Motherhood After Miscarriage with Micah Klassen
ABOUT THE EPISODE
I'm so humbled and honored to have today's guest on the show, Micah Klassen. In this episode, Micah gets candid about her experience with miscarriage and her subsequent pregnancy.
I valued our conversation and hearing about the aftermath of her experience, how she has coped with anxiety and PTSD, and how it has shaped her overall motherhood experience.
TOPICS DISCUSSED
Micah's story of a miscarriage on Christmas Eve and how it has affected her
The way Micah is navigating anxiety post miscarriage
Micah's newfound experience with the healthcare system during her miscarriage and being thankful for her doctors
Breaking down the taboo of anxiety and PTSD that can happen after a miscarriage and the use of medication
Pregnancy after miscarriage and how Micah coped with this
Why you have to keep your passions alive as a mom
RESOURCES MENTIONED
THIS WEEK’S WRITING PROMPT
Think about a time when someone supported you in the way that you needed. What did they do for you? How can you offer yourself that more in the future?
ABOUT MICAH
MICAH KLASSEN was raised in New Zealand and homeschooled by her mum, who was the first to spark a love for creative writing in her during primary school. That spark quickly morphed into flame — writing is such a cathartic expression for Micah and has helped her through some very difficult seasons. In 2010, she moved to Australia, fell in love and married her Canadian sweetheart — They now have two babies and Micah is doing her best not to fall off the wild rollercoaster ride that is Motherhood! Currently writing from Vancouver, Canada.
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Jackie Leonard 0:05
Hi, Micah, welcome to the podcast.
Micah Klassen 0:07
Hello. Thanks for having me.
Jackie Leonard 0:10
So to kick us off, can you share a little bit about yourself with our listeners?
Micah Klassen 0:16
Yes, I am, New Zealand born. And I'm currently living in Vancouver, I have two beautiful boys. They're aged three and 18 months. So I am a full time mom at the moment. And I love to just write and do a little bit of art and creativity on the side. And, yeah, I've spent about 12 years in Australia and have just recently moved to Canada. So my husband and I are starting sort of starting over here. And so far, it's going really well. And we're, we're enjoying just living in Canada getting getting to know the culture here. And yeah, that's kind of where I'm at right now.
Unknown Speaker 1:05
Yeah, and our your wonderful writing is how I've connected with you through mother scope. And we'll talk a little bit more about how people can read about read more of your writing later. And I'm looking forward to hearing a little bit of your writing at the end as well. But what we're gonna talk about today is recent experience that you had, where you thought to yourself, I didn't expect this before I became a mom. Yeah. So like, Can you share your story?
Unknown Speaker 1:38
Yeah. Something that I didn't expect, was an experience I had in 2018, of going through miscarriage. And I was already a mom at the time I, my first son was five months old. When I found out I was pregnant, which was a bit of a shock. My husband and I was surprised that at that point, we we were just loving being parents to our five months old and my birth experience and everything had been incredible with him. And we were like we knew we wanted to have more than one child. So we thought why not? Let's go for it again. And so we started on that journey. And then around December of 2018, which was when I was about 13 weeks. It was Christmas Eve and I started. I just started having a little bit of bleeding and was got a little worried and chatted to my midwife. And she was like, it's probably nothing. Just keep doing what you're doing at the time, we were actually serving in our local church, and we weren't involved in Christmas Eve services and things like that. So a lot was going on. But I just kept sort of doing what I was doing. And then the bleeding sort of got worse, and I ended up an emergency a couple of times. And then we ended up losing our little baby, which was just a really, it sort of broke my world apart as I knew it at the time. I I'm one of eight kids. And I grew up looking after my youngest siblings a lot and just being around kids. And I've seen my mom go through so many pregnancies and miscarriage was never something I'd really even thought about or men. Yeah, it was just something I'd not mentally prepared for. And I don't think really anyone does when they're in it. But yeah, I was just completely shocked and heartbroken and. And it took a lot of working through. I think my husband and I took some time following that to grieve. It was a really, really tough time we Yeah, I ended up in emergency a couple of times, and one of those times was very traumatic. I had a bit of a hemorrhage happen. And that was just really scary. And my husband was able to be with me through the whole thing. But in the midst of it, I felt very scared. I didn't really know what was going on. I eventually, obviously knew I was losing the baby, but my hemorrhage happened following the actual miscarriage. And so that was just really scary. I remember being in the emergency room just laying on the stretcher and just waiting for a doctor to come and assess what was going on. And yeah, it was quite intense. And it was very traumatic. And so that experience kind of sparked a lot of anxiety and anxiety in me following that time as I was recovering as I was healing. The healing process took a long time, which was also something I didn't expect and Yeah, I kind of am still navigating anxiety now as a mom of two, following that experience, which I have worked through and sort of talked to professionals about through counseling and have realized that a lot of my anxiety has is rooted in my experience with miscarriage and just how traumatic it was. And I think for me, it was, it was a case of women talk a lot about birth experiences not going as planned. And I miscarriage is a prime example of that, although maybe not the traditional experience of an unplanned birth. But I think in a way, it really is. It just shocks you completely. And yeah, it's it's been a journey since then. I I am, like I said, still navigating anxiety now. And it was just something that Yeah, really took us by surprise, and something that I didn't expect or didn't ever expect to happen to me. Yeah, yeah.
