Navigating Career & Parenthood: It Takes a (Motherhood) Village

May 18, 2023
Season 3
Episode 120
 Career Pivots, Connection, Featured, Inspiring Moms, Maternity Leave, Podcast 00:52:16

May 11, 2023 / Mom &… Podcast Episode 120 / Guest: Nicole Gonzalez-Cumberbatch

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Show Summary:

Nicole shared a story that many parents relate to: her career was everything, and then she became a mom. Parenting changes our lives in ways we usually can’t imagine beforehand. Nicole realized she lacked proper support, and even basic information, to help manage life as a working parent. She decided to create what she needed, and The Motherhood Village was born.

Topics From This Episode:

  • Working parents
  • Flexible work schedule
  • Employer support
  • Employee advocacy
  • Marriage
  • Covid
  • FMLA (family leave)
  • Support groups
  • Parenting resources
  • Maternity leave practices
  • Breastfeeding
  • Mamava Lactation Pods
  • Parental mental health
  • Release, Reset, Recharge

Look, Listen, Learns

Susanne

Nicole

Missy

More About Nicole Gonzalez-Cumberbatch:

Nicole is a mom and… former VP of Finance and HR, business owner, and podcaster. She believes it takes a village to uplift a mother and is essential to a mother’s mental health and well-being. Nicole founded The Motherhood Village in 2021 and her mission is to support mothers through community, education and connection.

Connect with Nicole Gonzalez-Cumberbatch:

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Musical Notes

Our delightfully happy intro and outro theme music, “We Will Get Through This” is performed by Young Presidents, and used under license from Shutterstock.

Transcript is auto-generated by a robot. Apologies in advance for misspellings or errors.

[00:00:00] Missy: Welcome to the mom and dot.dot podcast. I’m Missy Stevens mom and dot.dot writer, foster child advocate, and this week birthday party planner slash maybe rescheduler.

[00:00:16] Susanne: Oh no.

[00:00:16] Missy: is crazy.

[00:00:18] Susanne: Yeah, our mother did I tell you, I got a text when we were at Mom too, from my mom said, I hope my Mother’s Day brunch isn’t planned outside because the weather looks bad. Like I

[00:00:27] Nicole: Just fyi.

[00:00:28] Susanne: I know. And I was like, well, it is.

[00:00:30] Missy: It is.

[00:00:32] Susanne: only that, it’s at our favorite restaurant, which has the most phenomenal food, but when you sit outside, it’s like a tent in the parking lot.

And so even on a good day, it’s not very pretty. So yeah, we might be getting takeout. We’ll see. And I am Suzanne Kern’s mom and dot.dot writer, LGBTQ and sex ed advocate. And this week I am a mom, two oh Summit Recoverer. If you could see behind me, and I think we may do a TikTok of it later, the reality of what is behind the camera.

When we do this podcast,

[00:01:00] Missy: It’s not good today.

[00:01:02] Susanne: it’s not good and it’s worse than usual.

[00:01:05] Missy: Not good today. Well, our guest today is also a Mom 2.0. Recoverer. It is Nicole Gonzalez Cumberbatch. Whom we met completely by chance. We already had this interview scheduled, but we were at Mom 2.0 in Scottsdale, Arizona, and out of the corner of my eye, her name tag caught my eye and I was like, I think, I think that name is really familiar.

So then we disrupted an entire keynote session by passing a note back and forth, written on a napkin. that is how we met in real life prior to this. Nicole is a mom and dot, dot dot former VP of finance and HR business owner and podcaster, and she believes it takes a village to uplift a mother, and it is essential to a mother’s mental health and wellbeing.

Nicole founded the Motherhood Village in 2021 and her mission is to support mothers through community education and connection. We love it. Welcome.

[00:01:58] Nicole: Thank you so much for having me. I’m so excited to dive into this. Love it, love it, love it.

[00:02:03] Susanne: Oh, well, we’re so excited to have you here and learned a little bit about you in your bio, but can you give, um, a little more in depth Nicole 1 0 1 about where your career started, any big decisions or pivots that have led you to where you are today?

