Today We Tried

What is a doula? Should I work with a doula? How do I find a doula? Christy is joined by celebrity doula Lori Bregman to answer these questions and more. Lori has attended more than 1200 births so she knows what she’s talking about when she shares advice on finding the right care provider, engaging partners during birth, setting a birth intention, and processing your birth. Lori also talks about what led her to start Seedlyfe, an innovative powder supplement company, and why she’s leaning into building community and educational resources to support people at all stages of their fertility and pregnancy journeys. And, more exciting news: use code seedlyfe15 for 15% off your order on seedlyfe.com!

This week, Christy is joined by Brooke Cates, founder of The Bloom Method to talk about tapping into your intuition, reclaiming your power, and healing postpartum. It’s a must-listen if you want to learn how to heal through functional movement, the facts about diastasis recti, and why you should ignore anyone who tries to tell you what your body can and cannot do. Brooke also shares why self-care is a “non-negotiable” for her and how she finds time to fill her own cup – you’ll want to take notes, especially as we head into a busy holiday season.

Today, we’re talking about perinatal mental health with Alison Workman, a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner at The Motherhood Center, and here’s the key takeaway: “When in doubt, reach out!” If you’re feeling overwhelmed or like something isn’t right, it’s always a good time to ask for help. In this episode, Alison lays out the different types of perinatal mood disorders and shares what symptoms to look out for and go-to resources to find a provider. She also talks about services offered by The Motherhood Center. Christy and Alison both talk about their own postpartum experiences as well, sharing things they wish they’d known the first time around. Listen for commiseration, connection, and easy ways to feel more confident as a new or more experienced parent.

This week’s episode is a deep dive into surrogacy. Christy’s guests are Agata Wisniowska, who grew her family through surrogacy after years of infertility and is now an intended parent coach, and Angela Pickering, a former surrogate and current owner of a surrogacy agency. Agata and Angela share their own stories and give advice for anyone considering a surrogacy journey. They also talk about how to prepare for the 4th trimester as an intended parent and as a surrogate. Their insights around the importance of healing your own trauma before becoming a parent, drawing boundaries, and embracing your unique path will resonate whether or not you are familiar with the world of surrogacy.

Christy is joined by Blessing Adesiyan, founder of MotherHonestly, fellow mom of 4 and inspiration to moms everywhere. This episode is full of real talk about the state of motherhood today – it can all feel a little dire with rising prices, lack of support and paid leave, and the feeling that we should be “doing it all.” But, Blessing and Christy also share solutions, like how to approach conversations with your partner about rebalancing the load at home and what employers can do to step up to help. They also chat about what works in their own homes, including Blessing’s story about how she discovered her husband is way better at bathtime and what they outsource. Listen for a chance to feel seen, celebrated, and ready to take action to find more equality at home and equity in the workforce..

This one is big: Christy is joined by Mallory Whitmore aka The Formula Mom to talk about how to have an empowered feeding journey with your baby, and why opting for formula instead of nursing can be the best choice for parents and for baby. Mallory shares how her own experience with postpartum depression and attempt to breastfeed her first baby led her to launch The Formula Mom, and gives her top tips for successful formula feeding. Christy and Mallory also discuss the upsides to bottle feeding, like getting your partners involved, and the potential downsides of “baby friendly hospitals.” Christy shares why combo-feeding (nursing + formula) her babies has helped her to feel more confident in the 4th trimester and beyond. Plus, Mallory chats about why her planned c-sections were super positive experiences.

Christy and Cameron Rodgers had their babies just weeks apart - Christy’s 4th and Cameron’s 1st - and Christy was so inspired by Cameron’s honesty and vulnerability as Cameron shared her 4th trimester experience in real time. This week, Christy and Cameron talk about Cameron’s mental health journey postpartum, including why weaning was critical to her mental health, why her depression hit 3-4 months into parenthood, and the power of focusing on one small win a day when you’re working to find happiness in your life. They also chat about what surprised them most about the 4th trimester and the late-night impulse buys that helped them to survive the “fever dream” of those early days of new parenthood, including this miracle baby shusher. Programming note: Christy and Cameron share their real-time reactions to the Ulvade shooting at the beginning of this episode.

Christy is joined by Danielle Jackson, friendship expert and mom of 2, to talk all about female friendships, why they’re worth prioritizing even in the busy days of new parenthood and how to make and maintain friendships at times of transition. They also chat about how to approach having an awkward conversation to save a friendship, and share ideas on how to stay connected with friends when you don’t have time for a night out (paddle tennis, anyone?). You can find more from Danielle Jackson at her website and on TikTok.

Christy is joined by Alexis Kristiana, content creator and mom of 2 who keeps it real while inspiring her community by documenting her motherhood journey. Alexis shares tips on how to do “self-care on the go” and how to set boundaries (you’ll love her auto-response hack!). They also do a deep dive into Alexis’s tandem breastfeeding journey, including how her toddler son reacted when his baby sister arrived and how Alexis deals with internet trolls.

