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As women, we’re constantly asked to do more and be more. And yet, there's incredible strength and wisdom in just "being."
Being present. Being Mama. Simply being you.
This is Leaning into Being. A show brought to you by the Founders and Leaders of Hello Mamas and HeyMama. Erika Hanafin, mom, stepmom, CEO, and co-parent hosts alongside Amri Kibbler, mother, founder, and cancer survivor.
Each episode focuses on relatable situations, resources, and experiences to help you balance the beautiful chaos of motherhood and ambition. This show is designed for all mamas seeking community and connection in her definition of success.
Allowing you to simply be…be your all so you can give your all, for all you care about.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:00:00]:
We have to realize that life isn't all about the most picture perfect thing, especially when it comes to pregnancy and birth. It's really traumatizing on your body in general to give birth to a baby. And then when you add that extra layer of something, it's that much more difficult, and we just have to be kinder to ourselves.
Erika Hanafin [00:00:26]:
I'm Erika.
Amri Kibbler [00:00:27]:
And I'm Amri.
Erika Hanafin [00:00:28]:
This is Leaning Into Being, the show that allows you to be your all so you can give your all.
Amri Kibbler [00:00:33]:
Brought to you by Hello Mamas and HeyMama. Hi, Erika. Our guest today is Jodi Klaristenfeld. She has been on an incredible personal journey from becoming a NICU mom to being the Founder of FLRRiSH, a platform dedicated to supporting parents of preemies.
Erika Hanafin [00:00:54]:
Yes. I'm so excited to have this conversation with Jodi. She's a mom to an adorable little girl who was born at 28 weeks due to a rare and life threatening form of pre-eclampsia and HELLP Syndrome. And through her company, FLRRiSH, she is providing so much support for parents of NICU and preemies.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:01:16]:
Yes.
Amri Kibbler [00:01:16]:
Her daughter spent 77 days in the NICU, and she's taken all of her experience and parlayed it into incredible support for other moms that are going through a similar circumstance.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:01:29]:
Yes.
Amri Kibbler [00:01:30]:
Okay, let's get started.
Erika Hanafin [00:01:35]:
All right, Jodi, take us back to a moment when everything changed with your daughter's early birth. What was going through your mind during those 77 days in the NICU?
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:01:48]:
I have to say, in those first moments, I didn't have any thoughts. It was more an emergency situation, and I didn't have time to panic or anything like that. So in some way, that was a blessing in disguise. I'm a nervous person, so I think that would have just been that much worse. But, you know, in those 77 days, there were so many times that my husband and I just felt so alone and so scared and confused. And more than that, we just didn't know anybody else who had been through something similar. So we didn't have a success story. We didn't know what the future was going to look like.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:02:35]:
Now, no one can know that for sure, but at least if someone's been through something similar, you can have a roadmap. And I think we both thought that that was really daunting and scary.
Amri Kibbler [00:02:47]:
It must have been incredibly terrifying and overwhelming and, gosh, I mean, just so many things. When I read your story, I was just trying to put myself into your position and just all of the flood of emotions and things. How did your experience as a NICU mom and going through that, you know, inspire you to create FLRRiSH. Was there, like, a particular moment in your journey that you really realized this was your calling? Share a little bit more about that.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:03:17]:
You know, early on, I figured that I wanted to do something in the kids space, parent space. I really wasn't sure what that was because I was still in the thick of it. And even after having come home, I was still not enjoying motherhood, if you will. There were so many doctor's appointments, I was still healing myself, and we were just trying to figure out again what the next couple of even days, weeks or months was going to look like. We didn't even focus that far ahead. And I also knew big decisions shouldn't be made right away after such a traumatic experience. But as I saw my daughter progressing and flourishing and thriving, I felt so fortunate and lucky to be able to have curated this wonderful team for her. We would not be where we are today without them.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:04:14]:
And I knew that I wanted to somehow help others curate their own team and find their own support because we didn't have any.
