Preggers Can Be Choosers

AfterBirth, A Fourth and More Trimester Support Group: 3/3/20 Emotions, Resilience, Role Models Today we focused on emotional resiliency. And Tank Girl.  Bev threw it out to the group that her oldest needs help. Rowan had just seen this 
https://confidentchildsummit.com which seems chock full of resources. Bullet journaling as a way to look at feelings 
https://www.carrieelle.com/bullet-journal-ideas-for-kids/
 The Virus! Are we really DOOMED And why Rowan found this article. helpful 
https://medium.com/@amwren/forget-about-the-death-rate-this-is-why-you-should-be-worried-about-the-coronavirus-890fbf9c4de6
 Lastly, and appallingly, Rowan was the only person who knew who Tank Girl is. ugh. #hopepunk forevah We are all in this together. Mentioned in Episode: Danielle LaPorte talks about our deep sensitivity, and how that might get stirred up when we teach our kids about navigating the feels. https://www.daniellelaporte.com/read/how-your-relationship-with-your-inner-child-affects-every-part-of-your-life 
ht

AfterBirth, A Fourth and More Trimester Support Group: 2/25/20 The SAD AF Episode If you need a good cry, skip the Steel Magnolias viewing and listen in with us. Why?  Sad, we sad. Get yourself a healthy dose of crying and right on the edge of losing our shit right over here. Step right up, no waiting, there is enough for everyone. UGH. Rowan's beloved cat is missing and presumed dead, Katelin is having a significant anniversary of the day her mother died and can't grieve like she'd like cause her husband had the nerve to go OUT OF TOWN for work this week, and Mama D is pregnant and therefore accommodating of crying right along with us. Oh, and the Kobe Bryant memorial got her yesterday. We also talk about wills, money inheritance, fighting with family and money relationships in general. Mama D is considering going back to school, and Rowan guesses what for but she doesn't want to say on air. Stay tuned and more will be revealed. We are all in this together.  Mentioned in Episode: Danielle LaPo

Avoiding being traumatized by the Cesarean you haven't had yet. Birth Story Listening which is how Nicole and I met! Spinning Babies® Aware Practioner workshop https://spinningbabies.com/spinning-babies-aware-practitioner-workshop/ Spinning Babies® Breech Resources https://spinningbabies.com/product/helping-your-breech-baby-turn/ Nicole Morales, CPM Art of Opening  Sand Diego Breech Resourceshttp://breechbirthsd.com/ Breech Release, a baby that finds its way down by it's own accord, instead of by force. Nizhoni midwifery education https://www.nizhoniinstitute.edu/about-nizhoni/ Karen Strange, NeoNatal resuscitation, Go if you can cause this is THE BIZ, The Passenger's journey, how babies help themselves get born. Betty Anne Daviss Here's How You Have A Vaginal Breech in Houston North Houston Birth Center Preggers Can Be Choosers Cal Doulas can attend the spinning babies 1 and 2-day workshops Licensees that can attend an Aware Practioner are Midwives (traditional, out-of-hospital, & hospital-base

AfterBirth, A Fourth and More Trimester Support Group: 2/11/20 When Self Care is a Locked Door Katelin hosts while Rowan is out of town at the Spinning Babies Aware Practioner training, wheeeee. Sometimes self-care is ten minutes to yourself or hiding upstairs so the kids don't know you are home when their other parent is in charge, or saying no to getting married before you are ready. And sleep, having someone else hold the baby or toddler or doing whatever.  And lots of "Fuck offs!!!" at the end there, so that was fun! Feel free to chime in or send us a message! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katelin recorded a new intro for us, you can hear that theatre background in her clear work, and she reminds us about the PSI warmline, Call the PSI HelpLine at 1-800-944-4773(4PPD) Text Support: send a message to their Helpline at 503-894-9453 Dr.B gives us some stats and additional resources. https://drblythetwosisters.com/online-resources/ Finding this podcast helpful? Share th

AfterBirth, A Fourth and More Trimester Support Group: 2/18/20 MORE SEX TALK!!! With gritty deets and whats up.  Yikes, I sound like I'm repping a hotline. Which I'm not. But have no issue with. Oh, and body issues, sensitivities, the cycle of yes no yes while being pregnant and postpartum. Links mentioned in today's show are: Pussy Massage Video! w/Adina Rivers  BEST EPISODE EVER! The Pleasure is Ours, Episode 3 on GoopLab Netflix with Betty Dodson  And MamaD mentioned a steamer on IG https://www.instagram.com/my.yoniverse/, https://www.instagram.com/steamychick/ are a couple of cool ones.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katelin recorded a new intro for us, you can hear that theatre background in her clear work, and she reminds us about the PSI warmline, Call the PSI HelpLine at 1-800-944-4773(4PPD) Text Support: send a message to their Helpline at 503-894-9453 Dr.B gives us some stats and additional resources. https://drblythetwosisters.com/online-resour

