This is one of the most vulnerable conversations we’ve ever had on the podcast. In this episode, Deena shares something deeply personal: her experience with postpartum depression after the birth of her third baby. What started as exhaustion and overwhelm slowly turned into something heavier, constant tears, crushing shame, and dark thoughts she never imagined she would have as a mom.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re failing at motherhood… like everyone else is coping better than you… like your brain is telling you lies about who you are as a parent, this episode is for you. Together, Kristin and Deena talk honestly about what postpartum depression actually feels like from the inside, the warning signs that something wasn’t right, and the moment Deena realized she needed help. They also talk about the power of saying the scary thoughts out loud, the role of support from partners and friends, and the steps that helped Deena begin to find her way back.


In this episode, you’ll hear:

• What postpartum depression can actually look like in real life

• The thoughts many struggling moms are too ashamed to say out loud

• Why postpartum depression has nothing to do with being a “good” or “bad” mom

• How to recognize when it’s time to reach out for help

• The small steps that can start the path toward feeling better

If you are struggling, please know this: there’s nothing wrong with you, you are not alone, and help is out there. This conversation is raw, honest, and ultimately hopeful, because no mom should have to carry this alone. You can also contact Postpartum Support International (they have free helplines, tests, and local providers). If you’re in immediate danger, call or text 988 in the U.S. If you’re elsewhere, your local emergency number can connect you to crisis support.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Experian - Get started with the Experian App now! See experian.com for details.

Little Spoon - Get 30% off your first order at littlespoon.com/BLF30 with code BLF30.

Our Place - Stop cooking with toxic cookware and upgrade to Our Place today! Visit fromourplace.com/BLF and use code BLF for 10% off sitewide. 

Nutrafol - Head to nutrafol.com and enter the promo code FEELINGS for $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping. 

Quince - Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to quince.com/BLF for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. 

Unreal Snacks - Visit unrealsnacks.com/BLF to get $2 off a bag of Unreal. Terms and conditions apply.

 Produced by Dear Media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I’ll be honest: I have a hard time with the idea of kids on social media. And still… the reality is: Teens (and preteens) are being pulled into this world, and parents are left trying to make sense of it. So, we sat down with Meta to find the safest way to protect our kids in these social media times.

In this conversation, Kristin interviews Tara Hopkins (Global Director of Public Policy at Instagram/Meta — and a mom of two teens) and asks the questions parents actually have about Teen Accounts, content exposure, messaging, time limits, AI, and what “safety” really means in a world of short-form dopamine loops.

Full disclosure, this episode isn't going to leave you saying, “social media is perfect.” But, if you've already given your child Instagram, if you're curious what limits you can place for your kid begging for social media, or you know someone in the thick of it, you'll walk away knowing *exactly* what you can, and can't do, to protect your kid online, which is exactly what I hoped.

This is an information-forward, real-world conversation for parents who want to understand:

• What Instagram Teen Accounts actually are and what happens inside them

• What protections are in place for teens (and where parents can take a step further) 

• How Meta approaches sensitive content and teen safety

• How time limits, sleep settings, and parental permissions work

• Where AI fits into all of this

My hope is simple: more clarity, less spiraling. Whether you’re firmly in the “no social media” camp, already navigating it with your teen, or you can feel the pressure creeping in… this episode gives you a clearer picture of what’s being built, how to use parameters that already exist, and what questions still deserve answers.

Disclaimer: you have to be 13+ to use Meta platforms

For access to more helpful tools and expert guidance, parents can visit https://familycenter.meta.com.

● Instagram Teen Accounts —now inspired by 13+ movie ratings—are designed to give parents peace of mind that their teens are safer with the right protections in place. Learn more about Instagram Teen Accounts at https://about.fb.com/news/2025/10/instagram-teen-accounts-pg-13-ratings/

● Support your family’s online experience with expert guidance and tools from Meta’s Family Center. Explore resources today, including Meta’s Screen Smart Program, at https://familycenter.meta.com.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

 Produced by Dear Media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you’re raising a boy, this episode will light a fire in you - in the best, most empowering way. Because here’s the truth: The kind of men our boys become is not random - it’s not just personality, or fate. It’s shaped - day by day - in childhood. In how we respond to their anger, their tears, their mistakes.