[00:02:16] Nicole: Yeah, I mean, my background is in corporate, kind of crazy. I actually worked at a bank when I was 16. I don’t know if they had in, in the states where you guys live, but in Florida we had something called like a co-op where you could leave work early when you’re in like 11th or 12th grade to go work.

so when that opportunity came, I was like, wait a minute. I can leave school early to go make money. Absolutely. Um, so I did that and first I was working at a grocery store and eventually got recruited to work at a bank At 16. They thought I was older and, um, I was able to work. So I worked there, I think half of my junior year into my senior year.

And I, I say all that because that kind of really was the beginning of me starting to work at 16. And then my career just kind of took off, started, uh, college when I graduated. But college kind of, I went part-time for 10 years before I got my degree cuz I always worked and as I was going to school, I was building my, career basically, and started as an accounting assistant and I’m like, oh, I think I like accounting work.

And changed my major until finally I graduated with a degree in managerial accounting and had worked my way up from counting assistant coordinator controller to VP of finance and hr. I worked at an email marketing company where I kind of really grew in that role. and I loved it. I mean, my identity was based on my career.

I had always said, as a child, I wanted to have a C F O or c e o title, in my name. I don’t know why. I just thought it was the coolest thing to work in

[00:03:42] Susanne: That’s so cute.

[00:03:43] Nicole: Um, and I almost right, VP kind of, kind of close. So my career was everything. And then my son came. And just rocked my world, for all the things right, as they do.

So that was, my son is five, so got pregnant, 20, got married 2016, had him 2017. So it’s very fast. he came and I suffered all these things. I never thought postpartum anxiety and I had no clue how to navigate life, as a corporate mom. And I thought I would because I figured, well, I’ve managed people, I’ve managed teams, I’ve worked under pressure.

I got this. I’m organ all the things and I didn’t, so. To say all that. To say I pivoted in 2021 and completely left corporate to start my own business just because I never found, truthfully, it’s sad in a way. After my son was born, I had to leave. The employer I worked for at the time, cuz they weren’t supporting me, didn’t, I didn’t know how to ask for help.

There was no flexibility. I wasn’t ready to go back to work after my son was born. And I really went from job to job, which I had never done in my life before that time cuz I always stayed at companies for long periods. And then all of a sudden I’m like, wait a minute, I, I, I’m not happy. I don’t know, like, it’s just a lot of like questioning a lot of

[00:05:01] Missy: Yeah.

[00:05:01] Nicole: where do I fit? What do I do? And then, um, yeah, 2021 I left and I told my husband, listen, I’ve been at this for a very long time and I think I’m gonna support, companies with the background that I have in accounting and, and HR and operations. So I left to start my own company and I still have that I support.

Small companies and businesses and doing like backend accounting and all that. and then the motherhood village. So that kind of came, I guess I’ll say that in high level. during the time of my struggle of postpartum anxiety and overwhelm. I started a podcast in 2019 and I just had something to say.

Something to say. It was my outlet. I wanted to talk to other mothers. I wanted to talk about the honesty of how we don’t hear that your relationship with your partner was gonna change at the time. Like my husband and I thought we did all the right things. We dated all the right things beforehand, and then.

I couldn’t stand him. At some points. I remember going to my mom and I’m like, is this normal? Like I can’t freaking stand him. And I’m like, why aren’t we having these conversations? Like I remember getting scared without realizing that it really wasn’t us. It was my needs weren’t being met. I didn’t have, I wasn’t asking for help.

I was overwhelmed. It wasn’t necessarily him. So that whole steam rolled into me saying, I wanna have conversations. So the podcast started in 20 19, 20 21 when I left corporate to start my. Consulting business. I also started the motherhood village and that has just steamrolled. Um, I do support groups for moms now for career moms in the evening.

I do webinars, workshops, a lot of community led events. And now we’re here 2023. I know that was kind of a lot, but it

kind of

[00:06:38] Missy: a lot, but we’re gonna break it down

[00:06:40] Susanne: yeah, we will break it down. And I’m curious, uh, what was your work like during Covid then? when you break that apart,

[00:06:48] Nicole: Sure. So, I’m glad you asked that. So the company I had worked for, again, you gotta remember at this time, I’m like unsure, right? I’m like, listen, my whole career has been wrapped up in me having a title and working my butt off for it. And now I kind of don’t care. But do I, we’re talking about money, but I’m like, you know what?

