Three Things That Actually Prepared Me For Motherhood

10/11/21 • 23 min

This episode is all about the three things that ACTUALLY prepared me for motherhood. And they’re not parenting books. They’re not baby books. They’re not books at all. They're not birthing or breastfeeding or CPR classes. These three things do not include the “motherly intuition” that is apparently spontaneously downloaded into our brains as our babies exit our bodies. There was no spontaneous download of some sort of comprehensive, exhaustive manual that made me know how to feel that he’s warm, or tell that he’s hungry not tired, or understand that hekipokter means helicopter.

No, today I’m sharing with you the three things that ACTUALLY prepared me for the reality of motherhood, not the myth we are sold. Make sure to check out the shownotes here and check out how these lessons show up in my life now over on IG @alissaalter

Previous Episode

27: The Sacred Work of the Mother Artist with Elana Bell

It takes a lot to leave me speechless. I'm a talker. And today’s guest Elana Bell did it twice. Today she shares her empowered cesarean story and how she took something so medicalized and made it sacred. How she created space to grieve the birth she’d wanted and the version of herself who had to die in order for her to be reborn in motherhood.

Elana Bell is the author of Mother Country (BOA Editions 2020), poems about fertility, motherhood, and mental illness. Bell is also the founder of the Mother Artist Salon. In addition to facilitating her own Creative Fire workshops, Elana teaches poetry to actors at the Juilliard School and sings with the Resistance Revival Chorus, a group of womxn activists and musicians committed to bringing joy and song to the resistance movement. Learn more about Elana and her work at www.elana.bell.com and click here for the show notes and to learn more about me, what I do, and why I do it.

Next Episode

29: Throw Out The Script and Make Your Own Rules! with Kiki Mikkelsen

Oooh are you in for a treat! Postpartum doula, childcare provider, improviser, runner, future queer parent, and diet culture dropout Kiki Mikkelsen joins us to talk about caring for others, operating with integrity, tuning out all of the voices around you, listening to your gut, navigating family planning as a queer couple, and throwing out the script and deciding what’s best for you. What feels right in your body. Kiki lives in Brooklyn with her wife and their 2 cats, Finnigan and Dad. Learn more at www.kikithedoula.com.

Check out the shownotes for more info on Kiki, to download my free guide to the 20 Things No One Tells You About Pregnancy & Postpartum, and leanr more about what I do and why I do it, visit www.alissa-alter.com/podcast