Erika Hanafin [00:04:24]:
I mean, that's so incredible. Just recognizing that your experience can help so many others, I want to take it back a little bit to your experience with how this all started, which was with pre-eclampsia and HELLP Syndrome. Can you shape, one, what that means? And two, your perspective on maternal and neonatal healthcare.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:04:52]:
Well, first and foremost, you know, my perspective on maternal healthcare, neonatal healthcare, this country, we're sort of backwards. Even though our country is on the forefront of medical innovation, the way we help parents and support them does not measure up to other countries when it comes to maternity leave and or paternity leave, especially in a situation like this, because I often feel parents shouldn't have to choose when to take that leave. Obviously, you wanna be in the hospital when your child is fighting for their lives, but you also want to be able to spend the time home with them after they come home from the hospital. And what many people don't realize is that a lot of women end up leaving the workforce simply because of that. That their jobs are so inflexible as it relates to leave and support. And we really need to do a better job as a country, meeting parents where they are. I understand business and a bottom line and all of that, but if your employees aren't happy, how are they going to have a good work product at the end of the day? So I think we really need to come up with some type of better solution for parents in general. But even more so if you have exigent circumstances, such as what my husband and I had.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:06:34]:
But getting back to the other part of the question, what is pre-eclampsia and HELLP Syndrome? Quite frankly, before having had my daughter, I knew nothing about either. And, you know, that happens to a lot of people with a lot of things. When something happens, they've never heard of it, never know of it, and then it happens, and you're like, how could I not know this? But pre-eclampsia actually affects about 20% of women in childbirth per year. That is a pretty large number. It is the leading killer outside of mental health for maternal mortality. And again, so scary. It can come on so quickly without any warning, and no one talks about it. The warning signs, basically, are extremely high blood pressure.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:07:29]:
Mine was 190 over, like, 160, which is near stroke levels and extreme weight gain, water retention, dizzy, bleeding. That's unexplainable. That just won't stop. There's a whole host of things, but again, people, when they think you're pregnant, everything is rainbows and unicorns, and it's just not. There are these complications that are deadly that no one really knows about. And HELLP Syndrome is an acronym for hemoglobin, elevated liver and platelets. You know, you don't have to have pre-eclampsia in order to have HELLP Syndrome, but over 90% of people, if you have HELLP Syndrome, do have pre-eclampsia. And the only way to save both the mother and the child is to deliver early.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:08:23]:
And that's not even a cure, so to speak, because I was on magnesium for a number of days, and then I was on blood pressure medication for a while, and they were giving me platelets as I was delivering my daughter.
Amri Kibbler [00:08:39]:
I'm so happy to hear that you're on the other side and that your family is doing really well. And Jodi, you touched on this a little bit earlier, but I would love to hear more about FLRRiSH. What is the support and the services that you are able to provide?
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:08:56]:
I help, I'll say parents, but by and large, mostly I work with mothers, and I support them through one on one coaching or group coaching. And in that, I also help them curate their own team. So if their child needs different types of support or specialists, whether that's a PT or OT or speech or any type of special therapy, as well as any type of special doctor, I work with them to help find their own team. I do that legwork for them so that they don't already have to be even more overwhelmed doing that in addition to healing from birth and trying to be with their baby. Another thing that I do is that I also, in these sessions, really help moms reframe what it means to be a parent again. You know, we all think that everything is going to be the most picture perfect scenario, but more often than not, it isn't. But at the same time, it's so important to understand your feelings, process your feelings, and move forward from those feelings. I think I'm lucky that I've always done work on myself, so I'm self aware and I was able to flip the situation on its head and turn it into something.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:10:25]:
But I really help parents do that. And in doing that, they have to realize they have to help themselves before they help their child.
Erika Hanafin [00:10:34]:
That sounds, of course, so practical, but I can imagine it's more emotional than practical. Right? Like, you're dealing with a lot of emotions at all sides. Like, how do you navigate that personally and also, certainly through your experience and help the families within FLRRiSH that you're working with as well?
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:11:00]:
I think for me, talking about it has really helped me navigate my own feelings and emotions as it relates to my daughter. But also, she's now five and a half and seeing all the progress she has made of and knowing how far we've come with each passing day, I'm again, just filled with gratitude. We recently went back to the NICU on her five year anniversary of her graduation from her NICU. We celebrate that kind of almost as, like a second birthday and thought I was going to be overwhelmed with sadness and, like, feel the trauma all over. And it was quite the opposite. I had tears of happiness because I know how far we've come. And it's in large part to a lot of those same doctors and nurses that were there and everyone else who's helped us along the way. And because I'm far enough out of my NICU journey, I think that also allows me to share a perspective that's far enough into the future to help parents who maybe just be transitioning home or have just come home from the hospital.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:12:16]:
I can validate their feelings and truly empathize and understand what it is parents are going through. You know, the challenges of their child or themselves might not be exactly the same, but the overarching feelings of guilt or sadness, confusion, isolation, all of these things, or I. Why me? My friends don't understand. No one gets what I'm going through. All of those things are unilateral across the board, and it really helps to validate someone's feelings. At the end of the day, people want to be heard. They don't want to be dismissed. And when you do that, it really goes a long way.
