Atomic Moms

Family meeting! We're breaking down our second child's first birthday, our mother/daughter field trip to the ER, turtle races, a flight from hell, and audio of our family meeting gone wrong. Humiliation abounds in this Sztykiel family summer update. Cheers! x Ellie Knaus Join us on Instagram: @atomicmoms, Facebook, and our PRIVATE Facebook page: click here. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share with a friend and leave a written review! stream: atomicmoms.com special thanks: Maggie Borum, Natalie Truly, Owen O'Neill, Jeremy Turner

New! Can people really change? I can’t wait for you to hear what Emily Price has to say. My fave conversations are with experts who speak frankly as mom friends, so basically, in this one, I’m in heaven. Our returning guest Emily Price, a New York City based psychotherapist specializing in anxiety welcomes us into her minivan in the northern Michigan woods for a super fun conversation about teaching our kids indepedence in a big city (free range parenting in Queens), cross country road trip hacks for travelling with young kids, and exercises for reconnecting with your partner. Atomic Mamas loved Emily’s first conversation: “Who’s Got Anxiety” and it was so fun to get a chance to do this one face to face after playing with our kids together all week. When she’s not teaching me how to make a mean grilled cheese in my grandparent's cottage, Emily is an adjunct faculty member at the NYU Silver School of Social Work. Listen up! Ellie  Join us on Instagram| Facebook| and our private Facebook group. Show Notes, including more on our guest: atomicmoms.com.  Support Our Sponsor Who Supports Us! KIDZ-CON.COM: AUGUST 11th and AUGUST 12th in Los Angeles. KIDZ-CON has thoughtfully chosen cherished children’s fashion brands, sweet delights and captivating activities. Bring your family, friends, sweet tooth, and most importantly your KIDZ for an experience like no other! This two day event will include shopping, laser tag, and even an arcade room. Tickets are only $20. Atomic Moms hopes to see you there! Don’t miss our Instagram giveaway on Friday, July 20th! 

Today we’re empowering blended families and talking stepmom strategies! Holistic psychotherapist, step-mom coach, and #atomicmama Nathalie Savell tackles the biggest challenges stepmoms face. We’re talking high conflict exes, healthy boundaries, and smooth transitions between households. Then we turn the tables and share my guest interview with Nathalie from her “Empowering Stepmoms: Re-Imagining the Modern Family” series in May. I share my experience as a child of blended families — after all, I’m an only child with six siblings! — and reflect on all my stepmother has taught me about parenting. x Ellie Knaus You’ll learn:The unique frustrations of blended families and tools to overcome them.How to handle anyone with a "high conflict" personality.How to create boundaries.How to help your children have a smooth transition between homes.How to interact with the ex. The single most important thing to remember as a stepmom when times get tough.  Guest Bio: Nathalie Savell lives outside Baltimore, Maryland and is a Holistic Psychotherapist & Step-mom Coach. She is a bio-mom to a 3 year old boy, step-mom to an 8 year old boy. She considers herself a "personal growth junkie" and loves supporting people to be the best version of themselves.  Join Nathalie's Step-mom Strong FB group here.

We're going WAY BACK to the summer of 2016 (!!!) and sharing one of my favorite conversations. I've never met Margaux IRL but revisiting to this episode feels like I'm catching up with an old friend. "Born in Paris and raised in London, educated at Edinburgh University and living in Washington D.C., Margaux Bergen is the mother of three Millennials.” We use Bergen's fabulous memoir/advice book: Navigating Life: Things I Wish My Mother Had Told Me (Penguin Press, August 2016) as a jumping off point to talk about respectful parenting, getting back into the workforce after being a stay at home mom, the difference between solitude and loneliness, her complicated childhood, and how we can create a meaningful life. x Ellie Knaus We love to hear from you on Instagram: @atomicmoms and Facebook. Subscribe on iTunes.com or your favorite podcast app. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share with a friend and leave a written review! stream: atomicmoms.com Guest Bio: A champion for women leadership around the world, Margaux Bergen has worked with the non-profit Vital Voices. She has held senior communications positions at The Center for Interfaith Action on Global Poverty, The United Way and the World Bank, and is now with the women-led, conscious journalism site ORBMedia. 