Parents are not just witnessing who their sons become; we are actively building the men they will be - through parenting. And the most hopeful part? There are concrete, science-backed things you can start doing today that measurably shift your child’s emotional trajectory - and the kind of partner, friend, and human he will one day be.

In this bold, honest, sometimes funny-so-you-don’t-cry episode, Deena goes straight at the stuff that feels big and scary to say out loud: male entitlement, emotional shutdown, aggression, consent failures, unequal partnership, and why “boys will be boys” has quietly lowered the bar for generations. Then, she flips the script - with science, real stories, and concrete parenting tools you can start literally today - so you walk away knowing exactly how to raise a boy who feels deeply, respects boundaries, takes accountability, and is safe to love.

Here are the 10 daily actions that turn little boys into great men - starting TODAY:

• Why emotional skills in men are built - or blocked - in early childhood

• The critical difference between allowing anger vs. allowing harm

• How to teach consent and bodily autonomy starting in toddlerhood

• Why boys receive less emotional coaching (and how to change that)

• Rough play, wrestling, and what it’s actually doing in the brain

• Teaching boys about periods, care work, and partnership early

• How to build empathy and perspective-taking in daily moments

• Accountability and repair: the skill many men never learned

• Why punishment and shame backfire - especially for boys

• The core message boys need about love, power, and safety

You’ll leave this episode feeling seen in the weight of raising boys today, and radically empowered in how much influence you actually have. Because you’re not just raising a child; you’re shaping the kind of man the world will one day meet. And once you hear this, you’ll parent your son differently tomorrow morning.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Boll & Branch - Get 15% off your first set of sheets plus free shipping at bollandbranch.com/BLF with code BLF. 

Experian - Get started with the Experian App now! See experian.com for details.

Hiya Health - Receive 50% off your first order of Hiya’s best selling children’s vitamin. Head to hiyahealth.com/BLF. 

Ka’Chava - Go to kachava.com and use code BLF for 15% off your first order!

Peloton - Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ at onepeloton.com

Pique - Head to piquelife.com/BLF for 20% off.

 Produced by Dear Media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you’re a woman - or you love one! - this episode will change how you understand women’s bodies. Because here’s the sad truth: Women’s health has been built on research that largely ignored women. We’ve been handed one-size-fits-all advice for bodies that are anything but. And millions of moms are walking around exhausted, depleted, hormonally off, and wondering, “Why the hell do I feel like this?” So today, we’re going deep into what’s actually happening inside women’s bodies, and what real support should look like.

Deena sits down with Victoria Thain Gioia, co-founder and CEO of Perelel, a doctor-backed women’s health brand created after her daughter was born with a nutrition-related birth condition - a moment that exposed just how massive the gaps are in prenatal and maternal care.

Together, they unpack the reality women live every day:

• Hormones that shift constantly

• Nutrient needs that change across life stages

• The invisible physical load of motherhood

• The pressure to function while depleted

• Why “just take a vitamin” was never enough

This episode is designed to be practical, with simple tweaks you can start making today to optimize your health. You’ll learn:

✔ Why women’s bodies need different support than men’s

✔ The biggest daily nutrition gaps affecting moms

✔ How protein, fiber, and muscle health impact hormones and energy

✔ Why simple routines matter more than perfection

✔ What “stage-specific” support actually means

✔ The small daily shifts that help women feel better in their bodies

This conversation is equal parts science, motherhood reality, and permission to make yourself high up on your to-do list. If you’ve ever felt exhausted, off, depleted, or like your body changed after kids, this episode will make you feel seen, informed, and empowered to start supporting yourself again. Because moms give everything. It’s about damn time someone supported YOU.

Visit www.perelelhealth.com and use code BIGLITTLEFEELINGS for 20% off your first purchase.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Bobbie - Head to hibobbie.com to find the formula trusted by parents and loved by their babies–700k and counting. 

