We Are The Family Room Karen Stoteraux

Experiences parenting multiracial children are unique and as diverse as the families are themselves, including different perspectives among parents within the same family.   In this Part 2 episode, Karen speaks with Kwamina Amonoo-Neizer, Melissa's husband from Episode 62.  If you haven’t listened to that episode yet, you should go back and listen as it was a really interesting discussion! 

Not only are Melissa and Kwamina different races, but there are many cultural differences, too, as Melissa is White and grew up in California, while Kwamina is Black and grew up in Ghana. 

From racism to Ghanian culture and parenting differences, this episode covers a lot, and is important follow-up to the discussion with Melissa. 
Love the show? Subscribe, Rate, & Review!

https://www.familyroomcenter.com/podcast/

Around the world, cultures have different postpartum traditions and rituals to help support new mothers heal during the postnatal period. In many areas, that includes a confinement period of rest and special meals to promote recovery and lactation. 
The concept of Chinese confinement — “zuo yue zi,” or “sitting the month”— is when a new mother stays at home for one month to allow her body to rest after giving birth. In China, there are many resources for this practice, but for many Chinese Americans, the ancient traditions can feel very limiting and tensions can arise between mothers, daughters, and in-laws due to overzealous enforcement of customs. From not bathing for a month, to eating only hot food, and not going outside, it can put a lot of pressure on modern moms trying to navigate their postpartum period on their own terms.  

On the podcast is Lucy Wang, a Chinese American mom to three to share how she charted her own postpartum recovery, adopting some of the rituals that she found helpful and letting other ones go. Lucy specifically discusses: 
what sitting the month looks like in China and in the United States for many, including the basic tenets of rest and warmth and why they are importantluxury postpartum recovery hotels the expectations from her mother and mother-in-lawhow she incorporated aspects of sitting the month into her postpartum period, including the specific foods she ate 
Love the show? Subscribe, Rate, & Review!

https://www.familyroomcenter.com/podcast/

We know sex assigned at birth and gender identity are two different things. In toddlers, the idea of gender identity can be very fluid, but generally around age 5 or 6, most children are rigid about gender and preferences often due to social pressures and other factors.
The number of young people in the United States now openly identifying as a gender different from the one they were assigned at birth is surging amid growing recognition of transgender identity and rights, awareness, and acceptance.  
In this episode,  Erica Peterson shares her experience raising her transgender daughter, Finn, including:

- when she noticed Finn expressed a gender identity that was different than the one assigned at birth
- how she and her husband processed the new identity and supported Finn
- how family and friends reacted to the news, including Erica's grandmother Helen's reaction
- the important role of allies
- how she found gender affirming care
- what surprised her the most navigating the changes
- the advice she would give others with a child questioning their gender identity 

This is a deeply personal and inspiring story and we are so thankful to Erica for sharing her experience, perspective, and big heart with us. 
 
Love the show? Subscribe, Rate, & Review!

https://www.familyroomcenter.com/podcast/

**Trigger Warning: Lucie's story includes a traumatic birth**

A stay in the neonatal intensive care unit for your baby can feel like a rollercoaster ride you were forced to get on. Very few people know in advance their baby will need to spend time in the NICU and the reasons babies are sent there can vary greatly from additional monitoring needed to serious health issues. Some babies stay a few hours or days while others stay weeks or months. 
Regardless of the length of stay, it is a scary and overwhelming experience being separated from your baby. 
On the podcast to talk about her NICU experience with her youngest daughter, Sadie, is Lucie Russo, a Family Room mom and now friend of Karen's. Lucie shares:
her intense birth story delivering Sadie early during the height of Covidwhat it was like leaving the hospital without Sadiethe overwhelming guilt of trying to care for two kids and not being at the NICU all the timehow she cared for herself during that timeadvice for parents with a baby in the NICUrecommendations for how to support a friend whose baby is in the NICULove the show? Subscribe, Rate, & Review!

https://www.familyroomcenter.com/podcast/

Today we are replaying  Episode 15 from Season 1 on how to handle the holidays with extended family and a baby.  Last year around this time, we spoke with Kim-Lan Dovan, lead Parent and Me educator at The Family Room on how to navigate family expectations and dynamics during the holidays while also staying true to what is important to you and your parenting. The episode offers important perspective and so many great tips, we wanted to replay it. 
From parenting in front of our parents which is hard, to generational differences, basic logistics, like how do you handle the big family meal when it is right during bedtime, to unsolicited advice, this episode covers it all. 
Take a listen. We hope it helps you create boundaries, feel good about your choices and lay the foundations for a happy holiday season. 
Love the show? Subscribe, Rate, & Review!

https://www.familyroomcenter.com/podcast/

It is that time of year again when many parents are thinking about getting professional family pictures for holiday cards. It can be a stressful process from finding a photographer and picking a date, to buying coordinating outfits everyone likes, which can include multiple trips to Old Navy, to bribing the kids to smile nicely, and on and on.

We take a million pictures of our children, but not as many family photos and many simply live on our phones. 

On the show today is Lucy Wang from Lucy Liora Photography to give us all the tips and tricks to getting great family photos whether with a professional or taking on your own.

 Lucy shares:
why family photos are important from getting mom in the pictures to capturing special moments in timedifferent types of photo shoots availableadvice for preparing for a professional family photo shootpro tips for taking pictures yourself (hint: light really matters!)the value of printing photos and displaying them in your homeLinks:
Website: lucylioraphotography.com
Instagram: @lucylioraphotography



Love the show? Subscribe, Rate, & Review!

https://www.familyroomcenter.com/podcast/