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Have you ever gone through a season where your child suddenly only wants the other parent?

The “Dad phase.”
The “Mom phase.”
The “Don’t touch me — I want them” phase.

Even when you know it’s developmentally normal… it can still feel personal.

In this episode, I’m sharing a real-life story from last week when Addy went straight into a dad phase after Jason returned from an overnight work trip — and how unexpectedly hard it hit me.

We’re talking about:

• Why kids go through parent preference phases
• The psychology behind attachment and reconnection
• Why children often push away the parent they feel safest with
• What it can trigger in us emotionally
• How to cope when you feel rejected, replaced, or invisible

This episode is honest, vulnerable, and grounded in nervous system awareness — not perfection.

Because motherhood will activate old wounds.
And that doesn’t mean you’re failing.
It means you’re human.

If you’re currently in a season where you’re not the “chosen” parent, this one is for you.

This Episode Is For You If:

• Your toddler or young child suddenly prefers the other parent
• You feel hurt when your child pushes you away
• You struggle with identity as the primary caregiver
• You want to understand attachment and nervous system dynamics in motherhood
• You’re navigating postpartum emotional sensitivity

Send us a text

What happens when your child is having big emotions… and you are too?

In this episode of Real Moms Welcome, Jess shares honestly about a weekend marked by anger, guilt, and emotional overwhelm — and the reminder that sometimes, motherhood isn’t about fixing or regulating in the moment. It’s about understanding that emotions rise, peak, and eventually settle again.

Jess talks about how hormonal shifts during the luteal phase can intensify emotional reactions, why it’s normal to lose capacity at times, and how remembering the temporary nature of these states can soften shame. This episode is an invitation to stop judging yourself for hard moments and to trust that even when things feel intense, they will come back down.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• What happens when moms are the ones with big feelings
• How luteal phase hormones can amplify anger, tears, and overwhelm
• The anger → guilt → shame cycle many moms experience
• Why not every hard moment needs to be “worked through”
• Trusting that emotions move, settle, and soften with time
• Remembering you’re a good mom even when you don’t get it right

This Episode Is For You If:

• You feel overwhelmed or emotionally reactive at times
• You judge yourself harshly after hard parenting moments
• You’re craving permission to stop fixing and start trusting the process
• You want reassurance that intense emotions don’t last forever

Gentle Reminder

You are not meant to stay regulated all the time.
Emotions rise. They peak. And they settle again.
You are still a good mom in all of it.

If you never want to miss an episode, join our email list!

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In this episode of Real Moms Welcome, Jess and Alanna sit down for a real, unfiltered conversation about motherhood, identity, and what happens when becoming a mom cracks parts of us open we didn’t even know were there.

We talk about the moments when motherhood feels destabilizing — when relationships shift, things get messy, and it feels tempting to believe something must be “wrong” with us. Instead, this conversation gently explores how those moments are often invitations to listen more closely, adjust our support, and come back into relationship with ourselves.

This is not a conversation about fixing yourself. It’s about honoring the season you’re in, trusting yourself, and remembering that you already have access to the awareness and capacity you need to support yourself through motherhood’s transitions.

What We Talk About in This Episode

• How motherhood can crack us open emotionally and relationally
• Identity shifts that happen after becoming a mother
• Why needing support doesn’t mean you’re failing
• Allowing tools and support to change as your life changes
• Letting go of the belief that something is “wrong” with you
• Reconnecting with self-trust during seasons of transition
• What it looks like to come back to yourself, gently

Connect with Alanna

If you felt drawn to Alanna’s words or energy, you can find her here:

• Instagram: @lettersfromlanna
  
  
• Join her letters

Send us a text

In this episode of Real Moms Welcome, Jess shares a deeply relatable story about taking her daughter to the ER, navigating mom guilt, and getting stuck in indecision. Not because there were not options, but because of an unseen belief running the show.

After learning her daughter had RSV, Jess found herself juggling childcare disruptions, a work trip, and the start of the semester for her MSW program at University of Southern California. When a critical class conflicted with a follow-up pediatrician appointment, a simple solution suddenly felt impossible and that's when she uncovered the belief under it all: that being a "good mom" meant she had to be the one physically there.

This episode explores how subconscious beliefs are formed, how they quietly shape our decisions in motherhood, and why awareness, not fixing or forcing, is the most powerful first step toward relief.

If you've ever felt stuck in mental ping-pong, or overwhelmed by mom guilt, or unsure why making a "simple" decision feels so hard, this conversation will help you feel seen, validated, and less alone.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Mom guilt and second-guessing yourself
• Trusting your instincts as a mother
• Why indecision can feel so exhausting
• How subconscious beliefs are formed
• Letting go of the need to prove yourself
• How awareness creates space, choice, and relief

This episode is for the mom who is doing her best, questinong herself anyway, and learning to meet herself with more compassion along the way.

