 This week's guest blogger is Saidah Pearson, RN and IBCLC. She is the owner of Four Sisters Hands, a lactation support practice in the Triangle area. Learn more about Saidah's business and her much needed work with women and moms in the interview below. 1. Tell me about yourself. I am a St. Louis native and have been in NC for five years. I am a wife and mom to four sweet little ladies! I come from a large family and am the only girl out of four kids. I am a major introvert but my children and husband force me to be an extrovert because they all have never met a stranger. I enjoy talking about all things mommy, babies, and boobs! Oh and I will forever be a reality tv girl. I can’t help myself! 2. How/why did you become an RN and IBCLC? I have wanted to be a NICU nurse since I was 9 years old after seeing a family friend have a baby prematurely. After graduating from undergrad with a degree in Biology I went back to nursing school. I originally went to school to become a Biomedical Engineer and wanted to pursue medical research. I like to say that I took the long walk home and it gave me a better perspective when becoming a nurse. I have been a nurse for five years and spent three of those years bedside in two different Level IV NICUs in the triangle. I always knew that my end goal was to be a lactation consultant and serve medically complex families. I attended the Mary Rose Tully Training Initiative at UNC Chapel Hill to get my lactation training. I one day hope to go back to the NICU as an LC but for now I am enjoying serving the community outside of the hospital. 3. What is the mission or main focus of Four Sisters' Hands? The mission of Four Sisters’ Hands is to truly meet families where they are and provide individualized support to help them meet their lactation goals. I have a somewhat unique approach that is rooted in focusing on the family’s goals while also presenting evidence based facts that allows them to make informed decisions. The major pillar of my work is to increase visibility and support for Black and brown families. When I was nursing my first child I did not have any physical support that looked like me or had a cultural understanding of where I was. Representation is everything and I work very hard to give support to all families but work extra hard to give support to families that look like mine. 4. What are the best & most challenging parts of being a business owner and health practitioner? The best and worst part of being a business owner is the flexibility. I appreciate that as a stay at home mom I can truly tailor my business to the needs of my family. In the same sense there is no one to do the work but me which can be A LOT! The actual running of a business I could pass on and just do the actual work of supporting families but such is life. The best part of “the work” is helping families reach their goals. Seeing them trust themselves. Teaching the whole family about lactation. Holding space and the gift of being able to support people in their most vulnerable time of life. Oh my most absolute favorite thing is the baby snuggles!! The hardest part of “the work” is the second guessing of myself as new IBCLC. Sometimes not feeling like I know enough or have enough to give. Combating my client’s self doubt that is sometimes imposed by those closest to them. 5. Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 years? In five years I would love to be a mentor and teacher. I want to be able to provide education for not only families but for other health providers that are in a position to support families. I also want to pour into other Black future IBCLCs because the path there is lonely and hard sometimes. Working specifically with the HBCUs in NC that are training future IBCLCs. I want to work with more NICU families on a consistent basis and help them reach their goals. I would love to have a breastfeeding clinic that could provide community support and serve as a gathering space. A place where love and care oozes out the walls and flows into the streets! 6. Who do you look up to or admire in the health community? Janiya Williams is who I call my lactation fairy godmother in my head! She gave a presentation to our class in my lactation program and I was in awe! Not only does she positively impact her community through lactation and her support of doulas but she is also a wife and mom. She is highly respected and that doesn’t happen without being at the top of your game. She is a beacon of hope for myself that the vision that I have is not only possible but can far exceed what I think. She is what it means to provide representation to Black IBCLCs and I am grateful to know her. 7. Tell me about your most recent business win. My most recent win was actually recommitting myself to my practice. I have had a hard time deciding how much to give to my practice while also being a stay at home mom. Going from working in the hospital as a nurse with a team to being a one woman show has been such an adjustment for me. After some really hard conversations with myself, my husband, and lots of time spent with God, I realized that this is my life’s work and I am equipped with the things I need to make it happen. Even if I don’t know the how, I will keep one foot in front of the other and things will fall in place. If I am going to bet on anything I want it to be myself! 8. Please share any upcoming events or programs you will be participating in or any special offerings for new clients? I will be hosting my first virtual breastfeeding support group on May 17th! I am really excited because this is something I’ve wanted to do but wasn’t sure if I could. I hope to start in person meetings this fall. I am also planning to roll out prenatal breastfeeding education classes in the fall. One of my passions in lactation is prenatal breastfeeding education so I am looking forward to providing more ways for families to get support before their baby comes!  I’m Saidah RN, IBCLC. A wife and mom of four young girls based in Cary, NC. I provide in-home and virtual lactation support to families from pregnancy to weaning! I have been a nurse for five years and recently left the NICU bedside to support families in the community as an IBCLC. I love all things baby snuggles and lactation. I truly think that individualized lactation support is the key to help you reach your goals. This to me means meeting families exactly where they are, providing the information, and supporting families to make informed decisions. You can learn more about me by visiting my website and follow me on Facebook and Instagram @foursistershands.