AfterBirth, A Fourth and More Trimester Support Group: 2/4/20 DTF Episode So. What does it take to get you DTF?* What if you just wanna touch and be snuggly, does that have to lead to more? Which one of us finally got to take a bath, perhaps thinking about using a special bathtub toy, only to have their 6 years old open all the locked doors to come tell them something.  OOF, relatable.  Also, Elderberry syrup recipe. Tiff adds in Tumeric,  buys her supplies from here.  Mountain Rose Herbal would also be a good option.  Article Rowan mentioned, skip down to section talking about Nick and Gloria, about halfway down. Additive vs subtractive.  http://madeofmetaphors.com/shapes The topic next week? Keeping yourself You with self-expression and creativity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katelin recorded a new intro for us, you can hear that theatre background in her clear work, and she reminds us about the PSI warmline, Call the PSI HelpLine at 1-800-9

AfterBirth, A Fourth and More Trimester Support Group:  1/28/20 Let's Talk About SEX "It's like I've been touched all day as a mom, and I need a transition in touch/emotion to get to sexy person." CAN YOU RELATE? Hop in here and give us a listen or even better join us next week cause we are gonna keep talking about this.  Quick, order this toy so you can report in if it is as fun as this review. Learn more: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GZHJ3NL/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_FhhmEbSHD36M8 We also spoke of Love Languages, https://www.5lovelanguages.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` Katelin recorded a new intro for us, you can hear that theatre background in her clear work, and she reminds us about the PSI warmline, Call the PSI HelpLine at 1-800-944-4773(4PPD) Text Support: send a message to their Helpline at 503-894-9453 Dr.B gives us some stats and additional resources. https://drblythetwosisters.com/online-resources/ Finding this podcast helpful? Share the

AfterBirth, A Fourth and More Trimester Support Group:  1/21/20  Losing Our Sh!z w/Our Kids "I get so angry at myself for not controlling my own emotions while being upset at him for not controlling his emotions." Talking over guilt, kids flipping out, the neighbor calling the police, kids saying mean things, transcending the urge to snarkily say, "Whelp, ask your new mom for that then," and how to create a calm soothing space (for the kids) to learn emotions and make decisions before acting.   Exploring the differences between how the other parent interacts with kids, and their responses when boundaries are set.   Love and logic has some parenting tools.  https://www.loveandlogic.com/products/parenting-with-love-and-logic Daniel Tiger has some emotion songs, https://youtu.be/w0VQIJVnoxU and Calm Corner tools https://genmindful.com/products/time-in-toolkit Mama Dee asked if we had heard of Formula911 https://www.formula911.com/ Bev's mastitis kept recurring so she made a st

AfterBirth, a Fourth and more Trimester Support Group  My husband came into the bedroom, while the midwife was stitching me up, " They want to see the baby....."  Actual quote from today's group. ACTUAL QUOTE.  This shaped how MamaD planned every subsequent postpartum period, and how she managed people and visitors. Some wins, some not so much, but always fine-tuning the plan. We also talked about how folks may be pissed if they can't run over and see your new baby, but as a recent client pointed out, its better if they are mad rather than the person who just gave birth. Bonding is not optimal when you are seething with anger.  Listen in and commiserate as we talk about what worked, what didn't, and how to move forward. Also mentioned:  depop ~https://www.depop.com/punkrockhoops/ sewing ~ https://thimblefingers.com/adults/sewing-basics/sewing-basics-1-essentials Seven Sisters Postpartum Circle  ~  http://www.sevensistersprogram.com/ Nicole Franklin Morales ~ http:/

AfterBirth, A Fourth and More Trimester Support Group 1/7/9 Holidays and Rituals* AfterBirth is an online support group we record and document for the masses. Feeling lonely? No worries, we got ya. Today we talked about holiday shenanigans, reviewed the Friend Making Exercise that Katelin, Dr.B and Rowan attended, and brainstormed ideas on what other fun classes for date nite, anniversary, or doing something fun for ourselves might be. Mama Dee is a little down, Bev has mastitis.  We all had rituals that helped us be more "us" before or after we slung the kids on the bus.  And like Mr.Rogers says, it helps to do scary things when you have people you dig by your side (total paraphrase.)  That's us. People you dig. So now we are EVERY WEEK!!!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PSI warmline, Call the PSI HelpLine at 1-800-944-4773(4PPD) Text Support: send a message to their Helpline at 503-894-9453 Dr.B gives us some stats and additional resources. https://drblyth

