 How do you know it's the right time to pursue your dream? You've got kids and all kinds of other things to worry about right now, right? Maybe you think to yourself "I'll start when the kids are back in school" or "next year when it's not as wild". Ha! Okay, hold on. Let's back up a minute. First, how do you even know what your dream IS? Did you know all along and are maybe just hesitant because it feels "selfish" or "irresponsible"? Did God drop it in your heart in a moment - BAM - and you knew!? Or do you still wonder and struggle to figure out what your dream is? By the way, you're not alone if this is you. No matter where you land on the "dreamer spectrum" (just made that up), you will find all kinds of value from this conversation with my guest Merritt Onsa. Merritt is the host of the Devoted Dreamers podcast. She's a trail guide for the passionate and creative Christian woman who wants to get over her fear of failure, comparison, and imposter syndrome so she can get moving on her God-shaped dream without wasting more time second-guessing herself, procrastinating, or trying to be perfect. Sound like you?! Merritt believes it would be a tragedy if your God-shaped dreams stayed hidden. She helps you to unpack and sift through what God has uniquely gifted you with. And speaks truth and love over you as you navigate the journey forward. We talk about: How what she learned through her motherhood journey also helped her to listen to her heart in pursuing her God-shaped dream as a mom What her God-shaped dream is How she gets past fears and insecurities to pursue her dream How we can live out what God has called us to do without putting too much value on what WE are doing Letting dreams percolate for the right timing   Connect with Merritt: Devoted Dreamers podcast www.merrittonsa.com https://www.facebook.com/groups/devoteddreamers https://www.instagram.com/merrittjo https://www.pinterest.com/merrittonsa/_created   For show notes and resources mentioned: http://www.gotchamama.com GOTCHA MAMA INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/gotchamama/ GOTCHA MAMA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gotchamama/

Gotcha Mama

Knowing the Right Time to Pursue Your Dreams with Merritt Onsa

If you’re feeling a lack of focus or direction. Or generally feel like you're spinning your wheels- this episode is for you. For the past several months I've had a lack of focus. I feel scattered and overwhelmed by pretty much everything. And I KNOW I’m not alone in this. When I feel like this, even when I’m doing my quiet time with the Lord and praying, I notice that I still search outside myself for direction and information. It’s like information quicksand. The more I sign up for courses, webinars, and freebies and read blogs, and books, the more I move and let information in, the more stuck I feel. So, I did what (I think) you’re supposed to do in quicksand: stop, relax and move slowly and intentionally. I am NOT going to tell you 15 ways to declutter your mind. We're trying to simplify and focus here not try to take in MORE information. I’m going to share with you ONE easy starting point to declutter your mind today. I talk about: The question to ask yourself to help you decide what you need to focus on. What I did that helped me to immediately feel more focused and lighter. One thing you can do after listening to this episode to help you clear out the mental clutter that’s keeping you feeling lost and distracted.   For show notes and resources mentioned: http://www.gotchamama.com GOTCHA MAMA INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/gotchamama/ GOTCHA MAMA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gotchamama/

How to Declutter Your Mind and Feel More Focused

 Change and uncertainty are difficult for most everyone. And 2020 has been a roller coaster of emotions, loss, change, and uncertainty. Especially for kids. As a parent, you want to protect your kids. You want to help them grow into resilient and confident adults. Part of that is helping them process difficult discussions and situations. Sometimes it's hard to know how to talk about things like illness, loss, or big transitions and change. Things that can make adults anxious and feel overwhelmed. Changes and uncertainty are part of life though. So how do we help our children process and deal with change and uncertainty in a healthy way? My guest on this episode, Susie Harder, talks about a creative way to do that. Pulling from her background as a speech therapist and a mom, she created an innovative way to help parents guide their children through difficult discussions of change, loss, and uncertainty. Susie is the founder of the Junior Author’s Program, a community project that engages students around the world in collaboratively writing a children’s book. Not only does it help students participate in a meaningful project, but the storyline of the book itself is written to help the children who lost their home in the Central California Creek Fire. Proceeds from the sale of the book will be given to the families who lost their homes in the devastating fire. We talk about: What a speech pathologist does to help kids How being a mom has affected being a speech pathologist The unexpected moment with her son that sparked her idea to create the innovative Junior Author’s Program What the Junior Author's Program is all about and the bigger vision for it How she suggests navigating conversations with your kids around sensitive topics   Connect with Susie: https://www.juniorauthorsprogram.com https://www.facebook.com/juniorauthorsprogram   For show notes and resources mentioned: http://www.gotchamama.com GOTCHA MAMA INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/gotchamama/ GOTCHA MAMA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gotchamama/ 