This week, Christy is joined by Drs. Morgan Clark and Amanda Fisher of Empower Your Pelvis to talk all things pelvic floor. Listen to have the questions you were afraid to ask about the pelvic floor answered and learn why it’s so important to get all 28 muscles (!!) in the pelvic floor working together – everything from sex to posture to babywearing. By the end of this episode, you’ll be ready to empower yourself by empowering your pelvis! We excerpted this conversation in episode 3 of this season and we’re so excited to bring you the full chat now! Follow Empower Your Pelvis on Instagram for more fun and educational pelvic floor content.

We’re back with new episodes of Today We Tried and our first ever convo with a couple! Christy chats with Lauren Marek and Carra Sykes, creatives and mama and mommy to Walt, about their 4th trimester. Listen to hear how their relationship has evolved from their “meet cute” story (it involves flikr!) to how they decided Lauren would carry their pregnancy, to their birth story. to the endless, nervous early days of parenthood. Lauren and Carra are such a wonderful example of true partnership and we’re so excited to share their story!

Trigger Warning: discussion of a birth injury and recovery. This week’s episode was inspired by Emily Juchau who shared her own Today We Tried moment of coming home from the hospital with baby #2 and an unexpected accessory: a catheter from a birth injury. The response to her story was massive (her Reel has 21.5M views!) and we wanted to dive deeper into this topic to help other birthing people in a similar situation feel less alone. Christy and Emily are joined by Dr. Jocelyn Fitzgerald, a Urogynecologist and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgeon, to talk about how bladder injuries can occur during birth, the healing process, and much more, including the critical importance of paid leave, why ob/gyn departments are chronically underfunded, and how to advocate for yourself in the 4th trimester and beyond. See Emily’s story here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CZw0RmuqjfQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

We’re back with more tales from the 4th trimester! This week, Christy chats with Bennett Kaspar-Williams about his 4th-trimester experience as a trans, non-binary seahorse dad. Bennett invites us to question the gendered nature of pregnancy and postpartum, gives his tips for diapers for you and baby, and shares how he navigated the fog of early parenthood. Plus, Christy and Bennett talk about the importance of creating a mental health checklist (just important as making those freezer meals!). In conjunction with this episode, Colugo is re-launching its limited-edition Pride Compact to raise money for Family Equality. Head to www.hicolugo.com to check them out!

This week, we’re talking about going back to work after having a baby and why paid parental leave – which is crucially important – is only the beginning when it comes to supporting parents. Christy shares how her strong support of paid parental leave ran into the reality of trying to take leave while in a leadership position at a small start-up. While things didn’t go exactly as planned, her experience validated the importance of finding ways to support parents both during and after the 4th trimester. We also share Colugo’s parental leave policy, the additional benefits we have to help make Colugo a start-up that works for working parents, and ways to bring these policies to your workplace.

No matter how you feed your baby - bottle, boob, or a combo of the 2 - feeding your baby dominates the 4th trimester. We’re doing a deep dive into this often fraught topic today Christy shares the feeding struggles she’s faced and the perspective she’s gained after feeding 4 babies. Listen for tips and validation to feel more prepared for or supported in your feeding journey with your little one.

We’re talking postpartum bodies and there’s a lot to cover! There’s a trip to the ER, pelvic floor PT, and affirmations. Christy shares how even with all of her privilege, she had trouble finding the support she needed postpartum and offers insight into what worked for her and what changes we need to make to better support new parents in the 4th trimester.

This week, we drop into the early days of Christy’s 4th trimester when she’s just home from the hospital with Holland. These early days hold so much– sleep deprivation, anxiety, all encompassing joy, and more –and we’re holding nothing back. Listen to hear what Christy’s learned as she takes on the 4th trimester for the 3rd time, including why sleep is everything and why leaning into moments of joy is key. And, you’ll never guess what happens when Christy and her family move at 3 weeks postpartum. It’s a wild, joyful and anxiety-filled ride.

This season, we’re taking on the 4th trimester! There’s so much written about pregnancy, but not enough about what comes next. We wanted to change that by creating space for real conversations about the 4th trimester. Using in-the-moment recordings, audio diaries, and conversations with Zac, TWT’s producer, Christy documented her own journey, throughout her 4th trimester. Each week we’ll cover a big topic - like postpartum bodies, hormones, feeding, and parental leave - during this wild, challenging, exhausting, fun, scary, bizarre, rewarding time. We hope this season will help parents feel more connected and confident as they take on their own 4th trimester. This week, Christy shares her birth story. On the evening of her due date, Christy felt decreased fetal movement. Thinking she was probably overreacting but wanting to be sure, she called a Lyft to take her to the hospital. Listen to the episode to find out what happened next! TW: This episode contains details of labor & delivery, including a postpartum hemorrhage.

Christy, Colugo’s Chief Parent Officer, is joined by Ted, her husband, and Colugo’s founder, and their 3 kids to celebrate the end of Season 1 of Today We Tried. They give an update on a big “season of change” for their family, including the impending arrival of baby #4, and they give a sneak peek of what’s next for the podcast and Colugo. Mentioned in this episode: Slumber Pod, baby names, and counting baby kicks.

Christy, Colugo’s Chief Parent Officer, is joined by Kevin Gerdes to kick off Pride Month. Kevin is a real estate agent and Black, gay, single dad in LA who is fostering Baby S. Kevin shares his story of what inspired him to become a foster parent, the process, and how fatherhood has changed and inspired him. Mentioned in this episode: LGBTQ Stories, Aviva, The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez