Babywearing Community Canvas with Mandy Pollard
We’d love for you to meet another member of our babywearing community. With a career in the mental health field before kids, she has seen both her work influence her identity as a mother and her journey through motherhood influence her identity as a mental health worker. What’s remained constant is her positive outlook on life and her earnest desire to connect with and help others. We’re more than happy to introduce you to Mandy Pollard!
Meet Mandy
What’s your name?
Mandy Pollard
Who’s in your family?
Me, my husband Dan, and the two loves of our life, Owen and Clara
Where are you from? Where do you live now?
I grew up in West Virginia and Wyoming and now call Chicago, Illinois home!
What 3-5 words best describe who you are?
Tall, curious, passionate, empathetic, hype-beast
Mandy's Story
Give us a little background about yourself.
My name is Mandy and I’m a full time mom, and a part time psychiatric nurse practitioner at Begin Within Therapy in Chicago!
What makes your babywearing experience unique?
I really got into babywearing while pregnant with my second, and marked my pregnancy babywearing a toddler to OB appointments on the Chicago El train, up and down hills in Lisbon, and hiking in Yellowstone. I also have scoliosis so I was scared that pregnancy and babywearing wouldn’t be possible for me. I was so pleasantly surprised to find that a one shouldered carrier, the hope&plum ring sling, is the most comfortable carrier I’ve used because it’s so personalized to my body. It really helped me realize what so many of us already know- babywearing with the right carrier truly feels good, physically and emotionally.
How has your son adapted to his role as a big brother? Does he ever ask to be put in the carrier? How do you navigate that?
Owen has been a dream. The biggest surprise of all of this is that now he’s a babywearing advocate, and now we’re just waiting on our hope&plum Mini Lark Doll Carrier in Belle to match mine!
It’s been amazing to watch them work together to understand cause and effect and boundaries. Things have gotten so fun now that she can sit up unassisted and “play” more.
Combining Motherhood & Career
What’s the most rewarding part of your professional life?
It’s an honor to share space with people at their most vulnerable.
How does your career as a mental health provider inform your philosophy as a mother/parenting style?
I think that being a mental health provider helps me view challenging days and finding new resources as continuing education experiences. I truly believe that the hard days and sleepless nights make me a better provider for my patients, and my patients and colleagues make me a better mom. I also love that my career has been able to evolve as my personal and professional interest in perinatal mental health has grown.
How has your career changed since becoming a mother? Paint us a picture of what it was like before and what it’s like now.
Before I became a mom, I was truly boundary-less. I would meet anyone at any day of the week and any time of day and I thought that that is what my patients needed from me. Now, I pride myself on working three days a week, having my kids home with me the other days, and trusting my therapeutic rapport, plans and expectations I have set in place with my patients.
A Focus on Mental Health
How has your evolving interest in perinatal mental health changed your professional focus?
Working with patients through their perinatal mental health journeys has been the most humbling experience of my life. The vulnerability that this specific area of care involves, coupled with emerging research and opportunities for education, makes it incredibly fulfilling. I think my interest in perinatal mental health has shifted the kinds of continuing education that I seek out, from courses through Postpartum Support International to enrolling in an NP Masterclass this fall through the Center for Women’s Mental Health at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Are there any current mental health trends – either maternal, adult, or child – that you super support or that get you riled up? Why?
I think it’s really amazing that sleep is finally getting the focus it deserves. Sleep is so precious, and we can’t pour from an empty cup, so I love that there seems to be a trend of making the bedroom a screen free zone and creating a bedtime ritual that people try to protect and look forward to.
What’s one myth about mental health – perinatal or otherwise – that you wish you could correct?
I wish I could correct the myth that you can’t take psychiatric medications while pregnant, so I’ll use this opportunity to encourage anyone reading to find a provider you trust and encourage them to collaborate with your OB. I also recommend Postpartum Support International’s free “Postpartum Planning for Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing” class to all of my patients, and have attended it myself!
Is there anything else you’d like to share about yourself, your family, or your career?
Not really anything about myself, but if you’re reading this, I hope you know you’re doing great today and that you’re an awesome human.
hope&plum as Part of Mandy's Babywearing Community
What’s your favorite hope&plum carrier?
My ring sling in Fizz is my babywearing pride and joy.
Could tandem babywearing be in your future? Have you tried it?
Realistically I don’t think I’ll be tandem wearing in the future, outside of wearing Owen while he wears his doll.
Before You Go...
What’s the best thing you ever ate or a meal you never get tired of?
My husband makes Kay Chung’s Spice Chicken and Rice With Cardamom and Cinnamon from the NYT cooking app, and a bowl of that can fix any day for me.
What animal would you be for a day?
My son’s favorite animal is a lion, so I’d pick that so that I could tell him everything, and work on my roar.
If you were an action figure, what would be two of your accessories?
A iPhone with low or no battery and an iced coffee
What are your top 5 emojis?
😅🤣🤷♀️😭😬
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