The Rainbow Connection

"We're Going to Live It for Her" — Maria Medeiros on the Loss of Her Daughter Addison, and Advocating After Loss

Maria Medeiros lives in Ottawa with her husband Nick and their dog Charlie. After years of infertility and IVF, she and Nick welcomed their daughter Addison in December, following a pregnancy that checked every box. During labor, repeated warning signs, thick meconium and a dropping heart rate, were called normal until an emergency C-section became urgent. Addison was diagnosed with HIE and passed away 30 hours after she was born.

We talk about:

• Years of infertility, IVF, and an early pregnancy loss before Addison
• Repeatedly raising concerns during labor that were called normal
• The emergency C-section and Addison's HIE diagnosis
• Choosing to do an autopsy, and what it ruled out
• The rituals that keep Addison close, including her Little Library
• Hoping to try again with remaining frozen embryos

This episode is a reminder that a mother's intuition is data, and that grief, however it's carried, can also become a way of mothering out loud.

Get to Know Maria:

Maria Medeiros lives in Ottawa with her husband Nick and their dog Charlie. Her daughter Addison passed away in December, 30 hours after she was born. Maria and Nick hope to grow their family again using their remaining frozen embryos.

Instagram: @mariacleusa_medeiros

Connect with Kristin:

Website: thedoulalife.ca
Free Community: thedoulalife.ca/community
Mother Like No Other: thedoulalife.ca/mother
Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this. Your support means so much.

We'd love to hear how you enjoyed this episode!

"Wheel Him Over to Mom" — Lili Kovatchev on the Loss of Her Son Kieran, and Motherhood After Loss

Lili Kovatchev is a mom of three boys living in Toronto with her husband Greg. In February 2023, her son Kieran was born after a precipitous labor and ambulance ride, his umbilical cord wrapped four times around his neck. He was diagnosed with HIE, and the next day, Lili and Greg made the decision to take him off life support. Two years later, her son Cillian was born by planned C-section, delivered by the same OB who delivered Kieran.

We talk about:

• A precipitous labor that ended in an ambulance ride to the hospital
• Kieran's HIE diagnosis and the impossible decision to say goodbye
• Telling her older son Declan that his brother had died, and helping him grieve as a four-year-old
• Choosing the same OB who delivered Kieran to deliver her rainbow baby, Cillian
• What it's like to hold joy and grief in the same breath, even years later
• The friends who showed up, and the ones who didn't

This episode is a reminder that grief and love can live in the same body at once, and that even years later, both continue to grow.

Get to Know Lili:

Lili Kovatchev lives in Toronto with her husband Greg, celebrating ten years married this year. She works in marketing and advertising, and is mom to three boys: Declan, her oldest; Kieran, who was born in February 2023 and passed away the following day; and Cillian, her youngest.

Instagram: @lilikovatchev

Kieran's Hospital Fund for NICU Babies @ Sinai Health: https://give.supportsinai.ca/fundraisers/lilikovatchev 

Connect with Kristin:

Website: thedoulalife.ca
Mother Like No Other: thedoulalife.ca/mother
Haven: thedoulalife.ca/haven
Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this. Your support means so much.

We'd love to hear how you enjoyed this episode!

"Your Baby's Story Is Not Over" — Kristin Mundy on Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month

Kristin Mundy marks the start of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month with a solo episode on what October actually holds for loss parents, from its origins under Ronald Reagan in 1988 to the Wave of Light ceremony on October 15th. She walks through concrete, specific ways loved ones can show up this month and beyond, witnessing without trying to fix, asking instead of assuming, and saying a baby's name out loud.

We talk about:

• The history behind Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month and the Wave of Light ceremony
• Why Kristin both loves and hates this month, and what she wishes more people understood
• What it means to truly witness grief instead of trying to fix it
• Concrete, practical ways to support a loss parent, from showing up with food to asking about their baby's signs
• Why saying a baby's name matters more than almost anything else
• Setting clear boundaries with loved ones about what kind of support actually helps

This episode is a reminder that a baby's story doesn't end at loss, it continues through every person who remembers them.