My people, DeShaun is serious about all this. Listen as we talk funding, opening a birth center, and what's up with Medicaid.  Harmonious Birthing ~ https://www.facebook.com/Harmoniousbirthing2/ Article ~ Pregnant and Uninsured in Texas https://www.propublica.org/article/the-extraordinary-danger-of-being-pregnant-and-uninsured-in-texas Chat With Milea re cultural competency ~ https://youtu.be/URwXqZPTVTY Medicaid and Birth centers in Texas ~ http://public.tmhp.com/FeeSchedules/Default.aspx Birth Centers Make Midwifery Scaleable You don't have to be a  midwife to own a birth center (state-dependent) AABC ~ How to Start a Birth Center WorkShop https://www.birthcenters.org/page/hsbc_workshops AABC Strong Start Research ~ https://www.birthcenters.org/page/strong-start-report JJ WAY ~ Saving Medicaid Money https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.109/f3b.e30.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/JJ-Way-Cost-Savings-.pdf Midwives Getting Paid ~ https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/03/getting-insuranc

Elephant in the Womb:  Practical Prenatal Ed Meet Mary!  Y'all, I want you to meet Mary. She is special to me cause she's my practice partner and i think shes the bees knees, but what she can do for you  (esp if you are preggers or seeking to become pregnant) is pretty well-captured bu this quickie interview. She's also here to rep for the postpartum peeps who need the help getting back to homeostasis. So listen up, and see if you need her. Pro Tip: Use the Book Now button to schedule, and like no waiting till the last minute cause she books up. FYI This is a good session to watch/listen too if you are considering hiring Mary and Rowan for your midwifery care, our personalities and how we practice are pretty well portrayed. Book a session with Mary or https://square.site/book/1YFF4R4P1D3ZF/preggers-can-be-choosers-houston-tx Get Social! Labor Whispering YouTube, with a side of faux ASMR ~ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUE7E0EcmkTsSsKImoO54Fw IG ~ https://www.instagram.com/preggerscanbechoose

Elephant in the Womb: 12/16/19 Labor Whispering, What that?!! Elephant in the Womb:  Practical Prenatal Ed Mary and Rowan chat about one of their service options, Labor Whispering Massage, and WHY folks don't go into labor. Or if they do, what starts slowing the roll. There are 4 basic reasons why labor doesn't start or progress, and our gig is to help which it is, and come up with a plan and some homework to get it going. So listen up, and see if you need us. FYI This is a good session to watch/listen too if you are considering hiring Mary and Rowan for your midwifery care, our personalities and how we practice are pretty well portrayed. Book a session with Mary or Rowan ~ https://square.site/book/1YFF4R4P1D3ZF/preggers-can-be-choosers-houston-tx Get Social  Labor Whispering YouTube, with a side of faux ASMR ~ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUE7E0EcmkTsSsKImoO54Fw IG ~ https://www.instagram.com/preggerscanbechoosers/ FB ~ https://www.facebook.com/preggerscanbechoosers/ Text reminders so you can j

AfterBirth, A Fourth and More Trimester Support Group: AfterBirth: 12/10/19 MYOB about the Size of my Family Topic: Unslolicitated Opinions about our Family Size Ever wanted to shriek "MIND YOUR OWN BIZZZZNASSSSSS" like Mary Catherine Gallagher when you get an unsolicited comment like these?!!! "Don't y'all know how to watch television?" "When are you going to try for a boy?" "You have your hands full!" So we talk this out, esp cause Mama D shared her big secret. We also talk about Holiday presents and how to rein in the consumerism. Mentioned in this Episode  Ibu Doula ~ https://www.ibudoula.com/ Depop for those Tits and Tacos shirts! https://www.depop.com/punkrockhoops/ Pic of Dr.B present bonanza! https://www.instagram.com/p/B5ayY23BinZ/ NewsLetter sign up ~ https://urbancurandera.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=93a9c312dae73865019ab4283&id=172ce692d1 Magic furniture place ~ https://www.facebook.com/pg/southwestsurplus/photos/ What is a Turkish towel? https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/what-the-i

How to Become a Midwife: 11/25/19 Cultural Competency with a side of Cervical Scar Tissue My fellow newbie Houston midwife Malea and I chat out competency for different cultures interspersed with Cervical Scar Tissue remediation thoughts.  So here you go! A list of what we chatted about as we went through the video (video version found on Youtube) Also, I don't know what happened here but my language is salty as a sailor, so if that's not for you just peruse the links.  Preggers Can Be Choosers www.preggers.rocks The Addices http://theaddice.com/ Bay Area Community Birth center https://bayareacommunitybirthcenter.com/ The Birthing Place http://www.thebirthingplace.com/ North Houston Birth Center https://www.nhbirth.com/ Far from the tree book https://www.amazon.com/dp/0743236726/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_JjS6Db0HDZZ4B and movie https://www.ifcfilms.com/films/far-from-the-tree Mis Gendering ~ https://www.healthline.com/health/transgender/misgendering AABC ~ https://www.birthcenters.org/ Pati Garcia ~htt

