The Modern Mom Society

• Her family and the decision to move to America
• The hardest thing for her to adjust to
• Finding her group of mom friends in Chicago
• Navigating immigration laws and other challenging things about living somewhere without family nearby
• Aimi's top 3 tips for traveling with little ones and dealing with jet lag
• Other tips on sleep
• Dealing with sleep crutches
• Her sleep training process
• Favorite thing about having made the move to Chicago
• Words of advice for someone who might have the opportunity to live in another country

Access show notes and additional words of wisdom from Aimi on motherhood at www.themodernmomsociety.com/episode31

In Jenn Taylor's interview we discuss:

• Her struggle with infertility and miracle pregnancy with her first born
• Subsequent pregnancies and miscarriages
• How she came to have 18 children in her family
• What led to her decision to foster and adopt so many children
• Managing the baggage that comes along with fostering and working to stay connected to their birth parents
• A day in the life juggling that many kids and how she manages to keep on top of it all
• The words of advice she has for moms who are struggling with the day to day
• Prioritizing self care
• Leaning on your community for support and using other people and their strengths as a resource
• Giving it your all, and how some days it's going to look like 150% and other days a fraction

Links

• Wear More Cashmere book that changed how she prioritized self care (affiliate link)
• Jenn's book, Hello, My Name Is.... Warrior Princess (affiliate link)

Episode Web Page: themodernmomsociety.com/episode30

BONUS CONTENT: Jenn & Carrie discuss minimalism!

Jenn and I continued our conversation after we finished recording the main episode... I was dying to hear how she made minimalism work for her large family - I've been striving to pare down our possessions (and it's been a bit of a struggle), so I was so curious to hear how she did it. If she could do it, certainly I could too, right? You can get access to it by visiting the episode page at themodernmomsociety.com/minimalism... be sure to check it out - it was a really great conversation and I left feeling inspired to purge more from my home!

• The Chicago New Mom's Group and why she created it
• A brief overview of the 6-week course curriculum:
  • Week 1 - How motherhood is different from anything you've done before
  • Week 2 - Shifts in relationships after you become a mother
  • Week 3 - All about sleep!
  • Week 4 - Developmental skills & starting solids
  • Week 5 - Going back to work or not; our identities as mothers
  • Week 6 - Body image and postpartum issues
• Linda's really great list of "all of the things that moms never thought about before they have their first child"
• How being a mother is VERY different from being a babysitter or camp counselor
• Navigating the overwhelming amount of information about parenting and child rearing
• Judgement of mothers, and the importance of coming from a stance of curiosity and compassion when talking with other moms about how they do things
• The notion of "doing it all" ourselves and learning to seek and accept help, especially in the beginning
• Postpartum depression and anxiety, and where to go for help
• How critical having a group of moms to lean upon is, and the importance of getting together in person
• Tips for finding your mom tribe

• P.A.C.E. - Washington, DC New Moms Group
• The full list of "everything you never knew about motherhood until you became a mom"
• Peanut - Mom Dating app!
• Holistic Moms Network - Carrie's favorite in-person mom group that was helpful as new mom!

Linda Szmulewitz is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a certified Gentle Sleep Coach. 7 years ago, she developed an educational and supportive program for first time moms of babies 0-6 months old called The Chicago New Moms Group. The group offers 6 week sessions that provide new moms with an opportunity to come together in a non judgmental and nurturing environment to both connect with others in similar circumstances and to find answers to many new parenting questions.

Taking a break from releasing an episode this week to enjoy spring break and my new kitchen!

For the associated blog post, visit:

http://themodernmomsociety.com/spring-break-and-renewal/

• Her background in exercise physiology and public health, focusing on women and children's health
• The difference between a food sensitivity and food allergy
• Typical symptoms of food sensitivities
• What she recommends parents do if they suspect food sensitivities
• The food allergy tests that are available: IgG and IgE
• Food elimination diets and how to use them
• Foods that people are most commonly sensitive to: dairy, wheat/gluten, peanut, soy, shellfish, eggs, corn
• Reasons why food sensitivities and allergies might be more common nowadays
• Leaky gut and it's role in food sensitivities
• If food intolerance are reversible
• How avoiding problematic foods may be difficult to do but why it's worth it