Amri Kibbler [00:13:05]:
Jodi, on Leaning into Being, we like to talk about and ask about what success really means to you and kind of redefining some of those norms. So, since becoming a mom, since going through your experience, how has your definition of success been redefined? What does it mean to you today?
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:13:25]:
It means something completely different than from before I had my daughter. And I also think success is, like everything else, is always evolving, and that definition can always be changing, because what's important to you now and your measure of success might be different in a year from now, but for me, where it is right now, success is about being healthy and being happy. And as it relates to my daughter, it's the fact that she loves going to school and loves learning. And when she smiles, when she gets off the bus at the end of the day and tells me how much she loves her friends at school, that, to me, what more could I want, right?
Erika Hanafin [00:14:10]:
It's so true. I mean, I'm sure those moments every day are just like extra milestones of joy that you get to experience watching Jenna grow. What would you say to parents that are looking to redefine success when things don't go necessarily as planned?
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:14:31]:
I think the thing is, is that life is hard. Right? In reality, life is hard. There's never going to be a time where everything is the most perfect thing. There are all these always trade offs and decisions that you are always going to have to make. But I also believe in the power of your mindset, and you have to put your mindset in a place to think positively. Now, that's not to say it's easy for myself. I had to mourn so many things. Mourn what I thought my childbirth story was going to be.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:15:09]:
Mourn the fact that I couldn't have any more children. Mourn what I thought my daughter's infancy and her first couple of years were going to look like. And it takes work. It's not something that all of a sudden you're going to wake up one day and feel better about. So, you know, I tell parents that you have to really put in the work. And the truth is that you do see the product of that when you see everyone else around you doing well. And as you grow, all of those things kind of fade a little bit more back and back. That's not to say you won't be triggered.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:15:52]:
I mean, I get triggered all the time. But I have frameworks in place for myself that I know that I can go back to.
Amri Kibbler [00:16:01]:
And Jodi, you mentioned that parents need to get out of their own way. So how can parents overcome self doubt and feel confident in their parenting decisions?
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:16:13]:
I wish I had the concrete answer for that, Amri, but I always say this to my daughter. We're both learning on the job. Right. And also, at the same time, most decisions are things that you can actually change. Right? What school is she going to? Well, if this school doesn't work, you can try another school. Or if she doesn't like that activity, something like that. But by and large, I do think that parents have to sit down and really do some inner work on themselves, and more than that, have to have someone to talk to. And I think that when it's someone who's not a family member or someone who is vested from that perspective helps because it's an outsider's point of view looking in and there's no judgment, there's no bias, there's nothing.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:17:10]:
They're just telling you their honest opinion.
Amri Kibbler [00:17:14]:
I definitely agree with you that you don't have any of that baggage that comes with the relationships. It's so important to have someone who's like an outsider and fresh to the situation.
Erika Hanafin [00:17:25]:
Yes, for sure. Jodi, I've had the privilege of having a few conversations with you, and in those conversations, you've also shared some stories from parents and moms that you've worked with. Can you share the maybe one or two stories with us that are impactful or have changed kind of your perspective and helped you with what you're building at FLRRiSH?