New Episode + Giveaway (@atomicmoms on Friday 6/29). Guest co-host Jessica Coulter, named in Business Insider's "30 Most Creative Women in Advertising", offers her #1 tip for women who want to have families and charge hard in their careers. And journalist Elizabeth Wallace returns to celebrate her brand new book, The Ambition Decisions: What Women Know About Work, Family, and the Path to Building a Life (June 2018), co-written with Hana Schank, and based on their popular essay series for The Atlantic. This episode touches on it all, from professional envy to limit setting to fertility treatments to lesbian bath tub gin. Raised by high achieving single moms, Elizabeth and I share our own complicated relationships with ambition and our 90's power suit shopping trips with our moms. There are fun callbacks to last year’s conversation (2017), and you’ll just have to wait to hear our scoop on Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, Northwestern University's sorority sister extraordinaire. We are giving away three signed copies of The Ambition Decisions on Friday 6/29. Join us on Instagram: @atomicmoms, Facebook, and our Facebook community page for details! Special thanks to sound engineer Owen O’Neill, musical genius Jeremy Turner for our original theme composition, and Natalie Truly for encouraging us to do giveaways! www.atomicmoms.com

What started as one stay at home mother donating a baby jumper to a refugee mom has turned into a crowdsourcing organization providing for hundreds of refugee families arriving in America. Wednesday, June 20th is World Refugee Day, and in this podcast, we chat with Miry Whitehill, mother of two and non-profit leader about the day she found her calling, how she resists burn out, our current system in America for recently arrived refugees, and how we can make a difference in welcoming our newest neighbors.   x Ellie Knaus MirysList.org  LA2050: vote here: https://bit.ly/miryslistla2050 Join us on Instagram| Facebook| and our private Facebook group. Show Notes: www.atomicmoms.com

We're tackling whining, tantrums, baby hair pulling, playdate drama, and middle of the night wake ups with parenting experts/psychotherapists Heather Turgeon, MFT and Julie Wright, MFT. Host Ellie Knaus offers funny and frustrating scenarios from family life and our guests share their 3 step approach to effective communication from Now Say This: The Right Words to Solve Any Parenting Dilemma (May 2018) and a sleep trick from The Happy Sleeper: The Science-Backed Guide to helping Your Baby Get a Good Night’s Sleep - Newborn to School Age. Listen up! xx Ellie Knaus Thank you to our Sponsor: Kabrita Goat Milk Formula. For a limited time, follow @atomicmoms  and follow/direct message instagram.com/hellokabrita with "Atomic Moms podcast" and your shipping address for a FREE tin of Kabrita Goat Milk Formula! Join us on Instagram: @atomicmoms, Facebook, and our PRIVATE Facebook page: click here. www.atomicmoms.com

#180 - We're busting the "I'm too busy" myth, putting "mom guilt" to rest, and sharing practical tools for making time for the people and projects we love. Guest LAURA VANDERKAM, time management and productivity expert and mother of 4, shares highlights from her new book Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done. xx Ellie Knaus Please help support the podcast by checking out our sponsors we mention at the top of the show! -Kabrita goat milk formula. Special Atomic Moms deal - direct message @hellokabrita : "Atomic Moms podcast + your address to receive a FREE TIN of goat milk formula to try! Parents love it for supplementing, weaning, tummy & skin troubles!  -Majka nourishing lactation powder and lactation bites. Go to LoveMajka.com (Don't forget code: welcomemama for 10% off your first order!) We love to hear from you on Instagram: @atomicmoms and Facebook. Subscribe on iTunes.com or your favorite podcast app. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share with a friend and leave a written review.

