78. When is it safe to start exercising after baby?
Postpartum on Purpose
Hi Lady! How much exercise should you be getting during postpartum, and when is it safe to start? Here's how I'm incorporating the idea that 'movement is medicine', starting in my earliest postpartum days through now, almost 8 months(!) with my fifth baby. For further reading, an article I wrote for Natural Womanhood , plus the guideline I referenced: . If you enjoyed this episode, SUBSCRIBE + RATE + SHARE. As always, get in touch at or on Instagram @postpartumonpurpose.
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77. How I use the Hinge Health app during Postpartum
Postpartum on Purpose
Hi Lady! You know by now how I feel about free things, so it'll come as no surprise how enthused I was about the free Hinge Health app offered through my husband's employer. Here are all the things I love about the app, including built-in accountability to keep me honest and actually using it, plus how virtual physical therapy (a la Hinge Health) and in-person physical therapy (a la pelvic floor PT) can go hand-in-hand. If you enjoyed this episode, SHARE it with a mom friend, please! I'd also love for you to SUBSCRIBE and leave a REVIEW so other moms can find this, too. Get in touch on...
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76. How to Do C-Section Scar Massage at Home
Postpartum on Purpose
Hi Lady! If you've had a C-section (or known someone who has!), this guest episode is for you. I asked physical therapist assistant Sarah to cover the steps of C-section scar self-massage, and she delivered! Maybe most importantly, you can do C-section scar massage even if your C-section was YEARS ago (she explains early on in her video how a recent client got pain relief working through scar tissue from a surgery 30 years back!). Learn more from Sarah at If you appreciated this episode, SHARE it with a mom friend and SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode. Want to get in touch? Try...
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75. Is a C-section Scar Defect causing your secondary infertility or recurrent miscarriage?
Postpartum on Purpose
Hi Lady! Up until several months ago, I had never heard of a C-section scar defect, Cesearan scar defect, uterine isthmocele, or uterine niche (yep, those are all names for the same thing). But once I learned that between 30 and 70% of C-sections (depending on the research study) may result in C-section scar defect, I realized that every.single.woman who has a C-section should know what to look out for afterward, especially because it is treatable! In the episode, I covered what a C-section scar defect is, signs you might have one, how to know for sure, how it's fixed, and whether or not...
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74. Postpartum When Your Baby has an Unknown Diagnosis
Postpartum on Purpose
Hey Lady! This guest episode approaches sacred ground, a taste of the unique complexities, triumphs, and trials that come when a child is born and an unsuspected medical condition is discovered. Elena doesn't overwhelm the listener with particular details of her daughter Maggie's diagnosis, she draws out themes that any mother facing similar uncertainty will recognize. What shines through her testimony is the play of shadow and light on a postpartum impacted by a child's unknown medical diagnosis. I hope you'll return to this episode again and again to glean new bits of wisdom, to exhale...
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73. The "Unschooling" Approach to Introducing Solids
Postpartum on Purpose
Hi Lady! There's so much noise around how and when you introduce solids to your baby, including a fair amount of maxims about what you must do or must not do. Five babies in, my approach has become progressively more relaxed with each child. Here's what I'd offer for your consideration if you asked me how to ditch the stress about starting solid foods. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love for you to SUBSCRIBE and RATE the podcast, and then SHARE it with a mom friend. Get in touch at .
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72. Traveling with a Baby for the Holidays
Postpartum on Purpose
Hey Lady! Let's talk about keeping your sanity and your peace while traveling with a baby (and older sibling/s) over the holidays. Here's what to consider as you decide a) whether you want to travel at all b) how to set reasonable expectations for holiday travel c) how to not be overwhelmed by *all*the*things everyone tells new parents they *must have* for traveling with a baby. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love for you to SUBSCRIBE, leave a REVIEW, and SHARE with a mom friend. Get in touch .
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71. Save a Step Cooking: The alternative to batch cooking/freezer meal prep
Postpartum on Purpose
Hi Lady! If you're pregnant now, everyone and their brother will tell you to prep freezer meals before baby comes. But if you're postpartum and that didn't happen....same. I've got you. Here's an alternative to batch cooking/freezer meal prep that doesn't require you to cook for hours and hours on end or shop for a month's worth of groceries at once. Plus, we know foods that have been thawed tend to be a little...mushy. soft. And maybe you don't want all your postpartum meals to be mushy or soft. So, props if you've got a couple full meals in the freezer. But even if you do, and especially if...
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70. Holiday Prep: Postpartum-Style
Postpartum on Purpose
Hi Lady! At this time of year, we're facing increased commitments, increased stressful interactions (with in-laws, family of origin, etc.), AND we want to make meaningful Advent resolutions in order to enter into the "already...not yet" of this season and living it in light of eternity. When it comes to commitments, I'd love for you to ask "What do I really want to happen?" and then to modify what those line items look like (esp if, for ex, the thing you really want to happen is to make someone you love happy, and isn't easy or enjoyable for you). When it comes to stressful personal...
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69. 4 months postpartum as a key transition point
Postpartum on Purpose
Hi Lady! I look at 4 months postpartum as a key transition point: your hormones are still likely pretty low if you're breastfeeding but your daily activities are more or less back to normal (including your 'new normal'). Here's what this key transition time looks like for me in terms of sleep, activitity level, a baby milestone, and the outside support I'm still needing. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love for you to SUBSCRIBE and RATE the podcast and SHARE it with a mom friend. Get in touch or share your free thing of the week or one small change on Instagram @postpartumonpurpose or...
info_outlineHi Lady!
This week wraps up an informal 3-part miniseries. The first episode (#66) addressed what to do when everyone (thinks they) need you at once, with two movie quotes to make you laugh and help you shift your mindset about (and perhaps during) those moments. The second episode (#67) offered some logistical or practical considerations for triaging the times when your time and attention are in high demand, often from pre-rational people. ;) This episode encourages the use of buffers, breaks, moments of peace and rest and recovery in your day so that one stressful interaction doesn't bleed into (or scribble all over) the rest of your day.
First, categorize the activities in your day based on quadrants of an 'energy grid.' Red and yellow deplete you, blue and green build you back up. I shared examples of my own R,Y,B, and G activities. If that metaphor doesn't work for you, you can use The Mindful Catholic book's 'nourishing or depleting' classification (spoiler: some activities will be both!). I shared the first half of my (sample) day and what I consider N, D, or both.
If you enjoyed this episode, please SUBSCRIBE, RATE the podcast (this helps other moms find it!) and SHARE with a mom friend. Send me your 'free thing of the week' or 'one small change' to be mentioned (anonymously) in a future episode! Get in touch on Instagram @postpartumonpurpose or annemarie@postpartumonpurpose.com.