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Happy Homebirth

Katelyn Fusco
Happy Homebirth
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  • Ep 292: Husbands weigh in - supporting postpartum healing, nutrition & homebirth w/ Eric Stein of Restorative Roots
    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:   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. 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. 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 Youtube | https://youtu.be/S_LLorCMlEs    
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  • Ep 291: Postpartum Healing & Nutrition with Holly Stein of Restorative Roots
    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: 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. 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. 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)
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  • Ep 290: Unmedicated Birth, Unfiltered Business: Lisa’s “Loudmouth” Journey
    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: 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.   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)
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  • Ep 289: Lessons in Surrender and an Unattended Homebirth
    If you had an arduous labor due to your baby’s positioning once, it’s sure to happen similarly if your next baby takes the same position, right?   Ashley Atwood and her husband Sam have 3 active and lively boys. They are a homeschooling family and love adventure and being outdoors. Ashley is a self described birth nerd and loves educating herself about all things birth and pregnancy and discussing all they entail. She feels that education about birth and pregnancy is so important to the birthing experience. Her hope is for all women to take the initiative to learn because birth matters! If it’s in the cards, she would love to become a midwife or doula one day when her children are grown.   Episode Roundup: Ashley’s second birth unfolded in a way that seemed completely different from her first baby’s birth, despite the two being born posterior.  I think this is such a helpful reminder to those of you who have had a birth experience that was difficult- and you’re worried about it happening exactly the same way the next time.  Remember, this birth is not your last birth.  This is a different birth and can be a different experience.   For those of us who may fall into the labor denier category, it’s important to remember that someone on the outside may be able to see what’s happening more clearly than we can, and I’ll add this is especially true with second, third and beyond births when both spouses have been through the experience before.  When Ashley was doing laundry and dropping to the floor for contractions, it clued Sam in that she was a good bit further along in labor than she realized.  Thankfully he was able to reach out to the team and loop them in on what was happening! And now, I want to end with a section of Ashley’s own words from her application.  This was so touching, and I feel like it needs to be heard by so many: “And with my third, it was like he was lavishing on his grace- giving me what I absolutely don’t deserve, but did it anyway! It was like he one upped Himself to show me His goodness. He knows me intimately and knows how much birth means to me and how I deeply value it and am in awe of it, and he gave me all my births as a gift, and I am so thankful. He could have made babies come any way He wanted, but He chose to use us, women to bring forth life in a truly miraculous way. I struggle to understand His love and grace and also struggle to believe it about myself and my births have helped me to experience more of His love and to just be in awe of Him that He loves us because He loves us- he chooses to and that’s it. It has nothing to do with what I have done, but all of what He’s done for me. And what a reminder that is of His ultimate love poured out for me on the cross.”   Links: Whole Mother Homebirth | wholemotherhomebirth.mykajabi.com/presale Interview Application | interviewwithkatelyn.my.canva.site/direct-to-landing-page Youtube | https://youtu.be/aeSddUAUrEA Restorative Roots  | restorativeroots.com (use code HAPPYHOMEBIRTH for $20 off your first order)
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  • Ep 288: How to Prepare for a VBAC Outside of the Hospital with Meagan Heaton
    Vaginal births after cesarean- are they really safe?  And what about vbacs at home, or outside of the hospital?   This week we’re speaking with Meagan Heaton, Host and founder of The VBAC Link. Meagan co-founded the VBAC Link in 2018. Although she always felt called to the baby world, she really found her love for birth in 2014 after her second C-Section. Through these two birth experiences, her love and passion grew around VBAC. She wanted to help people feel supported and loved. She had two C-sections and then went on to have a VBA2C, and has now supported over 300 families through their birthing journeys as a doula. Her drive is to help women like herself feel educated, supported, and empowered during their birthing time.   Meagan is so incredible- we’re going to hear her birth stories along with all of the wisdom she has to share for mothers who are seeking to have a vaginal birth after cesarean.     Episode Roundup:     As we head into this week’s episode roundup, here are a few little thoughts I’m having: Partner support is so crucial.  Meagan shares about this on her own platform, and she’s got the story to prove just how important this piece is.  While Meagan had gained a good amount of education between her first and second birth, her husband was still of the mindset that the doctors truly were the experts, and he trusted what they said.  However, when she was able to work with him more on the subjects in their third pregnancy, he was willing to support Meagan in her desire to give birth outside of the hospital- even if he didn’t fully understand it himself.  Now, he’s a believer, just like so many other homebirth dads! Next, I love how Meagan mentioned the importance of vetting your care provider, both inside and outside of the hospital.  Sometimes we fall into the mental trap that  “homebirth midwife equals perfect care provider for me” and honestly, that’s just not the case.  There are lots of midwives in my area, and many of them practice quite differently from one another.  In fact, many of them are unwilling to take on VBAC clients.  Seeking a care provider who knows your story and feels confident working with you- and gives you peace– wow, that’s critical in terms of having a successful VBAC. And finally- I want to leave you with this reminder: It can be different this time.  It can be different than before.  Maybe you’ve had one, two, three other experiences that all ended in a cesarean– or that whatever happened, ended in a way that felt disempowering to you.  I want you to remember that this birth is different, the outcome can be different, and no matter what, your perspective can always be different. Change is possible!    Links: Whole Mother Homebirth | wholemotherhomebirth.mykajabi.com/presale Interview Application | interviewwithkatelyn.my.canva.site/direct-to-landing-page Youtube | https://youtu.be/mSvLScNwm2E Restorative Roots  | restorativeroots.com (use code HAPPYHOMEBIRTH for $20 off your first order)  
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The Happy Homebirth podcast is your source for positive natural childbirth stories, and your community of support, education and encouragement in all things homebirth and motherhood.
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