Um, all these things questioning a lot. So the company I had worked for, um, they kind of dangled a carrot where I was gonna be a controller. And I was like, all right, Take a step back, but, it was for a really big company at the time, um, locally and long story short, COVID hit and the employer told me when I asked for flexibility cuz my son’s daycare closed, she literally said, so you’re choosing your family over my company.

[00:07:29] Susanne: Oh boy.

[00:07:32] Nicole: That was literally, I think, I don’t know, whenever the mandate hit, maybe the 20th. My son’s school had closed a few days before. It was like literally that Monday or Tuesday. And I tell you all that cuz that was the mindframe. My son was two and a half years old. I’m like, lady yes. I’m like, we’re in the middle.

We have no idea what this is about. Um,

[00:07:51] Missy: no.

[00:07:52] Nicole: So Florida, thankfully had this thing called F M L A where you could take time off if you had to care for someone who had covid or your child’s school closed for Covid. So because I knew that, I said, you know what, I was gonna stay on and help, but since you wanna do that, I’m taking my femla.

So I took my femla and I got paid to stay home because my son’s school closed for the three months, and then the minute the mandate was, Uplifted. I basically got laid off, which I knew that that was gonna happen. I would’ve quit anyway. Um, but I was very thankful because it was bittersweet. I got to take what, whatever that was March to June 1st, I think, as his school opened, and I got to really have that time with him.

But, um, It was still disheartening and hurtful, right? Like, I’m like, wow. Like here we are. And it was a woman who owned the company, so I was so disappointed. So, yeah, so my, my Covid experience, I, I very fortunately got to stay home with him during that time.

[00:08:45] Susanne: That’s so interesting cuz that’s a boundary we hear from a lot of coaches where they say in any scenario, not just Covid, where people work as if. They are the owner of the company. And I feel like that is something that I did very badly. And I realize that now, back in hindsight, like I did every single status report or presentation as if it was my company, which, you know, is a boundary that all the coaches say, no, no, don’t do that.

Where this boss came out and basically just said, yeah, you, you need to treat this as this as your company

[00:09:19] Nicole: just like that. She was like, so basically you’re choosing your family over my company, and I remember just saying they’re like, Like, is this like twilights on um,

[00:09:26] Missy: a real question you’re

[00:09:27] Nicole: And is that allowed? Like do I call, like who do I call? Like what? Um, ethically, like all the things. Um, so yeah, so that’s kind of been my, my career journey since having my child.

And it’s been very sad because, I haven’t had the support since having him with. Any employer to say, we welcome you, like, let’s find things. So I’m a big employee advocate and I do foresee in the future, me doing something with corporations to help those small businesses really understand what they need to provide their employees once they have children.

[00:09:59] Missy: what kinds of resources does the Motherhood Village have now? Because I know employee advocacy is a big piece of what you’re doing. Like what are you seeing are the huge challenges that you’re able to help women with at this point?

[00:10:12] Nicole: Yeah, that’s a great question. tangible, I guess you can say what the Motherhood Village does. Like I said, the support groups and a lot of that does help because there’s a lot of working mothers actually, I think they’re all working mothers, whether, um, They’re working full-time in their career, but also have a side business, or they’re women business owners.

so a lot of conversations come up with that. And I guess because I do have the. experience of number one, being in their shoes and being like, I have no idea where to go. But number two, I have the accounting background to really help them understand the data that they can bring to their employers to say, Hey, look, you know, it doesn’t really cost a lot of money, but there’s certain things that you can do to kind of help me or the other employees, um, and how to advocate for themselves.

So I help in that way at the support groups. I also try and partner with some of the experts I have on my podcast, or whoever I collaborate with that I find, um, you know, in my own entrepreneurial journey to do webinars and workshops for moms. so Tangly, like I said, the Motherhood Village provides resources in that way.

But as far as employee specific, that is something I wanna have a goal to do in the foreseeable future. Like actually have workshops myself that I put together to go into these small businesses. I think it’s important to start at the beginning with small businesses because as I’m sure we both, we all.

A test, whether it’s our podcast or whatever things we have that we’re trying to grow, it’s easy to get caught up in that we don’t follow the processes that we put in order, we don’t do all the things. So I really wanna help business owners at the beginning stages of saying, well, let’s start putting these processes in place.

