Episode 318: Parenting from Abundance with Lilliana Vazquez

Our guest this week, Lilliana Vazquez, has held many titles - style expert, former television host on E!, and most recently, mama to her almost one year old son, Santiago. Like most episodes, our conversation is all about parenting but this one is a little different. We’re not only talking about Lilliana’s road to becoming a parent, including IVF treatment and her birth story, but also what is means to parent in abundance. She believes that making sure her own cup is full before anything else helps her be the best parent she can be. We also talk about the difficult feelings surrounding motherhood, advocating for your health (always!) and how good it feels to finally be heard. 

More about Lilliana: Lilliana is known as one of the fashion blogging OGs, and has carried many titles - from blogger to style expert, TV commentator to television host on E!. The enterprising star has curated a career that began from her small blog (CheapChicas.com), which she launched in 2008, to being seen by millions daily on numerous platforms including NBC TODAY, "Extra" to "The Talk," "Rachael Ray," "The Wendy Williams Show" and "Steve Harvey."  Today, she’s at PEOPLE (The TV Show) as a Special Contributor covering all things entertainment, red carpets, runways, and celebrity pop culture news.

Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, to a Puerto Rican father and Mexican mother, Lilliana is a first-generation Latinx who radiates gratitude for the dedication and sacrifices that her family made for her. Among the first in her family to attend college, she graduated from George Washington University, where she earned a double-major in international business and entrepreneurship. Lilliana has always used her platform to advocate for her community, and fight for Latinx representation in media and entertainment, as well as raise awareness on social issues.

In April of 2021, Lilliana announced she was pregnant with her first child, after battling with six years of infertility and IVF. After living this experience, Lilliana wishes to use her voice and platform to break the taboo around infertility and how it affects the Latinx community. In July 2021, Lilliana announced the birth of her healthy baby boy, Santiago “Santi” Merrick McGrath. Lilliana hopes to continue sharing about her journey to motherhood, the lessons, the challenges and hope with other mothers and those who hope to experience motherhood one day.

Vocabulary from this week’s episode

IVF: In vitro fertilization (IVF) helps with fertilization, embryo development, and implantation, so you can get pregnant.

IUI treatment: Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a simple procedure that puts sperm directly inside your uterus, which helps healthy sperm get closer to your egg.

AMH test: AMH, or anti-mullerian hormone is a substance produced by granulosa cells in ovarian follicles. Research shows that the size of the pool of growing follicles is heavily influenced by the size of the pool of remaining primordial follicles (microscopic follicles in “deep sleep”). Therefore, AMH blood levels are thought to reflect the size of the remaining egg supply – or “ovarian reserve”.

Gentle cesarean: A gentle C-section is a cesarean section which is elective and can occur under controlled situations.

Lilliana’s experience: “You can apply the same principles as a natural birth - skin to skin, cord clamping, vernix, and weight & height measurement can be delayed as long as the baby is okay. You can ask for a clear curtain instead of blue so you can watch the birth. You can also ask the doctor to take their time and be gentle; these are all things to discuss with your doctor if you are planning a gentle cesarean.”

Pick or Tip of the Week

Bricia’s pick this week is food! She has everything you can think of in her pantry - oils, salsas, etc. - she just wants to try one of everything. She recently tried David Chang’s products like the chili crunch, but her pick is the noodles. These are restaurant quality noodles come in clutch when you don’t have anything to eat.

Sun protection is Paulina’s tip this week. Coola Organic Radical Recovery After Sun Lotion has really helped her daughter’s recover from summer camp since they’re spending all day in the sun. They lather up before bed and it helps them so much in the morning.

Links

Follow Lilliana on Instagram @lillianavazquez

Episode 245: Keeping it Real with the Super Mamas: Bricia & Augustina's Birth Story

You have all been asking for Bricia’s birth story and we finally recorded it for you! We even had a special guest - Augustina herself. Since we’re still recording our episodes via Zoom, you’ll occasionally catch Augustina crying or Paulina swooning over her during this episode - muñequita hermosa!

Like most births, things didn’t exactly go as Bricia planned. Luckily she was prepared with research, help from her midwife, and really made sure to advocate for herself during every doctor appointment to make sure she & baby would have the best options possible. It’s amazing that Bricia really spoke her truth.

We also talk about the baby’s breastfeeding & bottle feeding routine, how Bricia is nourishing her body postpartum, and what a change it has been between her first pregnancy & birth with Eddie to this second experience with Augustina. Both mom & baby are doing well and we are so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude for all the well wishes you all have share with us. Bricia can’t wait to come back in a few weeks to record more brand new episodes!

Pick And Tip of the Week

Bricia has SO many picks this week! First, be sure to read her recent blog post about her essential postpartum items. She also still highly recommends (#notsponsored but she wishes she was 🤣) the book The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother. Check out a few more pick and tips she has to share below:

• After sharing her Boob Shells on Instagram Stories last week, many of you replied for Bricia to try the Haakaa breast pump, which she also loves!

