The Birth Lounge Blog

  5 Ways to be a More Mindful Mama (This article was written by HeHe Stewart - originally posted to Family Education, read the full article here .) While emails are still filling up your inbox about last minute gifts and holiday steals, your busy trying to plan the right amount of holiday activities for your kids/family/friends, and trying to stay sane and jolly all the while- we are dropping in to remind you of a few simple ways to stay more mindful, present, and calm during this time of year. These five small mindfulness tips are enough to keep your day from spiraling and simple enough that it won’t get lost in your busy schedule. What have you done for yourself this year? If your answer is nothing, we gotta change that, sister. Have you ever heard someone say you can’t pour from an empty cup? Of course you have, but the reality is, it’s true. Moms are a superbreed of humans that always put their needs behind everyone else’s. While this sounds very caring and selfless, it actuall...

(HeHe's article is published for Family Education  HERE  in its entirety.) The holidays can be a time of stress for so many of us. I wondered if pregnancy provided women with a sense of comfort or was an added factor to the holiday hustle and bustle. I reached out to moms in various stages of their pregnancy and parenting journey to see if the thoughts surrounding their holiday bumps were of sugar plums and presents or stockings filled with coal. This is a countdown to the number one reason why it is merrier than mistletoe to be expecting a tiny human during the holidays. This is a countdown to the number one reason why it is merrier than mistletoe to be expecting a tiny human during the holidays. There's nothing better than being pregnant during the holiday season! (HeHe's article is published for Family Education  HERE  in its entirety.) Don’t forget to check out our newest adventure The Birth Lounge,  listen in to The Birth Lounge...

“New Normal”...I keep hearing it everywhere. People talking about what it will be like. Folks saying it’ll never be the same again. Don’t get me wrong, I’m eager to see what our “new normal” looks like too once this is all over, but can we please not forget about the here and now. Like, hello, can we please focus on getting through the right now, this moment.  Transitioning your entire life to fit into the walls of your home and now using video communication for 95% of all interactions is tough. It can feel so overwhelming. Discombobulating. Disorienting. For folks like me, change is hard and avoided. I will avoid change at all cost if it means I get to stay in my comfort zone of everything being as expected. I already worked from home so that wasn’t my biggest change. Mine was having my partner work from home, too. I was used to having the house to myself. The whole house was my office essentially. I could do as I please and film wherever I needed or wanted. This is no mo...

Continuing the Conversation: Perinatal Mental Health with Jess Vanderwier Part 2!   (This is a two part episode! To catch up and check out Part 1, click  here !) Hey TBH Village! This week, we’re back to continue our super important conversation with mental health therapist Jess Vanderwier about postpartum mood disorders. Let’s dive back in! When it comes to treatment, it all loops back into the risk factors that cause  postpartum depression  and  anxiety  issues in the first place. A professional can help you evaluate all the aspects of your postpartum life that can contribute to these issues. For example, in terms of biology, it would be important to get a physical checkup, especially concerning your thyroid, to make sure there is not an underlying issues causing symptoms.  Sleep  is another important factor to look at it, as lack of it can both cause and exacerbate issues - yo...

(This is also an episode of The Birth Lounge Podcast, listen here  for part 1 of this series!) The transition to motherhood is an exciting time, but what’s often not talked about in our culture is how scary and lonely that transition into the unknown can be. In this two part series, we’re going to be going into the nitty of gritty of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders in hopes of erasing the stigma and increasing your awareness of these postpartum possibilities.   Jess Vanderwier is a mental health therapist and mother who experienced a pretty rough transition to motherhood herself. She had a pretty normal pregnancy until about 22 weeks, when she started feeling some really strong cramping. In the emergency room, she found out she was at high risk for preterm labor and her life quickly transitioned from one of a busy, working woman finishing up graduate school to someone stuck on bed rest. While she thankfully carried the b...

Yes, You Can Avoid Birth Trauma. Have you ever warned a child to be very careful or to not do something over and over again? But, you know deep down in your heart, that you can’t  actually  save this kiddo from the pain if they don’t make the choice to listen. They have to want to follow your instructions. Or they risk learning the lesson the hard way. Birth work has really heavy parts to it and every birth worker will have different things that feel heavy to them. For me, it's watching birth trauma transpire right in front of my eyes to people that deserved better. There's a small population of women that I sometimes struggle to support. I struggle  so hard  when people come to me after their birth, sharing stories of struggles and trauma... yet, just months earlier I had tried to share reasons WHY their birth should be a priority, and why they needed to be more INTENTIONAL with their decision making and just...

Mindset is 90% of The Game  Have you ever done something and thought "I'm going to die. This is it. This is how my story ends and I meet my creator!" Well, I believe that ' impossible' is just an illusion and it's really about mindset and grit!   Recently, I went to Core Power Yoga for the first time ever recently and I thought I was going to meet Jesus himself. I try to show up as authentically as possible for our audience. I want everything I do to be a reflection of this hard work that you and I put in everyday. I want the world to know that it is a choice  to birth better and to take control of your experience . In doing this, I am so often trying to think of the takeaway points that I can share with our tribe to serve them deeper. This event started off great and fun. I was laughing and poking fun at my friend (my "birth partner" if you will) much like early labor. Then things started to really t...

[This is also an episode on The Tranquility Tribe Podcast on iTunes. Listen  here .] All about Holly Holly Grill-Spall is the author of the bestselling book Sweetening The Pill: Or How We Got Hooked On Hormonal Birth Control , which began as a blog and is now being developed into a documentary! She’s been featured She’s been featured in publications all over ranging from The Guardian to NPR to the Washington Post to Vogue, and Vice called her “the poster girl for a movement of women abandoning the pill in favor of contraceptives that don't wreak havoc on their body and mind.” Holly has travelled all over the world leading workshops to empower women to take back their bodies from synthetic birth control. Holly’s passion for the subject came out of her own experience taking Yaz for 10 years, starting at age 17. Holly experienced very serious side effects, including effects on her mental health, leading her down a path of research into ev...

"She's so lucky, She's a Starr."  Where my Britney fans at?! Who remembers jamming to this Britney Spears hit with a hair brush microphone in the mirror! Whew, what would I give to be back in the 90's when everything seemed simpler, amiright? I recently had the chance to join a private event hosted by Starr Yoga Founder and Owner, Julie Starr. She is a calming and warm energy. We first met over coffee and discussed our love for yoga pants and how the same things that annoy her also get on my last nerve! Julie and I clicked instantly. She was the realness I have been looking for since moving to Boston, but without the brutal honesty and harsh deliveries. When I first got to the studio, I noticed right away the feel. The space was beautiful, clean, and grounding.  There's the possibility for lots of natural light and sunrise sessions immediately came to mind. The entrance made it feel welcoming while the music and smell made it feel relaxing and sti...