MOM•entary

Hi friend, remember me? I owe you an apology.

Arnelle Lozada — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 15:02:03 GMT

Quick and necessary disclaimer: this newsletter is coming at a very weird time because this election has had me in alllll my feels. Every few hours I want to cry, then scream, then cry again. I really hope you’re doing better than me because I’m in shambles, but I don’t expect you to be. Regardless, we’re in this together. I’ve never felt more passionat…

Issue #43 • 3 Surprising Things I Learned in My First Week of Motherhood

Arnelle Lozada — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 01:24:22 GMT

10 days into parenthood now — we’re pros!

Said no one ever.

In the final weeks leading up to giving birth, it hit me like a train that we’d soon have an entire additional human life to care for. My Google search history proves it. Even with the wonderful postpartum support group we have in our midwives and doulas, I couldn’t help but feel underprepared — …

Issue #42 • He's Here. 🌹

Arnelle Lozada — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 01:18:52 GMT

Efren River Dominic Lozada. Born at home on Friday, June 2, 2023 at 11:11pm during the strawberry full moon 🍓🌕, surrounded by parents and animals that absolutely adore him, and a birth village that made the whole thing possible. 7 lbs, 22 inches, 1 million times more than anything I could have ever hoped for.

He’s finally here, he’s perfect, and the lo…

Issue #41 • Video Update + Reveals of the Nursery and Studio

Arnelle Lozada — Wed, 24 May 2023 01:46:39 GMT

Other than the intermittent interviews and features, many of the updates for the next few weeks will be via video, because they’re quicker for me to put together than written pieces, and with how close I am to giving birth, time will be very limited on my end. Please forgive me for sounding so short of breath in some of these clips, y’all know how it is…

Issue #40 • 10 Things I've Learned During Pregnancy (So Far)

Arnelle Lozada — Fri, 19 May 2023 04:01:21 GMT

🛑 Kicking off today’s post with our Epic Mama’s Day Giveaway winner! Drumroll please … 🥁

Our winner is Christy Severan (@christyseveran)!

Congratulations, mama! And Happy (belated) Mother’s Day. Please expect an email from me to collect your details so we can get your prizes shipped to you. ❤️

First of all, thank you for allowing me the space and time to recollect myself by taking a brief break from writing. Last week was weird and depressing and I really appreciate the kind words some of you shared in support of me taking a beat. It really, really meant a lot. I’m glad to be back and in a more positive headspace.

38 weeks in now (‼️) and I’m STILL learning new things and facing new challenges every day with this pregnancy. My skin is on fire. Lightning crotch is a real thing. I feel like I’m carrying a bowling ball in my pelvis and a watermelon in my belly at the same time. Short dressers don’t work in nurseries because you need to be able to change baby at a comfortable height (if you’re placing the changing table on top of the dresser). Etc. Etc.

Get 30 day free trial

Issue #39 • Prioritizing Mental Health

Arnelle Lozada — Wed, 10 May 2023 02:13:53 GMT

My initial plan was to write about how I hit the 37-week mark tomorrow and the countdown has officially begun. I was to talk about how excited I am to meet my son, about how we hired a birth photographer, and how it’s all starting to feel so real. But instead, I’ve been sitting in front of my laptop for days trying to muster up the words to write anythi…

Issue #38 • Breaking in the Best Way, Pushing "Mom Style", and Staying Rooted in Your Truth

Arnelle Lozada — Thu, 04 May 2023 17:19:50 GMT

Today, as the second feature in my #BombMoms series, I’d like to introduce my dear friend Anaïs Marie. Anaïs is the Head of Global Brand Retail Experience and Styling at The North Face®, crafting future season concept visuals and brand styling. If you’ve noticed their campaigns and retail experience have gotten a major styling facelift in recent years, that’s because you’re seeing her impeccable work and her distinct ability to translate feelings through fashion. She is constantly redefining what “mom style” looks like (meaning she wears whatever the hell she wants and looks damn good doing it), and as a newly single mom, she has some really poignant and beautiful insights to share on both motherhood and womanhood alike.

