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What if one of the biggest sources of stress in parenting isn't your child's behavior—but the expectations you're carrying?

Every day, we move through motherhood with an invisible list of "shoulds." Our children should know better. We should be more patient. Bedtime should be easier by now. Respectful parenting should be working. These expectations often come from our own childhoods, family pressure, comparison, social media, and a culture that tells mothers they should instinctively know how to raise emotionally healthy children while somehow healing themselves at the same time.

In this episode, Jess explores what she calls the expectation gap—the space between what we imagined parenting would look like and the reality we're living. She shares why expectations themselves aren't the problem, but why unconscious expectations can leave us feeling frustrated, disconnected, and like we're constantly falling short.

Most importantly, you'll discover why the answer isn't to lower your expectations for yourself or your child. It's to become more intentional about them. Because children don't learn through pressure, shame, or fear—they learn through practice, repetition, support, and scaffolding. And maybe, as mothers, we do too.

If you've ever caught yourself thinking, They should know better, or I should be better at this by now, this episode is for you.

Before you go

If this episode met you somewhere real, follow The Nurture Network so the next one finds you too.

Reviews are how other mothers find this work. If you have thirty seconds to leave one, it matters more than you'd think.

And if a mom you love came to mind while you listened, send this her way. That is how this work travels.

Ways to work with me:

If this episode resonated, I'd love to support you.

• Start with a Free Parent Needs Assessment Call to talk through what's feeling hard and determine the best next step.
• Learn more about Groundwork: The Foundational Coaching Experience for Aligned Motherhood, my signature coaching experience for mothers who want to parent with more confidence, connection, and intention.

Explore everything at:
 www.mothernurturecoaching.com

Follow along on Instagram:
 @mothernurturecoaching

You deserve to be nurtured. 🌸

Send us Fan Mail

What if taking care of yourself wasn't something you earned after everyone else's needs were met?

In this Goodnight, Mom episode, Jess offers a gentle end-of-day reminder for the mom who realizes she gave everything to everyone else—and left nothing for herself. Together, we'll explore why self-care isn't selfish, why staying connected to yourself makes you a more grounded parent, and how the smallest moments of presence can help you come home to yourself again.

This isn't about adding another thing to your to-do list. It's about remembering that you matter, too.

Whether it's taking one deep breath before getting out of bed, savoring your morning coffee, moving your body in a way that feels good, or simply noticing your own experience for a moment, these small acts of self-connection have the power to change how you move through motherhood.

So tonight, before tomorrow begins, take a deep breath.

You deserve nurturing, too.

Goodnight, Mom is a new series of short, encouraging audio messages from The Nurture Network—created to help mothers end the day feeling a little more connected, a little more supported, and a little less alone.

Before you go

If this episode met you somewhere real, follow The Nurture Network so the next one finds you too.

Reviews are how other mothers find this work. If you have thirty seconds to leave one, it matters more than you'd think.

And if a mom you love came to mind while you listened, send this her way. That is how this work travels.

Ways to work with me:

If this episode resonated, I'd love to support you.

• Start with a Free Parent Needs Assessment Call to talk through what's feeling hard and determine the best next step.
• Learn more about Groundwork: The Foundational Coaching Experience for Aligned Motherhood, my signature coaching experience for mothers who want to parent with more confidence, connection, and intention.

Explore everything at:
 www.mothernurturecoaching.com

Follow along on Instagram:
 @mothernurturecoaching

You deserve to be nurtured. 🌸

Send us Fan Mail

We've been told that if we could just find better work-life balance, we'd finally feel less overwhelmed, less guilty, and more present. But what if balance isn't the goal at all?

In this episode, Jess is joined by Work-Life Harmony Coach & Strategist Amy Pierre-Russo for an honest conversation about why so many working moms feel like they're constantly falling short—and how the traditional idea of work-life balance often creates more pressure than peace.

Together, they explore where mom guilt really comes from, why trying to control everything can leave us feeling even more overwhelmed, and how shifting from compartmentalizing our lives to integrating them can create more honesty, support, and ease.

If you've ever felt like you're succeeding at work while failing at home—or finally present with your family but falling behind professionally—this conversation will remind you that the problem isn't you. It may just be the model you've been trying to follow.

Connect with Amy:
🌿 Hustle to Harmony: https://www.coachingwamy.com/

Amy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachingw_amy/

Before you go

If this episode met you somewhere real, follow The Nurture Network so the next one finds you too.

