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Let's welcome our first guest on Word To Your Mothers, Hope Lien of Held by Hope and Breast Feeding Outside the Box. Hope's passion is to support parents to be empowered and find their perfect parenting style as they bring their babies home after birth, adoption, or surrogacy, giving them the care they need to be filled, so that they can therefore pour into their babies. It's her delight to journey with parents of all ages and backgrounds through ups and downs of motherhood and fatherhood. All families are incredibly unique and deserve care as distinguished as their special backgrounds and preferences. For the past 12 years she ahs been honored to walk with families during the fourth trimester. 

Hope has been a certified postpartum doula through DONA International, and she's currently certified as a Lactation Counselor through Healthy Children; she's also certified as a Breastfeeding Without Birthing instructor.

Hope lives in Minneapolis with her husband and she has the honor of mothering her two children that she calls her little "miracles". Her 5-year old daughter came to their family through adoptions and Hope has the beautiful experience of helping to catch her when she entered the world, as well as induce lactation in order to nurse her for two years. Then, she very unexpectedly became pregnant with her second miracle baby, now 2; her son was born at home with loving support of her doulas, midwives and the support of her partner and his big sister.  

Here is how you follow Hope! @heldbyhope & @sweetpeabreastfeeding 

https://www.facebook.com/heldbyhope/

Listen to Breastfeeding Outside The Box:

http://www.sweetpeabreastfeeding.com/podcast.html

In Episode #9: Host Sondra Doty and Hope Lien join together to talk about two things they wished they knew in their roles as mothers and with postpartum. Even though they are bringing a birth worker perspective to this topic, they both had their challenges; and they discuss how the challenges can bring about many different outcomes. 

Hope:

1. We knew almost everything in the world about birth and postpartum. Knowing can not protect you from the potential of difficulty. (ex: Postpartum depression, anxiety, birth trauma, NICU stay). But it should motivate you to plan well! Hope did this but wishes she would have spent even more time creating specific support. She realized more support was needed than just meals. She emphasizes creating a lactation and postpartum plan. We research so much on the birth that we forget we are brining these babies home and need to have a plan for postpartum. Be willing to be vulnerable and humble accept help when it's offered. Also, keep reaching out until you get the support you need. 
2.  There is no such thing as a perfect motherhood. We need to learn that's it's ok to have dirty dishes, dirty babies, dirty mommies and dirty houses. It's ok to ask for support when you need to get your needs met and meet the needs of your baby. Try the best to find your personal BALANCE. This "balance" you desire is not always achievable. Remember that other's perceptions are THEIRS. They don't define who you are or how you are performing. 

Sondra:

1. Sondra wishes she knew that it's ok to have healthy boundaries and say no. As a birth worker she thought she had to try it all-especially with her first-born son; with her second son, born six years later, this mindset got better. She had to learn how to vocalize those boundaries.
2.  She wishes she knew that she needed to ask for help more. Sondra assumed others would just see or recognize that she needed help. Plus, she found it challenging to express what she needed and when. 

Sondra and Hope also share a few tips for postpartum and why-besides hiring a doula and postpartum doula, of course, LOL!

Their action step for this episode is to encourage people to learn to esteem postpartum, too. Also, they want to encourage you to walk through the shame and guilt that maybe you are feeling around this new role or any stage of parenting. 

If you love listening to Word To Your Mothers, kindly write a review on your podcast platform or send an email to wordmothers@gmail.com 

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Click below to book Sondra to speak at your group or event. 

http://www.wordtoyourmothers.com/speaking/