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Welcome to my blog!
You’ll get a mix of written posts and videos from me. If you have an idea or topic regarding a NICU stay or post-NICU life that you'd like me to post on, please message me your thoughts.
With Gratitude & Love,
Leanne

A Reminder To Breathe

 

So many times we take our breath, our lungs and our body for granted and recently I've had a lot of conversations around anxiety and having too much going on.

Interestingly enough, when I ask what people are doing to care for themselves they often don't say breathing.

Now I know it's easy to say to take a breath and not always easy to remember it in the moments you need it, however, if you practice while you're in a good headspace then remembering the tools when you need them will come more naturally.

In this vlog, I remind you of some ways to use breath as a tool with Box breathing, Belly breathing and Back breathing.

You may have heard of all these, you may not have. Either way, remember yourself and how you can care for your body that takes so much good care of you all the time.

Love you tons!
Leanne Rose 

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Now can I show my frustration?

How many times have you decided not to show a negative emotion?

Was it with family? friends? a doctor or surgeon? Maybe it was with a new specialist you finally got into for your little one.

Wherever it was, for some reason you chose not to express what you were truly feeling in the moment and now you think about it more and wonder if you should have said something.

For me, this happened a lot when Skye was in the NICU and really little. I just wanted the best for him and sometimes what was being said or offered didn't make me feel good. 

Don't get me wrong. I would never allow anything to take place that my husband and I didn't agree upon, but the emotions underneath the decisions sometimes were screaming in my heart and head and I didn't know where to release them.

With all of the care and attention on self-care out there now, there are many avenues to releasing emotions and lots of education about holding things in turning into, or manifesting into something like a physical...

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Redefining Traditions

When our lives get turned upside down and the unexpected lands on our laps, we have different parts of us that rise to the surface. It may be reactionary, we could withdraw or a person can even get angry because they are afraid.

We can have all of these emotions and reactions, and more, when what we're used to, like a tradition around the holidays, falls away or doesn't get accomplished.

Whether you're still in the NICU or at home having to adjust your routine, finding space in your thoughts to redefine some of your traditions might be in order. The act of looking at something you're used to and have been doing for a long time in a certain way, forms new creativity and spawns a renewed light within that activity. 

- How could you do that family gathering while you are still back and forth to your baby in the NICU or Special Care Nursery?

- Where can you place that special stocking that was sewn for the newest addition to your family?

- When will you find time to...

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Destress Your Holidays

 

What are the messages you are giving yourself during the piling on of to-do lists?

Holiday times can create a landslide of extras that overwhelm and stress us out.

Taking care of yourself from the inside-out makes the way you handle stress feel different. You can look at any given situation and figure out how you'd like to respond and if you'd like to respond.

Remembering to fill your bucket as you're thinking about filling others' is essential.

 

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Sometimes We Just Need Time

Beyond your scope of understanding lies a deeply supportive tool that you forget is on your side. Time is here for you, not against you and it can be just what your soul has ordered.

The weight of life can be overwhelming sometimes. It can be consuming and you just don't want to do anything, and yet, being a parent or caregiver, there's always someone who needs you. 

As of late there have been more losses in my life and it's hard to figure out how I'm supposed to be. Happy? Sad? Thoughtful? Helpful? Each moment brings a new way of feeling and each day brings a lot of things that need doing. The world keeps turning even if you'd like it to stop just for a second. 

Keeping up and 'getting things done' is a pressure that you can feel at any point. When there's a lot of stuff going on and you don't think you can put one more thing into your life, often some other event or person or something comes along or happens and you just can't avoid adapting to it.

Interestingly enough,...

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Crashing and Still Being Okay

Crashing into an unexpected life event when you least expect it doesn’t feel very good. It might have come out of nowhere or if there was some preparation you didn’t know all that was going to occur. You can feel alone, unsure and uncertain as to where you’re supposed to go or what you’re supposed to do.

That feeling can get even deeper and there begins to be a sense of a loss of control. You feel like every morning or every day is a new adventure in s*#t and you can not see your way out any time soon. What would it be like to let yourself sit in the feeling? This is not a place where many of us feel comfortable, especially if you’ve had a history of depression or anxiety. It can be a scary place to venture and bring you more worries than you had before because phrases like “I’m supposed to be okay by now.” “Why am I still feeling like this?” are going through your mind.

When so much has happened to you and you really...

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Feeling Free To Look Within

It's time to let that go my dear. 

Allow that thing, that situation, that person that has been holding you back be released into the world/ethers/air/whatever so that you don't have to hold onto it anymore.

As you know I have been doing A LOT of work on myself lately. Growing is not easy when it goes against the grain of society, your family or anything that you've gotten comfortable in.

So many people have been quoted stating that no growth happens within your comfort zone. This is true and also has to be seen through gentle eyes.
This is NOT an accusation.
This is NOT the start of a shame cycle.
This is a learning opportunity, and this is how I'm seeing my last 15 months.

Sometimes we have to sit in the mucky stuff in order to come out like a Phoenix from the ashes.You might not know what the other side looks like, but what you do know is how you want to feel.

"Follow the feeling" is something I can be heard saying all the time to the people I work with. I sometimes even...

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Connecting Reduces the Effects of Emotional Events

 

Connection is paramount.

In any culture around our beautiful world, the sense of connection and being understood creates a powerful sense of self. When we don't feel supported we feel as though weights are pressing down on our shoulders and that feeling can make it hard to function on a daily basis.

Talking about something that has happened to you that is weighing on your mind can be an integral way to process the emotional heaviness you're carrying around. By debriefing with someone you trust it gives space for healing and understanding.

Connection and sharing are essential parts of how we thrive.

No one can do everything all by themselves. In the Western world we've forgotten about the village mentality. Sharing is Love. And Love is the bottom line in how we feel connected. Love just has to be.

Who do you have in your life that you can talk to or ask a favour of? What are you willing to ask of them? Can you get out of your own way to receive the support?

Allow the compassion...

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Counsellors Needing Counsellors: Finding yourself and building resilience

*Note: I wrote this article for the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counsellors (BCACC) to put on their blog for an upcoming series I have been gifted to be a part of. Even if you are not a counsellor or other helping professional, I know you will find nuggets for yourself within these lines.
Let me know what you think!

Love, Leanne
_________________

Counsellors Needing Counsellors: Finding yourself and building resilience

Coming to grips with what’s happening around us and in the external world, means we have to be aware of what’s happening with the inner world most importantly. As the world is ever changing, and especially right now, uncertainties are not going away. We are seeing the effects of prolonged uncertainty with heightened anxieties that don’t want to go away, depression where there was no worry of it before, overwhelm that brings layers of exhaustion, and the question of, “will this ever end?” A person has a very difficult time...

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What's Behind That Emotion?

 

So often we get stuck in something from our past and don't realize how it's affecting us in the present. Feeling like part of life isn't fitting anymore can be a good sign to help you take notice of this. Let me know what you think of this by commenting or sending me a DM. Love you, Leanne Rose

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