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:17:50]:
Yeah. I worked with one mom specifically who was really upset around her son's birthday. And what people don't realize that on top of your child's birthday and that's to be a celebration when you have a traumatic experience, it also brings back that trauma. And so her family couldn't understand why she didn't want to have a party and she didn't want to celebrate on that day. She wanted to celebrate on a NICU graduation day instead. And I said to her, look, your son is so little, and at this point, he's not going to know the difference between his birthday and his NICU graduation day. Forget all the loud noise that is your family saying, you should celebrate on this day. Do what's best for you, because that's really what matters.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:18:47]:
Because in the months, weeks, days leading up to that, you start to feel all that nervous energy. I kind of relive my daughter's birthday for like the first three years. I would cry in like every day in the week leading up to her birthday. And it's very valid and very real. And she just thanked me so profusely because she said, thank you for giving me permission to feel what I feel. And the truth is, we're all entitled to our feelings. What I said to her, really, Washington, protecting yourself in this situation is what matters most. Celebrating it on January 1 versus February 2 is not going to make a big deal to your son in the grand scheme of his life.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:19:40]:
And giving her that permission, she just felt like a weight was lifted. And she told me they had the best celebration on his NICU graduation date. And she felt good about it because it's not only, like I said, it's not only her son's birthday, but it's also the day that she had a traumatic event happened to her. And I think as it relates to birthdays, people don't necessarily understand that. And then for a second one, I would say I was working with a mom and her decision whether or not to have a second after traumatic birth, and there's a lot of weight and a lot of decisions that go into that as well. It's not as simple as, oh, let's just try again, because constantly thinking in your head, well, is this going to happen again? The chances of whatever traumatic event might be increased depending upon the trauma when you have a second child. And she said every time people would ask her, when is she having another? She just really wanted to tell people to stop asking her, but she felt like she couldn't. And I said to her, look, there's so much that goes into that decision.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:21:00]:
And the only people that really need to make that decision are you and your husband. Let everything else fall by the wayside. And it's very hard to free yourself of judgment from outsiders. I mean, I feel that all the time. We all do. I said, but if you can take care of yourself first and what you and your husband want, and even if that means you want a child, but you're so scared and how you're going to carry this baby and the different specialists and all these other different, you know, appointments and specialists that you're going to see the second time around, that's okay. You should do that to protect you and your baby. But again, also, if you decide not to have another baby, that's quite all right, too.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:21:48]:
Plenty of people have only one children. And you know what? People don't even realize how hard it is to even have a child. So there are so many sensitivities that we as moms deal with, whether we've had traumatic birth or nothing.
Amri Kibbler [00:22:03]:
It's such a sensitive topic for all moms. And I always wonder when I hear people ask that question, whether it be to someone who has no children or one child or two children, because you just never really know. I mean, I know I got pregnant easily with my first and then had secondary infertility. And I was always cringing when I would hear people ask that because they just would have no idea about the pain that had gone into that, and we wanted to have another, but it just wasn't happening for us. And asking that question can bring up so much hurt and pain. So I always encourage people not to ask that question, no matter what. Right.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:22:46]:
I'm the same way. And for me, I say this, that I had to mourn what I wanted in a way. My doctor told me, if you were my own daughter, I tell you no, not to have another child. Now, how do you go against the person who saved yours and your child's life? How do you go against whatever it is that he says you can't? And I wouldn't want to put any of that kind of potential risk on my husband, my family, my daughter, but to have that decision taken away from me. Similarly, if you had secondary infertility, kind of like you were trying, trying, but it just wasn't in the cards. You have to still get over that hump, whatever it is you thought your family was going to look like. And it's very difficult. And when people bring it up and they don't know the full picture, it can be very triggering for many people.
Erika Hanafin [00:23:41]:
It's so true. I just love the authenticity of this conversation because I think many women moms are going to find that support and that strength in the honesty that we're having.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:23:56]:
It's so important. I think we have to realize that life isn't all about the most picture perfect thing, especially when it comes to pregnancy and birth. It's really traumatizing on your body in general to give birth to a baby, and then when you add that extra layer of something, it's that much more difficult. And again, I am so happy that we live in a time, in a place where people are at least now talking about it more, especially as it relates to maybe surrogacy or infertility a little bit more, and postpartum depression and mental health issues, because at least of parents in the NICU, over 70% have some type of mental health issue. Within the first seven to eight years of their child's life. And statistically, studies show that your brain keeps the trauma in itself. It might be all the way locked up somewhere in the back of your head, but your brain does keep it for a significant period of time. That's not to say that it's going to affect everyone the same way, but we just have to be kinder to ourselves because there's really no timeline for how people are supposed to deal with emotion and feelings.
