Hey momma- I’m your friend who keeps it real. You know- the one who isn’t afraid to “go there.”

Chelsea: New Mom Coach
Owner, Postpartum Together

Well, I started as a Beachbody coach. 

Okay, that's not the whole story but Beachbody is how I got into online business and realized what an impact and connection can be formed in virtual spaces. (Before that I was a 4th grade teacher with Teach for America and before that I provided both marketing and behavioral health care for a nonprofit. I guess you could say, I wasn't one of those people who knew what she wanted to do when she grew up, I just knew that I wanted to listen to people, give them space to be seen, and hopefully  make the world a better place through the process. 

Then enter motherhood. (I could probably stop there and you'd be like, oh yes, I know exactly what you mean and felt like I got hit by a truck just reading that phrase, but also I'll explain a bit more.) Motherhood derailed so much for me- my priorities, my mindset, my social life... and don't get me wrong, I was (and still am) obsessed with that baby, but also it was a long journey back to feeling like myself again and growing with all the change that happened in a short time. 

I was down on myself a lot. 
I argued with my partner a lot. 
I felt like I was never keeping up or doing well enough. 
I felt too vulnerable to really show up to the people who knew me (because would they know how to love me when I was so different?!) 

Naturally, I started attracting new moms to my Beachbody business. Moms who had experienced a ton of change inside and out through pregnancy and birth. Women who were trying to find themselves again after having a baby.

And I noticed a pattern- women were hoping, praying, paying, and working hard with the hopes that a pre-pregnancy weight or body shape would make them feel "whole" again. Women were clinging to the thing we are told our value lies in-- their weight and body appearance.

While many women lost weight, it didn't magically make them whole. I started noticing in other women (and in myself) that early motherhood had so many more complexities and needs than couldn’t be touched with a "bounce back" culture. In many ways, it felt like a disservice to guide someone through focusing on their food and exercise when they had a deep need for emotional connection, community validation, identity work, and relationship support...

And in a nutshell, that was the motivation, the vision, the OMG for starting Postpartum Together. It planted the seed, and I am so thankful it gave me the skills and confidence to build an online business.

I wanted to create a space to talk about all the gaps in postpartum and early motherhood, not just thigh gaps and pre-pregnancy jeans.

I wanted a place where women could address the full spectrum of their identity, and the things that made it challenging to feel like themselves.

I wanted a place where the underlying conversations and actions needed to improve a relationship after the baby could be addressed, not pretending that fitting into a certain outfit would make the relationship magical again.

I wanted a place where women could come together as messy as they are, and find rest and space to exhale.

I'm thankful for Beachbody because it gave me a foundation, and I'm thankful for the day I knew my calling was to go beyond and bring something else into the world.

And now, I'm beyond proud to use my certified life coach and psychology training to create group and private coaching experiences for expecting and new parents.