Experian - Get started with the Experian App now! See experian.com for details.

Nutrafol - Head to nutrafol.com and enter the promo code FEELINGS for $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping. 

Square - Get up to $200 off Square hardware when you sign up at square.com/go/BLF. #squarepod

 Produced by Dear Media

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

PBS KIDS is one of the only places in kids’ media that still feels like it’s made by people who actually like children. It’s the show your kid watches and then… somehow… can still turn the iPad off without acting like you just stole their life force (because their programming is slow paced, based on research enhancing your child's brain rather than rotting it). It’s the content that teaches real skills (letters, math, emotional regulation, empathy) without turning your child into a tiny zombie who can’t look away. And right now? That lifeline is being cut.

This week, Kristin sits down with Sara DeWitt (Senior VP + General Manager of PBS KIDS) for a conversation every parent needs to hear, about what PBS does differently, why it matters for kids’ brains, and what’s at stake after federal funding was cut, including the termination of the Ready To Learn grant that helped fund PBS KIDS’ education and research work.

In this episode, Sara shares:

1. Why some kids’ content is designed to be impossible to turn off, and how PBS builds the opposite
2. Why “developmentally appropriate” shows are rarer and rarer these days in the media outside of PBS kids
3. The real impact of funding cuts (reduced staff, paused research, fewer new shows in the pipeline)
4. The magic of Daniel Tiger (yes, we talk about the iconic “beach in the house” moment)
5. And the story behind Carl the Collector, PBS KIDS’ first series with an autistic lead character, and why this kind of representation changes kids forever

If you’ve ever felt like PBS KIDS helped you survive early parenthood… if your kid has learned more from Daniel Tiger than from any parenting book on your nightstand… if you’ve been looking at the screen time landscape like “WE ARE NOT OK”… this one’s for you.

How to help (fast + doable):

1. Watch PBS KIDS + download the apps (usage matters).
2. Donate to your local PBS station (go to PBS.org, enter your ZIP code).
3. Tell your story — why PBS matters to your family. Those stories protect this work

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Hiya Health - Receive 50% off your first order of Hiya’s best selling children’s vitamin. Head to hiyahealth.com/BLF. 

Little Spoon - Get 30% off your first order at littlespoon.com/BLF30 with code BLF30.

Peloton - Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ at onepeloton.com

Pique - Head to piquelife.com/BLF for 20% off.

Skims - Shop our favorite bras and underwear at skims.com. #skimspartner

 Produced by Dear Media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Divorce is one of the most painful decisions a parent can make, and there's one thing that's always top of mind when facing a possible separation or divorce: will my kids be okay? Today's episode will give you a big, firm, YES. And shows you EXACTLY how to move through this difficult chapter to ensure the best outcomes for you, and your kids. Because the truth is, a healthier household is the BEST choice for your kid, and often, this means choosing the difficult path of divorce, not despite your kids, but FOR your kids.

In today's episode, Deena sits down with Gabriella Pomare, a family lawyer, co-parenting expert, and mom who has lived this reality herself. Together, they go far beyond surface-level advice and into the real work of co-parenting when emotions are raw, grief is heavy, and your kids still need you to lead.

This conversation tackles the questions parents are often too afraid to ask:

• How do you support your kids through separation while you’re still breaking inside?
• What actually harms kids after divorce, and what protects them long-term?
• How do you co-parent with someone who won’t cooperate?
• How do you set boundaries, reduce conflict, and stop kids from carrying adult pain?
• And how do you grieve the family you imagined… without letting that grief shape your child’s future?

Gabriella shares practical tools, hard-earned wisdom, and a powerful reframe: divorce doesn’t create broken families, unresolved conflict does. This episode is about emotional leadership, healing without involving your kids, and redefining what a healthy family can look like after everything changes.

If you’re considering separation, in the middle of it, co-parenting with a high-conflict ex, or supporting someone who is, you need this episode. You'll walk away with everything you need to have a healthy, happy family - even in this new, different looking stage of life.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Little Spoon - Get 30% off your first order at littlespoon.com/BLF30 with code BLF30.

