We love our kids. We love being moms. But sometimes motherhood is also a whole lot of chaos, and being able to laugh about it with someone who gets it can make all the difference.

In this episode of The Mama Healing Hub Podcast, hosts Carrie and Alyssa sit down with Mads and Rach, the hilarious sister-in-law duo, content creators, and authors behind Pure Bliss, an illustrated humour book for parents that captures the messy, funny, exhausting, and beautiful realities of raising kids.

From toddler meltdowns and sibling fights to the pressure to make motherhood look picture-perfect, this conversation is a refreshing reminder that loving motherhood doesn't mean loving every moment of it.

Mads and Rach share how a family inside joke turned into a published book, why they started creating relatable parenting content, and how humour and honest conversations can help moms feel more connected and less alone in their experiences.

If you've ever hidden away for five minutes of peace, laughed with a friend about something your kids did, or wondered whether anyone else's house looks like yours, this episode is for you.

• How Mads and Rach turned the everyday chaos of raising kids into their book, Pure Bliss

• The funny, messy, and sometimes ridiculous realities of motherhood

• Why loving your children and finding parenting exhausting can both be true

• How humour helps moms connect through shared experiences

• The pressure of picture-perfect parenting and unrealistic expectations on social media

• Finding confidence to show up authentically online

• Why mom friendships and community make such a difference

• Letting go of Pinterest-perfect childhoods and embracing simpler moments

• Hilarious toddler meltdowns, parenting opinions, and the little things that help moms get through the day

Mads and Rach are sister-in-laws, friends, moms of four kids between them, and unapologetic oversharers.

They're the creators behind Pure Bliss, a hilarious illustrated book for adults navigating the beautiful, exhausting, and often ridiculous experience of parenthood.

Their mission is simple: make moms laugh, help them feel seen, and remind them that nobody has motherhood completely figured out.

Through their book, podcast, and relatable parenting content, they're creating space for real conversations about motherhood, where the messy moments are just as welcome as the beautiful ones.

Connect with Mads & Rach:

Instagram: @pureblissbook

Get Your Copy of Pure Bliss:

Shop Pure Bliss at Indigo

Shop Pure Bliss on Amazon Canada

The Mama Healing Hub is a virtual, therapist-led community for mothers who want more connection, clarity, self-trust, and space to grow through every season of motherhood.

From meaningful conversations and therapist-led support to practical resources and opportunities to connect with other moms, we're creating a space where you don't have to figure everything out on your own.

Join our community: www.themamahealinghub.com

Follow us on Instagram: @themamahealinghubinc

If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love for you to follow The Mama Healing Hub Podcast, leave us a rating or review, and share this conversation with another mom who could use a good laugh and a reminder that she's in good company.

What happens when your child is having big feelings, and you’re feeling activated too?

Many parents have heard that they need to be calm before they can help a dysregulated child. But remaining completely calm in the middle of screaming, sibling conflict, sensory overload, or a public meltdown isn’t always realistic. You and your child are two nervous systems affecting one another, and becoming activated doesn’t mean you’re failing.

In this episode of the Mama Healing Hub Podcast, Carrie is joined by certified play therapist Kristi Forbes, founder of Courageous Counselling and Play Therapy. Together, they explore child emotional regulation, parental dysregulation, nervous system support, sensory-seeking behaviour, and how play therapy helps children process emotions through their most natural language: play.

Kristi explains why dysregulation isn’t inherently bad, what may be underneath challenging behaviour, and how parents can support their children without expecting themselves to respond perfectly. She also shares practical, low-cost play and sensory activities that can help children widen their window of tolerance throughout the day.

One of the most important reminders from this episode: your child’s big feelings are not proof that you haven’t taught them the right emotional regulation skills. Dysregulation is part of being human. The goal isn’t to prevent every difficult feeling, it’s to help children learn that they can safely move through those feelings with support.

Learn more about play therapy, parent coaching, and child emotional regulation through Courageous Counselling and Play Therapy.

Follow Kristi on Instagram at @courageous_playtherapy.

Follow us on Instagram at @themamahealinghubinc for honest conversations about motherhood, mental health, emotional wellness, parenting, and personal growth.

