*Deeeeeeep breath*. Four year olds are a special kind of hell.  They are cute and CRAZY.  Give them the exact snack they requested?  Obviously you are stupid because that was NOT what they truly wanted.  Tell them one more short show before bedtime?  You must be out of your fucking mind to have boundaries.  LOL... It's exhausting to keep things cool and calm amongst their emotional downward spiral.

Have you ever had a night or more away from your family and fill your soul up with sleep, autonomy, laughter, some adventure or whatever fills your soul while you have some precious time away from your sweet family.  It's glorious!  And, you are so excited to return to hug your sweet babies... but that return can hit you like a ton of bricks.  That's what we call "re-entry".  Your body was on such a vacation from chaos, but you are welcomed home by chaos!  It's like a many day parental hangover as you adjust back to your life of snacks, stress, schedule keeping, and at times complete madness.

The days of adulting pre-kids were carefree!  After kids... it's a totally different situation and it's exhausting.  This week's episode, Whitney shares some (hopefully) relatable topics regarding adulting with kids around.  The groceries, doctors appointments, schedules, cooking, caring for everyone... it's overwhelming and exhausting.

In this week's episode, Whitney shares her journey with breastfeeding, nursing and formula feeding.  It all wasn't a linear journey, but what was learned is that a fed baby is a happy baby.  And!  That mama's mental health matters.  After a very difficult nursing journey with her first child, and a semi ok journey nursing her second, she decided to formula feed her third child.  This turned out to be one of the best decisions she could have made for her own sanity and that overall happiness of her family.

Remember life before kids when you would just walk out the door with zero coordination or consideration for anyone or anything?  That shit has sailed after having kids, especially during the week if you are the primary caregiver.  Even if you working partner is at home doing their 8-5 job, the primary caregiver can't just walk out the door... yet the "working" partner seems to have the freedom.  In this episode, Whitney gives a little rant about how her husband, who works from home, can easily just walk out the door to do as he pleases during the week and for Whitney to do that, it's like completing a plot graph to make it happen.  Welcome to the rant!

Do you ever go down the drain of life being pulled by anxiety, depression, or OCD?  Whitney has struggled with this for much of her life.  After years and years of avoiding medication, she finally takes the plunge.  And as it turns out: MEDS ARE AMAZING.  Tune in to listen to how Whitney got to the place of trying meds and why this mental health journey has been a bit of a challenge given she was raised by Boomer parents, who rarely to never spoke about mental health.  It wasn't until Whitney's adulthood did she begin seeking talk therapy, tuning into her mental well-being, and finally giving Lexapro a try.  Enjoy!

Summer is more work for us parents!  Not only are parents left with more work and typically needing to sign up for summer camps for their kiddos so they can work, but many of us at home parents are exhausted being cruise directors.  More dishes, more messes, lots of "I'm bored"... it's just exhausting.  And while we all know our summers are short with our sweet babes, we can't let this guilt rob us of our sanity and truth... summer is not a break for parents.

After a long ass time, Whitney's parents have arrived to finally meet Whitney's pandemic baby!  And to get the mountain of laundry caught up, wash the sink full of dishes, play with their grandkids and give these tired parents a much needed break.  Which reminds us all that self care is often times is CHILDCARE.  Forget taking a bath... we need fucking childcare.

Music via Music Bed

All About It by Jamie Lono

Do Your Thing by Red Parker