The Mind Full Mommies's Podcast

Today on the podcast we talk with Rachel & Tina from Mom Genes. Rachel and Tina  are colleagues and podcast co-hosts of “Mom Genes the podcast” who both whole-heartedly believe and practice, personally and professionally in their private practices, intuitive eating, weight inclusivity, and promote having a positive relationship with yourself in order to live fully free. Their  duo consists of Rachel Coleman (a Certified Eating Disorder Therapist in CA and body positive advocate) and Tina LaBoy (a Registered Dietitian and Eating Disorder Specialist in TX and health at every size advocate). They have both been treating Eating Disorders and negative body image in their clients for over 15 years and, now that they are both Moms, they also love breaking stigmas of the “mom bod.”   We hope you enjoy this incredibly valuable conversation!

Katie Jameson is a Vancouver mom of four who shares her stories and experiences of grief, advocacy, down syndrome and life –  openly, honestly and beautifully. Katie is a writer, photographer, business owner, mother and a freaking all around amazing human being! We have followed Katie on her Social Media platforms for years now, run into each other in our neighbourhoods in Vancouver and at Katie and her husband's restaurants and our admiration, respect and awe for her have continued to grow daily. Katie's words are gentle and powerful, kind and strong – all at the same time. She moves so many people with her ability to share her stories vulnerably and truthfully in words and images.  We are grateful to have discovered Katie and her incredible work she is doing not only for our local community but for the community she has built through her online platforms.   @katie__jameson @katiecrossphotography http://www.katiejameson.ca

Justine Sones is a writer and stress management coach who loves drinking coffee, helping burnt-out humans set boundaries, and talking about things that hurt. During her career as a massage therapist, Justine's practice was dedicated to exploring the roles that stress, pain, and relaxation play in healing the physical body. She came to realize that the support her clients needed required more than a massage, and made it her mission to help them. Justine now spends her time writing about feelings and coaching other over-functioning humans develop healthy boundaries and practice sustainable self-care as they navigate the messy intersections of partnering, parenting, -preneuring, and pandemicking. We adored chatting with Justine and learned so many amazing strategies from her. We hope you love this conversation as much as we did! Enjoy! Learn more at www.justinesones.com and follow @justinesones on Instagram and Twitter

Today on the podcast we welcome Andrea Delf - Vancouver Branch Executive Director for Mamas for Mamas. Mamas for Mamas is a national charitable organization that supports mothers and caregivers in crisis by providing ongoing support to individuals and families facing various poverty-related struggles. Their mission is to change the landscape of poverty through innovative approaches to financial barriers faced by struggling families. On this episode we learn all about this amazing organization and Andrea offers information and suggestions for ways that mamas who may need a hand up can reach out, we also discuss how anyone who would like to help can get involved as well as hopes and dreams for Mamas for Mamas.  We hope you enjoy learning about this incredible group of women and all of the ways they are helping so many people.

Today we talk with Kristine, the co-founder of One Tough Mother, on the podcast! One Tough Mother is a Canadian-made company  by two moms who have been there. At One Tough Mother, they believe you absolutely can thrive as you enter new parenthood – and it starts in pregnancy!  In 2017 Kristine had her first baby and the postpartum period was such a struggle. She remembers calling her mom, sobbing, because she didn't have what she needed for her  recovery. Worst of all, she had no idea about the physical and emotional challenges that were coming. Kristine believes that when we don't discuss the reality of pregnancy, birth and postpartum with our sisters, friends, nieces – even our own children...It's such a disservice to pregnant people everywhere. One Tough Mother aims to start sharing about the information and resources we need from the beginning: throughout our pregnancies, and before our babies arrive! Together with Allison, One Tough Mother co-founder (who is a full spectrum doula and childbirth educator), they are   shifting the pregnancy narrative from conversations about diaper cakes... to the ones that empower you.