Now let’s not overcomplicate it. So as you start to bring employees in, we can manage it, affordably, but employees will then want to work for you, which will help sustain the growth of your company. Right? So that’s what I hope to do in, in the future.

[00:11:56] Susanne: What an awesome resource because yeah, there’s a lot of small businesses. Oh, did I tell you Once upon the time I had a blog called Not So Secret Shopper, where I wanted to go in just to these small businesses, because I come from a marketing advertising background and it was little things, but just like Start your Facebook page for your business or, you know, do, if you’re a restaurant, just, you know, it’s fine. You don’t wanna do this fancy, fancy thing, but just at least have your menu up on a webpage with a phone number or something. But, but basically be the secret shopper to go into these stores. And then I would do a little write up about like, here’s one thing you could do today to, you know, to take your business to the next step.

Or, you know, just to give a little bit of movement. I just think it’s such an amazing service for these small businesses because,

They don’t necessarily have that know-how or the resources. And sometimes just that little nudge in the right direction,

[00:12:50] Nicole: Or they don’t know that they need it, right? The ignorance, we just, ignorance is blis. So sometimes we just need someone to say, Hey, you’re gonna have employees. Have you thought about what that looks like for them? Because I truly believe our workforce is, is everything. I, I a hundred percent believe that.

And, you know, it tops customer service and everything, because if you take care of your employees, they will automatically have the good customer service. You know, they’ll, they’ll treat it as you said, Suzanne, as if it’s their own company. Right. They’ll, they’ll put their heart, they’ll put their soul, put all the things.

So, um, that’s another thing I’m passionate about, but right now it’s really helping moms with the motherhood village. But I think it’s something that it’s all connected, right? Because it all started because I was a working mother that didn’t have the resources that I needed at the time.

[00:13:33] Susanne: Yeah. And well, speaking of blending your love for helping mothers and then also helping these businesses is, helping them think about maternity leave and also, motherhood village supporting moms who are hoping to go back to work, but, you know, taking some time for this maternity leave. So what does that support look like?

What are you hearing from group members about what their ideal. You know, leave period is like back when we left, it was you got your three months I think I was really lucky I got four months, but

[00:14:02] Missy: you are lucky.

[00:14:03] Susanne: Yeah. But you know, author of the fifth trimester would argue that, you know, you need six months.

So, yeah. What is, what is that looking like these days?

[00:14:11] Nicole: A hundred percent. I agree. I think most women are saying six months. A lot of, um, the support groups I have, not only are they working mothers, but a lot of them are. they were either pregnant and now they’re coming with their newborns to the groups, which have been awesome to see. but yeah, they’re like, I have to go back to work.

I’m scared. I’m nervous, I’m overwhelmed. or they have had time to spend with their little ones, let’s say the first, second year, and now they’re like, I have to look at preschools. Where am I gonna send my kid? Think of what’s going on in the world. are they gonna be safe? I’m overwhelmed.

So a lot of, a lot of it is fear. A lot of it is overwhelm, a lot of it is sadness, and the need for support and absolutely. We have talked that I think a good timeframe is that six months to even a year, I think Canada gives a year. Um, and I think it’s a program you can even opt in, which in my mind I’m like, what mother would not wanna opt in?

But, but you know what? Anyone listening, maybe I know for me, there was a time where I was like, I needed to go back to work, right? Like that

[00:15:11] Susanne: I hear that a lot.

[00:15:12] Missy: Mm-hmm.

[00:15:13] Nicole: But at least the option is there. So yes, six months to a year has come up, but as far as how they’re feeling, it’s the sadness, it’s the fear, the unknown, the uncertainty.

How are they gonna be able to navigate it once they do go back to work. and then the school aspect, making sure they’re making the right decision. What, what’s a good school, what’s not a good school? You know, the safety issue. There’s just so much that I think a lot of parents this day and age have to deal with.