Unknown Speaker 6:11
I, first of all, like, just thank you for sharing. So candidly about something that you touched on is taboo still to talk about and yeah, affects so many people. And I think a lot of times too, when we hear about something that we know is more common, we kind of have like a blanket idea of what it looks like. Yeah, and I'm sure I mean, obviously, every single experience of miscarriage or birth is different, even if it is quote, unquote, like the same textbook. So I just have, like, all these different questions that have been coming up, as you were talking, I wanted to, but what really stuck out to me was the, the length or like, this is something that will probably, you know, be something that comes up for you or that you're navigating throughout your life. And I think when we talk about miscarriage in the past, it's very much like, oh, it happened to me then. And now it's not like these I moved on, or I had a baby. So it's, it's, it's, that was a chapter that is gone now, you know, and yeah, I think that was how it was handled a lot for women in the past was like, it happened to me. You know, that was one thing and doesn't have a lasting effect. And yeah, really spoke to that. I'm curious to hear. You know, you said that you've started to have, like, some bleeding on Christmas Eve. And to me, I think like, that's during a time that's like a it's a, you know, a happy time, a celebratory time you're seeing family, the holidays, are filled with all sorts of emotions. And so to have that experience happen on, you know, Christmas Eve, how has that been for you in the years following?
Unknown Speaker 7:59
Yeah, that's a great question. I am. That Christmas, it's safe to say was the worst Christmas we've ever experienced. My husband and I, we were really lucky to be at the time, we're in Sydney. So we didn't actually have any of our immediate family around. And so we had had plans to spend Christmas Day with some really close friends of ours that was sort of like family to us. And we ended up still going ahead with those plans. And we were able to leave my son with them when I had to go to hospital. And when we realized we were losing the baby. So that was absolutely amazing that we were with really close friends of ours who were just like, do what you need to do go to the hospital. They were there for us when we got back and we sort of walked into their arms, which was amazing. But yeah, I mean, I, the following Christmas was weird, because we felt like the year before Christmas had sort of been a non event for us. We spent Christmas Day in an in an emergency room. And yeah, so the following Christmas was there was a lot of emotions involved, we had done a lot of healing, but at the same time, that kind of brought it all back as well. And to think where we had been the Christmas before was a bit, we realize still raw and even my husband, he'll talk to me now sometimes, and we still and we still I've written a few poems about this experience, and even just writing about it and going through the experience again, like that has brought us back to tears. And even now talking about it, like you just can't really anticipate how the grief or how that process really fully impacts you. I think until you're talking about it, and then you realize, yeah, this really did affect me in a way that is probably going to be a bit ongoing. And I think talking about it is really good because it helps me but it also I guess in a weird way I think it's really good to feel the feelings because it's something that happened to me. It shaped me it was really hard. It still is hard to think about sometimes. But it's a part of my story, I guess now. And yeah, it's just one experience of birth. That was really hard. And then I've had some really good experiences as well. So yeah, it's been it's been interesting Christmases. Last Christmas was really amazing. Wait, we're with family here in Canada, which was great. And it actually felt like, this is how Christmas is supposed to be. So it did take a while for us to feel like the, I guess the horror, and trauma of that Christmas kind of, you know, healed over a bit. And but I guess it will always be a reminder to me, especially of, of what happened on Christmas, in 2018. Which is Yeah, kind of crazy.
Unknown Speaker 11:03
Yeah, you spoke to, you know, like, community support, essentially, during that time that you had, you were luckily with people that you were close to that were able to support you and comfort you and also help you with your, your baby while you were going through this. Yeah, I'm curious, because you were talking about, you know, having to be in the hospital and having all these complications that sounded like you said, very traumatic. How did you feel like you were cared for? In the hospital? What were things, you know, during and after? That really supported you during that time?