“I have this inexplicable faith that I’m heading into a victorious season of life and I feel like my entire body is filled with butterflies. It’s truly an electric feeling. I wish it upon every woman — to feel so confident in her mistakes, her lessons learned, her decisions, her past and her future, her entire self.”

Anaïs for The North Face XX KAWS collection. Photo by Cole Navin & Mark O’Malley.

Get 30 day free trial

Issue #37 • Why I Didn't Buy Many Maternity Clothes

Arnelle Lozada — Tue, 02 May 2023 04:44:38 GMT

As my belly has grown and my selection of suitable clothing has slowly dwindled, I’ve actually been really surprised by what is still workable and what isn’t. For instance, I somehow naively figured I could still wear a lot of my jeans if I just left them unbuttoned. Wrong. So many of them don’t even fit my thighs anymore! I also figured a lot of my str…

Issue #36 • Life Update: It's Getting Real Uncomfortable 😓

Arnelle Lozada — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 02:50:21 GMT

I hit the 35-week mark yesterday, which means that in just 2 short weeks, my pregnancy is considered early term and I could be giving birth as soon as then. I know a handful of women who gave birth to healthy babies at 36 and 37 weeks and it’s blowing my mind because that’s NEXT WEEK for me! It’s insane that childbirth is probably hands down the one thing that changes you the most in this lifetime, and yet you have no idea when it will actually happen. The below sums it up perfectly.

Get 30 day free trial

Issue #35 • The Surprising Benefits of HypnoBirthing® You May Not Know About

Arnelle Lozada — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 02:59:08 GMT

If you’re anything like me, then you may have been really overwhelmed by just how many different types of childbirth classes there are out there. Lamaze, Evidence Based Birth®, Birthing From Within, HypnoBirthing®, The Bradley Method … the list goes on. If it weren’t for our midwives and doulas, I would probably still be on the fence and going down my w…

Issue #34 • A Letter From Your Mother 🌎

Arnelle Lozada — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 23:18:57 GMT

Today’s guest post is written by my friend and colleague, Kyrsten Stringer, whom I work with at Re:wild. She’s an incredibly talented writer with a deep passion for the planet, so when I decided it was worthwhile to do something in this newsletter for Earth Day, I could think of no one better suited to the task. As I mulled over meaningful Earth Day concepts, one stood out from the rest: a piece from the lens of Mother Earth, the ultimate mother, and the messages of hope and resilience she’d find pertinent to impart during this time when countless consecutive environmental crises plague our news headlines. Apparently this week has been a week for letters.

Get 30 day free trial

Issue #33 • A Love Letter to My Childless Self.

Arnelle Lozada — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 01:10:47 GMT

Despite my previous love/hate relationship with the idea of pregnancy and my overall hesitation in recent years, once I decided I was ready and became pregnant, I hadn’t looked back. Not once. Never did I ever think to myself that perhaps goodbyes to my old ways of life were in order. Despite the physical discomforts and changes, I’ve felt nothing but e…

Issue #32 • You'll Enjoy Momhood Much More if You Learn to Master One Thing

Arnelle Lozada — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 13:00:22 GMT

Today’s guest post (the first of its kind here in MOM•entary) is by my sister, Nathania Lozada, who is an amazing mother of two; you’ve seen her kids here in the newsletter a few times now. Since the inception of MOM•entary, my goal has always been for it to be a community. A hub to hold space for far beyond my own voice alone, a place to highlight and uplift the voices of mothers from all walks of life so we can learn from and inspire one another.

This week’s piece was originally featured in Nathania’s blog, Super Mom, Shitty Mom, and I’m excited to share it here because it’s wonderfully insightful. Nathania reminds us that in motherhood, very little is actually within our control, and therein lies the beauty of trusting the process.

