What I'd tell my younger sister

By What I'd tell my younger sister

We’re not experts. We’re not coaches. We’re sisters—a first-time and second-time mom—sharing all the things we wish someone had told us before we had babies. Lived and learned experiences, passed from... more

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FAQs about What I'd tell my younger sister:

How many episodes does What I'd tell my younger sister have?

The podcast currently has 22 episodes available.

What I'd tell my younger sister episodes:

August 15, 2024Growing pains: the transition from 0-1 and 1-2 kids
We like to think of the before times as BC (before children) and the now as AD (after dominance)—adding a baby to your family changes *everything*. Bringing in another flips that upside down (and reverses it, sometimes). In today’s episode, we talk about our experiences going from child-free to child-focused, including all the ways it’s surprised us, delighted us, and slapped us in the face, over and over again.
In this episode, we talk about:
The transition from 0-1 baby and 1-2 children

Finding a new version of your family

What we envisioned having children would look like versus the daily reality

How children can and likely will change your life

False realities of having children depicted in media etc.

How sick days are no longer an option

Creating time for yourself or time with your partner after baby

Feeling outnumbered by adding more children into the mix

Sometimes you just have to poop! (why does taking a poo feel like a self care activity?)

How the hell to get out the door with multiple babies (it takes double the time)

Baby proofing is a myth

The song and dance of toddler bedtime and how do you do that with a baby?

Easing the transition of adding another baby to the family

The change in relationship with your older children when adding another baby

Creating special one on one time and keeping routine with your older children

Trying to not start the sibling rivalry (too early)
In this episode, we reference:
“With great power comes great responsibility”

I’m a Big Sister
...more
1h 6min
August 01, 2024A mother’s metamorphosis: body changes from pregnancy to postpartum and beyond
Some of the body changes we go through in pregnancy and postpartum are obvious and anticipated—your growing belly, your swollen ankles, your cute new outie belly button. And many, especially the less exciting ones, aren’t—boobs that blow up, deflate, and droop, hemorrhoids that hang on for dear life, and re-landscaped undercarriages… not to mention your relationship with them.
Tune in to hear us talk through our journeys (so far!) of our changing bodies from preconception to the permanent postpartum, and all the feelings that grow along with us.
In this episode, we talk about:
The human body: a miracle!

Lack of privacy from preconception to postpartum (including announcing to your family “I’m having unprotected sex!”)

*Tender* early pregnancy changes

Early pregnancy symptoms or period symptoms—which is which?!

First trimester feelings and *feelings*

Just don’t comment on pregnant peoples (or anyone’s) bodies?

The glorification of youthfulness and thinness, especially in pregnancy and postpartum

The infamous 6-week postpartum visit

Hemorrhoids and other fun “butt stuff”

Things might not be the same/postpartum lasts forever

Identifying with your ever changing body

The revolving closet and love/hate relationships with post-baby/nursing clothes

Thanking your body

Modelling healthy self-talk around kids
In this episode, we reference:
Breastfeeding and bone density (After further research, we learned that there are currently mixed findings on this topic! While there are decreases in bone density during pregnancy and breastfeeding, some studies suggest the changes are temporary and have no long term impact. Always ask your healthcare provider if you have questions.)

Conception timing and planning

WHO recommendations for birth spacing

Osteoporosis and osteopenia

Tushy bidets
...more
57min
July 26, 2024Forever changes: friendship after babies
Once you’ve had a baby, there’s no going back—you’re a different being than you were before. So of course your relationships are going to change—you have a new set of ever-pressing questions, interests, and activities. For some friendships, this gives you something new to bond over and deepens your relationship. For others, it may challenge or even strain the relationship as your priorities grow apart. And, it may open new doors to friendship—god knows you’ll need to find people to hang out with during those mat-leave-time-warp days when your old pals are working 9 to 5.
Today, we’re talking about how the new versions of “us” show up in our relationships—new, old, and forever changed—hoping to be met where we are now.
In this episode, we talk about:
Making new friends as an adult

What to do with your long days during mat leave

Navigating finding your new identity as a parent and sharing that experience with friends new and old

Can having children/becoming a parent be a barrier in friendships?

