When you’re pregnant with your first baby, the internet will happily convince you that you need approximately 400 things to survive postpartum.

A month in, I’ve discovered that we use…very little of it.

So in this episode, I’m sharing the postpartum and newborn items I’ve actually used as a holistic-minded, low-tox first-time mom—including the recovery products that got me through those first ten days, my breastfeeding essentials, the nursing bras I finally liked, the supplements and routines I’ve personally used, and the surprisingly short list of things our baby actually needs.

I’m also sharing some of the things we haven’t used: a video baby monitor, sound machine, piles of newborn gadgets, regular pumping, and plenty of other things social media made seem almost essential.

If you’re preparing for postpartum and feeling overwhelmed by everyone’s must-have lists, consider this your permission to keep it simple.

How would you live your life if you had less technology?

That question has been sitting with me lately.

Would you take more photos without worrying about the messy house in the background? Would you garden more? Bake more? Paint more? Spend more time with friends? Would you stop comparing your ordinary life to someone else’s curated version of theirs?

In this episode, I’m talking about the subtle ways technology, especially social media, can change what we think is normal. From feeling like every photo needs an Instagram-worthy background to comparing breastfeeding output, homes, phones, and everyday life, it’s surprisingly easy to start living as though everything is being evaluated.

As I’ve become a mother, I’ve found myself wanting less of that.

I want to take the photo even if my hair is messy. I want the memory even if there’s laundry in the background. I want technology to be something I use; not something that quietly tells me how my life should look.

So today, I’m asking a simple question:

How would you live differently if you had less technology?

In this episode

• Why I’m trying to stop pre-editing my memories
• The pressure to make ordinary life look Instagram-worthy
• How technology can create unnecessary comparison in motherhood
• Why Josh and I are intentionally simplifying our technology use
• The freedom of keeping phones out of the bedroom
• Why I want the messy photos too
• What we might do more of if we spent less time scrolling

Everyone talks about the “newborn trenches,” but honestly? That hasn’t been my experience.

Postpartum has absolutely had hard moments. I’ve been tired. I’ve cried. My routines have disappeared. I recently fell asleep and completely burned a loaf of sourdough I’ve made a hundred times before.

And yet, this season has been so, so beautiful.

In this voice memo, I’m sharing what I think has made the biggest difference: realistic expectations, preparing before the baby arrived, learning practical skills like breastfeeding beforehand, accepting help, communicating honestly with Josh, and remembering that just because something is hard doesn’t make it bad.

I’m also sharing some of the emotional side of those early postpartum weeks, the support I’m incredibly grateful to have, and why I think the way we talk about postpartum can shape how women experience it.

If you’re pregnant, preparing for postpartum, or currently living in the newborn haze yourself, this one is for you.

I thought I had weeks left to prepare more voice memos.

Instead, I’m recording this one from bed with my five-day-old daughter asleep on my chest.

In this episode, I’m sharing the full story of her unexpectedly early arrival, from my water breaking at 38 weeks while I was eating pizza on the living-room floor, to baking sourdough and finishing postpartum meal prep, laboring quietly through the night, advocating for my birth preferences at the hospital, and eventually delivering her naturally with my grandmother there to catch her.

I’m sharing what helped me through an unmedicated labor, what it felt like when my body began pushing on its own, why I chose to push slowly, and the moment I went from thinking, I cannot do this, to realizing I already was.

Her birth did not unfold exactly when I expected it to, but it became about as close to the birth of my dreams as I could have imagined.

Building a low-toxin wardrobe doesn’t have to mean replacing everything overnight… or spending hundreds of dollars on every outfit.

After years of slowly swapping out my closet, I’ve found some surprisingly affordable places to shop for natural fibers like cotton, linen, and wool. In this episode, I’m sharing exactly where I shop, what certifications I look for, which brands have surprised me, and a few lessons I’ve learned along the way.

If you’ve wanted to reduce your exposure to synthetic fabrics but haven’t known where to start, this episode should help!

If you have any questions or recommendations of your own, send me your own voice message @allisonsueelliott on IG or email me at allison@allisonsueelliott.com.

This week, I’m sharing a conversation Josh and I recently had after one of the busiest weeks of our lives: a week filled with board exams, our baby shower, a maternity shoot, family visiting, and preparing for our daughter.

It ironically summed up an important question we’d been asking ourselves recently:

Are we creating a life that allows us to actually be present… or are we staying busy simply because that’s what we’ve always done?

In this episode, I talk about slowing down, making decisions that align with what matters most, and why not every opportunity is worth the presence it costs you.

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, constantly behind, or like you’re always waiting for life to slow down, this conversation is for you.

I’m sharing the physical side of how Josh and I prepared for pregnancy.

After talking about the emotional and spiritual healing journey that led me to motherhood, I wanted to share the practical lifestyle changes we made before trying to conceive. I discuss low-tox swaps, nutrition, alcohol, strength training, acupuncture, herbs, prenatals, sleep, stress, underwear, and detox support.

This isn’t meant to be a perfect checklist or medical protocol. For me, preparing for pregnancy wasn’t about trying to control the outcome. It was about creating the healthiest foundation we could before stepping into something sacred and unknown.

Perhaps the real question we’re asking in today’s conversation is “What would it look like to prepare for pregnancy from a place of stewardship instead of fear?”

Listen in to hear everything… then send me your thoughts or questions on IG @allisonsueelliott!

In this voice message, I’m sharing the simple daily habit that quietly transformed mine. From letting one bad moment ruin an entire day to discovering that hard isn’t the same as bad, I talk about the gratitude practice that slowly rewired my thinking, changed my outlook, and helped me experience more joy in ordinary life.

I’ll also share the surprising research behind gratitude, the morning routine that made the biggest difference for me, and a simple challenge you can start today.

If you’ve been feeling discouraged, overwhelmed, or like life has been especially heavy lately, I hope this conversation reminds you that gratitude isn’t about pretending life is perfect; it’s about refusing to let what’s hard become the only thing you see.