Ready for deeper support and connection? Join the Mama Healing Hub; a virtual, therapist-led community where mothers can find clarity, steadiness, meaningful connection, and practical support without being left to figure everything out alone.

Why do some people cry when they're overwhelmed... while others suddenly feel the urge to scrub the kitchen, reorganize a closet, or deep clean the entire house?

If you've ever found yourself stress cleaning and wondered, "Why can't I just sit down and relax?" - this episode is for you.

The truth is, stress cleaning isn't laziness, perfectionism, or simply "liking a clean house." For many people, it's an automatic nervous system response that developed long before adulthood. And once you understand what your body is actually trying to do, everything starts to make a lot more sense.

In this episode, therapists Vanessa and Alyssa unpack the neurobiology behind stress cleaning, why it often shows up during seasons of anxiety and overwhelm, and how your childhood experiences may still be shaping the way you cope today.

But here's the part many people miss...Stress cleaning isn't necessarily the problem.

The more important question is what your nervous system is trying to accomplish.

Together, they explore the difference between coping that simply provides temporary relief and coping that actually helps you process what's happening. You'll also walk away with practical, body-based strategies you can begin experimenting with immediately...without forcing yourself to "just calm down."

Whether stress cleaning is your go-to or you've never understood why someone else does it, this conversation will likely change how you view automatic coping responses.

If this conversation helped you understand yourself a little differently, we'd love to keep the conversation going.

💛 Follow us on Instagram at @themamahealinghub for daily conversations about motherhood, mental health, nervous system regulation, and becoming more connected to yourself.

🌿 Looking for more support?

Join The Mama Healing Hub...our therapist-led virtual community where mothers have real conversations, learn practical tools, attend live events, and discover they're not meant to figure motherhood out alone.

👉 Join here: https://www.themamahealinghub.com

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow the podcast, & leave a review.

After two years of learning, growing, listening, and evolving, we're opening the doors to a brand new chapter of The Mama Healing Hub.

In this episode, we're taking you behind the scenes of our relaunch and sharing why we decided to completely rethink and rebuild the community we've been dreaming about.

We talk honestly about what we've learned as therapists, mothers, and business owners, how our own growth shaped this new vision, and why creating a space that truly supports women requires more than just good intentions.

Inside this conversation, we explore:
• Why we chose to rebrand and restructure the Mama Healing Hub
• What we've learned over the last two years
• How our own personal growth influenced the direction of the community
• The importance of connection, honest conversations, and feeling understood
• What's new inside the Hub and how it's designed to meet you wherever you are in motherhood
• Why we believe every mother deserves a space where she doesn't have to figure everything out alone

This isn't just a relaunch. It's a reflection of who we've become and the kind of community we want to build alongside you.

✨ The Mama Healing Hub is officially LIVE!

If you've been looking for a therapist-led space where you can slow down, make sense of what's going on, connect with other moms, and continue growing alongside women who truly get it, we'd love to welcome you.

Join us here:
https://www.themamahealinghub.com

If this episode resonated with you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with another mom who might be looking for a space like this.

Motherhood asks so much of us. It's easy to slowly become disconnected from the parts of ourselves that existed before, alongside, and beyond being "mom."

In this week's conversation, we're joined by Danielle from The Mindful Blonde for an honest discussion about motherhood, identity, attachment parenting, nervous system healing, social media, and what it means to stay connected to yourself while caring deeply for the people you love.

One of our favorite reminders from this conversation? There isn't one right way to do motherhood.

You don't need to parent exactly like someone else. You don't need to fit neatly into a philosophy or label. You get to become curious about what feels aligned for you, your children, and your family.

We talk about:

• Staying connected to yourself in motherhood

• Navigating parenting choices with more self-trust

• Why our triggers can become invitations for deeper understanding

• The relationship between nervous system healing and parenting

• Finding balance between closeness, care, and self-compassion

• Remembering that you're more than one role or identity

This conversation feels less like being given answers and more like being invited back into relationship with yourself.

Because when we're connected to ourselves, we're often more available for the people we love, too.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts. 🤍

If this conversation resonated with you, we'd love for you to stay connected.