And as many resources as they can have, the better,

[00:15:43] Susanne: Yeah. And what are

[00:15:44] Missy: the support groups, oh,

[00:15:46] Susanne: I’m so into this. Okay, go

[00:15:47] Nicole: uh,

[00:15:48] Missy: I know. Well, the support groups, do they meet virtually in person? Do they have the option to do both? Are they calling and texting each other in the middle of the night? Like how is it set up? How does

[00:15:59] Nicole: I love that. So it is in person it’s in person and in the evening, very strategically cur curated that way cuz again, corporate mom couldn’t make the mommy meetups, couldn’t make any of the support groups during the day, which in hindsight maybe I could have, but I never asked because I was afraid.

Right? The same thing. I wanted to work first one and last one out, but then I have to make up the time, but I wanna go back to home to my son. All the things. So I always had said if I did a group, I’d want to make sure it was in the evening so that, Working moms could go. and we do meet in person. I have thought about doing it virtually or doing maybe a virtual option just because I’ve had moms reach out from other cities and like my husband and I talk, he’s like, what?

Are you gonna have a support group like every night? Like, what are you gonna be traveling? Like, you know? And I’m like, no, I know I can’t, I can’t support all the moms. so I’m, I’m working on some things of how to, like, let’s say Get someone from an hour away that a, a mom reached out to me and she was like, Hey, I need support.

but I’m in Palm Beach, which is about an hour away from me, right? So to get something like that, I’m like, ah, I wanna be like, absolutely. But then I have to think about my own boundaries and what my capacity is. So, thoughts are there, but to answer your question, yes, it’s in the evening and it’s in person, and then we have a private, Facebook group where moms can connect.

So if you have been to a support group, you automatically get in. I didn’t wanna just open it up to anybody. It’s the moms who, like, we’ve already shared and we’re, we have open and safe conversations. so then they meet there and it’s cool. They’re like, Hey, I need this, or, Hey, I have extra diapers, or, Hey, does someone have this?

And then that’s where they can kind of share and come together,

[00:17:27] Missy: That’s really

[00:17:28] Susanne: Uh, yeah. I wish everybody could have it everywhere. I’ve gotta think that there are similar groups in a lot of different cities. Probably bigger cities. I think that’ll be a good thing to ask our group as well our private Facebook group, what they have in their community, in case some moms, you know, don’t know that it’s available.

Cuz that’s the other thing, when you’re so buried with a newborn and are already overwhelmed, it’s hard to do that research. So we’ll try to pull some of those for people

[00:17:52] Nicole: and that’s a good point, right? I think. We’re actually inundated with too much research that we’re like, wait, okay wait. There’s this and this. Tell me where I need to go and what I need to do. Like that’s what I, I need right now. So I love that you said that cuz I think, yeah, sometimes moms just need kind of their handheld to say, I’m gonna come here and this is what you have for you for available.

[00:18:10] Susanne: exactly. And for the, in those group meetings themselves, what are you hearing then when they do go back to work are some of the biggest challenges? I was just telling Missy, I think what did me in, when I went back my, after my maternity leave, my husband did three mur months of paternity leave so I could go back to work and see.

How that felt. Um, and the hardest part was the client that I was working for my office where I was based out of, had this really nice mother’s room, you know, with a little refrigerator and this comfy sofa and everything. But when I was on site at my client’s office, which was very often, I would have to pump in a bathroom where there was no even power cord.

And then throughout the

[00:18:56] Missy: It’s so gross, right? Pumping in the bathroom is the

[00:18:58] Nicole: disgusting. I know.

[00:19:00] Susanne: pumpings. Yeah. So that part’s gross, but then the rest of the day I have to carry around this refrigerator pack

[00:19:05] Nicole: Mm-hmm.

[00:19:05] Susanne: full of everything that’s come out of me. And then, so between that and

[00:19:10] Missy: Sit down for this meeting with my boob juice.

[00:19:13] Susanne: oh my gosh. And it was, it was kind of ridiculous.

So, I mean, there was talk about the weight of motherhood. This was literally the

[00:19:19] Nicole: Yes. Yes. Yes.

[00:19:21] Susanne: But it was also like, how are people perceiving me? I just, I. didn’t feel professional. And um, and I really feel like that’s kind of one of the things that did me in like, this can’t be the next six months of my life.

And I know you can, I mean, you can definitely move to a formula but it was

[00:19:40] Missy: There’s options,

[00:19:41] Susanne: yeah, that’s just where my mind was at that time. Just like, this is what my day is gonna be like every day. And it was tough. So is that still an issue or more offices accommodating moms, or is that still the regular day to day?