Helping Your Child Deal With Uncertainty and Change with Susie Harder

 Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to keep it all together as a mom of a newborn, you feel overwhelmed, anxious, and depressed. On top of the enormous hormonal shift that's happened after having a baby, there are outside factors that can cause additional stress on you as a new mom. Maybe your husband got a new job that requires him to travel more so he's not there to help as much. You're moving to a new city. You got laid off from your job. Your baby has colic. You don't have family near you. You're sleep-deprived... It all piles up. But you feel alone and like you don't know who to talk to. My guest this week, is Keisha Reaves. Keisha has been counseling and working with women in the mental health field for sixteen years. She's a mom herself and is certified in perinatal mental health. After witnessing the stigma of mental health, she’s made it her mission to normalize therapy.  Keisha candidly shares her own challenges with postpartum anxiety and the stressors that not only affected her but that she sees affect other moms who come to her also. Keisha shares so much wisdom around mental health for moms in this episode.   We talk about: What her personal postpartum experience was like with her two children The key things she did with her second pregnancy and postpartum that made a huge difference in her mental health Factors that may make mental health issues more likely for a mother   The differences women of color experience in pregnancy and postpartum health and why she’s so passionate about providing access to resources and mental health services to women of color Connect with Keisha: www.pushthrumom.com https://www.instagram.com/pushthrumom https://www.instagram.com/keisha_reaves   For show notes and resources mentioned: http://www.gotchamama.com GOTCHA MAMA INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/gotchamama/ GOTCHA MAMA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gotchamama/ 

Normalizing Therapy in Pregnancy and Postpartum with Keisha Reaves

 "Is he sleeping through the night yet?" How many times have you heard that question as a parent to a new baby? You might be surprised to hear what a Certified Sleep Expert has to say about what "sleeping through the night" really means... "Sleep when the baby sleeps" is another common piece of advice for moms of newborns. So what happens when the baby DOESN'T sleep?! Dare I mention sleep training? I know it can be a controversial topic (like so many decisions in motherhood, unfortunately). So I wanted to get some answers from Certified Sleep Expert and Founder of Good Night Sleep Site Alanna McGinn in this episode. Alanna sets the record straight on what sleep training is, what it isn't, and some reasons you might decide to do it.   Alanna has established the world-wide brand of Good Night Sleep Site as being a #1 sleep resource for families. She and her team of sleep consultants help families (baby to adults) and corporations overcome their sleep challenges to have well-rested smiles in the morning. We talk about: Why she started sleep coaching How to know the right method of helping your child to get sleep The 4 key tools involved in her sleep training method What “sleeping through the night” really means  The piece of advice about newborn sleep she gives that I wish I would’ve known with my first child Connect with Alanna: www.goodnightsleepsite.com https://www.facebook.com/GoodNightSleepSite https://www.instagram.com/gnsleepsite This Girl Loves Sleep podcast   For show notes and resources mentioned: http://www.gotchamama.com GOTCHA MAMA INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/gotchamama/ GOTCHA MAMA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gotchamama/ 

Getting Your Baby to "Sleep Through the Night" With Alanna McGinn

 When Ellie and her husband received unexpected prenatal test results, it changed everything for their family. Doctors told the Sanazaros that their baby girl would be born with a genetic condition - the test detected an extra chromosome. With no history of genetic conditions, Ellie and her husband were shocked. But prayerfully went through the whole pregnancy preparing their hearts and home to receive a child with special needs. When Rosalie was born, follow-up testing revealed that there was nothing atypical. The test that claimed to be 99% accurate had been WRONG. But that happy birth was just the beginning of Ellie's story. She and her husband continued to feel like God had been preparing them to be parents to a child with special needs. And that's the path that led Ellie and her husband Scott to Down Syndrome adoption. A little over one year ago, Finn joined her family with the help of the National Down Syndrome Adoption Network.  Ellie shares her amazing journey to adopt Finn and all about her passion for raising inclusive children that led to writing the Image Bearer children's book. We talk about: Her pregnancy story with her first child where she received incorrect and shocking prenatal test results and what that was like for her and her husband Why she and her husband decided to adopt a baby with Down Syndrome and the process they went through How she, her husband, and their two girls prepared to welcome a child with disabilities into their family Why she felt called to write Image Bearer children’s book How parents can help their children celebrate other children who are made “wonderfully different” and be more inclusive   Connect with Ellie: Imagebearerbook.com https://www.instagram.com/imagebearerbook https://www.instagram.com/mr.finncredible   For show notes and resources mentioned: http://www.gotchamama.com GOTCHA MAMA INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/gotchamama/ GOTCHA MAMA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gotchamama/   

