Send Whitney a Note

So much of sleep is out of our control as moms. Is it even worth the effort? And what do you do when it really is out of your control?

Sleep used to be like a 4-lettered word around here. Between the kids and our own difficulties, quality sleep can feel like an impossible feat.

Join Whitney as she shares her own family's journey through sleep difficulties, how the impacted her health, and how she navigated it. You'll walk away with:

• Basic knowledge of sleep science and sleep "requirements" for moms
• How hormones and other factors affect your sleep
• 4 common barriers to sleep for moms
• Some tips to enhance your sleep

Whitney invites you to really analyze how you approach times when your poor sleep is out of your control and set reasonable expectations for yourself with lots of grace.

Time stamps:

16:20: Effects of sleep (and not enough of it)
19:20 How much sleep? Differences with men and women
20:40 Common barriers to good sleep for moms, including hormonal changes, kids who don’t sleep well, too much to do, and more.
29:10 Sleep enhancing habits and things to avoid

Book your free coaching consultation here

Get your free newsletter here

Helpful resources about sleep:

https://www.thensf.org/
https://sleep.hms.harvard.edu/education-training/public-education/sleep-and-health-education-program/sleep-health-education-47
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/stages-of-sleep
https://sleepreviewmag.com/sleep-health/sleep-whole-body/mental-health/sleep-spindles-key-reducing-anxiety/

This podcast is not meant as medical advice or a substitute for any medical advice. Please contact your health professional with any mental health or physical health questions or concerns.

Send Whitney a Note

Feeling overwhelmed by visual clutter, cleaning, and daily homemaking tasks? Pile that on top of homeschooling and feeling overstimulated, and the stress is REAL.
Join Mystie Winckler and Whitney as we talk about baby steps toward do-able routines and habits.

... AND how we make accidentally make plans for other people’s habits in our family and don’t even tell them.

–Importance of regularly reassessing routines

–3 daily home routines to help find baseline and stay engaged where it matters

–addressing the evening to-do list that gets in the way of rest

–how an “all or nothing” mentality keeps us from starting

–using time limits to your benefit

–an alternative to “rage cleaning”

–problem of filling a planner with wishful thinking or buying a planner with the wishful thinking done for you!

-------------------------------------------
About Mystie:
Mystie and her husband Matt are both second-generation homeschoolers, living in Idaho, with two graduates, three still at home, and one grandbaby. Mystie is author of the book Simplified Organization: Learn to Love What Must Be Done. She helps moms beat overwhelm & perfectionism through simple baby steps so they can love being homemakers.

Grab Mystie's Free Family Tidy Habit resource here:
"Every day, we live life in our homes and things get messy. Every day, we have to reclaim order and reset our stage. Get Mystie's Free Guide to a Daily Family Tidy." Habit: https://simplyconvivial.com/ehap

Be sure to check out her book Simplified Organization.

--------------------------------------------
Sensational Moms Free Resources:
Join the free Sensational Moms support group here
Find Sensational Moms on Instagram here
Get the free tips in the newsletter here

This podcast is not meant as medical advice or a substitute for any medical advice. Please contact your health professional with any mental health or physical health questions or concerns.

Send Whitney a Note

Before you respond to that "new year, new you!" pressure, consider decluttering where it really matters so that you can have the flexibility and resilience that the sensory overload of motherhood demands of you.

In this episode, we'll dive into 3 ways you can cut back or simplify as you head into the new year (or really any time!):

• Personal expectations (especially considering time and other people's expectations)
• Daily decisions
• Curriculum that isn't serving you

You'll also find out why it's helpful to do this BEFORE setting personal transformation goals.

Have you set goals or are you holding off?
Join in the conversation in the private facebook group or on instagram.

If you want help getting clear on what matters to you as a mom struggling with overstimulation, book your free consultation here.

This podcast is not meant as medical advice or a substitute for any medical advice. Please contact your health professional with any mental health or physical health questions or concerns.

Send Whitney a Note

In the last episode of the year, Whitney shares how co-regulation is for moms, not just their kids. Listen along and learn:

• What is co-regulation?
• How does it help moms who are overwhelmed or overstimulated?
• What makes co-regulation hard for moms?
• 3 simple tweaks to lean into co-regulation that helps you.

Don't forget to join the free sensory self-care support challenge to access your free calendar and support plan. It's not too late! Access it here.