[00:19:54] Nicole: Well, just to, to just piggyback just slightly on that point, I think, yeah, there’s options, but I think parents need the support because if you do choose to breastfeed, it shouldn’t be that hard. I remember having to go, I worked at f a U at the time and they were great, to work for, they, they really were, During that transition when I was like, okay, where am I gonna go?

And that actually was my alma mater and I worked in the accounting department of the, sports athletics department. Anyway, I had to go three times during the day to my supervisor’s office, knock on the door so I can bump. Um, you wanna talk about embarrassed? Cause I know she had to be like, sure.

And I can see her being like, cheese Louise. Like, really? I’m like,

[00:20:28] Missy: outta my

[00:20:29] Nicole: sorry. Um, so, but to, to the point is like, yeah, I think. The resources are there so that moms can then, if you wanna breastfeed, breastfeed, pump, pump, if you want formula, do it. But let us have the resources there. Right? So that’s just that.

But yes, so it’s still going on. Parents are still asking for the resources. I do think, again, some of these think millennial moms, we’re having more of these conversations. I see it on LinkedIn. There’s companies like, Mamava, I don’t know if you’ve heard, they do the breastfeeding pods.

[00:20:58] Susanne: Oh, we just saw that at the airport when we were

in Phoenix. Yeah.

[00:21:02] Nicole: I know Sasha, who’s one of the co-founders, she was a guest on my podcast. I’d love to connect

[00:21:06] Susanne: Oh, I would

[00:21:07] Nicole: them. Maybe she could be a guest. Um, because their thought process behind it, and I’m like, this is not a paid, like, endorsement or anything, but I just love what they’re doing cuz I, I, you see the pods everywhere and it’s not just for airports.

They started there. but they want to go for Offices and museums, any place where a mom can go and not just to breastfeed, but to feed their child, like you said, not in a freaking bathroom. Um, so there are resources and things that are being developed, but I think the smaller private companies are where, again, we need to hit.

Because if you’re a larger company, Company, you have the monies to, let’s say, get a pod like Mava and I don’t know what they cost to, let’s say in store or implement. but if you’re a small company just starting out or you have five to 10 employees, you’re small businesses, I think that’s where we really need to have more of these discussions.

so a lot of the moms Yes. That don’t have that support, similar, to me and the other companies I worked for. so yeah, the same kind of conversations. It’s, you know, to pump, God forbid you forget an item, right? That had happened to me. I remember having to call my husband and said, I forgot the, I think the flange it’s called, or whatever the

[00:22:11] Susanne: Oh no.

[00:22:12] Nicole: it. Um, and then you’re devastated, right? And then if they don’t come in time, and then like, my boobs are so swollen. these are conversations we don’t have, but for the moms listening, like, it’s normal if you’re a new mom. So there were things I had to do, right? Make a checklist.

So we talk about these in the groups. Try and make a checklist for yourself because it can be overwhelming, because you’re scattered and maybe you only had two hours of sleep the night before, and then you gotta pack your bag. So we talk a lot, unfortunately, about the things we have to do in preparation because still the support isn’t always there.

Um, so I guess to summarize it, Seeing the support in the larger corporations, seeing it on LinkedIn, seeing it with some companies coming out. I know there’s a lot, there’s apparently, I think there’s a lot of companies that are very for working parents. Those are the ones that I think more than anything that, impact the employees the most.

[00:23:01] Susanne: Yeah, you talking about the missing part, which I’m just picturing, there’s a little like little white

[00:23:05] Nicole: Oh, I remember that.

[00:23:06] Susanne: thing that like without that

[00:23:08] Missy: Without that, it doesn’t work,

[00:23:10] Susanne: cent piece of plastic, but then I just had a flashback. I had a hand pump.

[00:23:15] Missy: Yes.

[00:23:16] Susanne: Like,

[00:23:16] Nicole: Oh, I remember the hand pump.

[00:23:17] Susanne: oh.

[00:23:18] Missy: Oh my God.

[00:23:19] Susanne: it’s almost like the nozzle that you water the grass

[00:23:22] Missy: yep.

[00:23:23] Susanne: bottle.

