Chick Chat: The Baby Chick Podcast

Organize and Streamline Your Life as a Mom

It feels like our world as we knew it has flipped completely upside down. With the current Coronavirus outbreak, our every day routines have been shaken up and, for many of us, not in a good way. Now that we are forced to figure out how to work from home and take care of our children full-time, we are slowly discovering our new normals. This is the time, more than ever, to organize and streamline our lives and our homes.

Today I'm chatting with Meggie Mangione, the CEO of Organized Life Design and 6 year accredited NAPO Professional Organizer. Meggie leads a team of 4 and they organize for clients in every space from garages and closets to pantries and playrooms. She and her team also offer Virtual Organization Services and Online Workshops, which I think is so cool! You can learn more about her company and services on their website or their Instagram page, @OrganizedLifeDesign.

Since clutter and chaos can really affect us as parents and employees (now working from home), I thought there would be no one better like Meggie, a professional organizer, to help us organize and streamline our lives as moms. On today's episode Meggie is sharing some great tips on how to conquer the clutter!

Here are some of the links that we mentioned during our chat that we hope helps!

• Where you can donate your items that you are purging from your home.
• Meggie's Daily Video Series Challenge: Weeks to Finally Organize Your Life

22 Tips and Remedies for Morning Sickness

If you're suffering from morning sickness, you know how terrible it can be. I'm sure you've tried everything to find some relief. I've had many of my doula clients and friends ask me for tips and tricks on how to survive and cure morning sickness during their pregnancies so I wanted to share my list of things that can help. Hopefully you haven't tried all of my tips yet and that you find a few new things that will get you back to feeling good! Here are 22 ways to relieve morning sickness.

5 Things Every Parent Needs to Know About Baby’s Sleep

Today we're talking all about sleep and what every parent needs to know when it comes to baby's sleep. I have to say, baby sleep is one of our most popular topics and I think it's because most parents are trying to figure out what they can do to get more sleep. As parents, sleep is our love language now. And that's why we are chatting with Hailee Schollaardt about this topic. Hailee is the founder and owner of Nurturing Sleep Solutions. She is a certified infant and child sleep consultant based out of Northern Alberta, Canada. And she's a mother of three children; a 6-year-old, a 4-year-old, and a 2-year-old.

Hailee says that having three children within five years really tested her limits many times, but it also gave her the drive and the confidence to become a Sleep Consultant and work with families all over the world. Her passion as a Sleep Consultant is to give empowerment back to parents. She believes in taking the "right" and "wrong" out of family sleep practices and instead have a healthy balance for whatever works best for YOUR family. We love that.

Hailee has met tons of exhausted parents at the end of their wits trying to get their babies to sleep. She's sharing with us all of her tips on what parents can do and what parents need to know about baby's sleep.

Pregnancy Affirmations: 10 Things to Tell Yourself While Pregnant

Pregnancy is a time when a woman can experience every emotion and sensation. Not only is her body changing as she creates life, it's also a time when she is growing mentally and emotionally to prepare for the mother she is about to become. I will admit that not every moment of pregnancy is glowing and beautiful. There can be times of discomfort and overwhelm. But during these low points it's important that we remind ourselves about the good and see the bigger picture. This is why pregnancy affirmations are a helpful tool. They can bring your mind back to a positive and joyful state.

These 10 pregnancy affirmations that we're discussing on today's episode will help you get rid of the negative comments that you might hear from others or thoughts that you're telling yourself and they will remind you about the beauty and miracle of pregnancy. These affirmations not only help during your pregnancy, they can also help you prepare for a better birth. Our minds are power and words have power, so let's give it something positive to hold onto as we welcome our new babies into the world.

How to Stay Connected with Your Spouse After Having Kids

Today we're chatting with Quinn Kelly and how to stay connected with your spouse after having kids. Quinn is a licensed marriage and family therapist, wife of 14 years and a mother of four wild but adorable boys so I knew she would be the perfect person to chat with about this topic. She has a blog called Sanctification and Spitup centered on faith and parenting, a podcast of her own called the Renew You Podcast, a faith Conference series for women called Renew (with an upcoming conference this March in Houston, TX that you are invited too!), and she is one of our Baby Chick writers!

This topic about staying connected with your spouse after having children is super important to us. We know that a lot of things change after you have a baby and our relationships can be one them. Sometimes its for the better and sometimes for the worse. :( We want to know what we can do to strengthen our relationship with our spouse so we had to talk to Quinn to share her amazing knowledge with us.