Read the blog for this episode here

Learn more about nervous system based support and what that looks like at www.sensationalmoms.com

-----
Read more on the blog about polyvagal theory for overstimulated moms.

Understanding polyvagal theory basics:
https://www.polyvagalinstitute.org/whatispolyvagaltheory

Scholarly resources about co-regulation:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1754073912451630
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10453544/#B1-children-10-01323

This podcast is not meant as medical advice or a substitute for any medical advice. Please contact your health professional with any mental health or physical health questions or concerns.

Send Whitney a Note

If you're a mom who's overstimulated by her kids, it can be easy to focus on the negative because it is HARD! It can feel even more difficult when your kids' needs feel so at odds with your own. Indeed, it can lead to major miscommunications and make it difficult to give and receive love and affection in a way that actually feels loving for BOTH of you.

Today's episode includes a story about Katie and her son and the shift she made from feeling at odds with her son to feeling connected.

You too can experience a shift in gratitude and connection when you see the GOOD in these differences & neurodiversity. What's the silver lining when, for example, your kid thrives with novelty, noise, and movement... and you don't?

We all know gratitude is good for us, but sometimes the difficulties seem insurmountable. Let's practice that gratitude shift together, even as overwhelmed moms.

Listen along, and you'll walk away with 5 Reasons that having so many different sensory needs under one roof can actually be a blessing.

• What are your reasons? I'd love to hear on Instagram @sensationalmoms.
• Learn more about self-regulation and kids (and keeping it simple) on the episode titled "Teaching Kids Self-Regulation" podcast and this blog.
• More about the benefits of gratitude here.
• Read the episode blog here.

This podcast is not meant as medical advice or a substitute for any medical advice. Please contact your health professional with any mental health or physical health questions or concerns.

Send Whitney a Note

Do you feel like a deer in headlights when people as what you want for a gift? Why not ask for something that benefits the whole family by helping you feel more grounded and present, despite the chaos of mom life.

Whitney dives straight into the top 10 items on her wishlist for moms who feel overwhelmed and overstimulated.

Access your FREE wishlist HERE with all the items and a summary of why it's helpful. You might even want to try something new before the holidays hit so that you can actually enjoy the time with your loved ones.

Wishlist
More about proprioceptive input here
More about Highly Sensitive Parents here
Book your free consultation here
Essential oil resources

This podcast is not meant as medical advice or a substitute for any medical advice. Please contact your health professional with any mental health or physical health questions or concerns.

Send Whitney a Note

Welcome back to Episode 6 of the Sensational Moms Podcast! In this episode, we dive straight into the question:

Can minimalism solve the problem of visual overload for moms or not?

Spoiler alert: It doesn't. Listen along to find out:

• 5 reasons why "rage-donating" can't fix your problems.
• What your visual overwhelm is trying to tell you
• What to try instead

Sensory overload is real in motherhood, but we don't have to go at it alone. There are tools to help you thrive in this season of life, too.

If you want to put these practices into your life but have a hard time imagining what that would look like in your unique home and family, then schedule your free coaching consultation today.
------
Minimalism & Visual Overwhelm: Blog
Basic needs for overstimulated moms: Blog
25+ Ways to Get Started FREE resource
What is Self-Regulation?
What is Minimalism?
Simply Convivial

This podcast is not meant as medical advice or a substitute for any medical advice. Please contact your health professional with any mental health or physical health questions or concerns.

Send Whitney a Note

If you're overstimulated by your kids, then it could be just part of a bigger puzzle as a highly sensitive person. In today's episode, Whitney scratches the surface of what it means to be a highly sensitive person according to Elaine Aron.

Then, what does it look like to deal with heavy emotions like grief as an HSP and a busy mom?

Empathy. Attunement. Noticing. Reflecting. Then sharing…these are the superpowers of a highly sensitive person, but they can also be our downfall.

Because what makes you a responsive, attuned mom can also make you an exhausted, anxious human.

Walk away from today's episode feeling encouraged with 3 ways highly sensitive moms can keep mom-ing through hardship-- whether personal, local, or global.

-------------------------------
Link to Amy Bodkin interoception podcast

More about HSP's

Research about news related stress

More about dorsal vagal shutdown and freeze

Kelly Mahler's body scan resources

This podcast is not meant as medical advice or a substitute for any medical advice. Please contact your health professional with any mental health or physical health questions or concerns.