Happy New Year! The holiday season is behind us, for better or for worse, and now we enter the part of the year where, at least in the Midwest, it feels like it's awlays winter and never Christmas (to quote CS Lewis). My youngest and likely last baby also turned once since my last monthly update, so I feel like I've climbed a mountain and I've turned around (to quote Fleetwood Mac... and now I'm realizing that song explains my life so accurately right now).
What I'm learning
I'm feeling such a big shift right now since the new year also directly corresponds with leaving the baby stage of life, and I'm evaluating what I what this new season to look like, insofar as I can control that.
This year, I really want to focus on deeper work. Really focusing on local resources to improve postpartum care in my little town. Diving in the podcast and providing a postpartum and breastfeeding resource unlike anything else that's out there. Getting the word out about our Nourished Beginnings course so moms-to-be have concise, practical prenatal breastfeeding education at their fingertips.
But also, sitting down to eat my meals, being better at distunguishing between work time and mom time, adding in more subjects to our homeschool routine. Deepening friendships. It sounds like a lot of things, but it really all has the same desire at the root of it: authenticity and presence. The opposite of multitasking.
What I'm reading
In fiction (or I guess this is non-fiction, although not in the way I usually think about it) I started reading the Outlandish Companion . For so long, Harry Potter was a winter comfort read for me. The last few years, it's been Outlander. Give me all the UK knits and gray skies and good writing, I guess.
In non-fiction, alas, I did not finish any books and instead started two new ones: Mother Culture by Karen Andreola and Parents and Children by Charlotte Mason. *SIGH* Perhaps a 2023 goal should be to finish the non-fiction books I start, but I guess that's not enough of a priority for me right now.
I also loved reading this article: What if I Fail?
What I'm listening to
This past month, while I was driving or doing mindless tasks like cooking and cleaning, I mostly listened to the Audible version of Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry. (Yeah, the guy from Friends). I oddly love addiction memoir, and I love Friends, but I'm on the fence about this book. If you read it, REPLY to this email! I need to debrief with someone who gets it.
On the podcast
I recently started a podcast called Milk + Motherhood and it's been so fun. You can always find more info on Instagram (@happy.mama.healthy.baby), where I've made it really easy to see episode recaps on my feed. Season 1 has been focused on postpartum identity, recovery, and nutrition. Here's a review of what you'll find on Apple or Spotify from November and December:
01. This is My Body, Broken for You - A short into to the podcast plus a reading of one the best essays I read as a new mom.
02. The Birth of a Mother - An interview with postpartum herbalist Amanda Radan. We talk about herbs and nutrition and adjusting to motherhood, but mostly she drops some beautiful wisdom about the transformation from maiden to mother and it was so encouraging to me.
03. Birth Matters (but it's not the end of the story) - Katelyn Fusco from Happy Homebirth Podcast (@happyhomebirthpodcast) and I chat about how physiologic birth sets us up for the best chance for the hormonal cascade that promotes breastmilk production. HOWEVER we spend most of the episode talking about how you can still facilitate oxytocin and bonding and breastfeeding if labor and delivery don't go the way you planned for any number of reasons, and how to recover physically and emotionally if that's the case.
04. Why Breastfeeding is Worth Preparing For - Fellow IBCLC Cortney Steffensmeier (@growwiththe.flow) and I share a lot about what early breastfeeding looked like us, how that changed the entire trajectory of our lives, and how we don't want other mothers walking into it feeling as unequipped as we did. (PS: there's a hidden course discount in the Instagram post for this episode).
05. When You Don't Feel Like Yourself Postpartum - Perinatal counselor Stephanie Risinger (@hopefulandwhole) gives us a great overview of what is and isn't normal in terms of postpartum emotions. This episode is so valuable, and particularly worth sending to your support person and family members before baby arrives.
06. Minerals + Mother's Milk - I have received so many questions about this subject, so I took them to the mineral queen herself, Amanda Montalvo (aka @hormonehealingrd). She answers so many questions about HTMAs, Lactation Lab testing, postpartum mineral intake, but *most importantly* we talk about checking in with your body and knowing when it is or isn't beneficial to test or make big changes.
07. Nutrition for Postpartum Recovery - Loren Sofia (@innate_fertility) and I talk about ancestral postpartum foods, how to prepare foods for the best nutritional availability, how to *practically* incorporate some of these ideas, and how to prioritize grocery shopping on a budget.
Follow me on Instagram or subscribe to the podcast on Apple of Spotify to make sure you don't miss the next few episodes from some fantastic guests like Cait Daubman (@womanlymade), Kori Meloy (@korimeloy), SALLY FALLON (!!!!) and more!
What I'm cooking
Whenever I'm in a rut, I go back to the Cook Once, Eat All Week cookbook for foolproof meal plans. Lately, I've been doubling every recipe so we eat leftovers for 2-3 days. It's easier and, surprisingly, a little cheaper than making 5-7 unique meals each week.
What I'm feeding my kids
This feels like a personal win after they struggled with food sensitivities for so long, but my oldest two kids drank and tolerated Kalona brand eggnog all of December, and now they're drinking Kalona chocolate milk. I'm so excited for them to have another source of protein and minerals throughout the day. Meanwhile, the baby passed baked milk and butter on the dairy ladder, so it's just been a really encouraging month all-around in terms of food sensitivities.
Parting thoughts
Thank you so much for subscribing to this little missive, following me on social media, supporting my podcast, and using my affiliate links when you purchase something like Perfect Supplements, Earthley, Lactation Lab testing, etc. I will never promote somthing I haven't personally spent money on, and by becoming an affiliate with a select few of these companies, it allows you to support the information I share on Instagram and my podcast without any additional cost to you. It truly means so much when I see someone purchase through my links-- you can find them all on my Instagram bio, or by clicking here .