For show notes, visit www.themodernmomsociety.com/episode28

• A little about her family and how she ended up moving from Chicago to London
• What it was like packing up to leave
• How the transition affected her kids
• Life in London
• Finding new friends
• If the British are welcoming of people from other countries, particularly Americans
• What some of the things she misses from the US
• The biggest challenges with living in London
• Sarah's favorite thing about having made the move
• A day in the life with her and her kids
• Visa challenges
• Her advice for anyone who might have the opportunity to live in another country for a while

For more words of wisdom on motherhood from Sarah visit: www.themodernmomsociety.com/episode27

• What is a side hustle and what are some of the more common side hustles that moms have
• Why you might want to consider having a side hustle
• Gina's side hustle journey
• How to figure out what your side hustle should be
• Following your soul's journey and having the courage to do something new and scary
• Gina's decision to leave the corporate job that she loved
• Diving into the feelings of fear and figuring out what the fear really means
• Tips for build a successful side hustle business and not get overwhelmed in the process
• Why she doesn't have a signature system for business success
• How to find the time to have a side hustle (be sure to grab Gina's 21 Tips to Time Freedom e-book!)

Gina Fresquez, is a speaker, podcast host, Mindset & Success Coach, and the founder of The Women's Side Hustle Society, where she is committed to empowering ambitious, soulful side-hustling women to bring their biggest entrepreneurial dreams to life in a way that's infused with confidence, joy, ease, and freedom—without having to sacrifice their health, sanity, or lifestyle.

For show notes and additional words of wisdom on motherhood from Gina, visit themodernmomsociety.com/episode26

• Marcilie's background as a Positive Discipline trainer and Life and Leadership coach
• What lead her to start a coaching practice and leave corporate
• Why it's so hard to get our kids to do what we want them to do
• Intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic motivation
• The positive discipline tools that she recommends to foster intrinsic motivation in our children
• Looking underneath the behavior to try to understand why it's hard for your child to cooperate
• Belonging and significance as the keys to connection and cooperation and how to cultivate it in your kids
• The "Eye to Eye" tool as a way to get kids to listen and cooperate the first time you ask them to do something
• Using age appropriate responsibilities for fostering a sense of capability and competence
• Edward Deci and his work relating to intrinsic motivation: relatedness, competence, and autonomy
• Giving children choices and how it creates buy in because the brain likes it's own ideas best!
• Family meetings as a way to involve your children in the process of making decisions that affect the whole family
• A few stories about how giving choices led to greater cooperation in Marcilie's family
• Developmental milestones and play into your child's sense of capability
• What to do if your child is lacking skills and not feeling very competent
• How your child mastering tasks and seeing success builds momentum, motivation, and energy (research from Daniel Pink from the book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us) (affiliate link)

For more information and additional words of wisdom on motherhood from Marcilie, visit themodernmomsociety.com/episode25

• The Moonbeams Circles she leads with mother daughter teams to prepare the girls for puberty, honoring their bodies and being conscious about having sex at sometime in the future
• What the right age for beginning the conversation about sex
• How to prepare yourself for having that conversation
• If you should wait until your child asks the question
• Addressing all of the aspects of sex when you have the conversation: the scientific nuts and bolts, emotional, spiritual
• Teaching our children to honor their bodies
• How different children might need to hear the message in different ways
• Navigating having this conversation today with technology and teens being more sexual at younger ages
• Handling your child's natural curiosity about sexuality and pornography
• What to do if your child wants nothing to do with having this conversation
• Instilling your values and giving your child the tools they need when they explore their sexuality
• The topic of consent and that it's ok to say no at any point in the process
• Discussing sex with a son versus a daughter
• What to do if your child just won't talk to you

For show notes and links to additional content, visit themodernmomsociety.com/episode24

• About Angie and her journey with weight loss and becoming a life and weight loss coach
• Her favorite weight loss tools including The Model by Brooke Castillo, no flour and no sugar, and the hunger scale
• How to figure out what triggers your emotional desire for food
• What to do when you realize you have been triggered into emotional eating
• Food journaling as an effective tool to identify emotional eating episodes
• More about flour and sugar and how they affect ghrelin and leptin
• If it was difficult for Angie to give up flour and sugar
• Counting calories and if it is an effective tool for weight loss
• Her recommendation around exercise - it may surprise you!
• Being aware of mom guilt and how it plays into every aspect of our lives
• How Angie balances it all and keeps mom guilt at bay

For the show notes and the link to Angie's free 42 day Jumpstart Program to help you manage anxiety and lose weight and keep it off permanently, visit www.themodernmomsociety.com/episode23