IVF & First Year of Motherhood with Kristi Blankenship

This week on the podcast Kristi Blankenship shares her journey of motherhood via the miracle of IVF and then talks about what her first year of motherhood has looked like. Kristi is a new mom, wedding photographer, and Etsy shop owner based in Central Illinois. Her daughter Bennett, just turned one in December and she became a mom thanks to the miracle of IVF. She and her husband Nathan do wedding photography together and just launched a business of home decor and custom furniture last year.  Her favorite things for herself are watching RuPaul’s Drag Race, listening to true crime podcasts, and taking hot baths. We also did this interview in two parts. We first talked to Kristi about a week before Bennett was born and then again shortly after Bennett’s first birthday. So this episode is a combination of two interviews done about a year apart. We hope this gives you a good look into her IVF experience along with what motherhood has looked like for Kristi. We are so thankful that she was open to sharing such a personal experience with us and all of you.  Connect with Kristi on IG @madetobemine @wearetheships and @blankhaus Follow us on IG @fitformotherhoodpod Join our community at www.fitformotherhoodpodcast.com To shop Firstleaf wines head to the link in our IG profile @fitformotherhoodpod and click on “wine from first leaf”. You will be taken through a few steps to pick out your perfect wines and will receive $40 off at checkout. 

Om Podcasten

Hi friends, welcome to the Fit For Motherhood Podcast!!! Thank you for taking time out of your day to listen, we are SO excited to have you with us! We have been friends since early childhood, grew up together and are currently the moms of littles 5 and under. A LITTLE BIT OF INFO ON US Ali lives in central Illinois with her husband, Matt, and their three kids (4, 3 & 1). She is a part time hair stylist and spends the rest of her time at home with her kids. She is an enneagram 9w1. Alyssa lives in Chicago with her husband, Grant, and their two toddlers (3 & 1). She works part time as a pediatric oncology nurse and is also a certified holistic health coach & life coach and the owner of Grounded Roots Coaching. She especially loves working with women during their first year postpartum. She is still trying to figure out her enneagram. WHY ARE WE PASSIONATE ABOUT THE TOPIC OF MOTHERHOOD? • We’re MOMS • We’ve both experienced difficulties in our journeys as moms and have felt alone in dealing with those challenges. • We’re tired of the perfect images that are crafted on social media to which we find ourselves comparing our lives. • For Ali, she has become more self-aware in the last year or so and is tired of being dragged along by life. She has challenged herself to find ways to be more proactive about her mental and physical health because she realizes how much those things affect her ability to parent effectively. WHY ARE WE DOING THIS PODCAST? • Letting moms know that they are not alone in questioning their fitness for parenting • Encouraging other moms to know that we can do the hard things of motherhood, even when we doubt our abilities. • Sharing practical applications and also ideas that can be helpful in keeping ourselves mentally and physically fit for motherhood. We would love to have you with us every week as we talk together through topics that are important to us (and hopefully you!), interview other moms who are walking through all the different issues that come with the different stages of motherhood, and bond together over the things we have in common that truly make us fit for motherhood.