We sit with the dissonance of parenting during a state crackdown in Minnesota, holding mother rage and grief while trying to protect childhood for our children. Stories from Minneapolis, a terrifying night terror, and our feelings as mothers.

• naming the split between normal routines and escalating state force
• how algorithms, media gaps and proximity shape what we know
• whiteness, safety as illusion and why change is allowed
• anger as data, grief underneath and redirecting hate into love and protection
• night terrors explained, patterns, airway and sleep hygiene links
• nervous system care through movement and community support
• centering children’s experiences and mutual aid
• what it means to keep going without normalizing harm

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Star Tribune Article about changing your mind

Myofunctional Therapist in the Northland

5 Calls app - CALL YOUR REPS

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In this episode, we talk openly about updates to toddler sleep struggles, no more night drives just to get a child to sleep, the decision to retire the crib, and how co-sleeping in a king bed changed everything. We unpack how loving, clear boundaries reduced bedtime chaos and how letting go of the “perfect” 7 p.m. bedtime helped ease our own mom guilt, shame, and anxiety around sleep.

From there, we move into the daily reality of daycare life: big feelings at pickup, sensory overload, and what it looks like to listen to a child’s body that needs movement, wrestling, and connection after a long day. Then comes the daycare illness cycle: colds, strep, and six ear infections since summer... along with the weighty decisions around mild hearing loss and ear tubes.

We name the math no one hands you as a parent: PTO that isn’t rest, missed income from client-facing work, mounting medical bills, and the invisible labor of tracking symptoms, dosing medication, scheduling appointments, and making constant judgment calls. This is where the mental load of motherhood becomes undeniable, and why workplace culture matters far more than empty platitudes. Planning for sick seasons, we argue, should be part of every postpartum conversation.

Along the way, we speak the quieter truths many parents carry: resentment when the default sick parent pushes through, the tug-of-war between caregiving and work, and the grief for the versions of parenthood and careers we hoped to have by now. We also share what genuinely helped.

If you’ve ever felt alone doing the late-night calculus of sleep, illness, work, and parenting, this conversation offers validation and practical shifts you can try tonight.

If this episode resonated, tap follow, share it with a friend who’s in the thick of toddler sleep or daycare sickness, and leave a quick review to help other parents find the show. Your support helps this community grow.

Kirsten's Physical Therapy website

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Molly’s music on bandcamp

Molly’s website

Winter presses in and everything gets louder, especially the expectations placed on moms during the holidays. In this episode, we return from a hiatus to talk honestly about the mental load of motherhood in December, the pressure to create holiday magic, and how easy it is to perform joy while running on empty.

We swap stories, a road trip that dodged snowstorms, a surprise porcupine encounter, and a partner who literally clapped at a lamp.... But beneath the laughter is a deeper truth many overwhelmed moms know well: the invisible labor, perfectionism, and “shoulds” that make the holidays feel heavy instead of joyful.

We talk candidly about skipping Thanksgiving and Black Friday to protect our peace, how perfectionism hides in traditions we feel obligated to perform, and why some holiday rituals feel more like public performances than meaningful family moments. A gingerbread house meltdown becomes our stand-in for motherhood expectations, how tightly we cling to outcomes, and how quickly they fall apart with toddlers, sensory overload, and messy icing.

From there, we explore a gentler way forward for moms feeling burned out by the holidays: choosing fewer, truer rituals; loosening our grip on results; and letting magic show up where it actually fits, like spontaneous night sledding under yard lights.

The mental load of motherhood gets its due as we unpack the reality of gift planning, budgeting, buying, wrapping, and shipping while juggling work, sickness, and bedtime marathons. Gifting can be creative and loving when it’s supported, so we offer practical ideas for the next ten days: smaller gift lists, one decision a day, delegating pickups and shipping, intentionally sending some gifts late, and trading performative traditions for ones that fit your real family life.

If you’re a mom who needs permission to do less, feel more, and let go of holiday perfectionism—this conversation is for you.

If this episode made you feel seen, share it with a friend, subscribe for more honest motherhood conversations, and leave a review to help other moms find the show.
💬 Tell us: what’s one holiday tradition you’re rewriting this year?

Kirsten's Physical Therapy website

Mama You Belong Instagram

Kirsten's Instagram

Molly's Instagram

Molly’s music on bandcamp

Molly’s website