Moms love to hear each others' stories and today Allie Martin, an entrepreneur who's a visibility expert and owner of Fame and Fortune shares what it's been like to go from full-time, all-out business woman to full-time, all-out mom to her beautiful newborn baby. Allie shares what it has felt like to fall in love and how being a parent has changed her perspective, plus...

Here's the ⁠show notes⁠ for this episode.

Check out all the parenting goodness at ⁠Nurtured Noggins⁠.

Children have an innate sense of curiosity and wonder about the world around them. Dr. Diane Schnoor suggests that you don’t need to formally teach your young child but rather allow the learning process to happen by supporting their natural curiosity and wonder.

In this episode, Dr. Diane, an early childhood education expert, talks about the natural curiosity of young children and how parents can encourage and maintain this sense of wonder. She helps parents pay attention to their child's cues and provide opportunities for exploration and vocabulary building in the everyday. Dr. Diane Schnoor also emphasizes the importance of engaging in scientific activities, even at a very young age. Science is about developing connections with the world around us and she gives you the tools to do this.

Download Dr. Diane's resource created especially for you! Nature Fun full of great ideas on how you can explore nature with your older baby and toddler, plus a list of children's books connected to nature.

Here's the show notes for this episode.

Check out all the parenting goodness at Nurtured Noggins.

Motherhood can be an incredibly challenging experience, yet many of the struggles that new mothers face are not openly discussed. Becky Vieira's book Enough About the Baby: A Brutally Honest Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood helps new moms understand their experiences and prioritize self-care during the first year of motherhood.

In this episode, Becky discusses the challenges of motherhood and how these problems are often not openly discussed, even among mothers. This can lead to feelings of isolation and inadequacy. We talk about the importance of reaching out for help as a new mother but how difficult it can be to do so. 

Here's a link to the show notes.

It’s not at all uncommon to get lots of advice when you have a new baby. There’s just a lot of opinions out there - some based in fact, some not! In this episode, we look at five of the common things people say to you about newborns and identify whether or not each one is a myth or if it's sound advice.

My guest, Deborah McNelis, is an expert on the importance of nurturing and responsive care during their first 60 days of life. She helps you understand how to establish a secure attachment and support your newborn's development. Share this episode with all the new moms and dads you know!

Here are the show notes for this episode.

Would you like to share YOUR parenting journey on my podcast? I'm featuring one story each month and we'd love to hear yours! You can reach out to [email protected] to start the conversation.

Download How to Give Your Newborn Baby a Bath, a complete step-by-step guide to keeping your baby sweet and clean. This free resource also includes instructions for giving your newborn a massage.

When she found out she was pregnant, Zlata wondered how she could help her only child welcome a new baby into their very established family of three. After all, they didn't think they'd ever have another baby! In this episode, new mom Zlata Stankovic-Ramirez shares how she and her husband helped Daniel not only prepare for a new little sister, but how they insured he wouldn't feel displaced or insecure about this new little person who would soon make her appearance in the family.

Download 7 Tips for Helping Your Child Welcome a New Baby, based on an article authored by Dr. Stankovic-Ramirez, which will be published in Dimensions of Early Childhood, the professional journal for the Southern Early Childhood Association.

Here are the show notes for this episode.

Would you like to share YOUR parenting journey on my podcast? I'm featuring one story each month and we'd love to hear yours! Email me here to start the conversation.

Download our free tool, 6 Secrets Nobody Tells You Before You Have a Baby to learn what 50 new moms what they wished they’d known before they had their baby

Blake Brewer is on a mission to help 1 million dads and moms leave a lasting legacy for their children.

His story is personal to me. When our kids were preschoolers, I had a mom friend with kids the same ages as ours. One day she just had a feeling that she should write her children a letter telling them how much she loved them among other meaningful messages, in case anything ever happened to her. A few weeks later, their family went boating and a terrible accident took her life as they were docking the boat at the end of the day. I know those kids, now young adults, treasure their mother's words to them.

Blake has a similar story and he shares it with you in this episode of Parenting in the First 3 Years.

DOWNLOAD your free Legacy Letter Framework and begin writing your own letter today.