Ever wonder how your mother's relationship with you as a baby influences your life now as an adult? And how about your relationship with your own kids - what effect are you having on their future relationships? (Sabrina's future partner -- you're welcome. Ha!) In The Attachment Effect: Exploring the Powerful Ways Our Earliest Bond Shapes Our Relationships and Lives, Peter Lovenheim shares this quote from psychologist Theodore Waters: "There is a thread connecting life in your mother's arms and life in your lover's arms." In our podcast discussion, Lovenheim talk about how our relationship with our primary caregiver in those first critical years of life can play out in all types of future relationships, romantic and platonic. He also shares:The different attachment styles and the ways they show up in our livesThe surprising benefits of each attachment style, including the anxious and avoidant stylesHow temperament and environment come into playHow to heal your relationship style and become an "earned secure" as an adult.The history behind attachment theory We love to hear from you on Instagram: @atomicmoms and Facebook. Subscribe on iTunes.com or your favorite podcast app. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share with a friend and leave a written review. It helps us out! Sponsor: This week's episode is brought to you by Majka nourishing lactation powder and lactation bites. Go to LoveMajka.com (Don't forget code: LoveMajka for 20% off first order!) Guest: Peter Lovenheim is an author and journalist whose articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, Parade, The Washington Post, and elsewhere. He teaches nonfiction writing at The Writers Center in Bethesda, Maryland. His previous book is In the Neighborhood, winner of The First Annual Zócalo Public Square Book Prize.

#1 New York Times bestselling author and award-winning entertainment journalist LESLIE BRUCE speaks candidly about overwhelming life moments from going back to work after baby, to fertility, to her complicated second pregnancy and recent bedrest. "Supporting overwhelmed mamas" is a tagline of her popular Instagram feed (@leslieannebruce), and as co-author of "Celebrate" with Lauren Conrad, I knew she'd be the perfect mom to talk some sense into me about what she calls the “optic peer pressure” of social media. It's literally her job to get that perfect shot, and she's happy to acknowledge the work and "hair and makeup" that go into it. Her honest and irreverent take on the struggles of motherhood can be found on her blog UNPACIFIED. As an overwhelmed mom myself (stories for another time), our conversation feels like a much needed post bedtime wine hang. Happy listening, Ellie Knaus What was the most overwhelming moment in your life as a mom? How did you overcome it? We'd love to know in the comments of our @atomicmoms episode post. Show notes coming soon to: atomicmoms.com Listen on all podcast apps! Please subscribe. And please write a review!

#177: Our special tribute to our listener community. 17 listener moms open their hearts to us for our #177 podcast. My "mom questions" were basic. And the responses were profound. I am humbled by your life stories and your strength. There's no better mother's day company, hands down. I feel like I fell in love with 17 mamas this week. Thank you for the wisdom and support you share in this episode. Happy Mother’s Day to all of us. And all of the mothers who came before us. Thank you for sharing the podcast and helping it grow. Thank you to the 17 listeners who dared to reach out and share their voices with us in honor of our mom community. xx Ellie Subscribe on iTunes.com/AtomicMoms or your favorite podcast app. And find us on social media: Instagram: @atomicmoms, Twitter: @atomicmoms, and Facebook: “atomic moms podcast” Show Notes Including a List of Our 17 guests: www.atomicmoms.com Special Thanks to Owen O'Neill for working his sound engineering magic mixing all these beautiful voices!!! Special Thanks to Jeremy Turner for his beautiful original compositions.

Expressing Motherhood showrunner and mother of three, Lindsay Kavet spills the espresso beans on how to get stuff done AND be creatively fulfilled while raising kids, the life-changing power of sharing your story, and the growing pains involved in learning how to speak up for yourself. And we share a live performance of the musical comedy duo Mommy Tonk! Use the earbuds for this episode, moms (language). xx Ellie We love to hear from you on Instagram: @atomicmoms and Facebook. Subscribe on iTunes.com or your favorite podcast app. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share with a friend and leave a written review. It helps us out! Music Featured: "Mom Crush" - Shannon Noel and Stacie Burrows, the musical comedy duo Mommy Tonk, performed live at + their band The Assless Chaps. Special Thanks: Owen O'Neill - sound engineer, Jeremy Turner - original theme music, and Natalie Truly for brainstorming.