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 This week's guest blog is from Tanya Josephs. You may remember that I first introduced you to her a few months ago and today she is sharing her thoughts on a motherhood and how trusting your intuition will help you to become a more confident mother. As a mother, leaning into your intuition sounds easier than it is. Making intuitive decisions for your child can be difficult, and sometimes scary. You are exposed to the opinions of others in many different arenas: online, at work, in public, and even at home. Trusting your decision-making skills over the opinions and advice of others takes work. Increasing your confidence in your decisions as a mother takes time. But the more time and effort you put into it, the stronger that skill will be, and the more you will trust yourself first. A Mother's Intuition The American Psychology Association defines intuition as “immediate insight or perception, as contrasted with conscious reasoning or reflection.” This means that you have an inner knowing, without needing to think or rationalize it. Intuition serves us in all sorts of situations, from an everyday choice to life or death. When you become a mother, your intuition expands to serve your children. You’ve heard of situations where a mom didn’t want her kid hanging out with another kid…she just knew they were a bad influence. Or when a mom sought out a second opinion because the pediatrician’s diagnosis didn’t sit right with her. Maybe you have experienced that gut feeling walking into a daycare tour that told you it wasn’t the right place for your child. Your intuition kicks in. You don’t know how or why, you just know. External Validators The flip side to your intuition kicking in, is whether or not you even notice. Today’s world is full of noise. Instagram, Facebook groups, podcasts, YouTube…you are inundated with information. Online forums and apps allow us multiple points of access to multiple points of view. The problem with this is, somewhere along the way, you get lost. Your inner voice, your intuition, has been drowned out by all of that noise. The more external information we consume, the farther we stray from our internal compass. And it’s not intentional. It’s just confusing. In the first year of motherhood alone, there are so many questions and a million answers for each. Do I breastfeed or formula feed? Co-sleep or independent sleeping in the crib? How long do I swaddle? They’re not rolling yet…is that normal? They just ate, but it hasn’t been 2 hours…do I feed them again? Solids at 4 months or 6? Baby-led weaning? Sleep training? Cry it out? Do any of these sound familiar? We don’t know if we should look left or right, up or down. The books tell us one thing, pediatricians another, and family and friends something else. In all of this confusion, we are no longer tuning in. We begin to rely on outside sources to validate our choices. (Side note - this is not to say medical knowledge and facts are not valid sources for decision-making. Any true concerns should always be communicated with your doctor). We unconsciously start second guessing ourselves, and look to others to reassure that we are doing the right thing. We begin quieting our inner voice and convincing ourselves that we are somehow ‘wrong’; whether it’s ‘overreacting’, being ‘too anxious’ or ‘asking too many questions’. We take the focus away from what we know about our child and begin focusing on the experience and advice of others. It’s time to tune back in and strengthen your intuition. Trust that your inner knowing connects you to your child and allows you to make the best decisions for them. Navigating External Validation from Our Inner Circle While we experience a lot of external noise from outside sources, we can also receive a lot of external noise from our inner circle. Pregnancy, postpartum and parenting become frequent topics of conversation with friends, family, and even strangers. In sharing our concerns and questions, others share their own experiences with us as a way to connect. This can sow seeds of disconnect within ourselves. Our motherhood journey begins to incorporate a lot of this external information instead our own mind-body-soul connection. Unsolicited advice and judgments are woven so seamlessly into our everyday lives, it’s no wonder we stray from our inner voice. A co-worker comments on how “tiny” you look while pregnant... your friend’s face reacts a little too quickly when you share your decision to sleep train… your sister responds “that’s weird, we never had that” when a new illness arises. Even your mom nonchalantly laughs when you mention you’re concerned about a new behavior you’ve noticed in your toddler. And if we are being honest, it’s likely we have passed our own judgments onto family and friends, both intentionally and unintentionally. We may have projected fear or thoughts onto another mother in a way that affected their decision-making. Of course, there is likely no bad intent. Just remind yourself to take everything with a grain of salt and bring your thoughts to the forefront. Let’s always encourage ourselves, our sisters and our friends to look inward. As you look inward, ask yourself these questions:
When you answer these questions, don’t overthink it. Your quickest and most natural thought is typically your intuition telling you something. That’s when you lean in. Remind yourself that you know what is best for your child, and that you always have their best interest in mind.  4 Ways to Strengthen Your Intuition Increasing your intuition is like strengthening a muscle. You have to work that muscle and find ways to activate your intuition until it becomes more and more natural. Here are 4 ways to start strengthening on your intuition today:
This Mother’s Day, celebrate and empower yourself. Remember how far you’ve come and all of the times your intuition has served you and your child. Commit to honoring yourself, your intuition, your instinct, the voice inside that tells you what’s right.  Tanya Josephs is a postpartum coach, helping women transition into the role of mother while empowered to maintain a sense of self. She is passionate about maternal mental health and breaking the stigma. Tanya is also a copywriter for life coaches, providing email, sales, and web copywriting services.
