Wundhers of Motherhood Wundher

On this episode of Wundhers of Motherhood, the Circle Moms delve into an emotional dialogue of how they all grappled with knowing that George Floyd called out for his deceased mother in his last breath. They each expressed how heart-wrenching it is to hear your child call out for you when they are in distress, and if they were compelled to have BLM conversations with their young children. The sister-friends also explored the challenge it is to raise Black boys and girls in this America, with the fear of the unknown for what lies ahead. Tune in to hear how they suppressed Black guilt, handled all the calls from their allies, and activated to see sustainable change for the future.

On this episode of Wundhers of Motherhood, the Circle Moms take a walk down memory lane as they share their personal Womb Life journey. Have you ever been told you would be paralyzed from an epidural? Can you imagine how that follows you and impedes your future birthing plans? Sister-friend Candace serves as the start of this episode as she shares the real-real of her water birth experience. To follow suit, the rest of the Circle shares each of their birthing plans and experiences; the differences in age or child; the epidural, natural, C-section, home birth and water birth experiences; and how they felt immediately after delivery. Whether you are a mom in the making or a mom of many, this light-hearted reminiscence will give you all you need to know about which birthing plans best suits you. 

Is the bounce-back truth or myth? After childbirth, so many mothers are succumb with the idea of reclaiming their old self and even their prior bodies. They want the freedom of going and doing whatever they please, and they desire to fit into their favorite jeans again.

From fad diets, aggressive workout plans, and waist cinchers, moms struggle with the reality of the new you. Listen as these sister-friends walk you through their journey in search of the mystical unicorn called the bounce-back and their discovery of the glow-up. 

Natalie McKinney is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Whole Child Strategies, Inc. A neighborhood non-profit designed to coordinate efforts, provide funding and critical supports to organize, mobilize and empower community-designed and initiated solutions. These solutions work  to identify and address the root causes to the out-of-school barriers hindering children from arriving to school, every day, on-time, engaged and ready to learn.

Prior to Whole Child Strategies, Inc., Mrs. McKinney served as the Director of Policy for both Shelby County Schools and legacy Memphis City Schools, which included policy development and legislative planning. As part of the largest school district merger in American Public Education history, Mrs. McKinney led the effort to revise and develop a school district policy manual to accommodate what amounted to an amalgamation of a rural, suburban and urban school district.

Prior to her arrival to Memphis, Mrs. McKinney founded and served as the inaugural director of the Juvenile Law Clinic at North Carolina Central University School of Law; providing a holistic approach to representing youth accused of delinquent behavior and expelled from school. During her tenure at NCCU School of Law, Mrs. McKinney served as an adjunct professor and coordinator of the pro bono program. During her time in North Carolina, Mrs. McKinney also served as a juvenile law research associate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institute of Government. At the beginning of her career, Mrs. McKinney served as an associate at Moore & Van Allen, PLLC, in Durham, North Carolina and at Alston & Bird in Atlanta, Georgia.

Renée has been a senior program officer at the Annie E. Casey Foundation; director of the Health Promotion Program for Urban Youth at Boston City Hospital; director of the Community Coalition to Prevent Black Homicide, the first Office of Minority Health-funded project focused on preventing homicide in an African American community, and director of a five-year National Institutes of Health-funded school-based intervention, Reach for Health, that was named a promising program by the U.S. Department of Education.

As a former Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapist, Behavior Interventionist, Dean of Students, Assistant Principal, and school leader in Shelby County Schools and the Achievement School District, Larissa Gregory has over ten years of first-hand experience bringing direct behavioral and discipline support(s) to students, families, teachers, and community members. . Larissa currently serves as the Social Emotional Learning Department Chair for the Memphis Teacher Residency and an Adjunct Professor of Education with Union University. Larissa is an advocate for culturally responsive systems and routines aimed to directly combat systemic barriers and challenges - facilitating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in action.

Larissa is the Founder of L|G Behavioral and Educational Consulting, LLC. She daily seeks to eagerly cultivate the consulting firm, to be one that would effectively and efficiently intersect her expertise with her interests. Since launching, Larissa has facilitated the successful integration of Social Emotional Learning + Health and Restorative Practices for high performing Schools and Districts, as well as non profit organizations in Memphis and beyond.