Jennie Abbot is the Founder and Director of Harmony Kids Yoga. She is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) and Registered Children's Yoga Teacher (CYA-CYT) with the Canadian Yoga Alliance. Jennie is also a Color Me Yoga Children's Yoga Teacher Graduate, and a Rainbow Kids Yoga Certified Instructor. She has more than 10 years' experience as a children's dance teacher. She has also completed Yoga for the Special Needs Child and Safe Anatomy for Children courses through Marsha Danzig, founder of Color Me Yoga. Jennie has taken Mindfulness Training through Dr. Dan Siegel, Author and Executive Director of the Mindsight Institute. Jennie's life passion is sharing the joy of Yoga with Children! Jennie started her yoga teacher training in 2010 her daughter began experiencing anxiety and challenges at school. Jennie knew that the practice of yoga, mindfulness and centering were tools she could empower her child and so using her background as a children's dance instructor and the tools she was learning as a yoga instructor, created a yoga plan for her daughter that provided immediate and immeasurable results. Harmony Kids Yoga brought together a passion for working with children, and a passion for bringing yoga together in a way that would benefit kids of all physical and mental capacities. Harmony Kids Yoga was born from this desire, and today, has grown into a company that offers studio classes, in-school programs for kids at the preschool and elementary school levels, as well as teacher's workshops for educators who want to bring the practice of yoga and mindfulness into the classroom on a daily basis.

Dr. Carley Akehurst works hard to provide compassionate, comprehensive and evidence-based care for her patients. She was first introduced to complementary and alternative medicine through several international study abroad programs. After completing her Bachelors degree at UBC, she expanded her knowledge of the medical field by working with both MDs and NDs. After choosing a career in naturopathic medicine, Dr. Akehurst attended Naturopathic Medical School at the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine.  Dr. Akehurst is educated in the treatment and prevention of chronic disease, immune dysfunction, allergies, gastrointestinal disorders, hormone imbalance and stress and fatigue. She has a strong passion for family medicine, especially fertility, pregnancy, women's health and children's health. During her training at Boucher, Dr. Akehurst completed additional training as a doula, childbirth educator, and breastfeeding consultant. She has been supporting birthing families in the Lower Mainland as a doula since 2010, both at home and in hospitals. Most recently, she has been a contributor to Let Them Eat Dirt – a book about bacteria and the role it plays in gut health in children. She is also a consultant for a local microbiome testing company. Outside of clinical practice, Dr. Akehurst can be found spending time with her three children, husband and dog. Born and raised in Vancouver, Dr. Akehurst is thrilled to offer care at Mint Integrative Health at Broadway and Granville.

Dr. Ally Power is a Naturopathic Doctor, and a mama to a little boy. She always dreamt of becoming a physician and began her journey volunteering at a local hospital in high school which led to a kinesiology degree and doctorate in naturopathic medicine. Upon graduating and beginning her practice, she honed in on her passion for all things women's health. Then, Ally and her husband Dr. Rory Gibbons decided to start a family of their own, and now have a beautiful baby boy. The entire experience of getting pregnant, being pregnant, and adjusting to post-partum life sparked her passion for assisting women through pregnancy and beyond. Like many, becoming a mom has been such a rewarding, incredible yet challenging time in Ally's life both mentally and physically, and she loves supporting women and families through this transition. Ally understands that everyone is at different places in their journey through pregnancy and motherhood.

For over a decade Rachel Bailey has helped hundreds of parents bring out the best in their children. In addition to her master's degree in clinical psychology, she has been an ADHD coach, in-home mentor (helping to improve family dynamics), therapist, and teacher of positive parenting techniques.  Rachel is also a mom who wants her kids to be able to do what they're supposed to do (even when they don't want to!), handle challenges they're going to face, and feel confident about themselves…. but raising them in this way does not come naturally to her.  Like some of you, she tried “traditional” strategies — yelling, threatening, even the “positive” ones like rewards and praise. But none of those strategies worked in the long run, and they didn't feel good for her or her kids. So she learned how to switch from “band-aid parenting” (using strategies that don't stick after a while) to “long-game parenting,” which led to results that lasted and made her feel more confident and in control.  Rachel has now taught hundreds and hundreds of families how to do the same… how to feel relief and enjoy their kids again.  And she can teach you too! Listen in to hear Are and Stina talk to Rachel about parenting and the struggles they are facing with their 5 children.

Along with teaching elementary Health and Physical Education in Vancouver, Danica also runs a business with Beautycounter educating about ingredient safety in personal care products, advocating for more health-protective regulations in Canada, and mentoring a team of like-minded passionate women. Danica hopes to be able to share what she has learned throughout her education and experience about active living, healthy habits, and clean beauty. Join her in living a healthy, active and clean life!