Reviews are how other mothers find this work. If you have thirty seconds to leave one, it matters more than you'd think.

And if a mom you love came to mind while you listened, send this her way. That is how this work travels.

Ways to work with me:

If this episode resonated, I'd love to support you.

• Start with a Free Parent Needs Assessment Call to talk through what's feeling hard and determine the best next step.
• Learn more about Groundwork: The Foundational Coaching Experience for Aligned Motherhood, my signature coaching experience for mothers who want to parent with more confidence, connection, and intention.

Explore everything at:
 www.mothernurturecoaching.com

Follow along on Instagram:
 @mothernurturecoaching

You deserve to be nurtured. 🌸

Send us Fan Mail

For the mom who lost it today and can't stop replaying it.

I made Goodnight Mom for the hour no one talks about. After the kids are finally asleep, when the house goes quiet but your mind doesn't, and the guilt starts listing everything you think you got wrong.

These aren't lessons. Nothing to take notes on, nothing to fix, no plan to do better tomorrow. They're short on purpose. A few minutes meant to be heard lying down, in the dark, on the days you have nothing left to give.

Here's how to use them. Put one on when a hard day won't let go of you. Let me do the talking, so the voice in your own head can finally rest. Then close your eyes.

You spend all day being the calm for everyone else. Let this be a few minutes of someone being calm for you.

Before you go

If this episode met you somewhere real, follow The Nurture Network so the next one finds you too.

Reviews are how other mothers find this work. If you have thirty seconds to leave one, it matters more than you'd think.

And if a mom you love came to mind while you listened, send this her way. That is how this work travels.

Ways to work with me:

If this episode resonated, I'd love to support you.

• Start with a Free Parent Needs Assessment Call to talk through what's feeling hard and determine the best next step.
• Learn more about Groundwork: The Foundational Coaching Experience for Aligned Motherhood, my signature coaching experience for mothers who want to parent with more confidence, connection, and intention.

Explore everything at:
 www.mothernurturecoaching.com

Follow along on Instagram:
 @mothernurturecoaching

You deserve to be nurtured. 🌸

Send us Fan Mail

We prepare endlessly for the birth of a baby. We rarely prepare for the birth of a mother.

In this Season 2 premiere, I introduce the idea at the heart of everything that follows this season: matrescence, the profound identity shift a woman moves through as she becomes a mother. It is as significant as adolescence, and almost no one is guided through it.

I walk you through the framework at the center of my work, the six pillars of Becoming Mother: Becoming, Origin, Generational Cycles, Partnership, Regulation, and Village. Together they map the inner work of motherhood, the part that so often goes unspoken. If you are pregnant, this gives you a clear sense of the inner ground ahead of you. If you are already deep in the middle of mothering, it gives you language for the woman you have quietly become, and an invitation to keep shaping her on purpose.

This is the foundation of Season 2, Motherhood from the Inside Out. A season about coming home to yourself, trusting your own instincts, and learning to hear your knowing beneath the noise of everyone else's advice.

I also introduce Goodnight Mom, a new short series I'm releasing alongside the main episodes this season. A few quiet minutes of company at the close of your hardest days.

Continue the work:

The Becoming Mother Collective is my free, private community for women who are pregnant and thinking beyond the nursery. It runs on a gentle weekly rhythm of reflection, conversation, and shared resources, and it is a small, intentional space where this work continues alongside other women walking the same path. If you are expecting a child in the next 3-10 months, please join us in the Becoming Mother Collective. 

Becoming Mother 1:1 Coaching is my private, one-on-one program for women who want to do this work personally and in depth. Together, we move through all six pillars at the pace of your own story, with guidance shaped entirely around you. 

The Collective is where this conversation lives. The coaching is where it becomes yours. Many women begin in one and grow into the other.

You deserve to be nurtured.

Before you go

If this episode met you somewhere real, follow The Nurture Network so the next one finds you too.

Reviews are how other mothers find this work. If you have thirty seconds to leave one, it matters more than you'd think.

And if a mom you love came to mind while you listened, send this her way. That is how this work travels.

Ways to work with me:

If this episode resonated, I'd love to support you.

• Start with a Free Parent Needs Assessment Call to talk through what's feeling hard and determine the best next step.
• Learn more about Groundwork: The Foundational Coaching Experience for Aligned Motherhood, my signature coaching experience for mothers who want to parent with more confidence, connection, and intention.