Nutrafol - Head to nutrafol.com and enter the promo code FEELINGS for $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping. 

Quince - Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to quince.com/BLF for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.

Unreal Snacks - Visit unrealsnacks.com/BLF to get $2 off a bag of Unreal. Terms and conditions apply.

 Produced by Dear Media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For more than a decade, Scheana Shay has lived her life in the public eye, on Vanderpump Rules, in headlines, and under constant scrutiny. But while the world watched one version of her story, a much harder one was unfolding behind closed doors. In this deeply honest sit-down, Scheana opens up about the reality she was carrying while cameras kept rolling. A traumatic, life-threatening birth. Debilitating postpartum OCD and intrusive thoughts that left her afraid of her own mind. And the moment she discovered her husband had cheated, while she was raising a young child and barely surviving herself.

Scheana shares what it was like to endure all of this while being judged in real time. To hold herself together on set while falling apart at home. And, for the first time ever, the real reason she decided to stay in her marriage. This episode is a story of resilience. Of a woman rebuilding herself while the world dissected her choices. Of motherhood in its most vulnerable moments. Of mental health struggles that don’t wrap up neatly. And of a marriage that broke and had to be rebuilt slowly, imperfectly, and honestly.

If you’ve ever felt like you were falling apart behind a brave face, this episode will stay with you.

Trigger warning: birth trauma, postpartum OCD/intrusive thoughts, infidelity.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Bobbie - Head to hibobbie.com to find the formula trusted by parents and loved by their babies–700k and counting. 

Boll & Branch - Get 15% off your first set of sheets plus free shipping at bollandbranch.com/BLF with code BLF. 

Hiya Health - Receive 50% off your first order of Hiya’s best selling children’s vitamin. Head to hiyahealth.com/BLF. 

Our Place - Stop cooking with toxic cookware and upgrade to Our Place today! Visit fromourplace.com/BLF and use code BLF for 10% off sitewide. 

 Produced by Dear Media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Most parents are doing everything they can to raise good kids, and still feeling exhausted, reactive, and unsure if they’re actually helping in the long run.

So much parenting advice is obsessed with today’s behavior: listening, sharing, cooperating, “being good.” But this episode zooms out and asks a much bigger question: Who are you raising your child to become?

Kristin sits down with parenting researcher, Whole Parent founder, and author Jon Fogel to challenge one of the most deeply ingrained ideas in parenting: that control and obedience create resilient kids. Together, they unpack why obedience can look like a win in the short term, while quietly undermining confidence, resilience, and emotional health over time: and what actually builds those skills instead.

They explore how everyday power struggles shape the adult your child will eventually become, why so many well-intentioned discipline strategies backfire, and how shifting from rules to values can completely change your home dynamic.

This episode will:

* Help you shift your focus from short-term obedience to long-term emotional health

* Reframe discipline as skill-building, not behavior control

* Clarify the difference between rules and values — and why values actually stick

* Explain why yelling is a nervous system issue, not a discipline strategy

* Give you a framework for parenting with respect, boundaries, and authority

This conversation will change how you think about discipline, power, and success in parenting. It’s for parents who want to stop micromanaging behavior and start raising confident, capable adults, without losing boundaries or authority along the way.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Experian - Get started with the Experian App now! See experian.com for details.

Ka’Chava - Go to kachava.com and use code BLF. New customers get twenty dollars off an order of two bags or more, January 1st through the 31st!

Peloton - Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ at onepeloton.com

Skims - Shop our favorite bras and underwear at skims.com. #skimspartner

Produced by Dear Media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We’re back with one of our favorite episodes of the year: the trends of the year episode where we scour the internet for the hottest trends forecasted for 2026. Your resident besties, Kristin and Deena officially give the tired mom stamp of approval of which trends we're into, which ones are crazy AF and which trends need to be stopped, stat.

We’re talking:

• Fashion hot takes (including the audacity of the internet declaring leggings are dead 😭)

• The return of BIG bows (bigger. floppier. sadder??)