Sharing the honest truth and trust falling

Being realistic with your expectations on friendships

Showing up for friends life events outside of parenthood

Time and capacity for other relationships

Showing up and being vulnerable

Sharing of information and conversation between parents

You don’t know until you know - mom friends who have done this first and welcoming new moms with open arms and empathy

The joy of having friends who have littles within a similar age

Meeting new people and choosing which parts of your identity to reveal

Supporting your friends when you have less capacity
In this episode, we reference:
Peanut app

Mommy connections group

The Fourth (Edmonton-specific)

Family Futures Resource Network (Alberta-focused)

Music together
...more
1h 11min
July 18, 2024 Everything everywhere all at once: overstimulation and nervous system regulation in postpartum
Baby’s crying. Your partner’s asking you where your toddler’s blue milk cup is. Your toddler’s yelling at you to wipe their hands with the green cloth (not the yellow one). You just noticed a dried-up spit-up splotch on your shirt (did that happen before or after daycare pick up?), your phone is blowing up, there’s a pile of laundry glaring at you out of the corner of your eye and—WEEE-OOH! Is that an ambulance or your internal alarm screaming “ENOUGH!”?
In the postpartum period, there’s a lot going on—you have a full time job taking care of a needy small human, piled on top of regular life and the many roles you already play. It's a super-stimulating load for your nervous system, in a time when your nervous system can biologically handle less than your usual. This episode is all about what we're learning and how we're dealing.
In this episode, we talk about:
• The nervous system's narrowed window of tolerance in early postpartum
• What overstimulation (aka sensory overload or hyperarousal) looks and feels like
• How we're learning to regulate our own nervous systems in postpartum, and how we're supporting our babies in doing the same
• Plus, Jenna and Sofia are sleeping, finally! We'll talk about what changed for them (it's a lot!)
In this episode, we reference:
• The postpartum window of tolerance (lack of sleep is *absolutely* a factor, x major bonus points for difficult birth experience)
• Mother brain (book)
• The "You feel like shit” self care check in
• Paprika app
...more
58min
July 11, 2024Baby sleep recommendations v. real life (plus: mom sleep matters, too!)
Yes, we’re still talking about sleep—and this time not just our babies’, but our own too.
We’re finally coming to terms with the fact that we’re not getting enough sleep and probably won’t be for awhile. In this episode, we talk about how we’re creatively coping with the lack of sleep. Plus, we’ll chat through common sleep recommendations (never let them sleep in a car seat! Don’t let them get overtired! Stay in a quiet dark room!) and what happens when they butt up against the realities of life—including mom’s mental health.
In this episode, we talk about:
Where we’re at with sleep

The question, “Is your baby sleeping through the night”? (rage emoji)

Sleep locations, including: anywhere and everywhere!

Recommendations for baby sleep vs. actual real-life scenarios

Wake windows—what the heck are they and how do you ever leave the house?

Tracking baby sleep and *everything else* under the sun

Sleeping cues

Help! My baby’s not sleeping!

Sleep consultants—are they worth it?

Information oh-ver-load

Our baby sleep setups and gadgets, including travel essentials

How many soothers is too many to put in my baby’s crib?

Navigating infant sleep and toddler sleep at the same time

Managing with less sleep and taking care of yourself in periods of less sleep

Finding creative ways to get rest for yourself when your baby is not sleeping at night (it matters too!)
In this episode, we reference:
Safe sleep for baby

Bringing Up Bébé

Wake windows

Hatch sound machine

SlumberPod

Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

Mothernourishnurture
...more
55min
July 04, 2024I dream of (baby) sleep: the tired moms club
Now that we’ve talked about breastfeeding, we might as well wade into the even-more murky waters of baby sleep. Apparently some babies sleep just fine on their own, but we’ve never met them (or their moms).
Whether you choose to sleep train, co-sleep, or something in between, you’ve probably struggled with making the right choice for you and your family, and you might have felt guilt or shame over your choice. We have too.
We’re both dealing with baby sleep differently—Kasandra’s sleep trained both kids, and Jenna’s currently soothing to sleep. Both are okay and what’s working for our families right now! We’ll share what we’ve tried, what’s worked, what hasn’t, and how we’re feeling about it all.
In this episode, we talk about:
Where we’re at with sleep (it’s a mixed bag!)