Amri Kibbler [00:25:23]:
Absolutely. And what you're saying about locking the trauma in, it's not surprising to me, even for a mom who went through her ideal birth plan and is parenting without any of that trauma, there's still so much there. It's still a huge learning curve that's full of ups and downs, and we experience postpartum depression and anxiety and doubting ourselves and all of these different things. And the amplification that happens when you're in a scenario like that, no one expects to have a traumatic birth or something outside of their birth plan. To have a child in the NICU, it's just completely shattering. And, you know, when you're looking at the normal insecurities and the quote, unquote, I'm calling them normal self doubt and challenges that we have as moms managing things, I can't even begin to imagine how that is amplified. You know, moms have a hard time asking for help normally. Like, what does that look like then when you're a NICU mom and you've got all of these other things that are on your shoulders, like, you're managing all the doctor's appointments and instructions and different sleep schedules and all of that.
Amri Kibbler [00:26:40]:
And, like, as you said, who's your team? Like, getting your team put together and all of those things, how do you advise moms to begin to make that journey, to reach out and to ask for help?
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:26:52]:
You hit the nail on the head. NICU moms are more apt not to ask for help, which is so interesting because generally they need the most help. But again, they feel so isolated and alone and potentially because their immediate circle, friends and family have not gone through a similar experience, that they don't know where to look or how to get help. And, you know, I would say to anyone that's navigating this right now, you will find your village. Your village might look different than what you thought it was, or it might be made up of people that you thought weren't going to be part of the picture, but that's okay. You will find your village. It takes time, energy and effort. And more than that, it is so important because like anyone who has a WhatsApp chat with, like a mom group, you just want to be able to have a conversation with someone who understands what you're going through.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:28:00]:
And even more so, because the things that you're concerned about are much more acute, and there are much more of them, generally speaking, than a full term baby without any complications. But on the flip side, I also tell parents, too, that once they've found their village, their village can grow with them, and you can keep them for years upon years. And what's more is that those people will also know other people to connect you with so that there's more people involved in your circle. So it's constantly even getting bigger because you just ask them. I think the biggest hurdle is asking for help. And we as women, no matter what, just tend to not. We just carry it all on our shoulders, or we think that it means failure. And when in fact, it's a sign of strength to ask for help.
Erika Hanafin [00:29:01]:
I mean, we see that all the time, right, as community members. And that's what we're really looking to build. And support is creating an opportunity for support all along the motherhood journey with Hello Mamas within HeyMama. And obviously, it's crucial to have open conversations like we're having today and create opportunities to feel confident to ask the help. On the inverse, I want to flip that around because I think that sometimes, as women, as moms, we want to help, but we don't know where to start. So how could you flip that around to a moment who didn't have, or might not necessarily have had the same experience, but has a friend that might be going through that particular challenge? Where would you recommend that they start to provide that support for that mom?
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:29:54]:
The first thing I would tell them to do, really, is to just ask how their friend is doing and listen. Don't offer any types of opinions or point of view. Just listen to what your friend is saying and maybe what your friend needs. And hold their hand, so to speak. Let them know that you have their back. And while you might not truly, fully understand what they are going through, you're also there to support them. And whether that means doing grocery shopping or perhaps taking a dog for a walk or even saying, let's go get a manicure today, something that will help that person feel more like themselves, I think that is really important, but just truly, truly listening, because we all have so many conversations every day, but how much are we really listening and taking in I mean, I'm the same way, but in the case like this, I think it's really, really important not to give any judgment or opinions because chances are all that person wants is an outlet to get out all those feelings and emotions and just have a good cry and not have anyone tell them what they should do in return.
Amri Kibbler [00:31:22]:
I saw something the other day that I mentally like bookmarked as great mom advice for how to support your friend. This mom was suggesting that she was going to tell her friend, okay, on Tuesday from three to six, I am available for you for whatever you want. And she listed out four things. I'm going to come over. I can either, I can do your dishes for you, I can do your laundry for you, I can fold clothes while we sit on the couch and talk. You can take a nap while I hold the baby. All of these different things. But like, I am your dedicated support system on x day for x amount of time so that the mom knew that she had that to look forward to.
Amri Kibbler [00:32:02]:
And I was like, wow, that is really great.