During the episode, Quinn mentioned her top 5 books that she recommends:

1. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
2. Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child by Dr. John Gottman
3. The Road Back to You by Cron and Stabile
4. Parenting With Love and Logic by Cline and Fay
5. Daring Greatly by Brené Brown

And if you want to know more about Quinn and follow her, here are her details:

• Blog: www.sanctificationandspitup.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctificationandspitup/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SanctificationAndSpitup/
• Podcast: https://renewfaithconference.com/podcast
• Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renewyoupodcast/
• Faith Conference Series: www.renewfaithconference.com

What is Hypnobirthing?

There are many different comfort techniques to use during labor that will keep you more calm and comfortable. One option that many women aren't aware of or over look is hypnosis. It can sound a little weird and voodoo-like so oftentimes women will write it off. But it's actually not as strange as it sounds.

What is Hypnobirthing? Today I have the privilege of chatting with Cliodhna Griffin, the founder of Born Free Birthing and Houston Placenta Services. Cliodhna is a certified and experienced HypnoBirthing Educator, Master Trainer and Faculty Member of the HypnoBirthing Institute.

Cliodhna hails from Ireland but currently lives in Kingwood, TX with her husband of over 12 years and their 3 fantastic daughters, two of whom are darling HypnoBirthing babies. She is a dedicated educator and loves to help families have joyful and empowering births. We couldn't think of a better person to learn more about hypnobirthing with than her.

For information about Cliodhna and her services, visit:
Her website - www.bornfreebirthing.com
Her Facebook page - www.facebook.com/bornfreebirthing
Her IG page - www.instagram.com/bornfreebirthing

5 Tips for Mindful Eating After Baby

Today we're chatting with Dr. Susan Albers, a New York Times best-selling author and a clinical psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Albers specializes in eating issues, weight loss, body image concerns, and mindfulness. After obtaining her masters and doctorate degree from the University of Denver, Dr. Albers completed an APA internship at the University of Notre Dame and a post-doctoral fellowship at Stanford University.

Dr. Albers conducts mindful eating workshops across the country, and she is the author of six mindful eating books, including her latest that came out December 24th, Hanger Management: Master Your Hunger and Improve Your Mood, Mind, and Relationships.

Today, Dr. Albers is talking with us about mindful eating after baby. We’ve all heard about and experienced getting "hangry" and with so much going on with our bodies post-birth and taking care of our little ones, it can be tough to take the time to take care of ourselves and nourish our bodies properly. Hormones are real in the fourth trimester and Dr. Albers is sharing her tips including her five S's on how to mindfully eat postpartum that can help our minds and heal our bodies.

To hear more from Dr. Albers, check out her website https://eatingmindfully.com, visit her on Instagram @drsusanalbers and check out her new book Hanger Management: Master Your Hunger and Improve Your Mood, Mind, and Relationships.

How STEM Learning Starts at Birth

All of us parents have heard about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) learning, but did you know that STEM and language skills start with babies? It's essential for us to encourage this type of learning early on with our babies and there are certain things that we can do as parents. Today, I'm chatting with Dr. Aimee Ketchum, a pediatric occupational therapist and owner of Aimee’s Babies, a child development company, as well as the creator of STEM Starts Now, a digital subscription program for parents of young children to help with early child development and kindergarten readiness. She is explaining to us why it's critical for us to promote STEM learning to our babies early in life and how to do that.

How to Help When Visiting a New Mom

Becoming a new mother, whether it be your first baby or your sixth, is filled with so many emotions. Figuring out your new normal can take a minute as you recover from giving birth and get to know your new baby. People will be at your doorstep in no time wanting to congratulate you and meet the baby, but sometimes people aren’t necessarily thinking about what they can do to be helpful. If you know someone who has recently had a baby or you are currently expecting yourself, this episode is for you! Here’s how to help when visiting a new mom.

This episode is brought to you by Skylight Frame (www.skylightframe.com). It's a digital picture frame that has a touch-screen display. I love that it documents all of your family’s special moments through a slideshow or you can push pause on a favorite image. With Skylight you can email photos directly to your digital frame -- anytime from anywhere, and photos show up within seconds. It's really a great gift for yourself or for an expecting or new mom so if you want to bring a nice gift when visiting a new mom, be sure to check out Skylight Frame and use our discount code BABYCHICK for $10 off!

What You Need to Know about Labor Inductions

At the end of women’s pregnancies many women are faced with the decision or recommendation to medically induce labor. Some reasons are for the health and well being of the baby and some are for more personal reasons. We’re covering all of these details and what you can expect during a labor induction. We hope this helps!

 

Below are the articles that we referenced during this episode:

- Evidence on: Induction or C-section for a Big Baby?

- The ARRIVE Trial (A Randomized Trial of Induction Versus Expectant Management)