schedules by age
• Managing sleep expectations 
• Why CIO (Cry It Out) has a bad reputation
• Strategies for managing anxiety about SIDS

Connect with Jennifer on Instagram.
Book a free sleep consultation with Jennifer on Good Night Sleep Site.
Connect with Good Night Sleep Site on Instagram.

Connect with Lina on Instagram.
Follow the New Mamas Podcast on Instagram.
Read Lina's Motherhood Blog.

Support the show

Connect with Lina on @linaforrestal on Instagram
Follow the @newmamaspodcast on Instagram
Read Lina's Blog: www.linaforrestal.com
Support the Show: Buy Me a Coffee (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newmamaspodcast)

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In this episode, Lina has an honest chat with Philly Food Blogger, Erin Aronowitz, about what the first 8 weeks home with a baby was like. Surviving the newborn phase is a tough time of adjustment and we want to let you know that you are not alone! The newborn phase is hard for everyone. 

Topics covered in this episode:

• What the first 4-6 weeks were like with a newborn
• What surprised us about newborns
• What did we found challenging about the newborn stage
• Things we would have done differently
• Things we bought that you found useful
• Things we bought that we never used
• Top tips for moms who are currently going through the newborn stage
• Tips for moms who might be pregnant and about to embark on this journey

Connect with Erin on Instagram
Check out Erin's food blog.
Shop Erin's Baby Favorites.

Connect with Lina on Instagram.
Follow the New Mamas Podcast on Instagram.
Read Lina's Motherhood Blog.

Support the show

Connect with Lina on @linaforrestal on Instagram
Follow the @newmamaspodcast on Instagram
Read Lina's Blog: www.linaforrestal.com
Support the Show: Buy Me a Coffee (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newmamaspodcast)

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In this episode, we chat with San Francisco working mom, Alissa Worton-Hunt. Alissa shares what helped her transition back to work after maternity leave. Her first day back to work was the first day of the pandemic lockdown, so her experience going back to work was different than most. With her experiences in living abroad in Europe, she has a unique lens in looking at how the States tackles maternity leave.

We chat: 

• Our debate around being a stay-at-home mom versus a working mom
• The importance of having a child care option
• Going back to work during a pandemic
• Stringing together different programs to help you get longer maternity leave

Connect with Alissa on Instagram.
Connect with Lina on Instagram.
New Mamas Podcast on Instagram.
Read my personal blog. 

Support the show

Connect with Lina on @linaforrestal on Instagram
Follow the @newmamaspodcast on Instagram
Read Lina's Blog: www.linaforrestal.com
Support the Show: Buy Me a Coffee (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newmamaspodcast)