Erika Hanafin [00:32:05]:
It is. It really.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:32:06]:
I loved that she's onto something for sure. And that friend who's on the receiving end has a very special friend in that woman because. Yes. So that's what I was saying. Just be there for the person and whatever it is that the person wants. Like I said, most often it's just to be heard. Yes. Doing the laundry and helping with meals and all of that kind of stuff.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:32:33]:
But a lot of it is in here and you need that release and to get it out somewhere. And by talking it out really, really does go a long way. And I just want to say one other thing as it relates to community, that FLRRiSH wouldn't be where it is without HeyMama. Because I met my business mentor through HeyMama, she helped me iterate in so many ways and helped me realize what it is I wanted to do in creating FLRRiSH. And it's because of the community. I didn't even know what I wanted. And all these women within HeyMama reached out to help me and it was really, really nice.
Erika Hanafin [00:33:19]:
Thank you.
Amri Kibbler [00:33:20]:
Love hearing that. Thank you so much. We love that. That's like, why we exist. So you literally just, like, made our lives. Thank you.
Erika Hanafin [00:33:26]:
Those are the types of validation that keep us going, that's for sure.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:33:29]:
You know, I think as women, we sometimes get perceived as being catty or something of that. But at the end of the day, the women that I found in the community really want to be supportive. It's important to me and it's not lost on me that how much the community has meant to me.
Erika Hanafin [00:33:49]:
Thank you.
Amri Kibbler [00:33:50]:
Thank you so much. Yes. That's exactly what we want with Hello Mamas and Hey Mama. To have a supportive community where you feel like you can turn to for whatever it is that you need to have. And it feels like a nice, warm hug, too.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:34:03]:
And, you know, you don't have to have a preemie baby to have challenges, whether it's with your child, whether it's like ADHD or, you know, something like that, or if it's within you, you're going through some difficult time and struggle, maybe with your marriage or your work life. This is just life in general. And I think the larger message is about getting support, getting help, and leaning into the fact that you just can't do it all. I always say to people, I'm the first one to farm out something when I need help. I know I can't do it all. And rather than try and do it only, okay, I'd rather help find a person who can show me or do something for me the correct way. And I wish more people felt that.
Erika Hanafin [00:34:55]:
It's so true. I was just speaking on a panel earlier this week, and I had a mom come up to me and say, does it get any easier? And I was like, no, it doesn't get any easier. You get smarter. You ask for help. You look at tools that can help you with household management, project management, you know, whatever you need, meals, all the things. Well, jody, we always have a final question that we love to hear from our guest. We've just had such an incredible conversation with you. We want to know, what's a messy motherhood moment that you can't believe you survived or you still laugh about today?
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:35:39]:
This was actually in the NICU. It's funny you should ask. I was talking about this the other day. It was one of the first times that I was changing my daughter's diaper, which, mind you, was, like, the size of my pinky, her first diaper. So she was in the nIcU in her isolette, and you didn't really take them out all that much unless you were doing skin to skin because it's cold. And so I was changing her diaper. I had my hands inside. I took off her diaper, and all of a sudden, she just pooped everywhere inside.
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:36:15]:
It was all over the isolette. And I was like, how could someone so type the created create so much poop and it, like, go everywhere? And I was hysterically laughing, and it really kind of normalized motherhood for me in that moment when I was like, okay, this is my first blowout. Everyone says that you get them, right? But it really normalized motherhood in a way because everything up to that point was so abnormal. And it was funny, they're like, well, we were gonna clean her isolate. I think they do it like every three days or something. Tomorrow they're like, but I think we're going to do it right now. Like, idea.
Amri Kibbler [00:36:56]:
It's so funny that you say that, being the normalizer for your situation, because it feels like it's the equalizer across motherhood, because every mom has a crazy blowout story, and we've been hearing quite a few of them. And it's always like a great icebreaker, too, because every mom just laughs and thinks of that moment in their life, and they're like, oh, yes, I've been there.
Erika Hanafin [00:37:19]:
Right on both ends, right?
Jodi Klaristenfeld [00:37:21]:
Seriously.
Erika Hanafin [00:37:25]:
We're making you so much, jodi.
Amri Kibbler [00:37:27]:
So great having you on. We really enjoyed the conversation with you today. Thank you.
Amri Kibbler [00:37:37]:
Thank you for listening to Leaning into Being.
Erika Hanafin [00:37:37]:
To get connected and join the Hello Mamas and HeyMama community visit hellomamas.co.
Amri Kibbler [00:37:42]:
Let's connect, support, and grow together in this journey of motherhood.