Unknown Speaker 11:45
Yeah, that's, that's something I think about offered actually, because I think I had a mix of experiences where, because I was an emergency, like three times total, each experience after, like, by the third time, I was kind of, I sort of had the feel of I knew what was going to happen, what they were going to do and you know, the process of things for me, but I yeah, I encountered I, I think I overall felt really cared for, um, there were a few times where it felt a little clinical and like I was just being rattled off the facts, you know, like, miscarriages is actually really common. So don't, there's nothing you did that, that has caused this, like, don't feel like you're the one to blame. This is not your fault at all. This is just this happens a lot. I got told that often. 30% I think it was of pregnancies end in miscarriage, which is something that I've thought about a lot, because you don't really want to tell that to a pregnant woman who's, you know, just found out she's pregnant and is having an amazing experience so far. And so there's this weird tension of like, Oh, I wish women knew more about this in order to be able to prepare, but at the same time, you don't want to know about it. Because you don't want your pregnancy to go that way. It's kind of like this weird. So yeah, I got I got a lot of nurses who were really caring and sort of talk me through it. But because of the nature of the holiday that we were on, when I lost the baby, we were actually the day we lost the baby. It felt like chaos in the hospital, they were completely understaffed. I actually lost the baby just by myself in my hospital bed with my husband beside me, because we were still waiting for a doctor at that point waiting to be seen. And I totally understood like it was Christmas Day. It's not the typical, it was just not great timing. And so I think we took that into account. These things never have great timing, right? But there was one nurse who I remember and, and how she made me feel will always stick with me. Where she came in, she sort of felt my stomach and at that point, I was lying on the bed and I I just kind of knew within me that I had lost the baby. And she was very tender. And she was actually from Europe, I think but she kind of walked me through it she when I said do you think I've probably lost the baby. She's she just gently said, Yeah, I think so. And then she she kind of took us to a room by ourselves after, after getting me what I needed. And we did an ultrasound, just to make sure and then even that was done by a technician who was not a fully trained technician because they had no one so it was just like a portable little thing and she was like the nurse said this technician knows enough for us to sort of be pretty confident that the that what she finds will be legitimate. And so we kind of just had to go with that and yeah Sure enough, she didn't find a heartbeat. And so then we were kind of left with, I guess just the shock and the grief of that and but she was very caring, brought us some tea and told us to take as much time as we needed to just sit in the room and and so I had that experience. And then I sort of had a few other nurses and things who were they were just kind of trying to get their job done and took my blood. And yeah, just told me to go and change and wear this pair. And if you have a heavy bleed, make sure you come back. And the first few times I was in emergency, there was they didn't have any conclusive information to tell me that I was actually having a miscarriage. So I was actually sent away and told if you have any major bleeding, or you just feel, you know, weird, come back. So I was sort of left in these two stages of uncertainty the first few times, which was really stressful, where I was like, I think something's wrong, but they can't tell me and, and at the same time, I'm sort of supposed to hope but I just, I'm hoping against a huge sinking feeling in my like, within myself, and then sure enough, I had like heavy blades and had to go back and and then did end up losing the baby. So
Unknown Speaker 16:23
yeah, to answer your question, I think it was a mixed experience. But overall, I did feel very cared for. And then when I had a hemorrhage, the doctor who looked after me and was amazing, like she, yeah, she was working a 12 hour shift. I think by the end of her shift, she I was still in my hospital bed just after being there with a drip for a while, had to stay in the hospital until my bleeding calm down. But she, she was great. Like, she was tired, she was exhausted. But she got me checked into an early pregnancy unit just to have follow up care, which was great. But yeah, it was a learning curve. For me there was there was a whole new side of the house system that I came into contact with and that enlightened me and then also made me think about the overall experience of a miscarriage for women. In the midst of that care, I also felt really alone and just like didn't know what was going on. So anyone that was able to take the time to sit with me and sort of tell me what was really going on and just sort of helped calm me down a bit. was amazing. That was Yeah, great.