Our current bedtime routines

How we treat interrupted sleep now versus pre-babies

The spectrum of baby sleep and how we as parents approach it

Newborn sleep—sundown scaries (especially in winter/daylight savings!) and what we did to lighten them up, going to bed when babies do, the newborn sleep fairy, the shortest wake windows!

Infant sleep

How we got our motion-loving baby Lucy from needing to be rocked to sleep to sleeping independently

Being told to put you baby down “drowsy but awake”

Kasandra’s take on giving babies some space to learn

Making big decisions under sleep deprivation

Guilt with no matter what approach we take (does society maybe just put a lot of pressure on moms? MAYBE?) and how we protect ourselves from that

Not wanting to tell people about how badly you’re sleeping because you don’t want their unsolicited advice! (Sometimes you just need to vent)
In this episode, we reference:
Safe sleep recommendations: Safe sleep for baby’s first year (MyHealth Alberta), Safe sleep seven (La Leche League)

Babies start to realize they’re separate from us around 6 or 7 months

Wake windows

Precious little sleep

Taking cara babies

Bringing up Bebe and “le pause”

The 5 Ss of soothing babies
...more
44min
June 27, 2024 Adventures in breastfeeding: trials, tribulations, and spilled milk
So you’ve finally got the hang of breastfeeding. Then BAM! In comes a parade of unexpected new challenges. Undersupply! Oversupply! Clogged ducts! Figuring out how to use a breast pump in a closet at work! People looking at you weirdly when you’re nursing in public!
We’ll share our hot—and lukewarm—takes on all the surprises lactation has thrown us so far.
In this episode, we talk about:
Leaking nipples and breast pad hot takes (for every stage of the postpartum experience)
Bottle feeding and breast pumps—the good, the bad, and the ugly
Supply issues and how pumping can give you supply anxiety
Managing others’ opinions on how you feed your baby
Return to paid work while continuing to breastfeed
Everyone’s got a favourite boob
Kasandra’s problem nipple experiences—including a recommendation for nipple surgery while breastfeeding, and DIY nipple extractions
Should you look at a nursing person? To make eye contact or not?
Nursing in public, using a cover, leaking oopsies, and more
When nursing feels like dedicated cuddle and slow down time—and when it doesn’t
In this episode, we reference:
Medela Nursing Pads
Breastfeeding support instagram accounts (@bemybreastfriend, @legendairymilk)
Haakaa manual pump
Paced bottle feeding
...more
48min
June 20, 2024Sour milk: an intro to breastfeeding
Pre-baby, we expected breastfeeding would go how we saw it in public—whip out a boob, pop the baby on, move on. Bim bam boom, easy.
Hahahahahahahahaha.
Little did we know those babies were probably 6 months or older—post-graduate-level breastfeeders with tenured expert mom profs.
Breastfeeding takes a lot of practice, and can be really challenging. For us, it was full of more bumps, bites, and bruises than we ever expected. In this episode, we’ll talk all about our experiences learning to breastfeed. (Stay tuned for next week, when we talk about all the breastfeeding side quests—trials, tribulations, and other adventures we’ve had so far along the way.)
And—of course!—these are just our experiences. Fed is best! Do whatever works for your family, and what feels good for you and your baby.
In this episode, we talk about:
Intentions for feeding baby vs. reality

The societal picture of breastfeeding (cue Beyonce with bouquet picture)

The pressure to feed baby a certain way

Yikes! This doesn’t feel right!

