On today’s episode we dive into something that SO many of us agonize over once we become parents. We’re talking about optimal age gaps, how many kids is the “right” amount of kids to have, and everyyyything that goes into making those decisions. On this episode we cover:

How many kids is the ideal number of kids to have?

The ideal age gap: What the *actual research* says in terms of child developmental outcomes AND parental happiness

How to deal when fertility struggles impacts your age gap/number of kids plans

Two under two: Setting your kids up to be lifelong best friends or a recipe for TOTAL CHAOS?

BUSTING the myths about only children

Concrete questions to ask yourself to to figure out what is best for YOUR family

The transcript of the episode can be found here! 



 
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Family Planning: The Best Age Gap and Optimal Number of Kids!

Real talk? Modern parenting is a doozy. There’s never been more pressure to be perfect with social media readily at our fingertips - mixed with total isolation and no help. Where the f*ck is that village everyone talks about? Consider After Bedtime your village. Led by Kristin and Deena - founders of the largest online parenting community, Big Little Feelings - After Bedtime is the place you can go at the end of a long hard day to find your “enough”-ness. We’ll laugh, we’ll cry, we’ll maybe pee our pants a little as we unpack things we’re ALL experiencing but too ashamed to talk about: imperfect marriages, miscarriages, managing toddler mania, apologizing to our kids and everything in between. You’ll leave with actionable, realistic tips to make this whole parenting thing smoother - small changes, big impact. In an age where parents need more *real* connection than ever, let’s talk honestly about the hard - and remind ourselves we are not alone, we are not failing. In fact, we’re f*cking crushing it.

Kids & Family

Parenting

Hi Big Little Besties! We were recently guests on the podcast Pop Culture Moms, and wanted to share it with you! Our friends Andie and Sabrina have been best friends for 20 years — and pop culture aficionados for even longer. On “Pop Culture Moms,” they’re taking their obsession with TV and movies to the next level by talking to folks like us, fellow “scholars” of pop culture, about what they can learn from the fictional moms we love most. Together, Andie and Sabrina explore the comedy – and tragedy – of what parenthood is like in real life. In this episode, Kirstin and Deena talk about why some of the best moms on TV right now are cartoons, and what the mothers in Bluey and Daniel Tiger are doing right. You can listen to more Pop Culture Moms at link.chtbl.com/popculturemomss1/afterbedtime
 
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Parenting with Empathy, from Pop Culture Moms

You know her from the *iconic* reality shows The Hills and The City, and we know her as a Big Little Bestie & rockstar mom! Today we welcome creative director, designer, and mom to 6-year-old Sonny, the one-and-only Whitney Port!!! No topic is off limits, and we cover it ALL in our convo with this inspiring mom & business woman. In this episode, we chat with Whitney about mom life, how she adjusts to life in the spotlight, and her ongoing IVF and infertility journey. This episode is a *true* treat and an incredible reminder that even though everyone’s journey is unique, we’re all in this parenting thing TOGETHER. And trust us: It will leave you feeling empowered, inspired, and even MORE obsessed with Whitney than you were already! PLUS:

The #1 thing Whitney regrets sharing on social media

Whitney gets super vulnerable and shares her struggles with secondary infertility—from pregnancy loss to her IVF and surrogacy journey 

Get the inside scoop on what it was like to be a part of The Hills craze

Whyyy is the internet so obsessed with Whitney’s body?? 

Whitney talks mom life: The very best parts AND the super challenging parts

Get the inside scoop on her reality TV journey — and how she used it as a stepping stone to launch an enviable career in fashion and design (consider us inspired!)

Get Whitney’s TOP TIPS for juggling her career and quality time with Sonny 

The BLF techniques that have TOTALLY *transformed* the bedtime routine in Whitney’s home from pure chaos to total calm

The transcript of this episode can be found here!



 
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The Hills’ Whitney Port on Fertility Struggles, Mom Life & More

Today on the pod we welcome Dr. Daniel Amen, an expert on brain health and mental health disorders. Dr. Amen is a best-selling author, a physician, an adult and child psychiatrist, AND a brain disorder specialist, who is making it his mission to end mental illness by creating a  revolution in the way we view brain health. In this episode, Dr. Amen brings a *research-backed* approach to help you learn to be the parent you want to be and raise emotionally healthy kids who are equipped to THRIVE. 
Highlights include:

Easy, concrete things you can start doing TODAY to ensure your child grows up with the *strongest* possible mental health

Practical tools to help our kids go from defiance, meltdowns, and power struggles to being responsible, confident, kind, and emotionally resilient

How we can boost OUR brains as parents and optimize our own mental health (because spoiler alert: our kids’ mental health starts with *us*)

The one GAME CHANGING thing you can do daily to foster a healthy brain and better behavior for your kid

The tool you can use to help make literally EVERY decision about optimizing brain health for you and your kid

The 11 major risk factors every person should know about if you want to keep your brain healthy

Plus, the brain science behind women feeling more guilt than men (Yep! It’s biology!)

The transcript of this episode can be found here!



 
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Boost Your Child’s Brain Health in 20 Minutes with Dr. Daniel Amen

Life is freaking hard. We are all doing hard things every single day – things like loving and losing; caring for children and parents; forging and ending friendships; battling addiction, illness, and loneliness; struggling in our jobs, our marriages, and our divorces; setting boundaries; and fighting for equality, purpose, freedom, joy, and peace. On We Can Do Hard Things, Glennon Doyle, author of UNTAMED; her wife Abby Wambach; and her sister Amanda Doyle do the only thing they’ve found that has ever made life easier: Drop the fake and talk honestly about the hard things including sex, gender, parenting, blended families, bodies, anxiety, addiction, justice, boundaries, fun, quitting, overwhelm . . . all of it. We laugh and cry and help each other carry the hard so we can all live a little bit lighter and braver, free-er, less alone.
 
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Introducing: We Can Do Hard Things

If you’re stuck in an endless cycle of yelling, threatening, and then feeling super guilty afterwards, you’re not alone. AND, today’s episode is for *you.* By the end of this episode, you’ll walk away with an *exact* roadmap on how to handle those extremely common parenting triggers (your child’s crying, mess, whining) and find the right coping tools FOR YOU. Triggers will show up in your parenting journey no matter who you are. You’re not a monster, there’s nothing wrong with you, there’s nothing wrong with your child, sometimes we all need a reset and a roadmap. This episode will empower you with all the tools (backed in neuroscience) that you need, so that your triggers are no longer in the drivers seat with the way you parent. 
You’ll walk away from this episode with: 

An understanding of how your unique generational cycles are shaping the way you react

The ability to retrain and rewire your brain’s automatic stress response

4 concrete, *specific* tools you can use TODAY to stop your stress response in its tracks - so that you no longer yell, storm off, or go into fight or flight mode with your kids

Tools to work WITH your triggers instead of trying to push them down

Effective, REALISTIC coping skills to ground you in stressful moments in both parenting and life in general

Added bonus: everything you learn on todays episode will carry on to YOUR children -  as they watch you manage YOUR triggers, they’ll mirror stress management and emotional regulation 

The transcript of this episode can be found here!



 
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Family Planning: The Best Age Gap and Optimal Number of Kids!

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