Explore everything at:
 www.mothernurturecoaching.com

Follow along on Instagram:
 @mothernurturecoaching

You deserve to be nurtured. 🌸

Send us Fan Mail

When support shows up, everything changes. In this powerful conversation, Jess sits down with Stella Falkner, founder of Dowa Health, to explore what happens when maternal depression and anxiety don’t end after the first year of motherhood — and how Dowa is transforming the way moms access care.

Stella shares her deeply personal journey through maternal mental health challenges and how it led her to create Dowa, a wellness platform designed to meet mothers where they are — with evidence-based, on-demand tools and compassionate experts who understand the emotional, physical, and mental load of motherhood.

Together, Jess and Stella explore why so many moms still suffer in silence, how to find real, lasting support, and what it looks like to feel connected again.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed or unseen, this conversation offers a reminder that you’re not alone — and that support can start with one small step.

Try the Dowa App for FREE for 2 weeks. Use code JESSB10 for 10% off when you upgrade.

Join me on the Dowa app for a FREE Live Session, on Weds November 12, 730pm:

Holiday Survival Guide for Moms: Managing Kids, Schedules & Stress, Register Here.

Before you go

If this episode met you somewhere real, follow The Nurture Network so the next one finds you too.

Reviews are how other mothers find this work. If you have thirty seconds to leave one, it matters more than you'd think.

And if a mom you love came to mind while you listened, send this her way. That is how this work travels.

Ways to work with me:

If this episode resonated, I'd love to support you.

• Start with a Free Parent Needs Assessment Call to talk through what's feeling hard and determine the best next step.
• Learn more about Groundwork: The Foundational Coaching Experience for Aligned Motherhood, my signature coaching experience for mothers who want to parent with more confidence, connection, and intention.

Explore everything at:
 www.mothernurturecoaching.com

Follow along on Instagram:
 @mothernurturecoaching

You deserve to be nurtured. 🌸

Send us Fan Mail

Do you love your kids but secretly struggle to enjoy motherhood? You’re not alone. In this honest episode of The Nurture Network, parent coach Jess Baldenhofer dives deep into why motherhood can feel so heavy—even when you love your child fiercely.

You’ll learn what’s really happening in your nervous system when parenting feels overwhelming, how childhood conditioning and “performing for love” patterns disconnect you from joy, and how your kids can actually become your teachers in emotional regulation. Jess shares relatable mom-life stories, nervous system science, and powerful tools to help you move from survival mode to presence, connection, and real joy.

If you’ve ever thought, “Why don’t I enjoy motherhood the way I thought I would?”—this episode will help you find your way back to yourself.

Before you go

If this episode met you somewhere real, follow The Nurture Network so the next one finds you too.

Reviews are how other mothers find this work. If you have thirty seconds to leave one, it matters more than you'd think.

And if a mom you love came to mind while you listened, send this her way. That is how this work travels.

Ways to work with me:

If this episode resonated, I'd love to support you.

• Start with a Free Parent Needs Assessment Call to talk through what's feeling hard and determine the best next step.
• Learn more about Groundwork: The Foundational Coaching Experience for Aligned Motherhood, my signature coaching experience for mothers who want to parent with more confidence, connection, and intention.

Explore everything at:
 www.mothernurturecoaching.com

Follow along on Instagram:
 @mothernurturecoaching

You deserve to be nurtured. 🌸

Send us Fan Mail

If you’ve ever felt stuck in your head, overwhelmed by your child’s big emotions, or unsure how to stay calm in the chaos—this episode is for you.

In this conversation, Jess is joined by psychosomatic practitioner Lauraine Mann to explore how your body holds the key to parenting with more calm, connection, and confidence. You’ll learn why unprocessed emotions get stored in the body, how your nervous system shapes your reactions, and simple body-based tools you can use daily to reset.

What you’ll hear:

• What “somatic” really means and why it matters for moms
• The nervous system’s role in handling your child’s big feelings
• Tiny, doable somatic practices to reduce stress in everyday parenting
• How to redirect your child’s hitting or yelling into safe, body-based outlets
• Ways to model emotional regulation and build your child’s resilience

This is your invitation to stop overthinking, reconnect with your body, and discover the missing piece that can transform your parenting.