Unknown Speaker 17:31
Yeah, I was gonna ask like if there was one thing that you would say about the way women are cared for after miscarriage, what you would have wanted more of and it sounds like possibly just some more comfort or like somebody there to support you. Maybe Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 17:50
I think I wasn't prepared for the emotional and mental toll that it took on me and I think that is something I've heard from, from a lot of women so far who I've been able to like share my story with just the way they've experienced either anxiety or PTSD following a miscarriage and how how hard that is, especially if you have a baby already. And you're then you're experiencing anxiety all the time and it did for me it did get to a point where it affected my day to day life and I ended up going on medication but I think just some aside from checking up on the bleeding that's the physical sort of physical reality of having miscarriages and you have to go and I guess check yourself out with the nurse and they make sure you're recovering well and all that but not much attention is given at all to the mental health side of things. I think it's mainly from my experience a lot of focus on my bleeding and how how that was going and is it returning to normal and are you recovering? But I wasn't I wasn't really yeah, told much other than given a few leaflets that said if you if you if you need to talk to a counselor then here's a number four here's a link or is a website and so like Yeah, I just I was when I first got those they really didn't mean anything to me. And then after as the months rolled on, and I started experiencing anxiety and thinking like what is wrong with me what's going on? What I'm just This is the worst. Did I realize, Oh, this Yeah, that that really had an impact on me much deeper than I realized. And so thankfully, like my husband is a huge he's been so supportive through it all and he has been we've had conversations and he's always been said to me, like whatever you need to do for your mental health do it. So we ended up I went and saw a psychologist and that helped me a lot. And I ended up also going on medication which is just helped me be able to be a full time mom still while navigating some bad anxiety. It really didn't come back, either. Until I had my second baby and my postpartum period, there was where my anxiety came back sort of with a vengeance. And that's when I finally went on medication. And that's been great. That's helped me a lot. And so, yeah, that's, I don't know where I, if that answered your question.
Unknown Speaker 20:37
Oh, yeah, you totally know 100%. And, and you lead me into the next where I wanted to go next with this, which was your you know, I imagine pregnancy after miscarriage. Yeah, was a more challenging experience with that miscarriage experience. Yeah. How did that navigate? How did you navigate that?
Unknown Speaker 21:02
Yeah, that really was interesting. I, we waited for for six months, which when I look back on now, I think, Wow, that was such a short time. But at the time, I think I, once I realized, Oh, this anxiety is bad and and what it was kind of rooted in for a while I was like, I really don't want to have try again, because we knew we wanted to have another baby. But I just knew I couldn't try until I at least felt like I had sort of moved through to a bit more of a stable place. And I am actually really proud of the way I gave it a go after six months, I felt Okay, I I'm seeing someone I've kind of talked through a lot of of my anxiety and I feel in an okay place, and I'm ready to try and I know my pregnancy, I'm probably going to experience anxiety for a large portion of it. But I feel I feel ready to sort of give it a go. And so we we tried and we got pregnant really easily, which was good. But yes, then the subsequent months following that I had just up and down moments, I think the first 13 weeks were the most scary, I was very anxious during that time, I guess just because the last so that first trimester for me was very riddled with anxiety, I'd say. But once I passed that point, I sort of felt a lot of that ease. But then I went on to have anxiety was sometimes just come out of the blue throughout the rest of my pregnancy. And so I just kind of was aware of it and knew I would probably experience it. And I think that helped me just navigate it when it did come up. And I made sure I could talk to people or Yeah, just do what I need to do. But the pregnancy second time around or following my miscarriage was it was just very different from my first pregnancy, for sure. was such a different experience.
Unknown Speaker 23:13
Yeah, other than, obviously, the nerves and the worry, and just the general, you know, fear after having the miscarriage in a new pregnancy? Was the pregnancy itself. Pretty straightforward, or was there were there other things that happened during that pregnancy, that might have made it harder?
Unknown Speaker 23:38
It was actually really straightforward, which I think was just such a blessing because that if I had had a really, like, complicated pregnancy, I'm not sure what would have happened. But it was very straightforward. Yeah. Other than Wilder being my second son being a bit bigger than my first I felt gigantic with him. So I think just the physical toll of that was also tricky, like, I was much more tired, and my body felt a lot more uncomfortable than I did my first time around. So I was Yeah, I didn't enjoy it as much, I guess, in that sense. But according to like, everything else was pretty textbook, which I'm very thankful for, like it was, I think what was what was more challenging was following was birth, I was a bit nervous about birth and just facing blood, again, to be real Frank. And then my postpartum period was the bleeding and I realized that that was a really massive trigger for me, just because obviously that's also you know, that's part of miscarriages a lot of bleeding. And I didn't realize how much that would be a trigger for me. So I think that's why my postpartum period was quite challenging and very, I had a lot of anxiety during that. I'm just with my recovery after Wilders birth and and then it was during COVID to like, that's when lockdown hit. So I was in this weird like already knowing I would be anxious and already yet feeling that hesitation about my postpartum experience and then we had lockdown hit. And so all of a sudden the health care system felt a little preoccupied and I had my some of my routine checks, but my, my like six week checkup was canceled. And so that feeling was just like, I felt a little panicky and just a little bit, like, what do I do here? And yeah, that kind of increased my anxiety a little bit, as well. So there are a few factors. But yeah, the pregnancy was good. I think it was more the postpartum period. That was those first three months, that was really challenging for me.