Connect with Kristin:
Website: thedoulalife.ca
Free Community: thedoulalife.ca/community
Certification Waitlist: thedoulalife.ca/held-through-providers
Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this. Your support means so much.

We'd love to hear how you enjoyed this episode!

Jess Gaeton lives in Hamilton, Ontario, with her husband Tyler. Her daughter Lucy was born small at 37 weeks after a pregnancy marked by IUGR, and spent a month in the NICU before coming home. At seven months old, Lucy was diagnosed with SMARD type 1, an extremely rare genetic disease. After a trip to Ohio for an experimental gene therapy trial, Lucy passed away on May 1, 2025, weeks before her first birthday. Jess is now 28 weeks pregnant with a son, conceived through IVF.

We talk about:

• Lucy's NICU stay and the slow road to a SMARD type 1 diagnosis
• Traveling to Ohio for an experimental gene therapy trial
• The night the family decided together to say goodbye
• Choosing IVF and genetic testing to grow their family again
• What a medium told her about leaving "a piece" of Lucy in the nursery
• Being 28 weeks pregnant while still carrying the weight of the second year of grief

This episode is a reminder that grief doesn't get smaller with time, it just becomes something you learn to carry alongside everything else.

Get to Know Jess:

Jess Gaeton lives in Hamilton, Ontario, with her husband Tyler, their dog Freddie, and their cat Dwight. Her daughter Lucy passed away in May 2025 from SMARD type 1, a rare genetic disease, just before her first birthday. Jess is currently pregnant with a son.

Connect with Kristin:

Website: thedoulalife.ca
Held Through: thedoulalife.ca/held
Haven: thedoulalife.ca/haven
Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this. Your support means so much.

We'd love to hear how you enjoyed this episode!

Dr. Danielle Davis shares the story of her son Lennon — a full-term, healthy pregnancy that turned into every parent's worst fear during labor. In this episode, she takes us through a home-to-hospital transfer, a birth that left Lennon without enough oxygen, a diagnosis of HIE, and the suspected medical negligence behind it. We also talk about the decision to say goodbye, secondary infertility, a high-risk pregnancy with her son Lincoln, and how Danielle turned her own fertility training into Kairos Fertility, a faith-based program for women trying to conceive after loss.

We talk about:

• A PCOS diagnosis at 16 that she was told would keep her from conceiving naturally
• A calm, complication-free pregnancy that turned into an emergency during labor
• Lennon's HIE diagnosis, and the suspected medical negligence behind it
• The decision to remove life support, and the hours spent saying goodbye
• Requesting medical records months later, and what they revealed
• A secondary infertility diagnosis, and using cycle charting to conceive Lincoln
• Being followed at a high-risk placenta clinic throughout her pregnancy with Lincoln
• Building Kairos Fertility, a faith-based fertility awareness program for women trying to conceive after loss

This episode is a reminder that grief and faith can hold each other, even when neither one has easy answers.

Get to Know Dr. Danielle:

Dr. Danielle Davis is a Fertility Awareness Practitioner, writer, and PhD-trained educator. She lives with her husband and their son Lincoln, and carries her son Lennon, born in 2023, with her always. Danielle is the founder of Kairos Fertility, a faith-based cycle charting program for women trying to conceive after loss or infertility.

Instagram: @dr.danielledavis
Kairos Fertility: @kairosfertility

Connect with Kristin:
Website: thedoulalife.ca
Free Community: thedoulalife.ca/community
The Nest: thedoulalife.ca/nest
Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this. Your support means so much.

We'd love to hear how you enjoyed this episode!

Cara Groves is a family doctor in the West Lincoln region of Ontario. In April 2025, at 38 weeks pregnant, Cara and her husband Sean's son Callum was born still, suspected to be caused by a rare hypocoiled umbilical cord her own OB had never seen before. Three months later, Cara was pregnant again. Her son Dale was born in March 2026, less than a year after his brother, and delivered by the same OB.

