A Mother's Story

In this episode, Telly is joined by Vanessa Gillis-Phelps of Queer Fertility. They discuss what mindful parenting is, how they try to implement it, and why they do. Mindful parenting isn't parenting with no consequences or boundaries, but instead being proactive instead of reactive in our interactions with our children. Thank you for listening! @mothersstorypodcast motherhoodrva@gmail.com

On this episode we dive deeper into the subject of Divorce. Bernadette comes from a divorced family and she shares what it was like to grow up in a household of divorced parents and how it affected her to this day. Hope you enjoy this episode! FB & INSTA: @mothersstorypodcast Support Group: @theartofmotherhoodrva

In this episode, Andrea Leggett of Compassionate Conflict joins the podcast to share her thoughts and strategies on how parents can best handle going through a separation. She draws on her experience as a social worker to help guide parents through mindful ways to approach their divorce or separation. We chat about what those mindfulness practices look like, how to talk to children about divorce, how to introduce a new partner, and how parents can help their children through this big life change. Follow Andrea on Instagram: @compassionateconflict -- FB: @amothersstory Instagram: @mothersstorypodcast

In this episode we talk about the leading cause of burnout in women and moms--Emotional Labor and the Mental Load. It's the expectation of holding everyone's emotions with a smile, along with the never ending list of things to do/schedule/prep/accomplish while also smiling and projecting success. It's exhausting! While it affects partnerships of all kinds, this is typically expected of and affects women based on social cues and generational responsibilities. It amplifies when we become moms, because now other people and their needs are added to the long list of people that expect you to be emotionally and mentally available. If you add on a mental health struggle, it can feel like you're failing, because this phenomenon is, again, expected whether we're aware of it or not. We hope you find this episode informative and helpful! @mothersstorypodcast

In this episode we get in the holiday spirit and break down our opinions on Santa. We love the idea of Santa and the magic of the story, but there are certain aspects of mainstream Santa that don't align totally with the way we are raising our kids. Is playing along with Santa fun for kids, or can it have negative mental health effects? We don't have the answers. We just have opinions.  If you have a Santa believer nearby, this may. not be an episode to listen to with them around.  Instagram: @mothersstorypodcast

In this episode we talk about "the motherhood tax" which is the barrier to workplace advancement for simply being a mother. We also discuss maternity leave in our country compared to maternity leave in other countries and how we can do a lot...lot..LOT better! Working moms need support and are, instead, growing increasingly burned out trying do it all.  Exciting news: Telly launched her new support group, The Art of Motherhood! It is like a traditional support group with guidance and creative techniques to help us heal. December 16 is the intro meeting where we will make wooden Christmas ornaments while learning what the group is all about. Hope you join!

I am solo hosting in this episode where I chat with a good friend of mine, Vanessa, who started Queer Fertility. She is a lesbian mama to 2 wonderful kids and her journey to pregnancy is what inspired her to start this work as a fertility coach. We talk about what she does, the concept of a spirit baby connection, and all about what her program is about. I really enjoyed learning about her process and her drive to help others is really amazing.  Check her out: http://queerfertility.co

Today we get into a chat about screen time use and social media--two topics that are new to our generation of parenting. Are all screens bad? Is turning on the tv to get some time to yourself bad?  We've all been there at some point. We share what works for us, and the skills we believe screens ARE teaching. We also dive in to what makes us feel guilty when it comes to screen time. 

A Mother's Story is back to releasing new episodes! In this new series, I am joined by my lovely co-host, Bernadette, and we will chat all things parenthood, motherhood, and all the joys and challenges that come with it.  In this episode, we're chatting Back to School highs and woes from two perspectives: homeschooling and public school. Our oldest kiddos both started kindergarten this year and it is bittersweet on many levels! Transition for parents can be a tough one, so hopefully we can all be in it together.

Today, my friend Bernadette joined me on the podcast to share her birth story where she gave birth in a car! I couldn't wait to hear the whole story, and am so glad she came on this podcast to share it. We also talk about how her transition has been with her family and her job throughout this whole pandemic.  DISCLAIMER: My audio SUCKS in this, I'm sorry! Luckily Bernadette's audio wasn't as messed up as mine, so you get to hear the whole story. 

Sarah Clark of FabFertile shares her story of infertility, conceiving with donor eggs, and how she now coaches women to reach their pregnancy goals through diet and lifestyle changes. Resources: Dr Daniel Amen Dr Kelly Brogan   Recipes:   Autoimmune Wellness The Autoimmune Protocol   3 day Fertility Diet Freebie

In this episode, I am joined by Mian, co-founder of Motherhood in the Raw, and 2 of our friends, Shandle and Michele, to discuss what we do during the holidays and the extra load we taken on during the holidays. We talk traditions, food, covid ruining plans, in-laws, and the expectations of us simply because of our position in the family. It's a fun episode, I hope you enjoy it!  Have a great holiday season!

