It has been three years since Erica brought the idea of Little Honey Money to me, and I am now more excited than ever about the mission behind it. It’s all so much clearer to me now that I am a new mom myself. Yes, thats right, after two years or trying to conceive, then going through IVF, and then waiting two years to implant our first embryo—we’ve welcomed a little girl into our lives. And motherhood has been all the things everyone said it would be: beautiful and magical—and challenging at the same time.
As I reflect back on all of the support I chose to have during pregnancy and postpartum, I am so grateful. Grateful to the women who supported me, and grateful to Little Honey Money for exposing me to the type of support that is accessible to me. The cherry on the cake is all of the support I received from friends and family through my Little Honey Money registry—to help pay for the dreamiest pregnancy support team out there.
I shared on our recently-released podcast episode all about my pregnancy, but I feel that the amount of education and resources I went into pregnancy with really set up me in ways I could have never truly planned for. My body felt strong, my emotions felt supported, my mind was balanced, and my heart was so, so full. Below is a list of the wellness services I used and the women behind the brands.
Two other things I also did during pregnancy that helped me so much and were such minimal investments were journaling and mediating daily—I love the daily jay on Calm app.
Birthing Doula
My birth doula was Lori Bregman. She is the OG doula of all doulas. The best way to describe what it’s like working with a birth doula is they are your coach for the BIG game. Lori taught me all about what my body was experiencing and how I can support my body and baby during pregnancy to labor. She was also super supportive of my husband and showed him ways he could support me and feel involved. The knowledge she was able to share gave me so much comfort and confidence leading up to birth. In the hospital, Lori made all the difference for me and my husband.
Private Trainer
Before being pregnant, I was working out three to four days a week, and my physical health has always been super important to me. I had some fear that pregnancy wold take over my body and I wouldn’t be able to bounce back. I also knew motivation could get harder and harder, so I decided to invest in a private trainer that I would see two days a week. I worked with Tenaya Figueira of Movement Co at her private studio in Venice. She led me through incredible stretching and strengthening workouts including some bar and light weights. She was so knowledgeable of pelvic floor exercise and pregnancy safe workouts.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture was the best way to check in with my nervous system and keep my digestion in check each week. I would say digestion was something i struggled with most around six months into pregnancy, and acupuncture definitely helped. I saw Katya at Spirit gate and with her it’s so custom in the way she works with you. She spends time asking how you are doing and what you need—then works on those areas. I felt heard, I felt supported and always left with a sense of calm and slept like a baby that night.
Night Nanny & Lactation Consultant
I hit the jackpot with Katy the Doula. She showed up just 20 minutes after we got home with our little girl, with us having zero idea what to expect and what to do. She just synced right into our family and guided us through it all. She taught me how to get breastfeeding right away (with specific tricks to work around my cesarean), how to support milk production, how to swaddle my baby, even how to burp my baby. My husband and I really knew nothing about taking care of a newborn. I was so focused on my pregnancy and labor, that I needed all the support in postpartum. Katy would sleep in the baby’s room and wake up with her so I could get some sleep. She was a life saver and after doing what she does for fourteen years, there is nothing she hasn’t seen. We laughed, we cried—we are now forever connected.
Postpartum Doula
I was recommended to get abhyanga massages to support my nervous system and all the changes my body just went through. So I did just that. I saw Leilove and she would come to my home once a week to give me the most nourishing massage with hot oils. She would then cook me a warm Ayurvedic meal and offer me belly binding.
Perinatal Psychotherapist
I had fears going into motherhood around identity with work (owning an agency and co-foundIng a tech startup really started to become so much of who I am and what I’m good at), relationship issues, and postpartum. So to be preventative, I met with Molly Nourmand of Life After Birth. I met with her for six weeks (three weeks before my due date and three weeks after) and would just talk about anything I was feeling at that time. It was my one hour a week to check in with my mind, thoughts, and feelings. Molly created space for me to rant on and offered tools for me to work through anything needing some attention.
Meal Delivery
Everyone was right when they said, the last thing you want to think about was what to cook—but at the same time you want to have nourishing healthy foods readily available to you. I set up a registry item for meal delivery and used it towards mostly Organic Oren but also Gracefully Fed Soups and, of course, relied a lot on the Erewhon soups and prepped food section. Organic Oren was great because it is sent family style so the price breakdown is great, and you can add on as much as you’d like. It’s all prepared weekly, fresh from local farmers markets. AND… my husband actually liked it. Some meal deliveries I have done in the past, really only worked for my taste buds.
If you are expecting, my wish for you is that you prioritize yourself, your body, and mind. It’s all going to be so useful for when your baby arrives. I know that the more I felt rested, balanced and supported, the better I was able to show up for my family.
It’s a beautiful whirlwind! xx Jhoanna
