The Dancer Mama Podcast

Ep 14: Anna von Hoyningen Huene: Intentionality and Athleticism in Pole, Aerials and Motherhood

This week Jenna is thrilled to be chatting with highly decorated pole athlete, Anna VHH! Anna has been dancing, practicing gymnastics, and training in the aerial arts since childhood, and approaches pole and aerials with all the discipline and intentionality of an elite athlete (which she is!) Jenna and Anna talk about the different approaches in training circus arts vs pole, how to get the most out of training to compete, the importance of cross training and more! Then they dive into Anna's latest athletic endeavor: becoming a mom! (Some would argue it constitutes an extreme sport!) Anna gave birth to her son earlier this year, and shares with us some of her fears going into pregnancy, how she navigated training and running her studio during that time, and how motherhood is going so far! This interview is full of invaluable insight shared by a truly outstanding athlete and artist. Even if you have no intention of becoming a mom, any pole dancer or aerialist will benefit from listening to Anna's take on training and competing!
Anna can be found at:
https://www.instagram.com/annavhh/
https://www.annavhh.com/
https://www.acropark.ca/
 
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Connect with us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/thedancermamapodcast/
Cover Art by: https://www.instagram.com/craftymama.yyc/ 

Ep 13: Jenna’s Newborn and Postpartum ”Essentials”: you don’t know until you know!

Contemporary consumer culture, mom vloggers, affiliate marketing and more would have us believe we need a LOT of stuff to get us through pregnancy, the newborn phase, and parenting in general. From Jenna's experience so far, you may not need a lot, but you do need some stuff, and for her, some of the stuff she thought she needed she never used, and some of the things she swore she wouldn't use had to be purchased on the fly! In this light hearted topical episode Jenna goes through a few of the items and services that she found the most useful during pregnancy and in her postpartum/newborn life so far!
Product links:  
https://www.mybrestfriend.com/
https://www.babybjorn.ca/
https://snugglemeorganic.com/
https://belugababy.ca/
 
If you are enjoying the podcast, please leave us a rating or review!
Connect with us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/thedancermamapodcast/ 
Cover Art by: https://www.instagram.com/craftymama.yyc/ 
 

Ep 12: Husband Chats with Skye Nipshank: New Dad, Pole Husband,& Life Coach!

This week Jenna brings her husband Skye on the podcast to chat about how fatherhood is going so far, and to share his perspective on some of the topics Jenna has explored so far. They talk about Skye's initial thoughts on dating an exotic dancer, how he found himself privy to the world of competitive pole dancing, how he balances his life coaching background with being a romantic partner, and why being positive, grounded and confident are the some of the best gifts you can give your spouse and child. 
Enjoy this little insight into Jenna and Skye's relationship dynamic, and forgive your host for talking too much! Stay tuned towards the end to hear why Skye felt bonded to our newborn baby so quickly and some advice for new dads, new moms, and just anyone looking to enjoy a more level headed approach to life!
 
If you are enjoying the podcast, please leave us a rating or review!
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Cover Art by: https://www.instagram.com/craftymama.yyc/ 

Ep 11: A Privilege, a Sacrifice, and a Paradox: Early Postpartum Reflections

Jenna sits down, first at 2 weeks post partum, then at 3.5 weeks, to record her somewhat disjointed reflections on the early postpartum experience. Much like the pregnancy, postpartum and newborn life changes daily, and what sums up the experience one week could be completely different the next! 
In this episode, Jenna discusses the role safe bedsharing has played in her postpartum journey, her ongoing struggle with her google addiction, missing the club and pole more than ever, and the paradox that is motherhood. It is a privilege, a sacrifice, and full of seemingly contradictory thoughts and emotions!
 
If you are enjoying the podcast, please leave us a rating or review!
Connect with us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/thedancermamapodcast/ 
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Ep 10: Karolyne aka Kerosene!

In this week's guest episode, Jenna had the pleasure of chatting with Pole Theatre Canada 2019 Comedy winner, studio owner, pole teacher trainer and second time mama Karolyne, aka Kerosene! Karolyne graciously carved out some time in her postpartum season to chat about her pole journey, her diverse preforming arts background, and how the pandemic contributed to the timing of her decision to start her family (Pole Pandemic Baby boom, perhaps?) Karolyne has leaned into motherhood and become passionate about pregnancy and birth, even starting a blog to document her motherhood journey. However, she discusses how the journey into motherhood was not an easy one, and how the identity shift hit her harder than she expected. Stay tuned to the end of the episode to learn about Karolyne's brand new educational offering for the pole teacher community: the Pre/Postnatal Pole Teacher Training certification! Enjoy the bonus of some sweet baby coos in the background on this one!
 
