The Sleep Sessions

By Dara Whitaker

This podcast is a place for women to share their challenges and successes of adapting to life and sleep after a new baby. Each episode features a different mom sharing her story. The discussions cover... more

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FAQs about The Sleep Sessions:

How many episodes does The Sleep Sessions have?

The podcast currently has 48 episodes available.

The Sleep Sessions episodes:

December 15, 2020 Danielle’s Story: c-section, sleep consultant, alcoholism, finding a support group
On today’s episode, Danielle from Parenting Wholeheartedly shares about her experiences with a C-section and sleep challenges with both of her children that led her to work with a sleep consultant. She also discusses her husband’s depression and alcoholism that began shortly after the birth of their second daughter and how they were able to recover from that dark period in their lives.
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34min
December 08, 2020 Morgan’s Story: emergency C-section, false birth expectations, personal growth through motherhood
Today I’m speaking with Morgan Molitor from @construction2style. With her first son, she experienced an emergency C-section after 12 hours of labor and afterward felt like she had been robbed of her birth experience. Morgan opted for a planned c-section with her second son but things still did not go as anticipated. Much of our conversation is centered around how she dealt with these experiences and how motherhood shaped her for the better.
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27min
December 01, 2020 Brittany’s Story: induction, lactation consultant, sleep deprivation, sleep training
On today’s episode, Brittany from the Growing Our Family podcast shares about her induction at 37 weeks, working with a lactation consultant, suffering from sleep deprivation, and sleep training her son via full extinction per a recommendation from her pediatrician.
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28min
November 17, 2020 Molly’s Story: long labor, bottle feeding, partner support, sleep tactics
On today’s episode, sleep coach & Occupational Therapist Molly Mahler shares about her lengthy birth experience with her first and ways she was able to involve her husband in the early newborn days, even while she was breastfeeding. Molly also talks about the different sleep training methods she used and how moms can support one another.
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37min
November 10, 2020 Carole’s Story: C-section, sleep deprivation, postpartum depression, intrusive thoughts
On today’s episode, Carole shares about her two C-section deliveries and becoming a mom for the first time at 37 years old. She also talks about her challenges with breastfeeding, sleep deprivation, dealing with postpartum depression with both of her children, and intrusive thoughts.
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40min
November 03, 2020 Savannah’s Story: home water birth, retained placenta, postpartum depression, breastfeeding
On today’s episode, Savannah shares her moving and inspiring account of her postpartum journey. Eight weeks after her home water birth, she discovered that she had retained placenta and underwent a D&C procedure to have it removed. Prior to the surgery, she faced tremendous challenges with breastfeeding and postpartum depression. Savannah also shares about the impacts having a baby has had on the relationships in her life and how often times she feels like she is now a burden to family and friends.
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34min
October 27, 2020 Mary Bridget’s Story: positive birth experience, breastfeeding, hormonal shifts, going back to work
On today’s episode, Mary Bridget shares about her positive birth experience, her 6 month long breastfeeding journey, hormonal challenges she faced when she weaned, sleep training, and going back to work.
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25min
October 06, 2020 Allison O’s Story: postpartum hemorrhage, emergency hysterectomy, surrogacy, mom of two
On today's episode, Allison shares her heartbreaking, yet inspirational story that starts with a postpartum hemorrhage resulting in an emergency hysterectomy following the birth of her first son. Due to the events that occurred, Allison became unable to carry and birth another child and was forced the grieve her dream of doing so. She shares about this grieving process, breastfeeding, returning to work after her maternity leave, and struggling to connect with other women who were having "normal" motherhood experiences. Though she experienced tremendous trauma, Allison's story has a happy ending thanks to her sister stepping in to be a surrogate and carry her second son.

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44min
September 29, 2020 Ali’s Story: unplanned C-section, postpartum depression, placenta encapsulation, VBAC
On today’s episode, Ali Levine shares about her traumatic first birth experience that ultimately led to her journey with postpartum depression and challenges with breastfeeding. Luckily, she has a strong support system and was able to overcome these hardships. Ali recently gave birth to her second baby girl via a successful VBAC and found having her placenta encapsulated really helped her through the postpartum period this time around.

About Ali Levine: Born and raised in New York, Ali has worked for some of the biggest names in the Fashion Industry. Ali relocated to Los Angeles, California and became a household name as a celebrity stylist. Ali recently appeared with her husband on Bravo's hit show, "Stripped." Ali makes regular appearances on local to National television promoting herself as a brand becoming an on- camera expert. After Ali's 1st birth of her daughter Amelia Rei, Ali transitioned to mompreneur and mommy influencer across the board. Belonging to sought after mommy groups her fashion sense plus real life day to day inspires many who follow her and cover her. Now she is a mama of two girls and sharing it all!! Ali has a well known podcast called Striptd Down with Ali Levine, all about motherhood, real, raw and everything in between!! You can find her @alilevinedesign.
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36min
September 22, 2020 Sarah M’s story: undiagnosed gestational diabetes, attachment parenting, postpartum anxiety
Sleep consultant, Dr. Sarah Mitchell shares about her experiences with undiagnosed gestational diabetes, attachment parenting, and postpartum anxiety.
From Ottowa, Ontario, Sarah and her husband now live in the San Francisco Bay area with her 9 year old son and 7 year old daughter. With 8 years of university healthcare research, Sarah thought she’d be prepared to deal with her son’s sleeping habits as a newborn. She began to struggle with unexpected sleeping issues and became obsessed with researching, studying and talking to experts about implementing solutions.
Main points:
1:58 Planned on natural approaches
2:14 Undiagnosed gestational diabetes
3:23 Signs of gestational diabetes
4:26 Sleep problems
5:43 Birth incision healing
6:18 Postpartum anxiety
7:00 Sleeping and Maternity leave in Canaday
8:26 Sleeping pressure in Canada vs. United States
8:47 Sleeping approaches based on family demands
10:50 Path to good sleep
12:24 Have a plan in place that you feel comfortable with
12:32 Mental shift
14:24 Starting sleep routine
17:29 Sleeping through the night and Feeding habits
19:41 Second child
21:06 Sleep and impact on relationships in life: tension with husband
Tips and Resources:
Therapy
Self-care
Sleep Summary by age
Bringing up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman
Be sure to subscribe to The Sleep Sessions wherever you listen to podcasts and follow along on Instagram at @thesleepsessions.
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27min

FAQs about The Sleep Sessions:

How many episodes does The Sleep Sessions have?

The podcast currently has 48 episodes available.