We talk about:

• The hypocoiled cord found at 30 weeks, suspected as the cause, that no one could fully explain
• Laboring for four days at the hospital, and the moment her OB told her Callum was gone
• Choosing to spend the night with Callum after he was born, and the family members who met him
• The decision to try again just three months later, and getting pregnant faster than expected
• Being induced at 37 weeks with Dale, one week ahead of when she lost Callum
• The same OB and nurse from Callum's birth being there for Dale's delivery
• The half marathon her friend organized in Callum's name
• The gap Cara sees in bereavement training for medical providers, and her push to help close it

This episode is a reminder that grief and love can exist in the same body at the same time, and that birth, even after loss, can still hold moments of peace.

Get to know Cara:

Cara Groves is a family doctor in the West Lincoln region of Ontario. She lives in Hamilton with her husband Sean, their dog Berkeley, and their son Dale. In April 2025, Cara and Sean's first son, Callum, was born still at 38 weeks. Outside of work, Cara is a longtime distance runner who ran cross country and track at Dalhousie University.

Instagram: @cdonnell_

Connect with Kristin
Website: thedoulalife.ca
Held Through: thedoulalife.ca/held
The Nest: thedoulalife.ca/nest
Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this. Your support means so much.

We'd love to hear how you enjoyed this episode!

Maycie Buniotto lives in Colorado with her husband. In February 2025, at just shy of 32 weeks, her daughter Romy was born still, following weeks of worsening growth restriction and a suspected placental and umbilical cord issue that doctors could never fully tie together. Maycie also shares about the two miscarriages before Romy and the one after, the fertility clinic that finally looked at her story as a whole, and where she's at now, nineteen weeks into an IVF pregnancy.

We talk about:

• A severe growth restriction diagnosis that kept getting more serious by the week
• The last ultrasound where Romy was moving, and the one where she wasn't
• Choosing to labor and deliver Romy naturally instead of by C-section
• The night spent with Romy, and turning their nursery into a grieving sanctuary
• Two more pregnancy losses before turning to a fertility clinic for answers
• Rebuilding trust in her own intuition through an anxious, closely monitored pregnancy after loss
• How The Haven has held her through both losing Romy and carrying her second baby

This episode is a reminder that grief and love can exist in the same body at the same time, and that even in the hardest seasons, there's still room for hope.

Get to Know Maycie:

Maycie Buniotto lives in Colorado with her husband. In February 2025, her daughter Romy Olivia was born still at 31 weeks, 5 days. Maycie has spent the last 11 years working in cancer care, and is now exploring a career change into interior design.

Instagram: @maycie.victoria
Substack: @maycievictoria

Connect with Kristin
Website: thedoulalife.ca
Mother Like No Other: thedoulalife.ca/mother
Haven: thedoulalife.ca/haven
Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this. Your support means so much.

We'd love to hear how you enjoyed this episode!

"Welcome Back to The Rainbow Connection - with Kristin Mundy"

Kristin Mundy welcomes listeners back for Season 2 of The Rainbow Connection. Looking back on 55 episodes of Season 1, she reflects on how far she's come since her nervous first recording with her friend Parisa, and shares what's changing this season, including more solo episodes and a wider range of stories from loss moms at every stage. She also opens up about recording this episode just days before her daughter Vienna's fifth heavenly birthday, and what five years of grief has actually taught her.

We talk about:

• What Season 1 taught Kristin, and how she's grown as a host since episode one
• What's different this season, including more frequent solo episodes and a wider range of guest stories
• Why September is one of the hardest months of Kristin's year, with Vienna's birthday on the 22nd and her earthside daughter Senna's birthday on the 21st
• What five years of grief has taught her about thresholds, grace, and making her own rules
• An update on the Held Through Certification for practitioners, launching in early 2027
• Where to find deeper support, including the free community, Mother Like No Other, The Nest, and The Haven

This episode is a reminder that grief doesn't get smaller with time, it just gives you more room to breathe.