AfterBirth, A Fourth and More Trimester Support Group: Topic: Making Friends, Batteling Anxiety I (Rowan) used to have a nutbar therapist that I ADORE named Patty Hewlitt, and she helped me come up with something we called the "friend-making exercise" which is essentially flexing the social muscle without drowning in anxiety and getting chewed up by the  "what if monsters" as defined Tiff. I tell a pretty funny story about an early nineties friend making exercise that went down at a Halloween Party in Montrose, with a plot twist! Dr.B talks about her New York FME (friend making exercise) where she thrifts up a storm. Bev says she tried that once, everyone was bitches. So how do we make this work? Cause isolation leads to not so great outcomes. Martha and Katelin come up with something, Tiff shares her secrets, and after the crying and breathing some commitments are made. LampShade class 411 is here https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2549348695130401&id=140297159368912 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AfterBirth, A Fourth and More Trimester Support Group: AfterBirth: 10/29/19, It's the End of the World as We Know It, And I Feel Fine. Topic: What prepares you for Parenthood?* We read an email from the rad folks at www.mommastrong.com           I never would have imagined how unprepared I would feel when I became a mother. Having the actual baby, that I was prepared for, or so I thought. I had the baby showers, I took the baby classes, I read all the books and followed all the social media accounts. But being a mother. Nothing prepared me for that. I didn't even realize that was something I had to be prepared for. So. That was the topic. AND MY PEOPLE!  This is one was full of tears. And dramatic reveals, and a sweet birth story that was live-streamed on BirthTube. Katelin recorded a new intro for us, you can hear that theatre background in her clear work, and she reminds us about the PSI warmline, Call the PSI HelpLine at 1-800-944-4773(4PPD), Text Supp

AfterBirth, A Fourth and More Trimester Support Group: AfterBirth: 10/15/19, Time Travel Edition What Would You Tell Your Past Self About PPD? What are the things you would tell your past pregnant self if you could, what are the things to let go of, and what could be done differently? ZINGERS~ something that grabs you from nowhere and reroutes you, mostly in the negative direction. Term coined by Lisa Sacaris, who interestingly is known by 2/3 of the group in different capacities. https://www.instagram.com/lisasacaristextiles/ Katelin talks about the difference between having a homebirth cesarean and an HBAC. Mama Dee says for her it gets harder with each kid, and Tif says that having a postpartum doula sounds like a fairy godmother. And then we have a big long chat about the magic of POSTPARTUM DOULAS. Seriously, invest your centavos right here. Not sure what that is, listen in cause we describe them in action. Dr.B gives us some stats and resources. https://drblythetwosisters.com/ And...... Finding this pod

Elephant in the Womb:  Practical Prenatal Ed 10/9/19 Arvigo Therapy Maya Abdominal Massage Mary and Rowan chat about one of their service options, Arvigo Therapy, and then it rolls into a chat about consent, privacy, and how we want you to have the safest most healing opportunity possible,  our goal is to help your body find homeostasis. We want to teach you how to heal your body. FYI This is a good session to watch/listen too if you are considering hiring Mary and Rowan for your midwifery care, our personalities and how we practice are pretty well portrayed. The Arvigo Therapy  ~ https://arvigotherapy.com/ and description of a typical Arvigo Session https://arvigotherapy.com/about/typical-session/ Possible benefits from an Arvigo session ~ https://arvigotherapy.com/about/benefits/ Book a session with Mary ~ https://square.site/book/7DC14HTYMACP9/mary-ames-bratcher-lmt-wombsday-prepper-houston-tx Book a session with Rowan ~ https://square.site/book/1YFF4R4P1D3ZF/preggers-can-be-choosers-houston

AfterBirth, A Fourth and More Trimester Support Group: 10/1/19 Critical Turning Points in PPD Recovery I wanted to ask the folx in the group, what were turning points or events that were most critical for you on moving through postpartum depression. Both Tiff and Katelin had baller insight, and I threw out and Dr.B verified that research confirms that hormone drops can bring on depression and anxiety, so the birthing person may feel like they were out of the woods with the timeline of developing a mood disorder, but in fact there are other windows of time that they may pop up. One example is after weaning, especially if its an abrupt weaning. Katelin said to check your peeps after significant life events (like after her mom died), 3 months, 6 months, going back to work, a year. Dr.B says after two weeks pp if still feeling down, it's past baby blues and time to get something going to help. Tiff said the return of the period may bring it on. And someone said that birth isn't finished until the body and mind ar