Unknown Speaker 25:49
Yeah, I appreciate you sharing that. Because I, when you spoke earlier about how your postpartum period with the second was, when a lot of things came up, I was kind of waiting to see if there was a direct, like a link that would make sense not that grief or you know, triggers and things like that necessarily make sense? But yeah, you know, the, like you said that the blood and being in the hospital and all that, like those things link up? And yeah, I could totally see how that would be a difficult thing that also you weren't expecting just to pop up like that. Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 26:24
Yeah. And that's the thing about the unexpected, right? Like, it is unexpected, right? You can't, I guess you can't prepare and you just have to, it does hit you, I guess out of Yeah, out of the blue sometimes. And you just learn to navigate it, I guess, do your best.
Unknown Speaker 26:44
One, I think there's something I don't know if it's like a maternal instinct, or just as women were like, you know, brought up to be this way. But we just want to feel like we can anticipate what to is going to happen so that we can protect you know, our children or ourselves. And certainly, that so we there's this point where you realize that you can only anticipate so much you can only prepare so much. And yeah, it's more about maybe, and this is something that you write about. I think that's what you're going to read from today is like just about tending to ourselves, and making sure were cared for so that we can handle whatever comes up because you don't really know.
Unknown Speaker 27:25
Yeah, yeah. And that's been that's been massive. For me just recognizing that, that I really taking care of myself, I think self care has been a huge part of learning to navigate this well. And with the support of my husband, who's also been amazing, like, we've tweaked schedules and things when we've needed to, doctor's advice to so I can have time to myself or just time to do things that really help my mental health. And yeah, self care has been a big part of it too high think.
Unknown Speaker 28:01
Yeah. Well, I really appreciate how much you've spoken to just what great looks like after miscarriage, because it's not. My it's not necessary, not necessarily something that hits instantly. It's not something that necessarily goes away, after you have a baby, you know, after the miscarriage and you know, there's there's lingering, life changing impact to it. And also the ability to process it and move on and heal at the same time. It's not, you know, one or the other. Yeah. And I think that needs to be spoken to a lot more so. So thank you. Yeah, my pleasure. So to close out our talk today, I feel like we could go on and on about this topic and more, but I do I did have you prepare. I had three requests for you that you prepared ahead of time? And are you ready to share your responses?
Unknown Speaker 28:58
I am. Okay, so.
Unknown Speaker 29:00
So the first is what song best describes your motherhood experience so far?
Unknown Speaker 29:07
Yes, I have a song here. It's called persevere. And it's by a band called gang of youth. They're actually an Australian band. And this song has just been a recurring, I think song for me over the last couple years. It just touches on those themes of loss and faith and fragility and vulnerability. And yeah, it's kind of a little more melancholy, I guess. But it's just been massive for me. I really identify with it.
Unknown Speaker 29:39
Awesome. And we'll link that in the show notes so people can listen to it I'm looking for. So next I want to hear if you have some solicited mom advice for us. So like a mom hack, or some words of wisdom you could offer to other moms.
Unknown Speaker 29:58
Yeah, I think I'll go There's been so much but I was thinking about this. And I think the biggest thing for me that I've heard from other moms and not necessarily just one comment or one conversation, but sort of collective collectively, I guess, is keeping my passions alive. And I sort of had an inkling I would need to do this before I became a man, but you don't really work out the nitty gritty of that, and realized how to do it until you're there, obviously. But that's been huge for me. And I've struggled with it at times, I've felt like I have, I don't have even five minutes to myself, which I think is probably more. That's, you know, part of the newborn stage, obviously. But yeah, I think that's something that's I've always sort of thought about, and even if it's for 10 minutes a day, just doing something that brings me joy, or that I find a lot of fulfillment, and or, yeah, I feel feel that by doing I try and do and do stuff like that. And even if it's just made me think, what, what do I like? Why do I find joy? And what do I aside from kids and the load of mothering and the mental, you know, your brain is just so powerful when you're a mom, but even if it just gets me thinking, that that question, and that statement of keeping or idea of keeping your passions alive has been something that has been huge for me, just to Yeah, always be thinking about, I guess. Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 31:36
motherhood has definitely been one of those things where it forced it because you have such limited time to yourself, you really do ask yourself, like, what do I enjoy doing? Because I'm not gonna like waste my time totally doing things that don't serve me if I only have this tiny amount of time. And maybe I took it for granted before, but it's definitely I did. Yeah. I was I don't want to say for you, but I yeah, no,
Unknown Speaker 32:00
I did. Sir, what you say about time, like you really, I used to be so sort of like undecided about things I love because I feel like I have so many passions. But now with motherhood and like you say, just having specific amounts of time, you really have to know what you want to do in that time to make it I think, productive and rewarding. Otherwise, it can be more frustrating than anything.