So yeah, that was my emergency backup. Yeah, that’s the other

thing. You have to have a backup for your backup.

[00:23:29] Nicole: Backup

[00:23:29] Missy: I will never forget that feeling of like, you have to do this and. You’ve gotta get it done. And this is just life right now, but the just immense like stress and there’s shame attached to it that should not be attached to it.

We have, you know, I think we’ve come a long way, but we have a long way to go in normalizing the fact that this is how we feed our children. And I can remember having that hand pump and just being mad, like pumping and like nothing’s coming and

[00:23:53] Susanne: Well,

and especially if you have to leave a meeting, I mean, just the, and yeah. Getting away from

[00:24:00] Nicole: What about leaking? What about

[00:24:02] Missy: Oh my god.

[00:24:04] Nicole: I know. And we should be able to comfortably say, like you said, to alleviate the shame. Say, you know what? I need to pump, I’ll be right back. Instead of being like, um, can I pump? It’s like, no, this is, this is,

normal.

[00:24:14] Missy: I’ve gotta go do a hit a blow. Like you’re going to do something. Is that what it, is that what it’s called? Do you

[00:24:20] Nicole: I

dunno, but to your point,

[00:24:21] Susanne: so hit,

[00:24:22] Nicole: that’s somebody. Yeah.

[00:24:25] Susanne: I’m gonna go snort the reefer. What am I

[00:24:27] Nicole: or maybe snort, I

don’t know,

whatever.

[00:24:29] Missy: it’s not what you’re going to do. You’re going to feed your child

[00:24:33] Nicole: I actually think people would be maybe even more apt to say that

[00:24:37] Susanne: Yeah.

[00:24:37] Missy: Well, I think that really leads into the mental health.

[00:24:41] Nicole: Yes. Oh, big

[00:24:42] Missy: with so much and you don’t, if you don’t have a place to talk to someone about it, you don’t know if it’s normal. You don’t know that other women are going through it. You don’t like your husband and you don’t know why, and you’re ashamed that you have to pump and whatever it is.

So how is the Motherhood Village tackling this, and are you also tackling it in your podcast?

[00:25:03] Nicole: Yes. Um, very good question. So yes and yes. So podcast, that’s actually where it started from, um, having these conversations, talking to a lot of Licensed mental health counselors, and I’m sure you ladies can attest to this, I heard Oprah say it, that she said she gained so much value and she was a host on her show cuz she was like, I know not everybody saw an episode, but I was in every episode.

So she got the value from. Every guest and I was like, I totally feel that way about my podcast. it’s been such beneficial in my parenting journey in raising my son the last, I’ve had it for almost four years. So since he’s a little around one or two, lot of licensed mental health counselors and each one having a different way.

Um, I mean, I’ve learned all the terms. Oh, there’s aware parenting, there’s conscious parenting. There’s. Peaceful parenting, you know, all the things. So yeah, so we tackle a lot of it on my show. a lot of what the Motherhood Village is based on, in, in totality through the community education and connection is for the mental health and wellness of a family.

I tell everyone, you know, moms are the nucleus, and if mom’s good, Everyone is good. If mom’s not good, we can take care of the kids. We can do all these fun stuff for the kids. But if mom is still overwhelmed, or to your point, Missy, you know, just suffering in silence and feeling isolated, then it doesn’t freaking matter, you know?

Um, so that’s really why this was created. and then, yes, and then I tackle it in my support group. So sometimes I lead the group. I think because I have had a lot of knowledge. I’m not a mental health counselor. But a lot of times, truthfully, women will say something, I’m like, ah, and it’ll take me to a podcast guest of someone that I hadn’t talked to.

So I’ll be able to say, listen, I talked to someone and they mentioned this. but I do also bring in licensed mental health counselors that are local in the community that lead the groups. I try and really foster that connection so that if moms. Don’t know the resources that are available to them. When they do come to my events, there’s either some kind of connection happen.

Either a speaker is there, a licensed mental health counselor is there. and yeah. So those are probably the two biggest ways that, that I tackle that with specifically within the motherhood village.

[00:27:03] Missy: Yeah.

[00:27:04] Susanne: we say it all the time, that we have all the answers to the problems of the universe within our past episodes, and we’re like, we just need to actually do the things they told us to do.