On this episode we interview Susan Pratt. Susan is a passionate vegan chef and mompreneur.  We have been curious about vegan cooking for a while now. We love trying out new plant-based recipes and have recently started to eliminate dairy from our kids diets. We were surprised that they transitioned so quickly and now ask for almond milk instead of cow's milk. It's definitely a process with two husbands who are not quite ready to become fully vegan but we are loving learning and experimenting, and overall, strive to find balance in our diets (and lives!) by choosing plant-based as much as possible for us and our families.  We were thrilled to be able to learn more and interview Susan.  Susan Pratt lives in North Vancouver, BC, with her family. She has a deep love for nature, animals, our planet & plant-based food! Susan is the cook and blogger behind Susan Cooks Vegan. A plant-based focus site that features recipes and tips for cooking for the whole family! On this episode we discuss ways to start incorporating plant-based eating into your life and how to introduce it to your children and your family. Being vegan while pregnant, how being vegan and/or eating plant based can help the world the health benefits, tips on cooking vegan for kids, babies and toddlers. 

"Everything is cancelled - no matter how old your child is, remember that the world as they know it was just cancelled… this is a shock for us adults, imagine how our kids are feeling.  We need to allow time for them to process this… and time for all of us to feel sad about it - even when we as adults know that it is for the greater good." Join Bre & Stina as they have a candid conversation with The Compassionate Parent Coach Margery Healey about Covid 19 and how it is affecting our children and our families.  Margery provides 5 tips for navigating Covid 19 with children at home and provides compassionate and empathetic insight into what our children and us as parents are going through at this challenging, uncertain and scary time. 

With all that is going on in the world today Stina and I have been racking our brains trying to figure out how in someway we can use our social platform to help others. We have had many ideas but making them come to fruition has been tricky with five boys in the same house together. However one thing we know we can do is podcast anywhere at any time as long as we have someone that's able to watch the boys, like our husbands who are all currently home from work right now. So we thought who do we know that could help us and our listeners find some balance and calm at this time of great stress and anxiety. We decided to call on Beverly Anderson who has been in my life for a very long time. Beverley was introduced to me years ago by my mother in law. Beverley is a Registered Social Worker and therapist with 25 years of counselling experience in the mental health field. She specializes in Perinatal Mental Health and offers support, resources and strategies for mental wellness. She has further specialization in Compassionate Bereavement Care for those who have suffered Perinatal Loss. She also has experience in counselling individuals and couples around fertility issues, building alternative families, depression and anxiety, parenting issues, LGBTQ issues, life transitions and relationships. As many of you know I can go through bouts where I really struggle with anxiety. Beverly has been there throughout all of it and always manages to bring me back to a place of rationale And calm when my life is feeling out of control. Beverly has been an amazing therapist to me and an amazing friend and Without hesitation Beverly accepted our request to do a podcast with her to talk about all of this today. On this episode we talk about how important it is take care of yourself before you can start to take care of your family. Many people are struggling right now and its ok to feel scared. She talks about leaning into your feelings, gratitude, nourishing yourself and how to connect with others. Beverley gives concrete examples and strategies that you can implement today to help ground yourself and find normalcy during this time of great stress and disruption.

When Bre and Stina were feeling at their wits ends with their toddlers they knew it was time to call The Compassionate Parent Coach - Margery Healey! For this podcast Bre and Stina record their session with Margery and ask for help with their toddlers challenging behaviours. From toilet paper rolls plugging the sink and screen time challenges to sibling arguments and destructive behaviour they get into all of the struggles they are dealing with right now with their 2 and a half year old boys and Margery offers compassionate and practical suggestions for both the parents and the children. 

I first met Lisa when I was strolling down Main Street after recently moving to the area and getting to know my new neighbourhood. I popped into her store Giving Gifts and was immediately in LOVE! As I walked through the 5 gorgeously curated rooms my breath was taken away! And THEN there was this super friendly, helpful and passionate woman at the front of the store who offered to help me. It was obvious she cared deeply for the store, her clients, customers and her artists and suppliers - it was Lisa of course! We quickly began chatting and over the years have had many chances to get to know each other on my frequent visits to the store.  We started following Lisa on Instagram and quickly learned she not only has a talent for sourcing beautiful gifts, creating gorgeous gift crates and designing breathtaking spaces, she is also an incredibly kind, compassionate, inspiring, hard working and loving person who is committed to making the world a better place. She embodies the vision of “Living your dreams” and has begun sharing her passions and leadership through coaching and leading retreats. When we reached out to Lisa to inquire about building our community and asked her to be a guest on our podcast she was so incredibly open and welcoming to all of our ideas! We were blown away by her receptiveness, excitement and encouragement.  Lisa is a mom of three beautiful children, loving partner, entrepreneur, dream follower, love sharer and game changer! Over the last 4 years Giving Gifts has become both mine and Bre's “GO TO” place for any kind of gift we needed. We always look forward to visiting the store to shop and especially to chat with Lisa. We can't wait to learn more about Lisa today and how she followed her dreams to create her amazing business and store and how her life has been evolving to grow her passion for helping others follow their dreams.