• The end of sad beige everything and the rise of serious color

• The AI takeover (journaling prompts, bedtime stories, “emotional support” bots… and why it gives us the ick)

• And the parenting trends we’re actually cheering for: less overscheduling, more sanity, more presence, more “we’re not doing this just to keep up.”

Plus: rapid fire “in or out,” voice notes vs texting, being offline as a flex, micro-rests, quitting activities, and the most freeing trend of all: you don’t owe anyone an explanation.

This episode is your permission slip to laugh, roll your eyes, and walk into 2026 like: I can do whatever the hell I want. (And yes, Deena is absolutely being sent a sad bow + Adidas tracksuit.)

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Experian - Get started with the Experian App now! See experian.com for details.

Hiya Health - Receive 50% off your first order of Hiya’s best selling children’s vitamin. Head to hiyahealth.com/BLF. 

Peloton - Explore the new Peloton Cross Training Tread+ at onepeloton.com

 Produced by Dear Media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The world tells us the newborn stage is supposed to be magical. Soft lighting. Sweet snuggles. “Soak it all in.” But for so many parents? It’s a blur of no sleep, hormonal whiplash, identity loss, and quietly asking yourself, “Why am I not okay?” Deena is back from maternity leave, and in this raw, deeply honest conversation, we’re finally talking about what she actually lived through. Not the highlight reel. Not the “grateful, glowing, cherishing every moment” version. The real one.

We talk about the adrenaline of the first weeks… and the crash that hits after. The rage no one warns you about. The intrusive thoughts you don’t want to admit. The weird grief that can exist right next to overwhelming love. The exhaustion of juggling a newborn and other kids. And the pressure to be “back to normal” when your nervous system is still in survival mode.This episode is for the parent who loves their baby fiercely… and still feels like they’re barely holding it together.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• Why the postpartum hormone crash can hit weeks in, not right away

• Why irritability, rage, and numbness are just as real as anxiety or sadness

• How struggling is so much more common than you think 

• And how to stop telling yourself you’re doing this wrong

Whether you’re in the thick of the newborn stage right now or still carrying the emotional imprint of it years later, this episode will make you feel seen, understood, and a help-you-breathe-again kind of relieved."

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Bobbie - Head to hibobbie.com to find the formula trusted by parents and loved by their babies–700k and counting.

Nutrafol - Head to nutrafol.com and enter the promo code FEELINGS for $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping. 

Quince - Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to quince.com/BLF for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. 

 Produced by Dear Media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Parenting has never been easy , but parenting in the age of AI, social media, and private digital spaces is something no generation has navigated before. And truthfully? It’s terrifying, for so many of us with kids entering the digital age. In this episode, Deena sits down with digital wellness expert and Ginko co-founder Larz to break through the fear and give us what we desperately need when it comes to smartphones, iPads, and technology: clarity, language, and actual tools.

This episode will:

• Help you connect your child’s screen habits to their emotional health
• Give you tangible tools so that you feel empowered in your approach to your child’s screen usage
• Help you prevent your biggest fears lurking on the internet by instilling *prevention* tools
• Find out how AI changes the risks — and the conversations — for kids

This episode will change how you think about technology, safety, and emotional health at home. Instead of feeling exasperated, you’ll feel empowered to set boundaries, know what tools to use to optimize your kid’s relationship with their screen, and breathe easy knowing you’ve got this.

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

Boll & Branch - Get 15% off your first set of sheets plus free shipping at bollandbranch.com/BLF with code BLF. 

Experian - Get started with the Experian App now! See experian.com for details.

Hiya Health - Receive 50% off your first order of Hiya’s best selling children’s vitamin. Head to hiyahealth.com/BLF. 

Ka’Chava - Go to kachava.com and use code BLF. New customers get twenty dollars off an order of two bags or more, January 1st through the 31st!

Our Place - Stop cooking with toxic cookware and upgrade to Our Place today! Visit fromourplace.com/BLF and use code BLF for 10% off sitewide. 

Pique - Head to piquelife.com/BLF for 20% off.

 Produced by Dear Media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.