Mother the Mother Postpartum Wellness

Making a batch of my favorite belly butter! Who wants some??? Although I’m sure I just lucked out, and can’t promise any results, I ended up with no stretch marks on my belly when using this religiously both pregnant and postpartum.

An excerpt from my recent blog post. To read the full post follow the link in my bio... --- I was recently reading the book Belonging by Toko-pa Turner. She recounted the process of initiation especially through the mythology of Inanna.... In the myth of Inanna, although her reason for embarking on the journey of visiting the underworld is not clear, she was called for some reason to visit her sister Ereshkigal, queen of the underworld. Inanna is the 'Queen of Heaven', and in her preparation to visit her sister adorns herself with symbols of her power, her finest clothes and jewelry. On her descent into the underworld, she has to go through 7 gates. At each gate she is asked to surrender one piece of clothing or jewels. By the time she reaches the underworld she is naked and stripped of her powers. Her sister is still not happy with this offering, and in her wrath kills Inanna and dismembers her. In her grief of what she had done, she agrees for Inanna’s consorts to take her back to world and put her back together. This myth is symbolic of the process of initiation, and the aspect of descent that is involved in which one has to surrender aspects of their ego and become completely undone in order to be put back together as a new being. This started me reflecting on my experience of postpartum depression. Within every major life initiation or rite of passage there is this descent. A point of dissolving, dissolution, disorientation, a stripping away of once was and of the ego. This complete dissolving is much like the process of metamorphosis, in which an insect has to be dissolved into complete goo in order to become its next highest vision of itself. As I thought about what I call my ‘postpartum illness,’ and the experience I went through, I see how the process of becoming a mother, or what is now called matrescence, has this element of descent. In many traditional cultures, where the practices of postpartum care are still intact, there are very specific rituals and traditions on how a postpartum mother is taken care of. This often includes a period of confinement or ‘lying-in’ for the first 20-40 days after birth. ..read the rest on my blog, follow the link in my bio

Had a wonderful circle this am. Thank you so much to everyone that joined us. Our next Mother’s Village Circle will be Sunday June 27th at 11am MDT and our theme will be Centering Our Care Now my son and I are enjoying nature at a local beach. Doing what kids do, getting messy in the mud. ... Happy Sunday! What are you up to?

This article explains the incredible benefits of planning for the 4th trimester, the immediate postpartum, as well as postpartum care. Pregnancy and birth are incredibly challenging on the body, every mother deserves to have the time and space to heal and recover. https://www.workingmother.com/i-tried-chinese-tradition-pos

Mamas! Join me this Sunday at 11am for our May Mother's Village Circle. These circles offer tools, practices, and wisdom on how to thrive as a mother on all levels of your being. They are also a safe sacred place to share what is real for you, as well as to ask for support. The theme this month is Community Care and how to build your village of support amidst the pandemic. I will be sharing wisdom from the book Mothers of the Village by CJ Schneider, who is a local mother an...d author. Give yourself this time as an act of self-care! (Put a movie on for the kids and join us.) Feel free to show up late and leave early, we are all moms, we get it. And because it is online you can show up in whatever state you are in. Sign up at https://www.motherthemother.ca/events For anyone that identifies as a mother!

Mama, you sooo deserve to be treated like the divine life-giving goddess you are. You have gestated and birthed (or are going to) the next generation and promised the continuation of our species. YOU HAVE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ROLES IN SOCIETY.... And you deserve to be cared for and taken care of because of the extremely incredible and magical feat you have performed (or are going to) growing and birthing your baby. After the baby comes often mothers are forgotten about and all the attention turns on the baby. Everyone wants to hold the baby, but who holds the mother after this huge incredible work she has just done, and will continue to do for many many years? I do! I hold mothers. I hold them in this deeply vulnerable and hugely transformational time. I hold them, I honour them, I venerate them. Because they are a living embodiment of the mother goddess. And they deserve all the care, love, and connection in the world for this amazing work they are doing. Healing herbal baths, warm oil massages, compassionate and loving conversations, sacred emotional support, hot tea, nourishing snacks, self care rituals, wellness coaching, ceremony and more. All with so much love and attention. Because this is how you deserve to be cared for after birth. Give yourself permission to receive all this and more, because you deeply deeply deserve it. And not only do you deserve it but this is what you need to thrive. And if you want your child to thrive, they need you thriving. Message me to learn more...

