"Pregnancy is amazing," they said. "You'll never feel better, you will have so much energy... you will just be radiating that coveted pregnancy glow." Five weeks into my pregnancy, I threw up for the first time. Little did I know what was ahead of me: 23 weeks of on & off vomiting (sometimes vomiting up to 10+ times a day), 3 trips to the Emergency Room for an IV drip & 3 medications (Bonjesta, Zofran & Reglan) to try and curb the sickness. While the meds (somewhat) helped, in the end, the only solution was time.

I’m used to hurrying through the streets of NYC and though I might not always notice my surroundings, I always notice a pregnant person when they cross my path. 

On the subway, I love to watch strangers scramble to give up their seats when they notice someone with a “bump.” Yes, even in New York.

But, this month, in particular, I’ve missed the growing bellies of my closest girlfriends whom I haven’t seen more than once or twice since the beginning of quarantine.

Twenty minutes after I had given birth to my son, Jackson, the one and only nurse and lactation consultant literally stuck him onto my right breast. What?! I just had a human being come out of a very small place, and had just finished getting my stitches; can I at least get a minute to soak in the big life change that just happened? The answer: no. While being pregnant, everyone talks about breastfeeding, asking whether you will or won’t. Most women, including myself, may be of the mindset to of course try breastfeeding, and see how it goes. But little did I know, the breastfeeding journey would begin so soon, and it would see a difficult start.

Remember that fun game we used to play, “two truths and a lie?” Well, we are making it easy for you and telling you only the evidence-based truth. And we promise it’ll still be fun.

We gave ourselves a special mission: to bring together some of our favorite products and services from black-owned mama and baby companies. From a thoughtfully curated kids bookshop to beauty products for the health-conscious mom, we’ve got you (and your baby) covered.

We connected with Jae Powell, social worker, therapist, and rainbow mama, to learn about her journey from losing her son Isaiah to giving birth to a healthy baby girl. “I don’t know which was harder - pregnancy loss or being pregnant after a loss,” Powell says.

I’m used to hurrying through the streets of NYC and though I might not always notice my surroundings, I always notice a pregnant person when they cross my path. 

On the subway, I love to watch strangers scramble to give up their seats when they notice someone with a “bump.” Yes, even in New York.

But, this month, in particular, I’ve missed the growing bellies of my closest girlfriends whom I haven’t seen more than once or twice since the beginning of quarantine.

June is my favorite month of the year.

I love that the streets of NYC turn into the most vibrant love fest with PRIDE taking over the city. I love the lead up to Father’s Day to celebrate all those partners who identify. I love the Summer Solstice because it’s a reminder that the longest day of sunlight gives me a little more time to enjoy the evening sunset. I even love the end of June, because selfishly, it kicks off Cancer season and ends with my birthday (and I LOVE birthdays).

For Father’s Day/Partner’s Day we connected with Derrick Reyes, the CEO and Co-Founder of Queerly Health, to find out about his journey to launching a digital health platform and the barriers to health access for the LGBTQ+ population.

Elise Schuster MPH, is a sexuality educator with 15 years of experience in pleasure-based sex education and youth development. Elise is the co-founder and CEO of OkaySo, an online platform that is revolutionizing sex ed by connecting young adults to experts they can't reach any other way. We connected with Elise to hear the lowdown on their experience starting as family as part of a non-binary partnership.