Parental Leave Podcast

On taking a pouch of baby food to the face, falling down, and #normalizebreastfeeding. Updates from Adrienne, Christian, and Rasmus on life with a 9-month-old in Brooklyn.

Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/OFDWmRivhvk

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Things Mentioned in the Episode:

Wonder Weeks App

Book: Mayo Clinic Guide To Your Baby’s First Year

Philips Sunrise Alarm Clock

Baby Bjorn Smock

Banana Toothbrush Teether

Munchkin Dots Bath Mat

Baby Shower Glove

Stack Up Cups toy

Article: The 10 Year Baby Window That Is Key To The Women’s Pay Gap (New York Times)

Article: We Need To Stop Devaluing Femininity (Ravishly)

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How we survived very long travel days from Zurich to Stockholm to Yosemite over the past few weeks and enjoyed our time with Adventure Baby! Also, our chill mindset despite unexpected career news.

We’re back!! Rasmus is now 6 months old, and on today’s episode we catch you up on our huge fights, burritos, premade baby food guilt, and screaming baby strategies.

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Episode Links:

FED Food delivery - https://www.getfednyc.com/

My formula feeding piece on Medium and excerpted on Upworthy

Book: Amateur Hour - Motherhood in Essays and Swear Words by Kimberly Harrington

Article: The Supposed ‘Horror Show’ of Motherhood

Merlin’s Magic Sleep Suit

Halo Sleep Sack

Fisher-Price Jungle

Skip Hop Activity Center

Pockit Tiny Stroller

Pack and Play

Special guests Kirsten and Peder share their experience of becoming parents through adoption.

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Show Note Links:

Where Did He Come From? (and other adoption questions to consider reconsidering) -- Kirsten’s Medium blog

Adoptions of Wisconsin 

Book: In On It - What Adoptive Parents Would Like You To Know About Adoption. A Guide for Relatives and Friends.

Our last episode talking about our parental leave! How it felt to drop off our sweet baby angel of a 3-month old at daycare, how our relationship has been challenged, and a look back at whether parental leave was what we expected.

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Show Note Links:

Nixplay Wifi Digital Picture Frame

Alamo For All -- Baby Friendly Movies

Book: Men are From Mars, Women Are from Venus

On week 11 of the Parental Leave Podcast, we talk about poop transplants, first books, dead plants, and what not to say about a bald baby.

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Show Note Links:

Christian’s Investment Fund, Curreen Capital

Poop Transplants (we misspoke, it’s not “transfusions” -- article in The New Yorker

Book: Ferdinand

Book: Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy

Dishwasher Safe Name Labels

“Done is better than perfect.” from Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg

The Longest Shortest Time Podcast -- It’s a Real Mother working mom series

Book: The Fifth Trimester

Instacart for grocery delivery (use referral code ASTORTZ2)

The Twilight Zone on Netflix

Book: Homo Deus - A Brief History of Tomorrow

We talk about going back to work after leave, sleep training guilt, husband resentment, cameras that spy on infants, and a drawer full of Tums.

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Show Note Links:

Tula Baby Carrier

Book: The Fifth Trimester

Book: The Expectant Father

Joined by a 9-week-old guest host, let's talk sleep training, vaccines, and screaming babies in the movie theater.

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On today’s episode, we reflect on last year’s goals that resulted in having a sweet newborn, and look to the future.

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Show Note Links:

Rainforest Music and Lights Deluxe Gym

Lullaby Gloworm

Manhattan Toy Winkel Rattle and Sensory Teether Toy

New York State Paid Family Leave

BounceBack Post Pregnancy Pants

We talk about baptism, disagreements about Santa Claus, and challenges with a newborn over the holidays.

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On week 6 of the Parental Leave Podcast, we share our thinking for sending our newborn to daycare without guilt, what it’s like to get into a daycare in Brooklyn, and how we chose the name Rasmus.

