Whatcha Expecting?

It’s the end of Season Three, and Kate’s baby is almost not a baby anymore! This week, Kate and Claire discuss Kate’s plans for her soon-to-be-toddler’s birthday, and the two consider how far both their children have come. Claire shares the new milestones Rodney is reaching, and Kate answers rapid-fire questions from Claire of Anthony facts. Kate shares her new year wishes for Anthony, as we close out the season and get excited for Season Four!

Weekly Plugs:

Stand up diaper changes

Taking things slow and making time to reflect

Breathe Like a Bear

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

Music by Christopher Morucci

Follow @whatchaexpecting.

This week, Claire’s in charge, which obviously means everyone is taking a Buzzfeed quiz! Having never seen the questions before, Kate and Joe patiently take the quiz and don’t have any criticisms at all of how the questions and answers are written. When will they get their kids a phone? What would they do if their kids were sent to the principal’s office? Who is REALLY the lazy parent here? Find out this week, and take the quiz yourself – and finally find out, what kind of parent are YOU (according to Buzzfeed, the real authority here)!

Weekly Plugs:

Heirloom tomatoes

Science City

Camping

Hotels

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

Music by Christopher Morucci

Follow @whatchaexpecting.

It’s summer, so you know what that means…it’s time to go for a swim! This week, Kate’s baby-almost-toddler had his first swim lesson. Claire’s son, meanwhile, has been in swim lessons for awhile, and Joe’s kids are basically on the Olympic swim team at this point. Hear Joe’s hot takes on swim lessons for babies, Kate’s anxieties about submerging her baby, and Claire’s experiences getting Rodney comfortable in the water. Don’t be shy, dive right in…get it?!

CW: Reference to child loss and drowning

Weekly Plugs:

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

Music by Christopher Morucci

Follow @whatchaexpecting.

Vanilla Cold Brew

Tonic water Espresso

Bath tubs

Once the babies are down for the night, what do you do with yourself? Do you hit the hay? Drink a beer? Scroll for hours? How important are these quiet(er) moments for you? This week, Kate and Claire selflessly spend their precious moments recording this podcast episode, sharing what they would normally be doing and reflecting back on to what their own parents did once they went to sleep. Or, at least, what we think they were doing? We were asleep, so we're not actually sure.

Weekly Plugs:

Busy Boards

Donut Peaches

Nintendo Switch 2

Music by Christopher Morucci

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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

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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

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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

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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

Follow @whatchaexpecting.