Originally from Rhode Island, she now lives in North Carolina with her husband and three young children. She is a practicing Doctor of Physical Therapy, self-proclaimed foodie, lover of wine, podcasts, books, and binge-worthy TV series. To connect, email [email protected]. Find out more about copywriting services and grab your free lead magnet master list for your coaching business here.  Cater to Mom subscription box Becoming a mother or parent is a very important time in one's life and it deserves a grand level of celebration. And with celebration comes gifts, right? But what should one get a new mom? What is appropriate? What will make the greatest impact but also show that you care? There are so many modern products and gadgets that seem useful, but in reality are useless and can prove to disrupt the parents' physiological response to addressing their baby's needs. Subscription boxes are a great solution to the abundant needs that come with pregnancy and parenthood. From self care items to diapers to postpartum products, subscription boxes can be the perfect gift for new parents during this life-changing transition. Each one of the subscriptions boxes listed below offer a variety of products and gifts for moms and some for the entire family. They include a brief description and are categorized for your convenience. Be sure to check out the Mother's Day offers & discounts these subscription boxes are currently offering! General
Bump Boxes-safe and healthy products delivered to moms monthly. (very popular) The Stork Bag- luxury boxes designed to pamper moms-to-be Ecocentric Mom-boxes for the eco-friendly mom/family Mama Bird Box- a one-time box for pregnant & new moms customized for her health and wellbeing Oh Baby Boxes- custom, high quality boxes for pregnancy & postpartum (1, 3 and 6 month plans, very popular) DoulaBox-quarterly box curated by a doula for each trimester, including the fourth trimester PreggoBox-luxury gifts for expecting and postpartum moms using handcrafted gift items from Canadian vendors The Belly Bundle-boxes with healthy products, maternity apparel and must-haves for motherhood (1, 6, 9 and 12 month subscription options) Happy Mango-boxes that include items for care for mom, for baby, clothing, blankets, snacks and more (1, 3, 6 and 9 month options) Rumbly-exclusive pregnancy gifts and boxes curated for the woman you are and the mom you're becoming Nurtured 9- elevated gift boxes filled with luxurious, non-toxic, and pregnancy-safe products across beauty, mind, and body designed to pamper new moms and moms-to-be Babylist Hello Baby Box-one time welcome box for expectant moms, free when you create a registry Hey Milestone-one-time pregnancy sample box for new moms (formerly Noobie Boxes) Diaper Honest-diapers, wipes and other items to build your own bundle Hello Bello-hypoallergenic diapers, freebie with your 1st bundle Dyper-disposable and cloth diapers, training pants Abby&Finn- eco-friendly diapers, wipes and premium essentials, free shipping Target-wide variety of diapers to choose from Amazon-wide variety of diapers and baby products to choose from MadeOf-NSF organic baby skincare and diapers (vegan, gluten-free, no GMOs and made in USA) Parasol-natural, eco-friendly diapers and baby products (great for sensitive skin) Bungies-one-size fits all, eco-friendly, water resistant cloth diapers ECO by Naty-eco-friendly diapers and products Eco Pea-highly rated, eco-friendly, hypoallergenic bamboo diapers and biodegradable bamboo wipes Happy Little Camper-biodegradable, 100% natural diapers and wipes made with hypoallergenic cotton and contain pure and healthy ingredients good for baby’s sensitive skin Meals, Snacks & Treats Hungryroot-customized healthy foods and recipes Mother Snacker-hand-picked decadent treats & beautifully designed goods to encourage, inspire & spoil moms The Candy Club-curated selection of delectable candies delivered monthly Nightfood-sleep-friendly snacks, great for pregnant and postpartum moms (not a subscription) Health & Beauty Ritual Essential Prenatal Multivitamin-prenatal with 12 key nutrients for before and during pregnancy (very popular) Perelel Health Vitamins & Supplements-the first & only OB/GYN-founded prenatal vitamin (women's and men's supplements, preconception, fertility, pregnancy postpartum support) The Detox Box-skincare, makeup, body, hair and general wellness supplements and products Beauty Heroes-quality, full sized clean beauty products Fashion Stitch Fix Maternity-personalized maternity clothing by trimester (no subscription required) Le Tote Maternity-maternity clothing for rent with option to keep at a discounted price Family The Rad Dad-box for new dads Bitsy Boxes-monthly delivery of products tailored to your child age 0-3 years old (monthly and annual pricing) Moms + Babes Box-essentials for baby and must-haves for mom delivered seasonally Postpartum Cater to Mom-boxes with 5 -7 full-sized, hand-picked postpartum care essentials to support the postpartum journey Birth in Color RVA-doula curated box that caters to