Karolyne's Pole IG: https://www.instagram.com/kerosenepole/
Karolyne's Mama IG: https://www.instagram.com/kerosene.mama/
Pole Teacher Training: https://www.instagram.com/poleteachertraining/ 
https://www.poleteachertraining.com/ 
https://www.poleteachertraining.com/pre-postnatal-pole-specialist-certification  
 
If you are enjoying the podcast, please leave us a rating or review!
Connect with us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/thedancermamapodcast/ 
Cover Art by: https://www.instagram.com/craftymama.yyc/ 
 

Ep 9: Felix’s Birth Story

After listening to countless birth stories on other people's podcasts, Jenna finally gets to share her own! Settle in or prepare to come and go from this episode: it's a long one! Jenna recounts the mentally challenging wait between her due date and the birth of her baby 11 days later, before launching into a detailed account of her labor and birth. 
Jenna's labor was a significant departure from her birth plan and preferences, but ultimately, it was an incredible and very positive experience. If you are currently pregnant and are holding a narrow vision of how you want your birth to go, or you are anxious about things going off plan during your labor, you may find some comfort in this birth story!
TW: some brief discussion of needles/iv throughout, please take caution if you have a fear or sensitivity.
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Ep 8: Competing, Coaching, and Pole Entrepreneurship with Virginia Draghi

For this week's super exciting guest episode, Jenna speaks with pole competitor, coach, new studio owner and first time pole mama Virginia Draghi! Jenna got the chance to get to know Virginia better throughout this year after seeing her pregnancy announcement on Instagram and learning that they were only 5 days apart in their pregnancies! Jenna talks to Virginia about her pole career, the ups and downs of competing, pushing through pregnancy symptoms as a pole instructor and studio owner, and managing the tendency to compare ourselves to others when we are the most vulnerable. This was an incredible conversation that you do not want to miss, even if you have no intention of becoming a pole mama: the insights around competing alone are gold!
If you are enjoying the podcast, please leave us a rating or review! Thank you so much for your support. 
Connect with us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/thedancermamapodcast/ 
Virginia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viappletown/ 
Cover Art by: https://www.instagram.com/craftymama.yyc/ 

Ep 7: Money Honey: Unpaid Mat Leave, Financial Relationship Dynamics, and Self Worth Struggles

In this topical solo episode, Jenna talks about money and finances during pregnancy, particularly in the context of being a dancer and taking a lonnng unpaid "maternity leave". She touches on topics such as financial dynamics and labor division within relationships, the taboo of talking about financial hardship, how so much of our self worth is externalized onto productivity and financial success, and how being a stripper changed how she perceives and handles money (for better and worse!) This is a super candid episode with sociological underpinnings about a topic we don't talk about enough! 
 
If you are enjoying the podcast, please leave us a rating or review!
Connect with us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/thedancermamapodcast/ 
Cover Art by: https://www.instagram.com/craftymama.yyc/ 
Lainey Molnar comic I reference at 14:36 : https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgw79xisr1b/ 

Ep 6: Christine aka Little Snipper: 39 weeks of Iron X’s and Competing While Pregnant!

This week Jenna is so thrilled to welcome her first guest, Christine aka @littlesnipper to the podcast! Christine is a Pole dancer, competitor, and instructor, as well as an emergency room nurse, dog mom, wife, and proud mom of two!
Christine tells us about her pole journey as well as her pregnancy and post partum journeys, and how different the second was from the first. She tells the story behind her infamous and very impressive 39 weeks of Iron X's, how her goal oriented nature kept her not just on the pole but on the competition stage during both pregnancies, and how the Instagram feed is never the full story. 
If you are enjoying the podcast, please leave us a rating or review!
Connect with us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/thedancermamapodcast/ 
Christine's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/littlesnipper/ 
Cover Art by: https://www.instagram.com/craftymama.yyc/ 

Third Trimester Recap: Just when you think you’ve got the hang of it...

For Jenna, the third trimester is the best trimester! That is until the last few weeks coming into the due date...Jenna originally recorded this episode at 36 weeks pregnant and had a pretty rosy view of the third trimester: she recaps all the fun pregnancy activities that took place during this time and reports finally feeling comfortable, both mentally and physically, with being pregnant.However, a few weeks later, Jenna had to hop back on a record a little update, because a lot can change in a couple weeks when you're expecting! Listen to the end to hear how she really feels about the wait for the due date and real talk about late pregnancy struggles.