Worth and accomplishment around feeding baby and baby gaining weight

Lactation consultants and other resources

Relief for painful nipples (when they feel like road rash)

Tongue ties and hard decisions

Tracking feeds, diapers and naps *oh my
In this episode, we reference:
Tongue tie

How the US used military planes (not the military act!) to bring in formula during the recent shortage

Clogged ducts/mastitis

Choosing a breast pump

IBCLCs (international board certified lactation consultants)

Publicly funded breastfeeding clinics
...more
51min
June 13, 2024Home, hospital, and back again: Jenna’s birth story
My birth was the marathon that I was not prepared for and maybe never could have been. For potentially the first time (ever) I tuned in, learning to trust my body and respect its new levels of strength and resilience. Although I was slightly delirious by the time my daughter was born, it was the most meaningful day of my life meeting my new baby, my husband as a new father, and my new version of self.
Join to listen to a short telling of my long, unexpected, yet positive birth story.
In this episode we talk about:
Feeling impatient waiting for the due date, especially when other people are having babies

Pivoting plans when things change

What planning labour and delivery looks like while testing GBS positive

A trip from home to the hospital… and back home again

The birth pool… and why you always see black and white birth photos

What midwivery at-home care looks and feels like

The feeling of not being able to sleep when your baby’s here out of excitement

Jenna’s choice of post-birth meal that puts her solidly in “scrunchy” territory

How the pain of childbirth measured up to what we thought it’d feel like

The struggle to release or surrender to the process of childbirth

Whether you can really prepare for childbirth, and what we’d do differently next time
References:
Anterior placenta

RH antiboidies

GBS (Group B strep) positive

Stick Season - Noah Kahan album

Ring of fire

Hypnobirthing playlist example
...more
39min
May 30, 2024Only you know your body best: Kasandra’s birth stories
Only you know your body best—the lesson I learned the hard way (twice!) in the hard labour of childbirth.
We wouldn’t be a new mom podcast if we didn’t take the time to tell our birth stories. In this episode, Kasandra shares her two very different experiences: birthing under the care of an OB-GYN in a California hospital, and at home with a midwife in Alberta, Canada.
In this episode, we talk about:
The rare condition that made Kasandra change from planning a home birth to a hospital birth

Having the support of both an OB-GYN and a midwife, and what roles they played

Using an age-old midwife at-home “labour encouragement” technique—how it worked for me, and what I’d do differently next time

What happens in labour that your birth prep course will NOT prepare you for

Trying to describe the feeling of meeting your baby for the first time

How having really painful periods influenced my approach to pain management in labour

Energy changes and “staying in the zone” while going from home to hospital

Knowing you’ll have your baby that day—what I did to prepare mentally, physically, emotionally, and to set up my space

Hypnobirthing—and what I found helpful from the approach

Feeling like your reserves are empty for birth, and what I did to fill them up again

My home birth setup

The yoga practice that helped me prepare for birth

The feeling of self-doubt about my birth’s progression, and what helped me overcome it

Partner support for the second birth—what was different the second time around
References:
Noreen Walker was the midwife who supported my mom in bringing me and my two siblings (including Jenna!) into the world. She did indeed face criminal charges while midwifery was in the process of being recognized by the public health community in 1988 (the year I was born), but her case was acquitted.

Circumvallate placenta

What Jenna sweetly calls “placenta primavera” is actually placenta previa

Castor oil is a laxative that I took with my midwife’s supervision. If you’re taking it, a smoothie is preferable to shots!

Stretch and sweep (“sweeping of the membranes”)

40+2 = 2 days past due date, 40+10=10 days past due date, etc.

Hemorrhoids and pregnancy

Kasandra’s birth preferences for the hospital staff. I ended up needing both IV and pitocin, and it was fine!

Ina May Garden's Guide to Childbirth

Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method book

Kasandra’s birth prompts, visuals, and affirmations
*Correction: In this episode, Kasandra said midwives let you go "40 + 2 days". That's incorrect. In our experience, midwives in Alberta may let you go up a max of 42 weeks (40+14).
A gentle reminder: we are not medical professionals and this is not medical advice—just our experiences.
...more
57min

FAQs about What I'd tell my younger sister:

How many episodes does What I'd tell my younger sister have?

The podcast currently has 22 episodes available.