There's a quiet pressure in motherhood to enjoy every moment, to soak it all in, stay grateful, and appreciate every phase because "it goes so fast."

But what if that pressure is actually making motherhood feel heavier?

In this episode of Real Moms Welcome, Jess shares an honest, heart-to-heart conversation about the reality of motherhood seasons that are demanding, exhausting, and deeply human. She talks openly about navigating the emotional weight of constant boundary-pushing, and the guilt that can surface when you're not enjoying every moment, even when you love your child deeply.

This episode is a gentle permission slip to let moments be what they are, without forcing gratitude or meaning, and without making it mean something about your worth as a mother.

This episode is for you if:

• You love your kids but don't enjoy every part of motherhood
• You feel pressure to "soak it all in" even when you're exhausted
• You've felt guilt for wishing certain phases would pass
• You want more honestly and less perfection in motherhood

This conversation isn't about fixing yourself or reframing every moment into gratitude. It's about permission, honesty, and remembering that real motherhood includes the full range of human emotions and experience.

If this episode resonates, consider sharing it with another mom who might need to hear this today and leave us a review!

What I’m Committing to for a Lighter Season of Motherhood

Coming out of the holidays can feel heavy — the schedules, the chaos, the constant “keeping up,” and the emotional weight of doing it all while still trying to be present.

In this episode of Real Moms Welcome, Jess shares honestly about this current season of motherhood: feeling worn out after the holidays, navigating a toddler deep in her independence phase, and holding both the beauty and the exhaustion that come with it.

Instead of offering fixes or routines to add to your plate, Jess opens up about three simple commitments she’s making this year to help motherhood feel more spacious and light — commitments she’s actively learning and practicing alongside you.

This episode is for you if:

• you’re coming out of the holidays feeling depleted
• motherhood feels loud, busy, or relentless right now
• you want more space without doing more
• you’re craving honesty instead of perfection

In this episode, we talk about:

• The emotional toll of post-holiday motherhood
• Parenting a toddler in the “independence” phase
• Why practices have to look different in real motherhood
• Building a consistent breathwork practice that actually fits your life
• Recommitting to health without guilt
• Protecting your capacity through simpler rhythms and boundaries
• The power of naming what you’re committed to in this season

This conversation isn’t about changing who you are or fixing your life.
It’s about choosing what supports you now — and allowing that to be enough.

At the end of the episode, you’re invited to reflect on one thing you’re committed to this year and share it with someone you trust.

If you want to follow along for more, you can find Jess on Instagram @jess_bonini_

In this deeply personal episode, Jess opens up about her own journey of losing herself in motherhood and slowly finding her way back. From working in the healing space and caring for four bonus kids, to the shift she felt after having Addy, Jess shares the honest, raw truth about leaving the work she loved, disconnecting from her breath, and spiraling into survival mode.

This episode explores the identity collapse that so many mothers experience, but rarely talk about. Jess explains why this happens on both a psychological and nervous system level, how disconnection from the body leads to disconnection from the self, and what it really looks like to rebuild slowly, gently, one breath at a time.

She guides you through a grounding practice designed to reconnect you with teh part of you that feels lost or forgotten. And most importantly: she reminds you that the "old you" isn't gone...she's waiting.

Key Topics:

• Why identity shifts are a normal part of motherhood
• How leaving yourself begins with disconnecting from your body
• The signs that you're living in survival mode
• A guided practice to start coming back home to yourself

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In today's episode of Real Moms Welcome, Jess breaks down the truth about the inner critic -- and it's probably now what you think. Instead of viewing this voice as the enemy, Jess revels how the inner critic is actually a protector of your nervous system, formed in childhood and activated in the chaos of motherhood.

You'll learn how to identify the moments when your inner critic gets loud, what she's trying to keep you safe from, and how to shift from judgement ot compassion. Jess also guides you through a calming somatic practice o soften the critic and reconnect with your body...even on your hardest days.

If you've been struggling with mom guilt, self-judgement, or feeling like you're "not enough," this episode is your reminder that nothing is wrong with you. You're human. You're doing your best. And you deserve kindness from yourself.

Key Topics:

• Why your inner critic exists (and why she's not tyring to hurt you)
• How motherhood activates old protective patterns
• The body signals that tell yyou your cirtic is online
• How reparenting helps you respond instead of react
• Gentle refelction questions to reconnect with yourself.
  • What does my inner critic sound like?
  • How does she try to protect me?
  • What is she most afraid of?
  • What would I say to her if she were a younger version of me?

Join the email list!

Get your free "Meet Your Inner Protector" guide here.