Brunch With Mamas

We are joined this week by two super special guests, Bri and her baby girl Raven! We chat about all the things Bri did to prep for Raven’s birth, despite her birth not going to plan. We also chat about having space to grieve the loss of the birth experience you’ve planned for and the validity of feeling MORE than just a feeling of “relief” that baby is healthy. Instead, that it’s ok to feel upset that the experience didn’t unfold the way it was envisioned. Bri tells us how she’s processed this experience and what to say instead of “at least you have a healthy baby”. In this episode, we also discuss the importance of mindset and managing anxiety and intrusive thoughts prenatally and how it can serve you well entering postpartum.

We list off our top 10 hacks we use to make motherhood a tiny bit easier

We’ve been keeping a secret but in this weeks episode we share the big news! Take a listen and celebrate with us over on Instagram @brunchwithmamas www.Instagram.com/brunchwithmamas

The final episode of a multipart series of a new mother’s experience with postpartum mania includes an interview with Candice’s husband, Anthony. Anthony is the first dad we’ve had on the show!! Thank you Anthony for coming on and being so vulnerable sharing your thoughts and emotions as a new dad. In this episode, Anthony starts by sharing his perspective supporting Candice through birth including what he would do differently. He shares what he thought was the coolest part to witness during birth as well as what was most surprising/unexpected. We discuss the nuances of what mainstream media portrays birth and early postpartum to be versus what our own experiences were like. And then Anthony goes on to share his experience while Candice goes through a Postpartum Manic episode 1 week after having Lola. (If you haven’t had a chance to hear Candice’s perspective; she shares it in episodes 013-015). Anthony opens up about his response to the situation and describes the pain and anger he was feeling as well as his fears and uncertainty of the future, questioning himself and his marriage. Anthony describes leaning on his supports including his own mom and church community as he navigated being the sole caretaker of Lola during Candice’s hospital admission. He questions if the hospital actually worsened Candice’s mental state and describes advocating for Candice to be discharged from hospital. We conclude the episode discussing the power of solidarity and hearing Anthony’s favourite part of fatherhood.

This week Candice shares her hospital admission experience. She discusses her perspective as a nurse being a patient in the hospital she used to work at. Candice continues to share her journey with postpartum mania/psychosis, comparing it to being the main character in a horror movie. In this episode, we also discuss ongoing stigma against mental health, as well as patient advocacy in a flawed medical system. We end the episode emphasizing the importance of sleep, hydration and nutrition in the postpartum period. We can’t thank Candice enough for her vulnerability to share her story with us and help shed light on maternal mental health.

This week, we continue hearing Candice’s experience one week postpartum. In this episode, she walks us through the events that occurred on Sunday, exactly 1 week since giving birth. Candice shares some bizarre things she did. She discusses impulsivity, paranoia and hallucinations the days leading up to an appointment with her family doctor. TRIGGER WARNING** in this episode Candice shares intense paranoid delusions she experienced which included frightful moments with a knife Tune in next week for part 3 where the story continues and Candice goes to the hospital as per the recommendation of her family doctor

Join us this week as we sit down for Part 1 of a multi part series with new mother and Registered Nurse, Candice Morvillo. Candice shares her peaceful home water birth story of her daughter Lola, and then goes into detail about her early postpartum experience. She describes going through a period of euphoria the days after Lola’s birth, and then what turned into a postpartum manic episode. Tune in next week for Part 2 where Candice continues with her story and shares her experience being admitted to the psych unit. Lola’s full birth story can be read here

This week on the podcast we list off 10 (plus a bonus) things we consider must haves after baby is born!

Nicole and Elisabeth share their postpartum experiences including the dreaded first poop! They share some similarities as well as some differences from Nicole’s vaginal birth compared to Elisabeth’s Caesarean section. They discuss things they wish they knew beforehand including things like breast engorgement, hemorrhoids, roller coaster emotions, newborn sleep, feelings of loneliness, and length of healing.

Elisabeth shares for the first time the details of her unexpected retirement in the sport of skeleton. She talks about how she entered in the sport, gives us a day in the life of an elite athlete and discusses her postpartum comeback and being on track (pun intended) to attend her 2nd Olympic Games in Beijing, 2022. Elisabeth discusses how her career ended in 2 minutes and goes deep into the power imbalances, harassment, lack of support from the federation and emotional toll she went though in the final seasons of her career. At the end of the episode, she shares top highlights from her career including meeting her husband and being the top 3rd most decorated Canadian Skeleton athlete. As well as beautiful lessons learned that are transferable to all aspects of life!

We kept this episode short and sweet with a quick update on what we are up to! Elisabeth officially announces her retirement in sport and shares what she’s been working on, including a bit of the mental and emotional process behind it. Nicole discusses the mental transformations she’s gone through since becoming a mom; she also shares what future trainings and coaching she’s enrolled in, as well as some uncertainties she’s facing within her own career. Other topics discussed are momentum, growth, priorities, and intention.