An Unexpected Journey to Adopting a Child With Special Needs with Ellie Sanazaro

 Postpartum can bring hair loss, low energy, crazy skin and digestion issues, anxiety, or poor sleep. You may have experienced one or all of these after you had a baby. [Raising my hand] They're definitely common issues. But are they symptoms of something that we should be paying attention to? Something that we don't have to just live with. After talking to my guest this week, Maranda Bower, I started to question everything I knew about how to take care of my body postpartum. She brings up some fascinating perspectives and compelling information about how nutrition plays a part in our healing not just in the months postpartum, but YEARS postpartum.  Yes, years. Did your ears just perk up?  Maranda is a Postpartum Bliss Coach and Womb Whisperer® who's supporting women in experiencing deep authentic healing, while eliminating postpartum depression and anxiety.  If you are experiencing any of the "common" postpartum challenges around mental or physical health, I highly recommend taking a listen to this episode! We talk about: Her own postpartum journey that led her to want to be a postpartum coach How the work to heal your mind and body in the few years (not months or weeks) after you have a baby will impact your life FOREVER How the “common sense” approach to eating and recovery after having a baby is actually ruining your body and hormones Some signs and symptoms that you may have hormonal imbalances postpartum. Don't miss this!! What types of foods will help and hinder your recovery postpartum Connect with Maranda: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PostpartumMaranda/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/postpartummaranda/ Website: https://www.marandabower.com Free download: Transformative Healing in the Years Postpartum   For show notes and resources mentioned: http://www.gotchamama.com GOTCHA MAMA INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/gotchamama/ GOTCHA MAMA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gotchamama/ 

Understanding the Link Between Postpartum Mental Health, Hormones, and Nutrition with Maranda Bower

 Connecting with moms in your own community and neighborhood has been hard this past year. But the rewards of investing in the moms right in your own backyard can be huge. Reaching out to connect with moms in your neighborhood or community can be exactly what you need when you feel lonely or exhausted. You can find deep friendship and tangible physical support. But you can also find a sense of purpose through giving back to the community where you live, work, and raise your family. My guest this week talks about exactly how to do that. For as long as she can remember, Hannah Stephenson has always had a heart for investing in her community, serving others, and joining like-minded people together to do good. Between the challenges of mothering, working, and longing for a stronger sense of community, specifically in her Nashville neighborhood, Hannah saw a need for a group where women could come together to deepen relationships with each other and give back to the community. So three years ago, she co-founded the Crieve Hall Women's League, a community-centered nonprofit membership group that serves the Crieve Hall area of Nashville, TN.  The Crieve Hall Women's League has brought women together in this unprecedented time to provide tangible and emotional support for people living in the Crieve Hall neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee. If you're craving to connect with moms in your own backyard to make and nurture friendships, this is a conversation for you! Connect with Hannah: https://www.instagram.com/stephensonhomeco https://www.facebook.com/stephensonhomeco   For show notes and resources mentioned: http://www.gotchamama.com GOTCHA MAMA INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/gotchamama/ GOTCHA MAMA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gotchamama/

Finding Friendship and Local Community Through Giving Back with Hannah Stephenson

 Reading a great book can be a simple and affordable way to practice self-care. It's even better when you can connect with someone else to talk about what you thought about the book. One of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves as moms is to connect with other moms and women.  But, let's be honest, connecting with other moms is harder than it should be sometimes. Coordinating schedules, our own fears, and beliefs around friendship, make it difficult for the connecting to actually happen. And with Covid coming into our lives last year, it introduced an added layer of challenge to make meaningful connections with other moms. My guests this week, Aleah Dechant and Maija Walters Stutsman, saw this challenge and also saw an incredible opportunity. They believed that when women are not able to connect with other women, to share their lives, it has a profound effect on their mental health. And I totally agree! So with their love of fiction books and desire to connect women in meaningful conversations, they set out to create a subscription book box - in the middle of the pandemic. They took a difficult situation and used their creativity to make a fun and meaningful experience for women. If you love reading fiction books and you care about supporting other women, you’re going to LOVE this conversation with Aleah and Maija… We talk about: Why they decided to start a business in the middle of a pandemic What’s inside the innovative subscription boxes and how the unique products are selected How the subscription box creates meaningful and needed connections for moms A few of their favorite fiction books that they recommend   Connect with Aleah & Maija and sign up for your own Shelfrighteous Box: Shelfrighteous.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shelfrighteous.box Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shelfrighteousbookbox   For show notes and resources mentioned: http://www.gotchamama.com GOTCHA MAMA INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/gotchamama/ GOTCHA MAMA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gotchamama/