Go to the show notes to find lots of ways to get in touch with Blake. 

Watch Blake's segment on the Today Show where tells the story of his mission to help 1,000,000 parents leave a lasting legacy for their children through a well-written, meaningful letter.

Would you like to share YOUR parenting journey on my podcast? I'm featuring one story each month and we'd love to hear yours! Email me here to start the conversation.

Download our free tool, 6 Secrets Nobody Tells You Before You Have a Baby to learn what 50 new moms what they wished they’d known before they had their baby

What are the habits new moms can begin now to ensure a healthy mindset throughout the all the stages of parenting? In this episode, Colleen O'Grady, best selling author, licensed therapist, coach and trainer explains how self-care is every bit as important as other all the other tasks on your to-do list and gives you practical ways to communicate what you need.

Colleen has shared her message of practical hope with moms worldwide in Parents magazine, Wall Street Journal Lunch Break, popular parenting podcasts, and on the red carpet at TEDxWilmington. Colleen is the host of the Power Your Parenting: Moms with Teens podcast; in 2021, it was ranked number one among podcasts on parenting teens.

Go to the show notes for this episode and get the link for Colleen's latest book, Dial Up the Dream: Make Your Daughter's Journey to Adulthood the Best for Both of You.

Would you like to share YOUR parenting journey on my podcast? Email me here and let's start the conversation!

Download our free tool, 6 Secrets Nobody Tells You Before You Have a Baby to learn what 50 new moms what they wished they’d known before they had their baby

So... what is resilience and what's the big deal? Is this something to focus on with your child or does it develop naturally?

Recent research offers a road map to the neuroscience of resilience. Surprisingly, developing a way of dealing with life’s stressors is NOT rocket science. Instead, we’ve learned that it's the most ordinary of interactions that helps each child develop this potent life skill. In this episode, Dr. Stephanie Goloway, author of Happily Ever Resilient: Using Fairytales to Nurture Children Through Adversity, explains how resilience is one of the amazing benefits of playing with your infant and toddler.

Here's the show notes for this episode. Download Dr. Goloway's resources on learning more about the research on resilience, activities you can do with your child and resources on toxic stress, trauma, ACES and more. I think you'll find it very valuable!

Would you like to share YOUR parenting journey on my podcast? Email me here and let's start the conversation!

Download our free tool, 20 Ways to Play with Your Baby and Toddler to learn about the developmental stages of play, how to interact your child from 0-36 months and the do's and don'ts of playing with your little one.

Do you ever feel conflicted by social media? I sure do! I love seeing what people are doing, saying and teaching me. But I don’t love how much time I spend staring at my phone while I ignore the real world around me. 

In this Mom Story, Priscilla Hall, who’s a mother of four little ones, shares her experience of taking a break from social media - what was challenging, how she felt and how it’s affected her daily life, especially around her mental health.

Would you like to share YOUR parenting journey on my podcast? Email me here and let's start the conversation!

Here's the show notes for this episode.

Download our free tool, 20 Ways to Play with Your Baby and Toddler to learn about the developmental stages of play, how to interact your child from 0-36 months and the do's and don'ts of playing with your little one.

New parents seem to know intuitively how to soothe their baby and will naturally rock and sway as they hold them.

I have a distinct memory from years ago that illustrates the power of music. I was holding our crying, hurting, very sleepy 2-month-old foster baby and nothing seemed to help. I had done all my best tricks and he simply wouldn't calm down. I knew he was hurting from the injuries of his physical abuse and wanted to help, but how? I starting singing Beautiful Boy by John Lennon to him because the words just seemed appropriate, Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy. He slowly quieted and began to relax into me as we rocked gently. As I softly sang those words over and again, he finally fell asleep. 

What is it about music and rhythm that helps babies relax? Actually there lots more going on than you might be aware of! In this episode we explore the cognitive, emotional and physical benefits of moving, dancing and singing with your baby. 

Here's the show notes for this episode.

Download 20 Ways to Play with Your Baby and Toddler to learn about the developmental stages of play, how to interact your child from 0-36 months and the do's and don'ts of playing with your little one.

Would you like to share YOUR parenting journey on my podcast? Email me here and let's start the conversation!