Unknown Speaker 32:24
Well, and I think for some people, you know, also the freedom to just like, try things in parallel. Yeah, you know, just dabble and see where you get the most joy from.
Unknown Speaker 32:35
Yeah, that's what I would say as well. It's like, Don't feel bad for feeling like, do I even have anything at the moment? Because I've been there too, and have felt like, oh, like, Who am I besides a mom or a feeding machine? But like, yeah, I think you you just keep trying and just keep taking little bits of time to yourself when you can. Yeah, you find those things. Well, speaking
Unknown Speaker 33:00
of passions and things we do with our time, I'd love for you to end with sharing some of your recent writing with us. Yes, I would love
Unknown Speaker 33:11
to. This is a piece the latest piece from that I sent to you from under scope actually. And it is called the massage and I'll read first little piece of it here. A weighted blanket is draped over my body. It's precious strangely comforting. My belly chest and thighs marinate in the warmth of the heated bed beneath sense of peppermint lavender bergamont and Lang Lang mangling in my nostrils. Silver lamps mounted to the walls of the small Angular room send out an apricot glow. Soft melodic piano drifts from hidden speakers. I adjust my lens a little shuffle further back under the blanket and Nestle my face into the doughnut shaped head support in front of me. It's called material pressing against my forehead. Is this what it feels like to be inside the womb? I wonder noticing the sensation of being enveloped and softness supported completely, almost weightless. Maybe this is how it feels to be swaddled, I'm use smiling to myself, somewhere Somehow, I bet adults fuddling as a real life thing, I make a mental note to google it later. For the next hour, however, I'm going to step off the mental treadmill of mothering to very active little boys, and let my mind go where it wants and hurried. I will allow my overstressed body to be gently nurtured. And I will shed my impenetrable caregiving uniform in order to bear pieces of my scarred postpartum skin to a complete stranger. I'll be completely vulnerable for a while just like a newborn. Tap tap tap. A gentle knock on the door interrupts my thoughts come in. I say without lifting my head. I hear it slowly swing open as footsteps approach and a female voice asks, already, I remember something affirmative in reply grateful for spider kit which stipulates no obligation to converse. Today my conversational energy has already been used up on my toddler who recently turned three in loves plumbing the depths of his rapidly expanding vocabulary. clicks and swishes fill the silence between us as she goes about setting up placing essential oil bottles on the counter adjacent to the message table, radio unnecessary equipment. After a few minutes, she sprays something divine smelling under my nose instructs me to take a nice deep breath in and out, and I do so slowly, mindfully. Then experienced hands began to glide down over my neck and shoulder muscles, identifying tensions and knots, of which there are many, forming a rhythm of controlled motions, palms, applying gentle pressure, kneading, smoothing, then easing releasing, up and down, around, around, up and then back down again. pressure and release pressure release. It's like poetry.
Unknown Speaker 36:14
Do yourselves a favor and go read the rest of the massage, mother script calm it's actually all linked also in the show notes. But it is very like related to what we talked about as well. Just this idea of of caring for ourselves as moms and the physical toll emotional mental, that motherhood has on us. So thank you for sharing that. Yeah. How can others connect with you and read more of your writing online?
Unknown Speaker 36:47
I have an Instagram account, which is where I mainly share poems and things and that is my handle is at writing on the school motherhood. So that's where you can find me if you want to check it out.
Unknown Speaker 37:00
Awesome. Thanks so much, Mike, for sharing your story with us and letting us hold space for your motherhood experience today. And I look forward to continuing to follow your writing and motherhood journey through mother scope and online.
Unknown Speaker 37:20
Thanks so much Jackie. It's been amazing to be here. Bye bye.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai