Husbands, what can you tangibly do to support your wife during postpartum, especially those first few critical weeks?

And today we’re having a GUEST interviewer! My very own hero of a husband, Thomas Fusco. Thomas will be taking over the interview reins as he sits down with a father-to-father chat with Eric Stein, CEO of Restorative Roots, and husband to Holly Stein, last week’s podcast guest. If you didn’t hear my interview with Holly, make sure to click the link in the show notes and give it a listen next. Moms, this week’s dad chat episode is going to be one that you’ll want to go ahead and send to your spouse so that he can feel ready and prepared for the postpartum phase.

On an unrelated but exciting note, do you have birth photos and videos that you feel deserve to be shared with the world? I want you to send them to me! I’m collecting birth photos and videos to share on social media platforms, my website that’s in the process of being rebuilt, AND… I want to feature your photos and videos inside of the new weekly newsletter that I will be sending out. Both mothers and birth photographers, you’re welcome to submit!

Episode roundup:

1. Preparation can make or break your postpartum experience — Eric and Holly’s shift from a stressful first postpartum to a deeply supported experience for their second and third children shows how meal prep and intentional planning can deeply impact recovery and bonding.
2. Next, isn’t the story behind Restorative Roots so inspiring? — A personal need was transformed into a national impact. What started as preparing meals for themselves grew into Restorative Roots, a regenerative postpartum meal company now shipping 900 meals weekly and offering resources to educate and empower other families.
3. Finally, and I believe most importantly: The partner’s role matters — Dads, you truly can become the hero of the postpartum experience, AND you can take the lead on making this happen for your wife. Eric highlighted the importance of the masculine role in birth and postpartum. He shared about presence, support, and setting aside his own ego to truly care for his wife and family. This is your time to shine, fathers. If this becomes important to you, it will make your wife feel so loved and cherished. If you can help her achieve a restful, healing postpartum, you are investing in your family for weeks, months and years to come. It blows my mind just how much YOU can steer the ship towards deep connection. What a gift.

Links:

Ep 291: Postpartum Healing & Nutrition with Holly Stein of Restorative Roots | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-291-postpartum-healing-nutrition-with-holly-stein/id1446934537?i=1000724335999

Submit your Birth Photos and Videos: https://happyhomebirth.myflodesk.com/birthphotos

What do you think you’ll want your first meal to be after having your baby? And does it really matter how we’re fueling our bodies after the baby is born?

Holly, her husband Eric, and their 3 children live in Southern California, where they love homeschool, skateboard, and cook. They have built an incredible company, Restorative Roots, that delivers nutrient-dense postpartum meals to mothers across the country. From a tiny kitchen venture to a nationwide business, Holly and Eric are proud to offer support during such a transformative time- the postpartum experience.

This week, we’ll be speaking to Holly about her 3 birthing experiences, how postpartum has changed for her over time, and ways in which we can be set up for success and healing in the critical first few days and weeks after birth.

Episode Roundup:

1. Isn’t there so much beauty in the concept of taking radical responsibility for what we can control, and then allowing grace and faith to fill in that which we cannot? I can see this both in birth, along with postpartum. Holly mentioned how she did what she could to prepare for a healthy labor and birth, but she knew that there was ultimately a level that she could not control. Let’s apply this to postpartum. There are things that we CAN do: We can plan. We can make or purchase nutrient-dense meals and ready our space for rest. We can seek to have support as much as possible. However, some things may truly be out of YOUR control. Maybe you don’t live near family, or you don’t have income to spare to hiring help… Let’s take charge where we can, do the best that we can with what we have, and give grace where we are not in complete control.
2. I loved all of the creativity that Holly shared about preparing for a nutrient-dense postpartum: Having cooking days with your friends, sharing a list of approved recipes or instructions on your meal train, asking for friends and family to pitch in for a box from Restorative Roots as a pregnancy gift instead of some random contraption that your baby will probably outgrow in a week anyway… nourishment and healing after birth are the gifts that keep on giving and impact you for months to come.
3. And finally, Holly ended so beautifully with this: Let’s all practice asking for and accepting help. Let people help you. Let them bring you food. Let them refill your water. Let them put your groceries in the car for you. What a beautiful thing it can be both for you as the receiver, but also for the other person– allowing them to truly be helpful and a blessing.

Links:

Whole Mother Homebirth | wholemotherhomebirth.mykajabi.com/presale

Youtube |

Restorative Roots | restorativeroots.com (use code HAPPYHOMEBIRTH for $20 off your first order)

We talk about trusting your instincts a decent amount around here– but what does it look like to LEARN how to lean into those instincts?

This week we’re speaking with Lisa, who found the confidence to trust her instincts during pregnancy, which has changed her trajectory both as a mother as well as an entrepreneur and coach. Lisa Villani is a rebellious doula, sassy sales coach, hip-hop dancer, and mama to her spunky son in Buffalo, NY. She's married to her ride-or-die and believes fiercely in building a life where both parents get to thrive. After an unmedicated, out-of-hospital birth cracked her wide open, Lisa made it her mission to help women rewrite the narrative of motherhood, money, and identity. A survivor in every sense—of divorce, disordered eating, and a medical system that tried to silence her—she now stands as the loudest voice in the room for women ready to own their power, whether they're giving birth or selling their offers. She's also the host of the Loudmouth Lisa podcast—because playing small was never an option.

Episode Roundup:

1. Connection. We see the theme of connection flowing through Lisa’s story, and I think that we also see connection in the way that Lisa tells her story. Lisa is so clearly a connector. One of my favorite parts of this interview was hearing the beauty in Lisa’s connection with her son, Enzo, from the very beginning. She spent time dancing with him en utero, and she felt this pull their physical connection together. During the first part of the day as she went into labor, she spent time connecting with him as she labored alone, during her pushing phase, we see her turn inward to reconnect with her baby and to tell him that they were going to work together to push him out now— and they did! And then immediately postpartum, Lisa spent those six hours that her husband needed to sleep connecting individually with this beautiful little soul that was now on the outside. As I think of Lisa stepping into this new area of motherhood, where she allows Enzo to go spread his wings through beginning his new co-op, I think of how that connection is what is allowing that little boy the confidence to try new things. Lisa cut the cord after her birth and traded one connection for another, and she like all of us as mothers, will experience those cord cutting moments again and again. The connection didn’t end when she cut the cord, but it transformed. And here she is again with a transforming connection as her little one starts something new. My goodness, the depth and beauty of growing and changing while maintaining tethered to one another.
2. And next, I want to emphasize the power of what Lisa is sharing with other mothers, women and mompreneurs through her deep understanding of sales. She sees that her ability to trust herself and to know and accept the value that she brings to others is what makes herself and the women that she works with successful. These very same lessons that she has learned through motherhood: To listen to her instincts, to be the vibrant, bold mother and woman that she was designed to be. That is her gift to her family, and that is her gift to the world and those whom her work touches.

Links:

Whole Mother Homebirth | wholemotherhomebirth.mykajabi.com/presale

Interview Application | interviewwithkatelyn.my.canva.site/direct-to-landing-page

Youtube | https://youtu.be/vOX6ZwIKrB0?si=89yOWGXndtEa5yVe

Restorative Roots | restorativeroots.com (use code HAPPYHOMEBIRTH for $20 off your first order)