Michelle and Christine have known each other for around 9 years and it all began through their husbands who have been best friends for over 25 years, but the real love affair began when Christine laid eyes on Michelle. LOL. No but seriously she loved Michelle right off the bat and turned to Kenton (who she hadn’t started dating yet but had been friends with for over a decade) and said “so… when are you going to marry Michelle, she’s perfect for you?!” 

A few years later as they say first came love, then came both of their marriages and both of them ended up with babies in the baby carriage as in they were pregnant at the same time with their first two babies. 

It was amazing to have a girlfriend to talk to about the excitement of becoming moms and of course to complain with about their increasing waistlines. It was after they both gave birth to their second babies that their husbands started a tradition for them. An annual Mothers day getaway weekend. Every year their hubbies book a night in a hotel and spa day (pretty amazing right?). It was Mothers Day 2017 that after a wild night of partying (yes mom’s get wild sometimes) that they started talking about what it was like after having their babies.

Michelle and  Christine had had completely different pregnancies, Christine had Hyperemesis Gravidarum (severe morning sickness) for both, Michelle had loved being pregnant. Both Christine's labours had been extremely long and painful, 47 hours with the 1st and 36 hours with the 2nd, Michelle’s were around 2-4 hours long and even their postpartum experiences were incredibly different.

Even through Christine's labour’s had been a lot longer, she healed within 2-6 weeks postpartum but had suffered with Postpartum Depression with her second. 

Michelle unfortunately took 6-9 months to fully heal after both babies. The main difference they noticed was that Christine had midwives who had told her what she needed to buy to heal faster afterwards and what would happen to her body and mind postpartum. Her midwives were also lactation consultants and taught her how to breastfeed within 2 days.

Michelle unfortunately didn’t have anyone tell her that information and struggled with breastfeeding and perennial tearing recovery. They both noticed that not a lot of people wanted to talk about postpartum and even though Christine had felt pretty prepared, they had both felt pretty alone in their experiences. 

When Christine told Michelle all of the products she had used postpartum, perineal salts, perineal sprays, nipple cream, lactation bars ect., she said “wow wouldn’t it be great if someone just sold everything you needed postpartum all wrapped up and sent it to you.” And Postpartum Queen was born.

Since then Michelle and Christine have decided it’s their mission to help new moms be as informed and get the best care after having a baby. They believe that when it comes to postpartum every mom can survive, thrive and slay at motherhood.

 

Christine Bassit: CEO, Owner of Postpartum Queen & Creative Director 

Before I became pregnant I went to journalism school to become a writer. My essay that I wrote to be accepted into journalism school was about how once I finished College I was going to become a travel writer and tell women’s stories. It truly was my passion, women, especially mothers because they play such a vital role in raising and shaping the next generation into hopefully a better world.

After I graduated I worked for a few years gaining experience, got married to the love of my life Kyle, and BAM got pregnant with my daughter, Neveyah. I was truly excited to become a mom, but I wont lie if it didn’t think to myself, damn, how am I suppose to live out my dream.

I was lucky enough to have midwives that told me what was going to happen to my body afterwards and what products I would need to heal but I still felt really alone in my postpartum experience. It wasn’t until I had my second baby Kyrie, that I began to really talk to other mom’s about their postpartum experience. What I really noticed was they loved sharing about their pregnancy but nobody wanted to talk about what it was like afterwards.

Postpartum. It’s become a word that has a negative connotation to it, when all it means is post-pregnancy. It was like no one wanted to talk about it until I opened up and shared my experiences. And then it was like opening a floodgate. Immediately women began tell me everything from the beautiful moments to feeling the happiest/saddest/overwhelmed at the same to time to even the horrendous hemorrhoid stories. It was like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders to finally talk to someone else about it and realize that they didn’t go through these experiences alone. I looked into it more and realized no one was talking about what happens postpartum which leaves a lot of new moms feeling ashamed and alone, when really most moms are going through the same thing.

I also noticed a lot a lot of women took longer to heal because they didn’t know about the products that could help them heal faster. This is why we decided the book and the box were a necessity. No women should feel unprepared for postpartum or feel like she is going through this alone ever again. It was also because of my postpartum experiences that I realized my original passion of telling women’s stories needed to be lived out through Postpartum Queen. Its time we start talking about this and helping each other through it. 

Because I believe if we're no longer silent about postpartum every woman can thrive at motherhood.

 

Michelle Hilsabeck: Silent Partner of Postpartum Queen 

First and foremost thank you for taking the time to check us out. Currently I live just outside Calgary’s city limits with my husband Kenton, 4 year old daughter Charley, 2 year old son Kane and have one on the way!

My first two experiences postpartum weren't Pinterest magical. My labour’s were fairly quick but I found healing and getting back to feeling 100% again took a lot longer. What I was most shocked at was that no one told me all of the changes that were going to happen to my body. There were infinite amounts of information about getting pregnant, being pregnant and how to raise your new baby in the first year, but there was nothing really focused on my healing. So I found myself, going to the numerous stores after the fact trying to find products that would make me feel better. If I only had the tools and info to make those six + weeks a little more survivable, and not just that free perry bottle they give you at the hospital. I truly believe I would have healed quicker and had a more enjoyable postpartum experience.

With added experience owning my own eco-friendly baby and maternity essentials business, The Chic Boutique in 2009 I feel like we’re filling a niche in the market that has been missed. Better care for new moms. 

Sharing this vision with my brilliant business partner Christine we have curated this business around the ideals of having every essential you need to make those 6 weeks postpartum survivable and thrivable.