Mom Rage

Edan and Amelia kick off season two by revisiting the word "mom" and how they're feeling about the role right now. Edan met with her son's new psychologist and Amelia found a new poetry collection to love. At minute 27:00, they talk to maternal and fetal medicine specialist Dr. Emiliano Chavira about his refreshing approach to high risk pregnancies, delivering breech babies, and what it's like to perform a C-section. https://www.momragepodcast.com https://www.patreon.com/momragepodcast

Amelia and Edan discuss childcare. Everyone who has a child needs some form of childcare, and yet it feels like people aren't talking about how they're getting it done. They also discuss Mom Lit as a book genre and read two poems. ("Mom" poems?) At minute 32:15, they're joined by lactation consultant and student midwife, Kimberly Durdin, who generously shares the number one thing she does to help mothers struggling with breastfeeding, why women need postpartum support, and so much more.

Amelia and Edan talk a little bit about parental judgment. Edan struggles to overcome being judgy about kids on screens, and Amelia talks about the judgment she sometimes feels between SAHMs and "working" moms. At 28:45, they talk to the incognito “Anony-Mom” about the struggles she’s had with her older son’s behavioral issues and the way things came to a head with other parents at the end of his first year of TK.

Amelia can't stop crying about the passing of time and the sweet cruelty of raising babies. Edan discusses her family's childrearing culture and shares the first thing she did as soon as she took Bean home from the hospital seven years ago. At minute 28:03, they talk to Angela Garbes, author of Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy.

Edan and Amelia share their self-care methods. When is self-care a necessity for good parenting, and when can it slide into selfishness? Then, novelist and journalist Margaret Wappler comes on (32:00) to talk about doing "mini" IVF and what it's been like to care for a newborn while grieving her mother's death.

For their last show of 2018, Amelia has a child-centric performance art idea and Edan witnesses her son lose it in a Target dressing room. They also do a mini-post-mortem on their first season. At 35:00, they talk with pilates and hypopressives instructor Georgia Roberts, who specializes in preparing women for pregnancy, birth, and understanding their post-partum bodies.   https://www.momragepodcast.com/

Amelia and Edan discuss the results of the Mom Rage sex survey that our intrepid listeners anonymously answered, covering everything from how often sex is happening, to how it feels to be sexual after becoming a parent, to what everyone's turn-ons are. At 58:00, they talk to therapist Camille Campbell about some of the struggles couples might face after having children, and how to best face and repair them. https://www.momragepodcast.com/ https://www.patreon.com/momragepodcast    

Amelia and Edan discuss some interesting feedback about how extended maternity leave affects women returning to the workforce. They then have an uncomfortable conversation about whiteness and identity. At 28:00, they talk with mother and computer programmer Louise Yang about hypnotizing herself during childbirth, stir-frying her placenta, and why she gets annoyed when people ask if her daughter's a tomboy.   https://www.momragepodcast.com/

Edan talks about her enraging visit to the OB-Gyn and her quest to get menstruating again; Amelia's son Isaac can't stop crying in the mornings and her son Teddy can't wipe his butt properly. At 28:00, we interview writer Lydia Kiesling about her debut novel The Golden State and why she's writing about motherhood, the trauma that is yelling at your own child, and being a feminist on Weight Watchers. https://www.momragepodcast.com/ https://www.patreon.com/momragepodcast  

Amelia wants to talk about rock climbing and ambition, specifically Edan's "ambition." Then, they both read a few poems that help them metabolize what's going on in the world. At 29:30, they talk with writer Abigail Rasminsky, who recounts what it was like being an expat parent in Vienna, Austria.   https://www.momragepodcast.com/

Edan shares her heartache and anxiety over Bean's school troubles, and Amelia talks about what she's read lately; together they discuss the value and drawbacks of political rage. At 34:00, author and grief therapist Claire Bidwell Smith shares what she learned from her own divorce, and also why it's so easy to be anxious and so hard to actually grieve. https://www.momragepodcast.com/

Amelia recounts getting into it with her mom about Kavanaugh, and Edan recounts her weekend fighting lice. Then they listen to some Labia Hotline callers. At 32:00, they interview yoga teacher, doula, and owner of Moms at Om studio Keya Nkonoki about her life's work helping pregnant women and mothers.    https://www.momragepodcast.com https://www.patreon.com/momragepodcast

Edan and Amelia wade into the deep waters of where-to-send-your-kids-to-school. Much of the conversation is a way of introducing this week's guest (26:00): Courtney Everts Mykytyn Ph.D, who founded Integrated Schools, "a grassroots movement of, by and for parents who are intentionally, joyfully and humbly enrolling their children in integrating schools."   https://www.momragepodcast.com https://www.patreon.com/momragepodcast

Amelia and Edan swap life updates and then grapple with the Brett Kavanaugh hearing (the morning after it happened). They also listen to some amazing Labia Hotline callers, and read an email from a listener about a new way to think about the burdens of childcare costs. At minute 33:45, midwife Sara Howard details the options for same-sex family planning. She also shares her experience becoming pregnant with twins and birthing them via c-section. https://www.momragepodcast.com https://www.patreon.com/momragepodcast

Edan and Amelia take an episode to think about their larger intentions as parents and set goals for the future. At minute 35:00, they're joined by stylist, artist, and designer Beatrice Valenzuela, who leans heavily on her instincts in all things, including parenting. https://www.momragepodcast.com https://www.patreon.com/momragepodcast

Edan and Amelia talk about screen/phone culture: how they're trying to manage it and what worries them. At 36:40, they talk to Kim Brooks about her book Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear.   https://www.momragepodcast.com https://www.momragepodcast.com/support/

Amelia and Edan start with life updates. For Edan, Ginger started preschool and Bean got sent to the principal's office. For Amelia, Isaac went through binky withdrawal and she lost her mind. At minute 16:00, they set up the interview Amelia (and Matt!) did with her mother, pediatrician Rebecca Bickel, discussing her career, Amelia's childhood, and why the two butt heads so much. Afterward, Edan and Amelia discuss the conversation. https://www.momragepodcast.com https://www.patreon.com/momragepodcast

Amelia and Edan talk a little bit about parental judgment. Edan struggles to overcome being judgy about kids on screens, and Amelia talks about the judgment she sometimes feels between SAHMs and "working" moms. At 28:45, they talk to the incognito “Anony-Mom” about the struggles she’s had with her older son’s behavioral issues and the way things came to a head with other parents at the end of his first year of TK.    https://www.momragepodcast.com https://www.patreon.com/momragepodcast

Amelia survived a vacation with her mom, and Edan's son survived a weekend at her dad's. They then play some voicemail messages from listeners expressing their mom rage. At 29:50, they're joined by Miry Whitehill, founder of Miry's List, a nonprofit that helps refugee families feel more welcome in the US. Miry talks about starting the organization as a stay-at-home mother in need of connection and perspective, and what she's learned from the new arrival families she's met. She also tells us what it's like cohabitating and co-parenting with her ex.   https://www.momragepodcast.com https://www.patreon.com/momragepodcast

Amelia sounds off on a photography book about motherhood, and Edan's feeling rageful in the final week before school starts. Then, they discuss cooking, from how they get dinner done and eaten, to Amelia's sparse refrigerator, to their shared distaste of meal kits like Blue Apron. They're joined by Edan's best friend Diana Samardzic (47:20) who talks about why she plans to only have one kid as well as her career as a clinical psychologist for low-income and underserved clients.    https://www.momragepodcast.com