You can follow Danielle Shugg @themindfulblonde on Instagram and continue exploring her reflections on motherhood, nervous system healing, and self-connection through The Mothership on Substack.

We're also building a space for mothers to have these conversations beyond social media inside The Mama Healing Hub a virtual, therapist-led community rooted in connection, growth, and self-trust.

You can also follow us on Instagram at @themamahealinghubinc.

If this episode offered something meaningful to you, following the podcast, sharing it with someone you love, or leaving a review is one of the most meaningful ways to support these conversations and help us reach more mothers who may need them.

In this episode of The Mama Healing Hub Podcast, we're having one of the biggest conversations many parents quietly wrestle with: How do you know when you're done having kids?

There isn't a checklist or a perfect answer. For some families, the decision feels clear. For others, it's layered with grief, uncertainty, differing desires, mental health considerations, finances, age gaps, relationship dynamics, and questions about capacity.

As three therapists and mothers with very different experiences, we share our own stories of deciding whether to grow our families, navigating conversations with our partners, and exploring how fear, desire, and emotional readiness all play a role.

This isn't an episode about convincing you one way or another. It's an invitation to slow down, reflect, and make sense of what might be influencing your own decision.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why deciding to stop having children is rarely just a practical decision

• How mental health and nervous system capacity can shape family planning

• What happens when partners want different family sizes

• The role fear can play in staying stuck or rushing a decision

• Why choosing not to decide right now can be a decision in itself

• How to approach this conversation with more curiosity, clarity, and self-trust

If you've ever found yourself wondering, Should we have another baby? or Is our family complete? this conversation is for you.

🤍 Stay Connected

If you enjoyed today's episode and you're looking for more thoughtful conversations about motherhood, healing, relationships, and understanding yourself a little better, we'd love to stay connected.

✨ Follow us on Instagram: @themamahealinghubinc for behind-the-scenes updates and all the details about our upcoming relaunch.

📩 Want the first look before everyone else? Join our email list here

And if this episode resonated with you, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a conversation.

Sometimes the hardest question to answer isn't "What do you need?" it's "What actually brings you joy?"

In this episode, the three therapists behind The Mama Healing Hub guide each other through a simple visualization exercise that uncovers something surprisingly profound. If you were dropped alone on a peaceful island with no responsibilities, no expectations, and nowhere else to be… what would you naturally find yourself doing?

Together, Vanessa, Carrie, and Alyssa reflect on the challenge many moms face when they've spent so long caring for everyone else that they've lost touch with what lights them up. They explore how reconnecting with joy doesn't have to mean planning a getaway or overhauling your life..it can begin with noticing the small moments that make you feel more like yourself.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why so many mothers struggle to answer the question, "What do I enjoy?"

• A visualization exercise to help reconnect with yourself

• The surprising role creativity can play in emotional regulation

• Why community and safe relationships make joy easier to access

• How tiny moments of pleasure can become powerful acts of self-care

If you've ever wondered who you are outside of your responsibilities, this conversation is an invitation to get curious.

And if you're looking for a place to keep having these kinds of conversations, The Mama Healing Hub is a virtual, therapist-led community where mothers can find real connection, guided support, and a space to come back to themselves.

Follow us on Instagram (@themamahealinghubinc) and subscribe to stay up to date with our relaunch and everything happening inside the Hub.

No matter how confident we look on the outside, most mothers have experienced some version of mom shaming.

Whether it comes from family members, friends, strangers online, or even our own inner critic, judgment can leave us questioning ourselves in moments that already feel high stakes.

In this episode, Vanessa, Carrie & Alyssa explore the difference between judgment and shame, why parenting decisions can feel so emotionally loaded, and how our own insecurities can sometimes shape the way we respond to other mothers.

We talk about the impact of feeling criticized, the importance of validation and community, and why most moms don't need more opinions...they need more understanding.

This is a conversation about self-trust, compassion, and creating a motherhood culture where women feel supported rather than scrutinized.

At The Mama Healing Hub, we believe mothers need more than information. They need connection, real conversations, and a space where they can be honest about what motherhood actually feels like without fear of judgment.

Follow us on Instagram @themamahealinghub and share this episode with a mom who could use a little more support and a little less judgment.