Attention moms: especially new moms or expecting moms. We all know it’s important to find the resources we need to be able to take care of our baby in the womb, or learn what to expect while giving birth, or even what to do when the new squishy baby, right out of the oven, comes home. But what about the mama? What happens to us? I think a lot of us were surprised about all the changes, fears, doubts, even anxiety that come after baby.
Today I’m talking with Saralyn Ward. Saralyn is a mom of two little girls, with another baby on the way, and she’s an award-winning writer, TV host, and wellness advocate whose passion is to inspire and empower women to live their best life. She’s the founder of the Better After Baby mobile app and the force behind The Mama Sagas: a media company using stories to break down stigmas, building a village of compassionate and purpose-driven mothers.
In June of 2018, Saralyn published Amazon’s #1 New Kindle Release in Babies and Toddlers: The Guide to Survive Motherhood: Newborn Edition – the first truly interactive and comprehensive digital resource for new moms. She writes for several publications including TODAY Parents, Thrive Global, Huff Post, Colorado Parent magazine, Dance magazine, elephant journal, 5280 Magazine, and Women of Denver magazine, and offers weekly tips to survive parenthood on live morning television. In 2017, Saralyn’s writing was honored with a Gold Medal by the Parenting Media Association.
Saralyn is a breath of fresh air. She’s bringing about change, and most of all, encouragement and empowerment for new moms. Even if you’re not a brand new mom, her platform, The Mama Sagas, will have something for you. Today we talk about Saralyn’s passion for helping moms, her Better After Baby app, and a shocker for me….women who have given birth do NOT have to pee their pants every time they laugh. What?
I love Saralyn’s energy, enthusiasm, and drive to help moms and create community. So without further ado, here’s our conversation.
One of the reasons Sara got into blogging and developing her app is to help moms. She was shocked by how blindsided she was by motherhood.We have expectations of what we think it might be, and it’s usually nothing at all like we thought. And we can get stuck in the thought of, “holy crap, I don’t know what I’m doing, this is so much harder than I thought, and I don’t know where to go for answers.”
Coupled with a lack of institutional resources, it can feel like motherhood is the ultimate sacrifice for women, and like we’re all alone. Saralyn’s mission is to take that feeling, and turn it around to give women resources to help them thrive, redefine who they want to be, and create a life that’s designed on their terms.
When Saralyn was 12 or 13, she always loved hearing people’s stories. She wanted to absorb “story” as much as she could. She asked her parents for a Dictaphone, with the intention of listening to people’s stories and writing a book about it. The idea for her blog, The Mama Sagas came when she was a new mom. She had many challenges with breastfeeding, with her career, and the closest family was 2,000 miles away. One night, she had the idea to create a community she could tap into from her phone that would give her ideas from other moms and experts. When Saralyn was pregnant with her second child, she started The Mama Sagas, wherein she tells the stories of other women.
So many impactful stories have come from The Mama Sagas. Saralyn has had plenty of times where she’s reading through a story in the wee hours of the morning and finds herself sobbing. The stories she really identifies with are the one that show us our true courage, our true strength, and our true resilience. These are stories of infant loss, miscarriage, and there was one story about the mother of a teenage African American boy that really got to the heart to Saralyn of what story telling is all about. We all have more in common than what set us apart. We all want the best for our kids, and we all want them to thrive.
In 2018, Saralyn decided she was going to publish a resource guide for new mothers. She thought of it as a ‘trail guide.’ It’s so helpful to have a handbook of sorts, to get the answers you need. She created a quick and easy resource guide for moms that focuses on postpartum care: things that deal with your physical recovery, postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, and all things mom care. The book is called “The Guide to Survive Motherhood, Newborn Edition.” Saralyn had around twenty five contributors who were Board Certified OB-GYN’s, mental health professionals, doulas, celebrity nannies, lactation consultants, experts with a full range of experience. It’s the first book of its kind, published on Amazon, with links from the question right to the answer, so you don’t have to read the whole book to find what you’re looking for. It’s a lot like a textbook for new moms.
Tune in to hear a MIND BLOWING revelation I learned about moms and incontinence! (Come on…you know what I’m talking about: Who else pees a little when you do jumping jacks?)
THE BETTER AFTER BABY APP
Saralyn had a career in fitness for 14 years, and has combined her resources with those of many experts, into an app, just for new moms. My favorite message from the app is Saralyn’s message to women: “Stop trying to bounce back.” We think we can just snap out of it, get it together, and bounce back after we give birth, and we’re so hard on ourselves when it doesn’t work the way we think it should. Saralyn believes that we need to think about the whole person when it comes to postpartum health. The identity shift is just as important as what’s happening physically.
The Better After Baby App includes nap time workouts with 3 different levels: Level 1 for someone who just got cleared to exercise postpartum, Level 2 is for moms 3-6 months postpartum, and Level 3 is for moms who are 6 months postpartum, on. This is centered around a condition that many moms postpartum have, called Diastasis Recti, which is the abdominal separation that often occurs during pregnancy. If a mom pushes too hard through her workouts, it could make this worse.
There are also mental health resources in the app, webinars with experts in the medical field. Saralyn recently interviewed a sleep expert, as well. She also talked with a formula feeding expert, among others, as she feels it’s important to talk about all the different facets and methods of mothering.
The best perspective that helped Saralyn personally with her postpartum health is that you should think of it as a blank slate. So many things have shifted, and it’s better to think that you’re starting from ground zero, with a new body. You’re not the same as you were before, and it’s important to learn who you are now, verses comparing to who you used to be.
WHAT DOES THE APP HAVE FOR ME IF I’M NOT A NEW MOM?
The workouts in the app are applicable for any mom in the journey, but as the app moves forward, Saralyn will be adding more content that touches on career considerations, lifestyle material, and toddler mom life. Her book will also be a series. The next book in the series will be the toddler edition.
Saralyn also encourages us to check out The Mama Sagas for every stage of motherhood, like how to work with a shy child, mom hacks, back to school transitions, and more. Head to the blog to really get the heartbeat of these resources.
Tune in to find out the most valuable resources within Saralyn’s blog, the app, and her advice for mamas. You don’t want to miss hearing her heart and encouragement for moms!
I would love to see you guys download the Better After Baby App, or visit The Mama Sagas, to support Saralyn and the community she’s serving. There’s really something there for everyone!Until next time, Wannabes, keep living that best life, and I’ll talk to you soon.
Connect with Saralyn
Website: https://themamasagas.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themamasagas and https://www.facebook.com/saralyn.ward
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_mama_sagas/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/themamasagas
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/themamasagas/
Download the Better After Baby app in the Apple Store and on Google Play