Did you know I offer Postpartum Wellness Coaching? Postpartum is not a disorder. Postpartum simply means ‘after birth.’ So if you have been pregnant, and now you are not, you are postpartum. And you are postpartum for life.... If you have experienced an abortion, stillbirth, or miscarriage you are ‘postpartum’ and still require support, care, nurturing, and healing. The 4th trimester, or immediate postpartum, is the period 2-3 months after birth. This is a deeply sensitive and transformational time, a time that requires a lot of support and care. Maybe you missed out on receiving that care and support during your 4th trimester. Although that is the optimal time to receive it, healing and repair can still happen regardless of how many months or years you might be postpartum. So introducing to the world my offering of Postpartum Wellness Coaching. My 8-week Postpartum Wellness program is deeply rooted in both traditional and cutting-edge maternal wellness wisdom. Since experiencing intense postpartum illness 3.5 years ago I have been studying, researching, and compiling the tools and practices that have supported me to go from depressed, anxious, and burnt out to happy, healthy, and thriving. Some of the tools and practices I use: - Rewriting subconscious beliefs - Intuitive guidance - Nutritional advice and gut healing - Sleep coaching - Self-care practices - Village building - somatic stress release - Mental health tips and nervous system healing - Relationship work - Play - Connecting to your purpose - Grief work - Emotional support - Sacred witnessing This program is intuitively created uniquely for you and your personal needs. I support you to develop the beliefs, tools, and practices that will support you to create health and wellness on all levels of your being. Who is this program for? In case it wasn’t obvious above, this program is for any womb carrier that is postpartum, whether that is by live birth, abortion, stillbirth, or miscarriage, and wants to cultivate more health and wellness body, heart, mind, and spirit. I support postpartum people to feel empowered in reclaiming their health and wellness through sharing traditional and cutting-edge postpartum wellness wisdom. I offer a complimentary call to anyone wondering if this is the right program for them. I currently have 3 spots available for anyone that wants to embark on this healing and transformational journey with me.. simply send me a DM to learn more. And please share this with anyone you think could benefit from this program.

Sharing another quote from A Village of Mothers by CJ Schneider. Loving this book so much. As someone who went through pretty intense postpartum illness, mostly due to sleep deprivation, stress, and a lack of support, something I have reflected on a lot was how bored I was during the 5 month old to about 11 month old stage. When my son was a newborn, I could easily pack him around with me and he would sleep when he needed to in the sling or stroller or car seat. ... I could still get out and socialize or do things I enjoyed. But then he’d be awake more and it was winter and I had this belief I need to entertain him. This was something that did not come naturally at all. And then the mom guilt set in, I did not enjoy playing with and entertaining my baby. Sometimes I did, but not the entire time he was awake. I started counting down the minutes until it was nap time again and I could have me time. I was really hard on myself for a long time until I read a story about a midwife who was back at her job by about 4-6 months postpartum. She simply strapped her babies to her back and went back to work. Then I heard stories about sustenance and indigenous cultures where mothers have to just strap babies to them to do get the daily tasks done in order to survive. They don’t actually have the time to just sit and play with their babies. This made me feel better somehow and I realized how privileged I was to feel bored by having time to sit and play with my baby. I realized for me it was an evolutionary mismatch. My ancestors only 2-3 generations back would have been busy working on the farm, preparing meals, etc and most likely also didn’t have time to play with their babies. This is a fairly new phenomenon. Some mothers love to play with their babies and it comes naturally and for some of us it doesn’t. Especially if you are a get-er-doner type like me. Just know there is nothing wrong with you. I spent so much time feeling envious of mothers who it appeared to come naturally, and so much time judging myself. If I was to have another kid I would feel absolutely okay just strapping them to my back and continuing to work on my passions.

I’m pretty excited. There’s a group of powerhouse women coming together for our May Mother’s Village Circle. And if you are not feeling powerful, if you are struggling, that’s an even better reason to attend this months circle. The intention of these circles is to offer you resources, tools, support, and a really safe space to be seen and heard in what is real for you. ... To feel deeply held by a group of mothers, so that instead of struggling you can thrive. This month I will be sharing material from the book Mothers of the Village by CJ Sneider on how to create your village of support. And we will be brainstorming creative ways this can happen even amidst a pandemic. You were never meant to be mothering on your own. It really does take a village. So if you are struggling, feeling burnt out, experiencing depression and anxiety, please join us as an act of self care. You can show up late, leave early, and in whatever state you are in because it’s online via Zoom. May Mother’s Circle Sunday May 30th at 11am MDT Follow the link in the about section on my Facebook page to sign up!! PS there’s a couple more days to enter my May Giveaway for a free Postpartum Planning Package on Instagram. Know someone that is pregnant? This would make an amazing gift. Go to my profile at @motherthemotherproject and scroll through my previous posts to find the giveaway post.