Lauraine Mann is a Psychosomatic Practitioner based in New York, offering in person and virtual 1:1 and couples sessions. With a Master's Degree in Psychology, a Diploma in Somatic (Body-Based) Therapy, and over 20 years of experience in energy healing and meditation facilitation, she offers a compassionate and intuitive space where your inner experiences and outer relationships can be explored with curiosity and care. Lauraine's work invites personal, interpersonal, and societal awareness, supporting transformative change toward a more embodied, authentic, and fulfilling life.

More info on Lauraine Mann:   laurainemann.com

Follow Lauraine on Instagram: @lauraine.mann

Before you go

If this episode met you somewhere real, follow The Nurture Network so the next one finds you too.

Reviews are how other mothers find this work. If you have thirty seconds to leave one, it matters more than you'd think.

And if a mom you love came to mind while you listened, send this her way. That is how this work travels.

Ways to work with me:

If this episode resonated, I'd love to support you.

• Start with a Free Parent Needs Assessment Call to talk through what's feeling hard and determine the best next step.
• Learn more about Groundwork: The Foundational Coaching Experience for Aligned Motherhood, my signature coaching experience for mothers who want to parent with more confidence, connection, and intention.

Explore everything at:
 www.mothernurturecoaching.com

Follow along on Instagram:
 @mothernurturecoaching

You deserve to be nurtured. 🌸

Send us Fan Mail

In this week’s episode of The Nurture Network, we explore why parenting scripts—that perfect response you rehearse in your head—rarely work. Instead, what transforms behavior is a process: a thoughtful approach rooted in values, presence, and emotional regulation.

We dive into:
 • The difference between a scripted reaction and a values‑based process
 • Why rehearsed lines fail when your emotional regulation is low
 • How to create your own “parenting process”—step by step, value driven
 • Real-life examples where processes bring clarity, consistency, and confidence
 • How to shift from performing for your child to leading with intention

If you’ve ever snapped at bedtime despite knowing what to say—or exhausted yourself trying to say the “right thing”—this episode is for you. Because great parenting isn’t about saying the perfect words. It’s about having a calm, grounded map to guide you in real time—even in the middle of the chaos.

Listen to The Nurture Network wherever you get your podcasts—this one’s going to change how you lead in parenting.

Before you go

If this episode met you somewhere real, follow The Nurture Network so the next one finds you too.

Reviews are how other mothers find this work. If you have thirty seconds to leave one, it matters more than you'd think.

And if a mom you love came to mind while you listened, send this her way. That is how this work travels.

Ways to work with me:

If this episode resonated, I'd love to support you.

• Start with a Free Parent Needs Assessment Call to talk through what's feeling hard and determine the best next step.
• Learn more about Groundwork: The Foundational Coaching Experience for Aligned Motherhood, my signature coaching experience for mothers who want to parent with more confidence, connection, and intention.

Explore everything at:
 www.mothernurturecoaching.com

Follow along on Instagram:
 @mothernurturecoaching

You deserve to be nurtured. 🌸

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of The Nurture Network, Jess talks with pediatric sleep coach Ella Hanover about why sleep is one of the first—and hardest—boundaries parents set. Together, they explore how sleep challenges go deeper than bedtime routines, often triggering guilt, self-doubt, and identity shifts in early motherhood.

Ella shares her expert insights on how sleep is a turning point in the parent-child relationship, how to confidently lead with love and boundaries, and why prioritizing your own rest is essential—not selfish. Whether you’re navigating newborn sleep or toddler transitions, this conversation offers both emotional validation and practical tools.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why sleep is often the first parenting “hard no”
• How to hold boundaries with love and confidence
• What sleep reveals about your evolving identity as a parent
• Why your needs matter—and how to honor them
• Encouragement for parents feeling exhausted or unsure

Connect with Ella at: https://www.ellagracesleepsolutions.com/
Find Ella on IG at: https://www.instagram.com/ellagracesleepsolutions

Before you go

If this episode met you somewhere real, follow The Nurture Network so the next one finds you too.

Reviews are how other mothers find this work. If you have thirty seconds to leave one, it matters more than you'd think.

And if a mom you love came to mind while you listened, send this her way. That is how this work travels.

Ways to work with me:

If this episode resonated, I'd love to support you.

• Start with a Free Parent Needs Assessment Call to talk through what's feeling hard and determine the best next step.
• Learn more about Groundwork: The Foundational Coaching Experience for Aligned Motherhood, my signature coaching experience for mothers who want to parent with more confidence, connection, and intention.

Explore everything at:
 www.mothernurturecoaching.com

Follow along on Instagram:
 @mothernurturecoaching

You deserve to be nurtured. 🌸