Reading Between the Lines For Meaningful Connections with Aleah Dechant & Maija Walters Stutsman

 SO much changes when you become a mom. Your body. Your priorities. Your sleep - or lack of - hello! And your relationship with yourself and your spouse. But of all those changes, navigating the changes in how you view both yourself and the dynamics of your relationship with your spouse isn't something most birthing classes will cover. That's where my guest this week wants to fill in the gaps. Through her own challenging postpartum journey, Laura Spencer became passionate about supporting and nurturing moms as they learn their new role. She’s now dedicated to guiding new moms in restoring their relationship with themselves and their partners by learning to redefine expectations, embrace the new, and cultivate hope. In this very candid conversation with my friend Laura, she shares how she's transitioned from full-time teacher to postpartum coach. And the challenging personal journey of discovery and growth both with herself and with her husband that she's been on in the past year. We talk about: Her challenges early in her motherhood journey with her first child Her journey from full-time teacher to postpartum coach What she's learned about herself since becoming a mom How she navigated challenges in her identity and relationship with her spouse after having a child What lessons from the past year that she's applying to her relationship with herself and her husband, with baby number two on the way   Connect with Laura: https://www.instagram.com/motherhoodmentoring Motherhood Mentoring Facebook Page Motherhood Mentoring Facebook Group   For show notes and resources mentioned: http://www.gotchamama.com GOTCHA MAMA INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/gotchamama/ GOTCHA MAMA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gotchamama/

What They Don't Tell You About Postpartum in Birthing Classes with Laura Spencer

 Remember getting your first "period"? Yep. I just went there. Chances are that you were a little excited (and maybe also embarrassed or ashamed) by this milestone and rite of passage into womanhood. But you probably didn't really understand what was happening inside your body. Sure you knew the biology involved, but not about how it was connected to the way you felt or the other functions in your body. And I can almost guarantee that you didn't know that getting more familiar and in tune with your cycle could actually help you reach your goals and not work so hard. Say what?! My guest this week shares her amazing knowledge and personal experience with cycle alignment and using the power of her menstrual cycle in her daily life. Ali B. Cranmer is a Body and Business Integrator. She helps menstruating entrepreneurs break free from burnout and reclaim their power by aligning with the rhythm of their menstrual cycle. Side note: If you're postpartum or are an otherwise non- menstruating female, we get into that in the conversation too! So there's something for everyone. Ali believes women feel undeniable pressure from society to be able to do it all. And we’ve been doing our businesses and our bodies a disservice by glorifying the hustle. She's built her business and membership coaching program on the belief that if we awaken our intuitive powers to listen to our rhythm, we’ll be able to align our businesses with our bodies and experience a deep sense of peace, freedom and self-trust. If you're thinking this all sounds a little too "woo woo" for you. And you're not sure about being so in tune with your body or how that's going to practically help you in your mom life, I'm going to ask you to give it a chance. I think you'll find it to be enlightening, refreshing, and motivating in the best possible way. We talk about: What a Body and Business Integrator does and how she came to be one How we can use the knowledge of our menstrual cycle to benefit us in our daily lives - even if we don't currently menstruate like newly postpartum mamas! The four phases of our menstrual cycle and how we can align certain tasks to our cycle phase - it is amazing! How she teaches her daughter about loving and understanding her body And more!      Connect with Ali: https://www.instagram.com/alibcranmer https://www.facebook.com/alibcranmer http://alibcranmer.com   For show notes and resources mentioned: http://www.gotchamama.com GOTCHA MAMA INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/gotchamama/ GOTCHA MAMA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gotchamama/ 

How to Protect Your Time and Energy Using Your Menstrual Cycle with Ali B. Cranmer

Recently, I was listening to an episode of Amy Porterfield's podcast Online Marketing Made Easy where she had several of her successful entrepreneur friends share their morning routines. And I found it fascinating. I listen to her podcast a lot, and I thought that one, in particular, sounded intriguing. I was curious to see "behind the curtain" of these successful entrepreneurs' lives. I thought I could learn some new tricks or inspiration to start to get my act together in the mornings. But what I heard in that episode was SO much better than that. And it inspired me to give in to several listeners' requests to share my daily morning and nightly routines with two young kids. My hope is that when you hear my routines, it encourages you. So you don't feel like you're behind. Or like you have to do what other people do. Maybe it'll spark some ideas for you or just make you feel like you're doing great with the routines you've already got in place. In this episode, I share: MY morning and nightly routines with a 9-month-old and an almost 5-year-old When I find time to work on the podcast and projects My tips for creating your own routines and rhythms   For show notes and resources mentioned: http://www.gotchamama.com GOTCHA MAMA INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/gotchamama/ GOTCHA MAMA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gotchamama/