Posted @withregram @coddledotco We spend so much time preparing for the birth of a new baby, but not enough time preparing for the birth of a new mother. Yes you will be consumed with baby buy your recovery and healing matters as well. Mama, your self-love and self-care are the foundation for all other types of love and care in your life. ... Fill your own cup first. I know it’s easier said than done, but trust usyou’re worth it! Tag a mom who needs to see this.. #selfcareformoms #dontforgetyou ... This one hit me so hard so I had to repost it. Having a healing cry over here.

Know someone who is pregnant? There are still a few days to enter the May Giveaway to have the chance to win a free Postpartum Planning package. This will make an amazing gift for any pregnant person or family. The Postpartum Planning Package includes:... 4-hrs of postpartum planning and education one 60min session postpartum a written plan and postpartum guide online resource library an exclusive online community care provider referrals (Edmonton area) unlimited text and email support during the first 3 months post birth Total Value: $400 All sessions are virtual by video call or phone PLUS I was going to give my Postpartum Care Basket away separately but realized it will serve whomever wins the planning package the most, so you will also win the basket too! To Enter: go to the @motherthemotherproject profile on Instagram scroll down through previous posts to find the giveaway post follow the instructions on the post only entries on the original post will be counted I will draw the winner on Monday May 17th at 12pm MDT. This giveaway is in no way associated with Instagram or Facebook.

On my journey to postpartum wellness, the belief that I needed to be sick or ill in order to receive support was something I became aware of. Within myself and within the collective consciousness of women and mothers. Although I have worked on repatterning this belief, it arose again as I was laying on the couch today nursing a cold. Why is it as mothers that we believe consciously or subconsciously that we need to get sick or ill, physically or mentally, before we will rec...eive the support we need, and also deeply deserve? I’ll continue to repattern this belief within myself, first starting with deep forgiveness that this has become an ingrained pattern. I give myself permission to receive the support I need and deserve. I give myself permission to reach out and ask for help when I need it. I give myself permission to experience deep unwavering support and care. I give myself permission to know I deserved to be cared for in the ways I care for my child. Start with forgiveness, then move on to permission. There are a few more steps to repatterning a belief... I’ll share more soon. Will you join me in shifting this belief?

I came across this post today so I wanted to share it with you all. I am very pro breastfeeding AND I am also very pro Mama First. I’m not sure who needs to read this but if you are struggling with your physical or mental health, take some time to reflect on whether or not it’s time to wean your child. ... A wise woman once said ideas are great, but ideals will trip you up. Each of us have different ideals around being a good mother, the perfect mother. But they often come at a cost. And if it is at the cost of your sanity then it’s not worth it. I had to learn this lesson over and over. I was overly attached to co-sleeping with my son, but it wasn’t allowing me to sleep. I wanted to breastfeed until my son was at least two, and for as long as possible, but I was losing a ton of weight and dealing with mental health issues. So at 10 months my son went into a crib, and at 18 months, after trying so many things to reclaim my health, I weaned my son. Both choices were so hard for me but they started giving me my sanity back. What was more important was that my son had a mother. And on top of that, one who was healthy and well. I can’t tell you what to do. It’s your choice to make. What I do know is that as mothers we need to stop sacrificing our own well-being for the well-being of our children. Because the studies show that our well-being deeply affects the well-being of our children. Another option is to work on your support structures so that you can rest when you need to, be deeply nourished with high quality nutritious foods, have the emotional support you need, lots of bodywork and acupuncture, and breaks, lots of breaks. All of this also helps. Let me know how it goes.... And follow @fruitsofmotherhood as she is hilarious and we all need more humour in our lives.

It's mother's day. We celebrate MOTHERS. Can we make this day and this year about making sure our mothers are healthy? If the best gift we can give our babies is a healthy mother, we should make sure that we give our mothers the gift of health. ... What does that mean? Health has a lot to do with good nutrition, a safe environment, emotional support and rest. If you look at the mothers in your life - do you see evidence of these basic needs being met? Do the mothers around you have what they need to be healthy? If we really value the role mothers play in keeping a community going, we will start investing in their health. You can do it. Today. Reach out to a mother (start with your own mother) and take note of her health. Ask yourself how you can contribute to a healthier society by making sure the mothers in your life are healthy. And then start looking around. Most mothers in South Africa live in health-threatening situations. We need to see this. And take action. I'm not saying you shouldn't be giving them flowers and cards with beautiful words... but they may also need something a little bit more sustainable - your support to help them meet basic needs. Every day. Posted @withregram @tulaniliving Because I just couldn’t write it better myself. #mother #mothersday #postpartumdoulasupport #postpartum #postpartumcare #mom #momlife #ittakesavillage #maternalmentalhealth