That working mom life, with Bryn Huntpalmer
On today’s podcast, I had the amazing opportunity to talk with the incredible Bryn Huntpalmer. Bryn is an extremely hardworking momma to her two kiddos and one tiny human who is on the way! She is also the founder of the podcast called The Birth Hour. Bryn shared with me all the ups and downs that come with being a working mom! We got to talk about the different challenges that she encountered from the start of her career as well as the obstacles and rewarding experiences her life journey as brought her so far.
During her first pregnancy with Adelaide, Bryn was in graduate school and her husband, Richard, was in law school. With a considerably flexible schedule, Bryn and Richard were luckily able to figure out a routine that worked for raising their new tiny human. Once Adelaide was around 6 months old, Bryn and Richard decided to sell all of their things and move into an RV and travel. It was then around this time they found out that they were expecting another baby. When they found out this news, they decided to move to Oregon. After giving birth to her second child, Darwin, Bryn found a job that was accommodating to her new life. As Bryn shared, she always imagined staying home and taking care of her kids but she had to justify everything that was going on and really take into consideration what the best option would be for her and her family.
“It’s so hard to be torn between these two worlds. I felt like I was terrible at my job and terrible at being a mom because I was so split between the two.”
Bryn and I got to talk about being a nursing mom and things to know and how to handle supply and demand changes. Taking care of yourself and drinking a lot of water were two important components for mommas to always remember to do while they are pumping. A challenged that Bryn shared was making sure to schedule time to pump throughout the day. Now with her new baby on the way, Bryn expressed how she would spoil herself in getting the pumping products that she felt were beneficial tools to help her through the pumping process. Products such as a comfortable pump bra and a convenient pumping bag (i.e. Sarah Wells pumping bags) were good products that she has found to be helpful.
“If you ask for things people will be accommodating and you certainly have actual rights when it comes to some of these things, like a comfortable, clean place to pump and things like that.”
Once Adelaide and Darwin were both in daycare, Bryn shared with me what transition was like for her and Richard. She expressed that being open, supportive, and respectful of one another’s work schedule were important qualities that the two of them brought to the table as their kiddos started daycare. One piece of advice that she shared with me, was the importance of being able to create a pick-up and drop-off schedule that worked for her and Richard. Bryn quickly learned that the drop-offs were too emotionally difficult for her to handle while Richard, on the other hand, did not have as much of a difficult time. By realizing this about herself, they created a schedule that worked well for the two of them.
“I just preferred to be the one that got to pick them up when they are able to see you versus dropping them off and dealing with that emotional rollercoaster.”
It was when Bryn and her family moved to Austin when she then began the Birth Hour podcast. Bryn found time throughout the weeknight and weekends to schedule her podcast interviews and with the tech knowledge that Richard had, he was then able to do all of the edits for each episode. As Bryn shared, she didn’t feel guilty starting the podcast but her biggest area of mom guilt has come from daily interactions and struggles and schooling challenges that have come from raising her kiddos as they grow up. However, Bryn has learned what her kids need when they are upset, whether it be space or physical touch, and how to respond to their individual needs’ which has really helped her deal with her mom guilt.
As Bryn goes into having her next baby, she expressed the importance of truly enjoying the moments that she will have with her new tiny human and really looks forward to seeing how Adelaide and Darwin are as they take on the older sibling role!
If you wish to connect with Bryn and continue to follow along on her journey, you can find her at:
- thebirthhour.com
- The Birth Hour: Instagram and Facebook