In this episode my friend Laura and I chat about her journey to her daughter. She survived 6 miscarriages, each with their own story behind it. She was able to get pregnant easily each time, but had trouble keeping the pregnancies. Laura never gave up and her strength is so admirable through her whole journey. She and her husband conceived their rainbow baby, Lyla, through a donor egg. Enjoy this episode, Merry Christmas!  Send any questions or comments to motherhooditr@gmail.com Rate us on iTunes! It means a lot and also helps keep the podcast going. Thanks for your support! FB Website

Hi friends! I apologize for the hiatus. In this episode I am joined by Hannah, a friend and children's author of the books The Mean Queen on Halloween and The Purple Grasshopper. She also chats about her journey discovering her daughters' conditions, Celiac disease and Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE), and how it weighed on her and her wife in their day to day life, along with what it means for the future. I hope it helps moms going through similar situations not feel alone. Thanks for listening! Email: motherhooditr@gmail.com FB: @motherhoodintherawRVA Buy Hannah's books! http://nodhistories.com 

Today we look back to our interview in April with Lauren Hoffman from Heartwork Wellness Collaborative. She is a licensed clinical psychologist who chats with us about how anxiety may show up in this time of COVID, but also how anxiety may show up in other crises and what to do.  Find Lauren here: http://heartworkrva.org Find us: http://motherhoodrva.wordpress.com

In this episode, I chat with Ashley about the loss of her child, Bethany Hope, in the middle of her pregnancy. She was faced with a moral dilemma of terminating the pregnancy, as per doctors' recommendation for her health, or following her beliefs against terminating a pregnancy. I appreciate her willingness to share her story in the hopes of bringing awareness to this topic and to help other moms who may have gone through something similar. Thank you Ashley for being a part of A Mother's Story! To share your story, email me at motherhooditr@gmail.com and visit us at http://facebook.com/motherhoodintherawRVA 

I'm joined by Joy, owner of Yoga Joy, and we have a wonderful conversation about various racial disparities that exist in the health care system, specifically for black moms. It was a very enlightening conversation. As a woman of color, the disparities that exist for black women are triple what I see, myself. I enjoyed our conversation and I hope it helps open the doors for more equality in maternal care. 

In this episode, I chat with my friend, Christina, who shares her experience of having her first baby prematurely and having to stay in the NICU. As a first time mom, an experience like that can be very traumatic, and I'm glad she was willing to share her story with me. She also had a lot of trouble breastfeeding once her daughter was home. The struggle of breastfeeding, pumping, and making a decision to go on formula can be very stressful, especially as a first time mom. Thank you for sharing, Christina!

I chatted with my friend, Joanna, about her experience with Postpartum Anxiety. It was hard for her to recognize the symptoms initially, but she knew something was off. She realized she had Postpartum Anxiety when her son was about 1 years old. She also had an interesting experience with how her ovulation affected her hormone levels. I hope you enjoy her story as much as I did!   Motherhood in the Raw"Empowering moms to love & accept themselves" Website http://motherhoodrva.wordpress.com Facebook http://facebook.com/motherhoodintherawRVA Email us motherhooditr@gmail.com  

We talk with my sister, Contessa, about her journey to having her daughter. She struggled with becoming pregnant and went through various fertility treatments. Her last route, IVF, was a success and she now has a 1 year old baby girl! She talks about the steps she took to get pregnant and how the process was for her. We loved hearing her story and learning about fertility struggles and the process of IVF as well.

Our good friend, Jeanette, shares her experience with Postpartum Depression. She has a 1 year old son and is still going through her experience with PPD. We learned what postpartum depression looked like for her, and how it can look differently for every mom.

I had the pleasure of talking with my good friend, Shandle, who experienced Postpartum Anxiety after having her daughter over a year ago. She didn't know what Postpartum Anxiety was before experiencing it. She tells us her experience and how she learned to manage her anxiety to overcome that dark period. Anxiety is a long road, and learning to manage the symptoms and have the tools to fall back on when things get hard are extremely valuable. She also runs an online blog called Sweatpants & Coffee with her good friend, Nanea. Check it out at http://sweatpantsandcoffee.com!

Telly, your host for this podcast, tells her story about her struggle with Postpartum Depression, Anxiety and being diagnosed with Bipolar Depression 2 through it all.   Follow us on Facebook: motherhoodintherawRVA Visit our website: http://motherhoodrva.wordpress.com

We are very excited to bring our Motherhood in the Raw group to your ears as we listen to other moms' stories of overcoming hardships within parenthood. Learn what we used to do, what kind of episodes we plan to have, and learn more about me, your host!