#175: Journalist/parent educator Katherine Reynolds Lewis and I bond over our love for our strict, hyper-achieving Tiger Moms, our fear of disappointing them, and our strong need to parent our children differently. In The Good News About Bad Behavior: Why Kids Are Less Disciplined Than Ever—And What to Do About It, Lewis writes, “we are facing a crisis of self-regulation”. Kids today are spiraling out of control. We talk about how to address the emotional needs of our children and ourselves, how to get our kids on board for household work, the neurological side-effects of critical mothering, the apprenticeship model of parenting, and our soulful mission as mothers. Y’all will LOVE this week’s #mombomb. x Ellie Knaus  Sign up for Katherine’s webinar this Thursday May 3rd here: https://www.katherinerlewis.com/preorder Join us on Instagram: @atomicmoms, Facebook, and our PRIVATE Facebook page: click here Meet Our Guest: Katherine Reynolds Lewis is an award-winning journalist based in the Washington, DC, area who regularly writes for the Atlantic, Fortune, USA Today’s magazines, Washington Post, and Working Mother. Her story about school discipline was Mother Jones' most-read article ever. She is a certified parent educator with the Parent Encouragement Program in Kensington, Maryland. THANK YOU TO JOOVY FOR OUR NEW RAD RIDE! Joovy Qool Stroller: Families grow, kids change, and finally, there's a stroller that can keep up. Built to last, the Qool can hold up to 110 lbs and seat up to three children, from newborns to toddlers.  Special thanks to sound engineer Owen O’Neill for always coming through no matter how last minute I send my edits and musical genius Jeremy Turner for our original theme composition.

How do we unlock a young person's intrinsic motivation to read? Today we're spotlighting Tracey Hecht of Fabled Films and The Book Truck charity founder Elizabeth Dragga. These guests on opposite coasts are taking creative approaches to getting kids and teens psyched about books. Hecht, creator of The Nocturnals series, uses dialogue-driven storytelling, short films, author visits via Skype, a New York Public Library Read-Aloud Initiative, and even face-painting to get kids invested in reading. Then Atomic Moms listener Eleanor Burkett shares a conversation with Elizabeth Dragga about her non-profit The Book Truck driving up literacy in underserved neighborhoods and "helping teens find books they can't put down." Listen up! love, Ellie Knaus Show Notes: http://www.atomicmoms.com/ https://www.nocturnalsworld.com/ https://thebooktruck.org/

CNN host Kate Bolduan and former Glamour executive editor Lauren Smith Brody give tips for heading back to work after having kids.  Just back from maternity leave, Kate Bolduan gives us three momhacks for transitioning back to work. And Fifth Trimester founder Lauren Smith Brody shares lessons from her fun, comforting, and informative book: The Fifth Trimester: The Working Mom’s Guide to Style, Sanity, and Success After Baby. We talk about changing workplace culture, the gender pay gap as it relates to mamas, how to ask for flex time, signs of postpartum mood disorder, and what to do if you have the sudden itch to quit. xx Ellie Knaus We love to hear from you on Instagram: @atomicmoms and Facebook. Subscribe on iTunes.com or your favorite podcast app. And if you enjoyed this episode, please share with a friend and leave a written review. It helps us out! About Our Guests: Kate Bolduan is anchor and host of CNN's "At This Hour" and "State of America" on CNN International. Lauren is the founder of The Fifth Trimester movement and the author of The Fifth Trimester: The Working Mom's Guide to Style, Sanity, and Big Success After Baby (Doubleday), a simultaneous #1 best-seller in the Amazon categories of Motherhood, Women & Business, and Cultural Anthropology. Her work has been featured on Good Morning America, CNN.com, Forbes, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, Glamour, Refinery29, and dozens more outlets for business leaders and mothers.