In this episode we discuss how Alexandra has managed to juggle life as a “Mompreneur”. She discusses partnering with the number one skin care brand in North America, Rodan + Fields and running her own business, what keeps her motivated and helps her to stay on track as well as what drives her passion for health, beauty and skin care. But above all and most importantly, she speaks about raising a son with severe anaphylactic food allergies and the affect that it's had on their family's life. She says, “ You are given this diagnoses and sent out into the world. Now what? There should have been some sort of counselling offered and more support. I felt like a fish out of water, learning the do's and don'ts of allergies.” People often wondered how she kept her child safe and she realized there was a real need to help others understand what allergies mean and how lost and anxious you can feel  in the beginning stages of an allergy diagnoses. Just recently Alexandra has created a blog to share her journey and provide tips and recipes that she has learned and created over the last four years. The advice that Alexandra brings for all parents, including those of children with allergies and those of children without is incredibly helpful. After interviewing Alexandra in this podcast, we have a whole new appreciation for how terrifying an allergy diagnoses can be and the importance of educating others to prevent cross contamination. 

Are you looking for ways to engage your children and your students Through playful hands on learning that connects the dots to the big ideas? If so this is the podcast for you! We are thrilled and honoured to have Misty Paterson on the podcast today to discuss all things inquiry and concept-based learning and teaching as part of our series on education. Misty balances parenting, teaching, mentoring, consulting and writing. She recently published her first book titled “Pop-up Studio - PLAYFULLY IGNITING AGENCY, ARTISTRY, AND UNDERSTANDING WITH CONCEPTS AND COMPELLING MATERIALS.” This design guide features Janice Novakowski, Misty's contributing author, teacher-consultant,  and a dear friend.  Misty has a B.Ed.; M.A in Curriculum and Instruction. She is a certified* independent consultant specializing in inquiry and concept-based pedagogy. With twenty years in education, Misty has facilitated school visioning and inquiry-based curricula with hundreds of children, educators, and families promoting authenticity, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. Misty is a Dr Lynn Erickson and Dr Lois Lanning certified Presenter and Trainer of Concept-based Curriculum and Instruction.

We are incredibly excited to release our 10th Podcast, and the 1st of our series on Education! “Outdoor Learning and Risky Play with Megan Zeni & Sarah Regan” Sarah and Megan currently teach outdoors at a local K-7 public school and piloted a re-think of how we allocate prep time in our schools. They teach outside all day and do not have an indoor space to teach in!  The children who participate in the garden/ outdoor classroom program receive 100 minutes per week of outdoor learning, in all weather and seasons. Get ready to dig deep into the garden of learning with these two incredible experts! If you would like to learn more about Megan and Sarah's work make sure to follow @roomtoplay and @theclassroomgardener on instagram, twitter and Pintrest and make sure to check out Megan's website at meganzeni.com for more information and resources all about Outdoor Classrooms, School Gardens and Risky Play!

In this episode Stina and Bre welcome back Desiree from Rockababy to talk about behaviour strategies and difficulties that all parents deal with. We also open up about our own struggles with raising toddlers and Desiree walks us through some really helpful tips and tools to use when times get tough. Also, we answer your questions that you sent us through our instagram page. Tune in! Rockababy's Website https://www.rockababy.ca Rockababy's Instagram @rockababyguru  

Stina and Bre talk about their rollercoaster of a ride during the summer and how they survived the ups and downs that all moms can relate to. Also, stina talks about giving birth to her child at home.   The Postnatal Depletion Cure https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=the+postnatal+depletion+cure&crid=J4A4SYLKYCFM&sprefix=the+postnatal%2Caps%2C198&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_13    