This week, we had the honour to chat with Jen Abbott! Jen is a Fitness Coach and mom of 2 boys with over 16 years of experience in the fitness industry specializing in prenatal and postnatal populations. Supporting women to move their body throughout pregnancy and helping them restore their STRENGTH and CONFIDENCE postpartum has transformed her life. It has given her a sense of fulfillment, especially as she navigated postpartum depression following the birth of both her children. This has led to the development of her signature program The STRONG Motherhood Collective which includes group fitness coaching for the early years of postpartum and parenting and genuine connection for people at multiple stages of motherhood. When she’s not coaching others, she can be found working out in her home gym, outside on the running paths training for her next race or spending time with her family going on adventures to new playgrounds with a local coffee in hand. Website: www.jenabbott.com Instagram: @abbottcoachingyyc (https://www.instagram.com/abbottcoachingyyc/) Facebook: @abbottcoachingyyc (https://www.facebook.com/abbottcoachingyyc)

Elisabeth’s son, Hendrix is quite the seasoned traveler. He has literally travelled around the world and has probably been to more countries before the age of 2 than many people do in their lifetime. On this episode, Elisabeth shares her tried and true tricks she uses to make travel a bit less stressful. We discuss all the things: road trips, carseats, strollers, baby carrying, time zone changes, air travel, feeding, naps and more!

This week on the show, we chatted with an old friend from high school, Cassie Ward! Cassie is a mom to 2 under two! She shares her birth stories with us and dives into her postpartum experience. For her first baby, she describes a fast and furious labour before her planned c-section date and how it compared to her second birth that was in the middle of the pandemic. Cassie also discusses her recovery after 2 c-sections and her experience and management of OCD and Postpartum Anxiety including the mom guilt she felt getting pregnant 6 months after having her first daughter.

We sit down with Sam (IG @wild.birthkeeper) who shares about her role as a Birth Keeper and how her experience with a miscarriage in 2019 has fuelled her passion for women’s health. She discusses her own journey through infertility and how she hopes to help others walk through it. Sam shares the struggles she had navigating the healthcare system during a pandemic and gives us tangible tips on how to support a friend going through miscarriage and infertility including what not to say. www.Instagram.com/wild.birthkeeping

In this episode, Elisabeth sits down with Nicole who tells the story of the day she had a baby in the middle of the living room and why her and her husband didn’t tell anyone that a home birth was the plan. Nicole discusses how she managed the fear and the pain that come with birth and explains the process of birthing the placenta. She also gives tips for other moms considering a home birth and shares how her dogs handled seeing her go through labour. Nicole talks about a birth affirmation/medication app she used during pregnancy and labour, it can be found here https://www.gentlebirth.com/ You can also read the full birth story of baby Aubree on Nicole’s blog, linked here https://www.becomingmamabear.com/blog/aubrees-birth-story

Back at the brunch table picking up on part 2/2 of Elisabeth’s birth story. Hendrix was just born via an unplanned c-section in Hull, Austria on Christmas Eve, after five long days of various induction attempts. Elisabeth shares her experience of breastfeeding for the first time and doing a Christmas gift exchange with family in hospital while family came to meet the new baby. She talks about symptoms after c-section that she wasn’t expecting like after birth contractions, having a catheter, length of recovery, and milk supply. She continues to give us a glimpse into the healthcare system in Austria and how it contrasts with what she’s used to growing up in Canada. Elisabeth ends the episode with a discussion of any regrets she has and things she wished she knew but overall describes it as a positive birthing experience and hopes to try for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) in a future pregnancy.

In this episode, Nicole sits down with Elisabeth who shares part 1/2 of the birth story of her son, Hendrix. Elisabeth shares her experience as an English speaking Canadian in a German speaking hospital and gives us a glimpse into some European birth norms that contrast to what we are used to in North America. At 40 weeks pregnant, Elisabeth arrived to a small hospital in Austria where she consented to induction due to various reasons. She goes on to describe many days of several trialed induction strategies. She explains what it’s like having a roommate speaking a different language, and shared about the time her husband snuck her out of the hospital after her water broke to go to a Christmas market! After 5 days in hospital, the doctor offered her two options after telling her he didn’t believe her hips were big enough to birth a baby. She ultimately agreed to a c-section at this point and brought to an OR within the hour. At this point she describes feeling desperate to have the baby out and felt it made sense since baby hadn’t dropped. She shares what she can remember about the prep in the operating room and having her husband, Benny at her side and then baby gets born!

In this episode Nicole + Elisabeth discuss the various emotions that come with being 2+ years into the global pandemic. They share how they’ve tried to manage the overwhelm and Fatigue that comes with it. They also discuss some simple ways to handle the influences coming from social media and how to not get caught up in the social distractions, whether it be related to the pandemic or other aspects of life such as career changes or varying ways to parent. The idea of having permission to pivot within your belief system is discussed and the importance of a growth mindset and not getting stuck in a box that society puts you in. At the time of recording, it was the week of the annual Bell Let’s Talk Day, a charity in Canada supporting mental health. If you are listening and need someone to reach out to, Nicole and Elisabeth are available to offer support and a judgement free space on Instagram @brunchwithmamas or check out these available resources within Canada https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/mental-health-services/mental-health-get-help.html

In this episode Nicole + Elisabeth dive in headfirst about all things related to pregnancy. They each discuss their unique experiences about conception and how they shared the positive pregnancy test result with their husbands as well as how their parents reacted to the news of becoming grandparents! Nicole and Elisabeth go on to share their worst morning sickness stories. Elisabeth discusses what navigating pregnancy was like for her as a professional athlete, and the contrasting rules related to maternity leave in Austria versus Canada. Nicole shares her experience with SI joint pain and Braxton Hicks contractions early on in pregnancy, as well as going off work early. They finish off the episode discussing other pregnancy related symptoms such as breast changes, stretch marks and food cravings/aversions. Follow along on Instagram @brunchwithmamas