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Welcome to the Ask The Doulas Podcast!
If you’re pregnant, adopting, have a newborn or toddler at home, this podcast is just for you! We talk to experts in the area about everything from eating healthy and pelvic floor exercises, to placenta encapsulation and sleep training.
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Let us know if you’d like more information about a certain topic, or if you have topic ideas send us an email!
July 2019
Megan’s Sleep Story: Podcast Episode #80
Megan Kretz, one of Alyssa's sleep clients, tells us about her sleep training journey with her daughter at 9 months and again at 19 months. She says that as a working mom, it meant spending a little less time with her daughter, but that it was all worth it because the quality of the time spent together improved drastically. Everyone was happier and healthier! You can listen to this complete podcast episode on iTunes or SoundCloud. Alyssa: Welcome to Ask the Doulas Podcast. I am Alyssa, and today I’m excited to be talking to Megan Kretz. You were one of my past sleep clients, and then again recently. Megan: Yeah, thanks for having me on! Alyssa: Yes, we’re going to talk about sleep today. So remind me of how this journey began and what was happening before you called me. Megan: So we reached out to you about when my daughter was nine months old with just all sorts of life problems as a result of my daughter’s sleep habits and our sleep habits, as well. A lot of it was definitely a struggle because we almost created the environment, [...]
Supporting a Postpartum Mother: Podcast Episode #79
Elsa Lockman, LMSW of Mindful Counseling talks to us today about how partners, family members, and other caregivers can support a mother during those critical postpartum weeks to ensure she seeks help if needed. How do you approach a new mother and what are her best options for care? You can listen to this complete podcast episode on iTunes or SoundCloud. Kristin: Welcome to Ask the Doulas with Gold Coast Doulas. I’m Kristin, and I’m here today with Elsa Lockman. She’s with Mindful Counseling, and we are talking about how partners and other caregivers and family members can support a woman who has potential signs of postpartum depression or mood disorders. Elsa: Yes. So postpartum is going to be an emotional time, so tears, some anger, sadness, are all part of the experience. After about two to three weeks out, if spouse or a friend or a mother is noticing maybe a mom is crying more than usual, isn’t really looking forward to things, has these unusual fears that they can’t seem to let go of. Another sign would be not seeming to eat very much or either sleeping a [...]
The Minority Bride: Podcast Episode #78
Alyssa: Hi, welcome to Ask the Doulas. It’s Alyssa and I’m talking with Gaby again if you remember her. Last time she told us her lovely birth stories. Hi Gaby. Gaby: Hi Alyssa, good to be back. Alyssa: I want to learn about your business. So Connie’s Bridal Boutique. Gaby: Yes. Alyssa: Who’s Connie? Beause you’re not Connie. Gaby: No. We’re not Connie. Connie’s actually the name that the original owner gave the store, it was her nickname. Her original name was Veit Vu, she’s a cute little Vietnamese lady. Maybe 5 feet. Alyssa: Okay. Gaby: She was a powerhouse of a woman. These dresses get heavy, so you’d just see her hauling dresses back and forth. My grandmother used to work with her and when she decided to retire we purchased the brand and the store. Alyssa: Okay. Gaby: And we kind of molded it a little bit more towards our personalities, and growth, and developed it a little bit further. Alyssa: Okay. So I’ve been in your store. It’s huge! It’s not little, it’s huge. I walked in and I’m like, “Oh my God! Look at all [...]
June 2019
Gaby’s Birth Stories: Podcast Episode #77
Gaby is a local business owner in Grand Rapids and talks to Alyssa about the birth stories of both of her children. You can listen to this complete podcast episode on iTunes or SoundCloud. Alyssa: Hi, welcome to Ask the Doulas podcast. I am Alyssa and I’m excited to be here with Gaby today. How are you? Gaby: Hi, I’m great, Alyssa. Alyssa: So we met a couple of months ago? Gaby: Yes. Alyssa: Was it the Mom Brain meet up? Gaby: We did, yeah. Alyssa: Yeah, and we got to talking about your lovely little bridal shop. I shouldn’t call it little, we’ll talk about that in another episode. But you have three children? Gaby: I have two. Alyssa: Two children. Gaby: And a fur baby! Alyssa: But you didn’t birth that one! Gaby: Yeah, no. Alyssa: I just wanted to talk about your stories. So our moms who are pregnant love hearing positive birth stories and it’s not to say that even though your birth story - the outcome may be positive, but there weren’t crazy things that happened along the way. Gaby: Yeah. Alyssa: [...]
Jamie’s Breastfeeding Experience: Podcast Episode #76
Jamie Platt, Birth and Postpartum Doula with Gold Coast Doulas, tells us about three completely different breastfeeding experiences with her three children. This podcast was recorded over a year ago, and Jamie is now a certified lactation counselor. You can listen to this complete podcast episode on iTunes or SoundCloud. Alyssa: Hi, welcome to another episode of Ask the Doulas. I am Alyssa, your host for today, and today we have a special guest, Jamie. Hello! Jamie: Hi! Alyssa: Thanks for coming! So we were talking the other day, and you’ve had three really, really different experiences with breastfeeding with your three children. Tell us a little bit about your three kids and how breastfeeding went differently for each of them. Jamie: Sure! So I have three children. My oldest son, Noah, is 14. And then my two younger children are five and three. So I was a young parent and gave birth to my oldest, Noah, when I was 21. My breastfeeding journey with him was very short and limited. I knew I wanted to breastfeed, and I received a manual pump, I remember, at my baby shower. Alyssa: [...]