• These really pretty pacifiers from BiBs - Augustina took to them right away and loves them!

• The Kiinde Twist Milk Storage bags - you pump directly into the bag, the nipple screws right on the bag, and they’re recyclable.

• Swaddles from Lou Lou and Company which are so soft and stretchy! Since Augustina is still preemie size and doesn’t have many onesies in this size, she basically swaddled in these blankets all day.

• Every Mother app - workouts to help resolve diastasis recti. They quick, easy exercises that Bricia can complete everyday. For more informations about diastasis recti, you can also listen to our recent episode with pelvic floor therapist Sara Reardon, the Healthy Vagina Whisperer.

• TIP - Talk to the lactation consultant the the hospital and if they can lend you a medical grade pump before your discharged. It’s so great! You can also check with your insurance to see what pump they can lend out to you too.

Since Paulina has three birth stories of her own, she also shared a few tips for moms who are about to give birth:

• Tip #1 - Vocalize what you need. When Bricia told the doctors she wasn’t comfortable with certain choices and wanted to try other options first, she stayed in control. If you stay vocal, you can voice your concerns and be an advocate for yourself. Do not be afraid to speak out.

• Tip #2 - Prepare yourself. Do research for all the possibilities so when doctors and nurses starts throwing fancy terms at you, then you kind of understand and know. And remember you are allowed to ask for resources!

Links

SpinningBabies.com is a great resource for expecting parents. There are videos, articles and images to assist during pregnancy, labor, birth and more.

Episode 194: Live from the Super Mamás Social w/ Two-Time Grammy Award Winner, Melanie Fiona

We are back with our 3-part series of our Super Mamás Social panels! This week we are sharing our conversation with Two-time Grammy Award winner, Melanie Fiona. Her distinctive, powerful voice and tone has captivated the hearts and minds of countless souls. As a new mother, Melanie is passionate about creating supportive spaces for women and mothers to be educated and inspired by one another. We discuss her birth story video on YouTube, how she navigates expectations & so much more.

Our Interview with Melanie Fiona

One of the topics you spoke up in such a raw and truthful way was your birth story- Looking back at that video, uploaded in 2016, at your most vulnerable, how do you compare Melanie then to Melanie now ?

A lot of us, after giving birth are eager to go” back to normal, or to who we were”  Or even that word of “bouncing back” we see it everywhere, magazines, shows, songs, popular culture, the “bounce back” the “come back” not realizing that we will never go back, but in fact we are moving forward and evolving. Being a public figure- how did you navigate those expectations from “others”? what have you learned from your experience and what would you like to share with someone that is feeling that pressure today?

I LOVED your video titled ‘why you, me and Cardi B’ deserve to celebrate our pregnancies What do you think we need to be doing to reprogram this part of brain who lies to us everyday with who need to be... and what do you think our responsibility is as women to change this perception in the world?   

I love this idea of having the soundtrack of our lives and us being the author of our song. I know technology can be seen as many things good, bad you name it but if anything, what it has done its given us the power and ability to find our voices and fully express how we really feel and what we really think. How has your show helped you in that aspect, and what would you say to anyone who feels in the fence about starting their own creative projects?

Episode 189: Following our Instinct, Finding Community & Prioritizing Self-Care with Zoila Darton

This week on the show, we have Zoila Darton- NY native turned LA resident and Head Dot Connector of WORD Creative. Zoila is a born connecter and believes fostering community creatively will save the world- basically, an incredible human. We talk all about her birthing story and the grueling aftermath, her journey in finding community in LA as an outsider, how she practices self care and her other baby, her thriving business.

Our Conversation with Zoila Darton

What was your birthing experience like?

How did you find community when you moved to LA ? Who helps you?

What inspired you to start WORD? What does it stand for?

What is your morning routine/ritual that helps you stay grounded & present?

What is the one thing that you told you yourself that you wouldn’t do as a mom that you’re doing now?

You can follow Zoila on IG at @ZoilaDarton, her agency at @word.agency and check out her new podcast, The Women I Know.

Pick or Tip of the Week

If you would also like to pull a card, pick up Zoila’s first pick-Sacred Symbols Oracle Deck by Marcella Kroll and find clarity and guidance through divination. While you’re at it, book yourself an 80-min massage at the very trendy the NOW Massage boutique. Take a minute for yourself.

Bricia’s pick this week is the Fighting with my Family movie. It’s all the things you want in a family-friendly movie: funny, empowering and incredibly inspirational. It’s now playing in theaters.

If you’ve been following Paulina on IG (which you totally should be!) she' recently organized her pantry. She used leftover glass containers and these cute chalkboard stickers to label everything. Check out her post about it here.