Desiree Cluff is the founder and operator of Rockababy. She calls herself the baby guru and is one of the top sleep consultants for children in Vancouver BC.    Desiree attended Erickson College where she studied Life Coaching and Neuro Linguistic Programming, an approach to Psychotherapy based on the awareness of the power of language to affect behaviour and stimulate the mind. She also has a Masters Practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming and over 17 years of experience working with children, babies and toddlers.    DESIREE has always wanted to help others and from a  from a young age she knew that she wanted to work with specifically children.    I have known Desiree for several years and when my second child was not sleeping, of course it was her that I called upon. What I loved so much about Desiree was her empathetic and caring nature. She really took the time to understand where I was as the mother emotionally and based on that created a plan for us. It was exactly what I needed as I was feeling extremely vulnerable and full of anxiety. The cry it out method was not an option. that would've completely shaken my world and I was very comforted by the fact that Desiree was not expecting that of me. We worked together to create a plan that was right for our family.     Desiree has helped hundreds of families work through and build healthy sleep habits and we are excited to be able to share her knowledge and wisdom with you in our podcast!  You can find Desiree at https://www.rockababy.ca and you can download her 6 tips from her website. 

On this episode we interview a very special guest to us, Lena Morissette, Stina's Mother and Bre's Mother in Law tonight on our podcast. Lena has her Bachelors Degree in Social Work and she is a Registered Social Worker.    Lena Worked one and a half years with a program for parents teaching them parenting skills. These parents were at risk of having their children ages 0-5 removed from their care. She also Worked at Various different hospitals covering the outpatient maternity clinic, inpatient labour and delivery and post partum as well as she worked in the Nicu for premature babies 32 weeks and over. She has worked and helped support many women dealing with postpartum depression and anxiety, miscarriage, stillbirth, domestic violence, substance abuse, difficult and traumatic births and breastfeeding issues. She has most recently worked in adoption assisting birth parents wanting to place their babies for adoption.    We are so excited to have her on our podcast as we know she will be a fantastic resources for anyone going through the ups and downs, highs and lows of pregnancy and post pregnancy. she has been a massive source of support for both us us through our pregnancies and postpartum and we are excited to share her with you all!!   Resources for you! N-Nutrition E-Exercise S-Sleep T-Time for Yourself http://www.perinatalservicesbc.ca for residents of BC https://www.helpguide.org     

On this episode we interview Margery Healey, The Compassionate Parent Coach. Margery has been working with families for several years helping them create peace and harmony in their homes. She is extremely passionate and knowledgeable in the topic of parenting and behaviour strategies. On our podcast Margery walks us through 6 solid tips that you can use right away if you're struggling with your child's behaviour.

Do you want your child to enter Kindergarten feeling confident and excited to walk through the doors? This is the podcast you must listen to! On Episode 4 we interviewed Tennessee Briand who is the cofounder of Little House Tutoring and Education Centre in Vancouver British Columbia. As a passionate educator, Tennessee has worked with children for most of her adult life. Listen in to hear what you can do right now to ensure your child has a strong start.   Click Here to read more about Tess Click Here to read more about the programs at Little House Tutoring and Education Centre   Click Here to read our blog on 3 activities you can do right now with your child to ensure a strong start!

Episode 3 is up! We chose to share our story with the intention of bringing more awareness and to provide help and support for others going through something similar. If only we had more resources and people sharing their experience with us we would have saved ourselves a lot of heart ache pain and loneliness. If you're going through something similar or know someone that is, we hope that this podcast provides some comfort, support and information for you to lean on. Trigger Warning ⚠️ . Unfortunately, this is still a taboo topic that is deeply uncomfortable for many of us to discuss. We want to warn you that parts of this episode may be painful and hard to hear for some people.

In this episode, Stina and Bre talk about all the exciting details of Stina's home birth, how she came to the decision to have her baby at home and everything she did to get prepared. Stina also has a very exciting announcement!

In this podcast, we dive into the ups and downs of pregnancy and why we are admitting we didn't particularly enjoy being pregnant. Listen in to hear us share our challenges and what we have learned through our four combined pregnancies. We are excited to tell our stories and hopefully let everyone struggling through their pregnancy know that you are not alone. Enjoy!*         *Disclaimer: Please note, although we have years of experience working with children and parenting our own children, we are not doctors, nor are we familiar with your particular circumstances and neither are our guest. Please double check all the info you hear with your care provider. This show is not to be taken as medical or professional advice and is purely our experiences and stories and those of our guests.

Are you a parent? Is your mind FULL of all sorts of questions and concerns? Being a parent can be very rewarding but it certainly comes with lots of challenges. The Mind Full Mommies is a podcast hosted by two sisters in law and friends who have a background in Education. We are also the moms of four very busy boys! Our goal is to create a safe place to listen and learn about all the overwhelming things we need to think about as parents. We hope to be able to provide tricks, tools and resources to help you along this journey.