Get 30 day free trial

Issue #31 • Tips for Baby Shower Planning and Etiquette 📝🤰🏽

Arnelle Lozada — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 03:29:39 GMT

Our Jungle Disco-themed Bay Area baby shower went down this past Saturday and it was a beautiful day/evening where worlds collided and the bulk of my two core friend groups finally got to meet one another. One of my closest Hawaii-based friends even surprised me by flying in when she told me she couldn’t make it (sneaky little devil) and I screamed when…

Issue #30 • Can I Live Vicariously Through You? 🍸

Arnelle Lozada — Sat, 08 Apr 2023 00:23:06 GMT

Emil and I are back in the Bay Area for our first baby shower tomorrow, so this is a short one because we have a ton to do and I’m prioritizing spending quality time with family.

Cherishing goofy moments with my nephew and niece. :)

I’ll be honest, I had intended on writing a full newsletter on why I’ve chosen not to drink at all since learning about my pregnancy, but because there’s so many studies and articles from what I consider to be credible sources that support polarizing perspectives, I find the topic quite exhausting. In my attempts to dive deeper into the research this past week, I went down endless wormholes and found myself drowning in the various perspectives rather than coming to a science-backed conclusion that I could stand firmly behind. So I come to you today a bit defeated by it all.

Give a gift subscription

Issue #29 • 8 Amazing Perks of Midwifery and Doula Care

Arnelle Lozada — Tue, 04 Apr 2023 02:33:09 GMT

When I first became pregnant, there were no ifs ands or buts about it. I was going to march my butt into the hospital to sign up for OB care and I was going to deliver the baby in a hospital. 95% of the women around me went this route, and I was to take their lead and follow in their (very sensible) footsteps. It’s a reasonable route to take. When the m…

Issue #28 • Supporting Our Transgender Children and Practicing Unconditional Love

Arnelle Lozada — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 19:26:13 GMT

⚠️ Quick note: I know in my last newsletter I said I’d share a sneak peek of our nursery and backyard studio designs, but I decided that the content in this newsletter deserved its own time to shine. That said, I’ll be sharing those sneak peeks in this coming Monday’s newsletter instead. Stay tuned!

The desire for acceptance is rooted in our intrinsic human need for connection and belonging, which is essential for our well-being and survival. From the moment we are born, we seek love and acceptance from our caregivers, family members, and peers. As we grow older, this desire for love and acceptance continues, and we seek validation from friends, romantic partners, and society at large. We want to be seen, heard, and understood, and we want to feel that we belong in the world. This desire for love and acceptance is universal, and it transcends race, gender, sexuality, and other social categories. It is a fundamental part of the human experience, and it drives us to seek out meaningful connections with others.

Get 30 day free trial

Issue #27 • Backyard Studio Update and a Film Night to Remember

Arnelle Lozada — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 15:22:12 GMT

As many of you know by now, MOM•entary is part newsletter, part blog, and 100% community-building — and today we’re leaning towards the blog side of things. This week’s “Monday” newsletter is also coming out a day later than expected seeing as though it’s now Tuesday, but life is life-ing and I appreciate your patience with me as I get it together, as a…

Issue #26 • Sustainable-ish Parenting and Disrupting the Disposable Diaper Market

Arnelle Lozada — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 23:23:43 GMT

I work in creative storytelling and influencer marketing at an environmental conservation organization as my day job, which means that caring for the planet and its inhabitants is at the core of what I do. A constant strive to live in harmony with Mother Earth is baked into my personal mission statement, and I do my best to uphold that value system daily. While I’ve learned so much about the impacts of our everyday actions on the health of the planet through my work, I also realize it's virtually impossible to achieve true sustainability because we exist in, are part of, and are subject to a system that is designed to operate unsustainably.

Get 30 day free trial

Issue #25 • Don't Let Guilt Steal Your Joy: 9 Things Moms Shouldn't Feel Guilty For

Arnelle Lozada — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 20:53:14 GMT

It's time to talk about what I think of as the evil two-headed beast — mom shaming and mom guilt. Becoming a mom is a joyous and exciting experience, but it can also be overwhelming and emotionally demanding. As if being a mom isn’t already hard enough work on its own, the constant guilt and shame that moms are subjected to can make it even harder.

As a…