This week, Kate is moving far, far away to the distant location of slightly further south within her own neighborhood! Meanwhile, Claire is trying to secure a house for her and her family. With all these big moves come big feelings (but that’s a different episode, go back and listen, we’ll wait). Kate shares the ways that packing, naturally, makes her think of death. Kate and Claire discuss the parts of your life you mourn as you make space for what’s new. Hey, we weren’t kidding about the big feelings!

Weekly Plugs:

Clothing sets

Excellent Quality Movers

Reminders on your phone

Music by Christopher Morucci

Follow @whatchaexpecting.

Your favorite MAMAZ are taking a quick reset for the week while they navigate impending and finalized moves, schedule conflicts, and just being all around BOSS BABEZ! To that end, please enjoy one of our favorite episodes from Season 1 that felt very on-brand. See you next week!

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Claire’s moving! This week, Claire’s packing for her imminent move to Kansas. She considers the things she’ll miss about living in New York, while being excited for her new home (which has TWO bathrooms?!). Kate’s world is getting narrower as it gets physically harder to move through the world while being, medically speaking, super duper pregnant. Claire discusses what it was like to see Kate’s baby nook in her apartment, and Kate shares the shocking revelation that Claire’s clever use of space in her own one bedroom apartment inspired Kate in her own nesting, too.

Weekly Plugs:

Whatcha Expecting? - our new Instagram page!

Lambs and Ivy Wall Decals

Stone fruit season

NYC Ferry

Editing, recording, post production and dad insights by Joe Leonardo.

Music by Christopher Morucci.

This week Kate and Claire welcome Tori Wade -- aka @kccoolmom -- to the show. Tori was a woman with a plan. She planned to have her baby girl and be a stay at home mom while also nannying part time. Fast-forward a couple of years, Tori realized that to be the best mom and best version of herself, she needed a creative outlet and began creating social media content. A little over a year later, she shares with us what it was like navigating the mom guilt during her realization, her advice to other stay at home moms considering a life change and, most importantly, what Kate should do when she finally visits Kansas City.

Weekly Plugs:

Moms Meet KC - quarterly meetup’s for Kansas City area moms.

Baby Bum Mineral Sunscreen

Freshly Cut Pineapple

Three Bears

Music by Christopher Morucci

Follow @whatchaexpecting.

Get your own personality! This week Kate and Claire share how their sons are starting to mimic those around them with varying degrees of success. Gestures, words, and even personality traits! Is this normal, and should we be flattered? We also reflect on what we would like them to mimic and who we ourselves mimicked growing up.

Weekly Plugs:

Mornings at The Farmers Market

Queens Night Market

Music by Christopher Morucci

Follow @whatchaexpecting.

Content warning: Abuse

This week, an expert parent/comedian/all around fabulous human joins as a guest -- Carolyn Castiglia! Kate, Claire and Carolyn discuss how to not totally mess up your child. Carolyn shares her insights from having achieved the seemingly impossible -- successfully raising a child (on her own!) through the teenage years, who is now a happy, well-adjusted adult. How do you avoid repeating the cycles you were raised with? How has Carolyn's style as a teacher connected to her role as a mother? And how much did Kate love having had Carolyn as a teacher? (Spoiler alert: A WHOLE LOT!)

Weekly Plugs:

Moncocomedy.com

Activations App

Sound baths

Barachou Pastry Shop

Music by Christopher Morucci

Follow @whatchaexpecting.

When they go low, we go high ... chair. This week, Kate shares how Anthony has gone from restaurant accessory to restaurant consumer; what they pack and don't pack, how he prefers his steak prepared, and whether or not we should all be mopping the floors once our kids have torn through. Claire shares the early-bird strategy she and Cody employ for taking Rodney out to eat.

Weekly Plugs:

BRAT diet for upset tummies

High-coverage bib

Picky by Helen Zoe Veit

Mommy Bliss Constipation Ease

Music by Christopher Morucci

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It’s the week we’ve been waiting for…Kate’s baby’s nine month appointment! Having learned from Claire’s experience in Season Two (go listen to the whole thing, we’ll wait…), Kate had a bit more of an idea of what to expect. Claire shares recent milestones of Rodney’s, and issues a formal apology to her pediatrician’s office. Tune in for such insightful questions as, why does poking at a Cheerio in a bottle matter? Why would a baby be holding a cracker or cookie? And how is this baby almost a toddler?!

Weekly Plugs:

BJ’s Wholesale Club

Baby Crocs

Deep tissue massage

Remedy Wellness

Editing, recording, post production and dad insights by Joe Leonardo.

Music by Christopher Morucci

Follow @whatchaexpecting.

Content Warning: Suicide, Alcoholism

This week, Kate and Claire are joined by an actual mental health expert…Aimee LeCours! Aimee is a stand-up comedian, improviser, mom, and licensed mental health counselor. She produces and hosts Psych!, A Stand-Up Therapy Comedy show (how cool is that)?! Kate and Claire ask Aimee the hard hitting questions like, should every parent be in therapy? Why did she go into the mental health field? Why do parents always think about death? You know, fun stuff only! Note: episode does not replace actual therapy (sorry).

Weekly Plugs:

Swim lessons for kids - New Yorkers or find an ISR instructor near you.

Harlem Meer

Florida Comedy Collective

Editing, recording, post production and dad insights by Joe Leonardo.

Music by Christopher Morucci

Follow @whatchaexpecting.

This week, we’re getting a GRASP on things – because Kate’s baby has his pincer grasp! Seemingly overnight, he can now pick things up with his thumb and index finger, a milestone that Claire didn’t realize was a thing until Rodney’s nine month appointment. The two talk about how quickly big changes can happen, and how something seemingly so small can mean the beginning of the end of the baby phase, a fact which Kate doesn’t have any feelings about so you can stop asking now, OK?!

Weekly Plugs:

Hanna Andersson

Green Garlic

Libraries

Editing, recording, post production and dad insights by Joe Leonardo.

Music by Christopher Morucci

Follow @whatchaexpecting.

Big news! Claire is finally…unemployed! With Claire’s job having ended, Claire has a clear sense of her identity and everything is fine. Kate and Claire discuss the logistics of the workday, and how Claire will be balancing her time now between freelancing and being a MAMA! The two discuss the role that your career plays in your sense of self as a mother, and what the future might look like for them both. Sidenote, totally unrelated, if you need someone to assist on your social media needs, we know a very talented tradwife person with a little time on her hands.

Weekly Plugs:

A good beach read

Project management software

Monday.com

Crocs

Nordstrom Rack

Editing, recording, post production and dad insights by Joe Leonardo.

Music by Christopher Morucci

Follow @whatchaexpecting.