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Show Notes:

Baby Name Graph

Books mentioned--

Parenting Beyond Pink & Blue: How to Raise Your Kids Free of Gender Stereotypes, by Christia Spears Brown

One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding, by Rebecca Mead

Why Have Kids?, by Jessica Valenti

The Conflict - How Modern Motherhood Undermines The Status of Women, by Elisabeth Badinter

Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave, by Lori Mihalich-Levin JD

Here's the Plan.: Your Practical, Tactical Guide to Advancing Your Career During Pregnancy and Parenthood, by Allyson Downey

Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy (terrible, but still less terrible than “What to Expect When You’re Expecting”)

On week 5 of our parental leave, we check in on all the ways we are confronting gender as new parents, from pink pacifiers to saving for college.

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On week 4 of our parental leave podcast, we talk about a nail clippers fail, getting baby's first passport, and mourning the end of life before baby.

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On week 3 of our parental leave podcast, we talk about exhaustion, frustration, and our first road trip with a crying newborn.

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On week 2 of our parental leave podcast, we talk about how we are doing with equally sharing parenting, and how it's going to balance work and family life so far.

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This week’s episode is in two parts. >> Subscribe in Apple Podcasts

Part 1: Birth Story

We share the details of our quick birth that largely took place in a Lyft while zooming into Manhattan.

>> Listen to Part 1 on Soundcloud

Part 2: What Do We Do With This Thing?

We talk about how it feels to suddenly have a new baby in the house, and the accessories needed in week 1, from cabbage to Depends.

>> Listen to Part 2 on Soundcloud

Show Notes:

4-5% of babies born on due date - Actually about 6% are born by their due date: https://spacefem.com/pregnant/charts/duedate1.php

Cognitive Dissonance: https://www.simplypsychology.org/cognitive-dissonance.html

“Chinese” Water Torture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_torture

“Baby Come Back”: http://www.metrolyrics.com/baby-come-back-hall-oates-ml-video-ypz.html

We share the fears and expectations about parenthood that are bubbling up during week 36 of pregnancy in this first pre-episode.

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Show Notes:

Adrienne is 36 weeks pregnant, baby Rasmus is due in early November.

** Post-partum depression:

“Anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of new mothers get what a lot of people call ‘baby blues’ – periods of mild sadness, weepiness, mood swings, exhaustion or lack of energy, loss of appetite, difficulty concentrating or making decisions, irritability, or anxiety after the baby is born… Anthropologist Edward Hagen, however believes that postpartum blues have little, if anything, to do with hormones. Instead, he says, it’s connected to low levels of social support – especially from the father… For about 10-20 percent of new moms, postpartum blues can develop into postpartum depression, which is more serious.”  The Expectant Father, 4th Edition, by Armin Brott & Jennifer Ash, page 252

** NY State law requires car seats for all infants: “All children must be restrained in an appropriate child restraint system while riding in a motor vehicle, until they reach their 8th birthday.” – NY.Gov

** Parental leave Germany and Sweden­ – mother gets 12 months off, increases to 14 months if partner also takes parental leave. We think that they can share the 14 months any way they want (for example: partner is with the baby for a week, then mom is with the baby for a month, repeated for 14 months), as long as the partner takes some time off.

** “Eighty-eight percent of American women do not get paid for a single day or a single hour after they give birth” – Why Women Can’t Break Free from the Parent Trap, by Rebecca Traister, The New Republic, February 2, 2015

** Our bassinet - Chicco Lullago, Lavendar face

** What all the pregnancy weight is (which was actually 30-35lbs for Adrienne) – from American Pregnancy Association

Baby: 7-8 pounds

Placenta: 1-2 pounds

Amniotic fluid: 2 pounds

Uterus: 2 pounds

Maternal breast tissue: 2 pounds

Maternal blood : 4 pounds

Fluids in maternal tissue: 4 pounds

Maternal fat and nutrient stores: 7 pounds

Total: 29 – 31 lbs