What’s the tongue have to do with breastfeeding? Podcast Episode #75
Hear two experts talk about the link between a baby's tongue and breastfeeding. What are some signs of a tongue tie and what does that procedure even look like? Shira Johnson, IBCLC, and Dr. Katie Swanson, Certified Pediatric Dentist, give us some insight into breastfeeding a newborn. You can listen to this complete podcast episode on iTunes or SoundCloud. Alyssa: Hello! Welcome to Ask the Doulas. I am Alyssa Veneklase. I am sitting here today with two lovely ladies, Katie Swanson and Shira Johnson, and we are going to talk about breastfeeding and oral growth and development. Hello! So we don’t really have an agenda for what we’re going to talk about per se, but before we started, I was kind of asking, like, well, you know, as a dentist, you send clients to a lactation consultant, or does the lactation consultant send clients to a dentist, and how soon, and what does that relationship even look like? Dr. Katie: Yeah, Shira, what do you see in a patient that makes you want to send them to me? Shira: Yeah, so I see babies of all ages. I see [...]
May 2019
Postpartum Support for Business Owners: Podcast Episode #74
On this week’s episode of Ask the Doulas, we chat with Chris Emmer, owner of Biz Babysitters, about postpartum life and owning your own business. You can listen to this complete podcast episode on iTunes or SoundCloud. Alyssa: This is Alyssa. I am recording with Chris Emmer again. Welcome to the Ask the Doulas Podcast. How are you, Chris? Chris: Good, how are you? Alyssa: So we talked to you about sleep before, and today we’re going to talk a little bit about being a mom in business and how that affected us. We were talking about this book you just read and the rage, the fire, that it lights under you about just how – I don’t know, would you say a mother in general, or would you say a whole family, is treated during pregnancy and how we’re just kind of disregarded during this postpartum time? And how we wish more was part of the whole process. You get pregnant, and you just get X, Y, and Z, instead of having to seek it out yourself and pay for it all yourself. Chris: Right, that’s the biggest thing [...]
Chris’ Personal Sleep Story: Podcast Episode #73
Chris Emmer, a former client, talks about her sleep journey with daughter, Sam, and working with Alyssa. She started when Sam was six months old and cannot believe she waited so long to seek help. In a sleep-deprived fog, she finally called in "the big guns" for help! You can listen to this complete podcast episode on iTunes or SoundCloud. Alyssa: Welcome to Ask the Doulas Podcast. I am Alyssa, and I am so excited to be talking with Chris Emmer today. Hello, Chris! Chris: Hi! Alyssa: You were a client of ours. You did birth, postpartum, and then sleep with me. So we’re going to focus in on sleep today. Chris: Let’s talk about sleep, the most important thing! Alyssa: So when did you realize that you needed help with sleep? How old was Sam, and how did the beginning weeks or months go with sleep? Were you like, “Oh, yeah, this is great, no problem”? Chris: Okay, definitely wasn’t, “Oh, yeah, this is great.” It’s hard to say because honestly, those first couple of months – I call them the blackout period. I kind of don’t remember what [...]
Car Seat Safety: Podcast Episode #72
Today we talk to one of Gold Coast Doulas' Birth and Postpartum Doulas, Jamie Platt. She is a Certified Car Seat Technician and gives parents some helpful tips about what's safe and what isn't. You can listen to this complete podcast episode on iTunes or SoundCloud. Alyssa: Hi, and welcome to another episode of Ask the Doulas. I am your host, Alyssa Veneklase. I am co-owner and postpartum doula at Gold Coast, and we are talking to Jamie today. She is a postpartum doula with us, as well. Hi, Jamie. Jamie: Hi. Alyssa: And you’re also a certified passenger safety technician, and you’ve started offering car seat checks in clients’ homes? Jamie: Correct! Alyssa: Tell me; what is a car seat tech? Jamie: So with these services, I would come to the comfort of your home and do a car seat check with you at your house, and this would involve making sure that the car seat is in the safest place in the car that you have. There’s a lot of details about that in your car manufacturer book that you may not know about. Alyssa: Many of [...]
April 2019
Podcast Episode #71: Bedrest Support
What the heck is an antepartum doula? Well, it basically means bed rest support for mothers who are high risk. But a bed rest doula can also help families that aren't necessarily on bed rest. Maybe a mom needs help running errands, finding community resources, preparing for baby showers, putting away gifts, nesting! Listen and learn more about what an antepartum doula does! You can listen to this complete podcast episode on iTunes or SoundCloud. Alyssa: Hi and welcome to Ask the Doulas with Gold Coast Doulas. I am Alyssa. Kristin: And I am Kristin. Alyssa: Today’s question is what is an antepartum doula, and I think it’s a really good question. We actually just kind of changed this on our website recently because antepartum is such a strange word. It actually refers more to our bedrest doulas, so it’s before birth, whereas postpartum support is after you have your baby. Antepartum support would be while you’re still pregnant. Kristin: Exactly. Alyssa: Do you want to talk about the role of a bedrest doula? Kristin: Bedrest doulas can support at home or in the hospital for clients who are on [...]