A Peek Inside My Daily Routines With Two Young Kids

The fourth way to have a stress-free and more peaceful holiday season is to move your body and take care of your physical body. In addition to creating healthy eating habits, it’s going to help you with your stress and anxiety if you just move your body every day. Now, I’m not saying you have to buy a Peloton and sweat your life away every morning (but you totally do that if that's your thing). Moving your body can be the first area that gets put on the back burner when things get busy or stressful, especially for moms, right? I know it is for me. There's absolutely no denying all the volumes and volumes of research that show how exercise helps relieve stress. But how do we make that happen when things are so busy in an already chaotic year? I've got a few tips to help you... In this episode I talk about: Some simple ideas to get your body moving A few tricks to help you make it a priority when you're busy And why you shouldn't beat yourself up when things don't go the way you wanted them to This was only one of the 5 Simple Ways to Beat Holiday Stress. YOu can get your free download of the guide to read ALL the ways to help you have a stress free and more peaceful Holiday Season.  Go to gotchamama.com/holidaystress to get your copy right now! For show notes and resources mentioned: http://www.gotchamama.com GOTCHA MAMA INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/gotchamama/ GOTCHA MAMA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gotchamama/

Staying Healthy Over the Holidays

This episode is all about the third way to have a stress free and more peaceful holiday season.  And that is by Saying No. Setting boundaries! More specifically, HOW to say no as someone who tends to be a helper and occasionally, a people-pleaser. Honestly, saying no is still really hard for me sometimes The holiday season presents lots of opportunities to do things and be involved in things. And saying no isn’t something that comes naturally for the majority of people. It can be really hard. But with practice, like anything, it can get easier. And I'll give you four easy tips that have helped me in the past, and I hope will help you too. I talk about: Four easy tips you can start using right now to help you say 'no' Why you should say 'no' What you're really doing when you say 'yes' to something This was only one of the 5 Simple Ways to Beat Holiday Stress. You can get your free download of the guide to read ALL the ways to help you have a stress free and more peaceful Holiday Season.  Go to gotchamama.com/holidaystress to get your copy right now. For show notes and resources mentioned: http://www.gotchamama.com GOTCHA MAMA INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/gotchamama/ GOTCHA MAMA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gotchamama/

Four Easy Tips to Saying 'No' When You're a "Helper'

Let's be honest, holidays and weight loss go together like peanut butter and mustard. Sorry if peanut butter and mustard sandwiches are your "thing". The special memories and moments that happen during the holiday season are often associated with and happening in conjunction with food. Delicious, rich, buttery, sweet, juicy food. And I realize that if you're already struggling with creating healthy habits, wanting to lose weight, or change how you eat and view food, this time of the year may be especially difficult. So I want to bring you this story of my guest Martha VanCamp. Martha began dieting when she was nine years old. NINE! And at forty years old, Martha turned her life completely around. She lost over 100 pounds, transformed her lifestyle, and is now on a passionate mission to help other people get their relationship with food right to change their lives too. She's a mom of seven and the Founder and Head Coach for #beMarthaFit, a nationally-recognized online wellness, and weight loss coaching program. We talk about: Why she started dieting at 9 years old Her journey from overweight and unhappy to healthy and confident How her health affected her as a mom to seven kids What it means to "Be Martha Fit" Why slow is better than quick when it comes to being fit Connect with Martha: https://bemarthafit.com https://www.facebook.com/marthakerrvancamp/ https://www.instagram.com/bemarthafit/ https://www.pinterest.com/bemarthafit   For show notes and resources mentioned: http://www.gotchamama.com GOTCHA MAMA INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/gotchamama/ GOTCHA MAMA FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/gotchamama/

From Overweight and Depressed to Fit and Confident with Martha VanCamp

Moms of young children share the joys and struggles of their motherhood journey to inspire and entertain you. Listen in on honest discussions about how none of us know what the heck we're doing as moms and the beauty in figuring it all out together. Moms just like you talk about a range of topics from awkwardly making mom friends, to finding purpose in life, to managing crippling anxiety and depression. The show is all about tearing down our insecurities as moms by honestly sharing our stories and a little of what we've learned along the way. We believe it's a whole lot better riding the rollercoaster of motherhood together!