Let's Be Real: Mama Journeys

Stacy Price is a Colorado native and the mother of two angel babies. She splits her time between Colorado and Virginia, working as an accountant and volunteering with several nonprofits, including serving as a Director on YANA's Board. Stacy experienced her first pregnancy loss at 22 and, due to age and circumstance, grieved quietly and without support. After years of difficulty conceiving, she became pregnant again in June 2024, only to experience a second, more traumatic loss that required additional medical intervention. For a long time, Stacy struggled to identify as a mother, but she now embraces that she is a mom to heavenly children. She has found healing through sharing her story and honoring her daughters, Naomi and Kanis. She donated her wedding dress to the Angel Gown Project in honor of her first daughter, and after her second loss, the same organization gifted her a gown for her daughter. Stacy hopes that by sharing her journey, she can help normalize conversations around pregnancy loss and bring visibility, compassion, and hope to others navigating similar paths.

Caroline Kalicki's focus is making moms to be the best human they can be (not just mom). "Where are YOU on that list of things you are doing." If you don't take care of YOU first, there is no room to take care of others. Her wife and her took 5 years just to have her first. It was a long, heartbreaking journey and had miscarriage and 17 IUI's, they were finally successful through IVF. These 5 years made them THINK they were prepared for all of it but postpartum hit them like a bus. Not only was it hard on her and her wife but the way that society treats postpartum moms really rocked her world. The anxiety she experienced over the "silly little things" were such a shock to her that she realized that taking care of herself was truly the biggest need she had. "Bouncing back" is not the norm and more moms need to realize that there are moms in your corner. NO ONE knows what they are doing and that's OK! Her wife was her biggest supporter but because she hadn't been through it herself, she struggled with how to support her. She did also tell her to trust her gut and look inward to see what she needed. Finding other moms who had been through it was her saving grace. Her best mama moments are when her 5 year old says "I love you" and when her daughter sees how she is coaching and supporting moms. She now coaches her babydolls the way she sees her coach other moms. Those words mean the world to her. Her worst mama moments come when she feels like she can't help her 5 year old manage her emotions. These are things as a mom, we are working out on a daily basis for the rest of our lives…it's exhausting! She wishes she would have known that postpartum isn't a phase but a transformation. You can find Caroline at motherhencoaching.com and she works with mamas all over the country. Her instagram is @motherhencoaching

Katie Dwyer is a mom of a very big spirited 8 year old named Hazel Rose. She lives in NYC and today released her third album! She runs participation classes for babies and mamas. She is working on building confidence in children through music. She writes all of her own music that she sings. She grew up singing in youth choir and really enjoyed music but reading music wasn't her thing because she performs by ear. She has many connections to Broadway and the world of the arts in NYC but being a mom was her number one focus so she worked out her career to land right where she is meant to be. She had a baby through IVF to ensure that her daughter didn't have the gene to have Cystic Fibrosis (that her husband has and she carries the gene for). Her biggest challenge was the isolation aspect of being a new mom. Her whole family is from Arkansas so she didn't have the physical support she needed. She got herself out of the house and walked about the Natural History museum just to get out of the house. Her biggest supporter was her husband and had lots of friends and family but he was her gentle soul who never "made me feel as crazy as I felt." Her favorite mama moments are seeing her be a good human. When someone addresses her and tells her that her daughter made someone else feel good, that makes her mama heart happy. Her worst mama moments are when she feels the pressure to ensure her child is kind, loving and empathetic and her child doesn't act that way. The "what are people thinking about me" issue she had made her realize it isn't about HER. She wishes she would have not been able to sneeze the same ever again (but she can with pelvic floor PT!!!). She wishes she would have known how much she would love and worry about this child she gave birth to. You can find her amazing album called Warm Fuzzies @https://www.katiedwyermusic.com An album about feelings and being kind.

Yara N. Ortiz is the owner and CEO of Bookkeeping Consulting Services and founder of Money Moves with Yara, and is a mama. She is a financial consultant working with small businesses and nonprofits to get their books in order. She's also a master personal financial coach who works with single moms to help them manage their finances to fit their lifestyles. She believes in experience over education even though she absolutely believes in higher education. She had her only son at the age of 30 and her pregnancy was a dream. She worked until the last minute and everything was beautiful until birth. She was in labor for 33 hours! YIKES! She was in labor for so many hours that they ultimately ended with a c-section. Her biggest challenge was the fear of being a mom. She was fearful of dropping him, who was going to care for him when she had to go back to work and because she was a single mom with family in Puerto Rico and no one near her, she was struggling to figure out childcare. As it turned out, she found someone the night before she had to go back to work! It was so meant to be! Her parents were her biggest supporters and even though her mom was so far away, she supplied a lot of support to her. Her dad was a big supporter and filled in as a father figure for her son and a huge support for her. Her Christian upbringing and beliefs have been her driving force. Her best mama moment was seeing her son walk across the stage at his High School graduation. After everything they went through together, watching him accomplish this was everything she worked towards. Her worst mama moments were when she was in a toxic relationship and couldn't shield him completely from those situations. Telling him that his father has passed away was also gut wrenching. She wishes she would have known that you don't have to have it all together all of the time. Supermom doesn't exist. It's ok to cry, ask for help, be tired. Don't try to do it all on your own! It goes SO fast! You can find her at [email protected] or bookkeepingcs.com or Yaranortiz on Facebook. You can find our Podcast on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gTKJ9WwE Apple: https://lnkd.in/gfcrreYg Or on our website: https://lnkd.in/gy5hf6hz

Sabrina Wright-Hobart is an advocate for women in crisis through the Crisis Center and also a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed at 37 years old and has been a huge advocate for care for women experiencing that diagnosis. She has always dedicated her life to nonprofit support with mamas and women in need of domestic violence resources. All of her programs are evidence based and anonymous. Domestic violence is the number one crime in counties all over the world because it is 100% about control and that doesn't have to be physical. It can be emotional, financial or sexual and getting rid of the shame around it is step one. The first thing you can do is believe people who report they are being abused. Shelters will take a victim no matter where they live (if there is a bed available). At 28 she gave birth to her first child but she was paralyzed and couldn't do any of the pushing they wanted her to do! She had a traumatic experience at the hospital and had chosen and wished she would have thought to file a complaint. With two kiddos with their own challenges, the biggest challenge came with her Breast Cancer diagnosis. She connected herself and her kiddos to support through that diagnosis and realized that asking for help is not a sign of weakness. Her son spent some time at a mental hospital and was sent home and Sabrina's number one job as a mom was to keep him alive and learn how to handle a child who didn't want to be on this earth even though she sure did. "We can't fix things for other people but sometimes people knowing someone cares is all the help they need." When you share your story, you help others to not feel alone. Share your story and know that you are probably helping someone out there! She wishes she would have known it is ok to not to be ok.