the needs of parents during the fourth trimester. boxes include postpartum recovery essentials, beauty or bath products, teas, healthy snacks, books, self care tips and helpful care resources. Each box contains 6-8 items. MOMBOX-custom care kits for new moms Sunflower Motherhood-boxes to help support women throughout pregnancy and motherhood (products and apparel) Dollar Maxi Pad-products and supplies to support healing and recovery in the fourth trimester Breastfeeding Cratejoy Breastfeeding Boxes-boxes that consists of items to support lactation and mom's mental wellness/self-care (quarterly and monthly options) Other Force of Nature-all natural household cleaners and products Grove Collaborative-sustainable cleaning/home, personal care and wellness products  This week's guest blogger is Selena Waite, psychologist and licensed mental health counselor. She is the founder of Waite PTS, a full-service family mental health practice in Durham, North Carolina. Just like me, Selena made the decision to leave the public school system and dedicate herself to helping children and families in a more impactful way as an entrepreneur. Learn more about Selena and her new practice in the interview below. 1. Tell me about yourself. I am a 1st generation American. My parents are Jamaican and English. I am the second oldest of 7 children from my father. I am a mother and a step-mother to three kiddos and I am a wife. I enjoy random adventures and quiet time. I am starting to garden and recently got a greenhouse. When my granddad lived in England he liked to garden and he had a greenhouse. Over the last few years, I have realized that I enjoy playing in the dirt and I feel like when I am gardening I am close to him and where I came from. 2. How/why did you become a psychologist and mental health therapist? I am licensed as a School Psychologist, Licensed Psychological Associate, and Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor. I was a shy child and after my parents divorced I withdrew. My school counselor noticed me when a lot of people didn't (because I was quiet and didn't cause problems at school). My older brother on the other hand acted out when all of the changes happened and there was no one who helped him. He was essentially a throwaway kid. When I was applying for grad school I decided I wanted to work in schools because I wanted to be the person who noticed the quiet kids and advocated for the throwaway kids. After 9 years of working in the schools, I realized that I could do more. I wanted to work with parents and families to help those children in a more comprehensive way. I earned my LCMHC and LPA and began working in private practice. 3. What is the mission or primary focus of Waite Psychological & Therapeutic Services? The primary focus of WPTS is to help people identify ways in which they want to change their lives and the lives of their children in a safe and non-judgmental environment. 4. Do you have any specialties or areas of expertise? I specialize in parenting, life transitions, and working with Black women to process life experiences so that they can live a "soft life". In the area of psychological evaluations, I specialize in ADHD, Autism, and Learning Disabilities. 5. What makes Waite PTS unique and how do you best serve your clients? What makes us unique is that we believe that there is no right or wrong way to live but however you choose to live should be on your own terms. We incorporate mindfulness, meditation, dance, and self-care in client treatment. 6. What are the best & most challenging parts of being a business owner and mental health practitioner? The best part of being a business owner is being able to say "Umm get somebody else to do it." The most challenging part of being a business owner is maintaining balance in life because I have had to learn that not every bag is worth my energy. 7. Where do you see your business in 5 years? In 5 years, we will have expanded to our own building and will be hosting therapeutic treats and wellness retreats for people of color. My goal is to create safe spaces that allow women of color to explore their soft life. 8. Tell me about your most recent business win. We opened our new office space. It is a soft and welcoming space that I hope will be a space that women will love. 9. Please share any upcoming events or programs you will participate in or any special offerings for new clients. We are going to start offering Executive Functioning skills groups for middle schoolers transitioning to high school. Young adult transitions Executive Functioning skills groups. Self-care Saturday Events for women and #FTK events for mom so that they can have a space to focus on themselves and their needs. This summer we are going to start a podcast that is going to be fun and informative. To learn more about Selena and Waite Psychological & Therapeutic Services, you can visit their Facebook page and follow them on Instagram.
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March 2026
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