Connect with Kristin:
Website: thedoulalife.ca
Free Community: thedoulalife.ca/community
Certification Waitlist: thedoulalife.ca/held-through-providers
Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this. Your support means so much.

We'd love to hear how you enjoyed this episode!

The Rainbow Connection welcomes back Bri Miller almost a year after her first recording. She was pregnant then, with her rainbow baby, Maverick. Her daughter, Caroline, was diagnosed in utero and passed away shortly after birth in 2023. This time, Bri and Kristin talk about the coping strategy nobody expects: reality TV, and how it carried her through hospital stays, the darkest months of grief, and the newborn trenches that followed.

We talk about:

• Life one year into mothering her rainbow baby, Maverick
• Watching TV in the hospital during Caroline's diagnosis (below deck, obviously)
• Coming home the night Caroline died and turning on Netflix anyway
• "Train," the code word Bri and her husband used to pause and grieve
• Why reality TV felt safer than scripted shows (no surprise stillbirth plotlines on Vanderpump Rules)
• Laughing again for the first time after loss
• True crime, escapism, and why the most horrifying content is somehow the most relaxing
• Finding unexpected comfort in the medical drama The Pit
• Carrying grief into everyday motherhood, one Bravo scandal at a time

Healing doesn't have to look profound to count. Sometimes it just looks like turning on the TV.

Get to know Bri:
Bri Miller is mom to Caroline, born still in 2023, and Maverick, her rainbow baby. Since Caroline's death, Bri has focused on building community with other loss moms. She's now figuring out what's next, work, school, maybe growing her family again, all while staying present with Maverick and keeping Caroline close.

Instagram: @brihansen
Website: carolinecares.us

Connect with Kristin:
📍 Website: thedoulalife.ca
🌈 The Haven — Pregnancy After Loss Community Program: thedoulalife.ca/haven
🌸 Mother Like No Other — Loss Mom Community: thedoulalife.ca/mother
📸 Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this kind of support. Your support means so much.

We'd love to hear how you enjoyed this episode!

Katie shares her experience of miscarriage, the emotional impact of early pregnancy loss, and the path that led her to becoming a mother to her two rainbow babies. Through her story, we explore what it means to navigate pregnancy after loss, to reconnect with the body, and to move through grief while still holding space for hope. Katie’s journey into breathwork and yoga nidra is deeply intertwined with her healing, and her work now supports women through fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, and motherhood after loss.

We talk about:

• Experiencing miscarriage in a first pregnancy
• The emotional and physical impact of pregnancy loss
• Navigating grief while continuing to move forward
• Pregnancy after loss and the complexity of holding fear and hope
• Rebuilding trust in the body after miscarriage
• The role of breathwork and nervous system support in healing
• Motherhood after loss and what it looks like day-to-day
• The identity shift that comes with loss and becoming a mother
• Supporting other women through TTC, pregnancy, and postpartum after loss

This episode is a powerful reminder that grief and beauty can coexist — and that birth, even in loss, can absolutely be sacred.

Get to know Katie: 

Katie is a breathwork and yoga nidra facilitator based on Vancouver Island, supporting women through every stage of motherhood — from trying to conceive to postpartum. Her work is deeply rooted in her own lived experience with miscarriage and pregnancy after loss, and she is passionate about helping women reconnect with their bodies, regulate their nervous systems, and feel supported in the messy, complex realities of motherhood. She lives with her husband, their two rainbow babies, and their beloved fur baby.

Instagram: @othermindbreathwork
Website: Othermind.ca

Connect with Kristin:
📍 Website: thedoulalife.ca
🌈 The Haven — Pregnancy After Loss Community Program: thedoulalife.ca/haven
🌸 Mother Like No Other — Loss Mom Community: thedoulalife.ca/mother
📸 Instagram: @the.doula.life

If you enjoyed this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review — it helps get these stories and resources into the hands of the women who need them most. And please share it with someone who could use this kind of support. Your support means so much.

We'd love to hear how you enjoyed this episode!