[00:27:14] Nicole: Well, that’s the hardest part about motherhood, right? We know how to do it, but when we’re overwhelmed, when we’re tackling all the things, then we can’t regulate ourselves. Right. All these terms that we know, but we, it’s hard to implement them all the time. Yeah.

[00:27:26] Susanne: Exactly. And what are the struggles that you’re hearing from people in your group?

[00:27:31] Nicole: I think a lot of it is letting go of the mom guilt. It’s a big one that comes up, right? Um, so a lot of moms will question or they’ll see me. I’m very, very clear on my Instagram, um, on my stories of letting moms know, look, I know it looks like I’m all over the place. I know it looks like I’m connected and I’m here and I’m there.

I’m like, but. Don’t get it twisted. My house is a mess. My laundry’s, whatever. I haven’t cleaned. I have someone that helps me clean. My husband had to do the food shopping. I have not cooked like, let’s be honest here. Right? I’m very clear with that cuz I want, I never want someone to feel less than. but a lot of it is the mom guilt.

Like, how do you do, how are you doing this and not feeling bad or how did you go to Arizona for Mom 2.0 and could get away, you know? Um, so mom guilt comes up a lot. Obviously the self-care. I do not like to use the word self-care. What I ask my guests actually on every podcast, and in various conversations is what do you do to release, what do you do to reset and what do you do to recharge?

I think when we think of it that way, we’re a little bit more intentional about the things that we’re doing as opposed to saying just self-care.

Um, so that’s a big one.

[00:28:34] Missy: We like

[00:28:34] Nicole: Um, so yeah, the mo.

[00:28:36] Missy: Say that

[00:28:36] Nicole: What do you do to release, what do you do to reset and what do you do to recharge? And that’s actually the theme of my summit this year.

So I do a summit at, towards the end of the year heading into the fourth quarter. think of it like a business conference that you would go to for companies, um, or for your corporate career. And I do something similar for moms, and it’s just a day to empower moms. But yeah, so the, really big things are the mom guilt and what, what.

To do for self-care. Like I can’t take care of myself, or I don’t have the time, or I don’t have this. A lot of it is I’m doing for everyone, but I don’t know how to do for myself. That comes up a lot. We have a lot of conversations about that.

[00:29:10] Susanne: Oh

[00:29:10] Missy: Yeah, and then it’s like a vicious cycle cuz then you do for yourself and then you feel a little guilty about doing it for yourself. So you have to like unlearn all of that and figure out how to manage it. Yeah.

[00:29:22] Susanne: And you mentioned your summit. That’s perfect timing. We were

just gonna ask you all about the upcoming summit and you know where it is. If there’s slots still available of can you tell us all about it?

[00:29:35] Nicole: I’m so excited because, I’m working with someone to help me because I, I, I’m sure, and maybe you both can attest, it’s a very mission driven company with the Motherhood Village. So I never like to promote or say things and she’s like, if you don’t talk about the summit, how do you get people to come?

I’m like, no, I know, but I just, you know. so I’m glad cuz it’s helping me kind of to speak on it. But yeah, so the first one was last year in October. It was a. Wonderful day. this year it’s in September. It’s September 30th. It’s in beautiful Pompano Beach in South Florida. It’s at the home, two suites true by Hilton, uh, with the very famous, I guess you can say in Pompano Beach Rooftop Bar.

So first half of the day, it’s beautiful. It’s overlooking the ocean. The first half of the day, I have keynote speakers, panel discussions. This year we’re actually doing a panel discussion on communication strategies. I took it from my own personal experience. I was dealing with a client and I was like, why are you having such a hard time having this conversation with them?

And I’m like, you’re gonna be 40 years old. Like, get it together. and it trickled down to like, how do I teach my son how to advocate for himself? How do I teach my son if I can’t have some of these hard conversations? So we’re gonna have a great panel discussion, with a lawyer, general manager of the Coral Square Mall and a licensed mental health counselor to tackle.

Just that communication strategies. keynote speaker, I’m gonna be interviewing, NBC six News anchor Shelly Munish. We’re gonna talk about her being a new mom and how she balances being a new mom, but also dealing in the public eye. Right? That’s a big one. We have a financial wellness workshop and then. That’s all done, which is a big one. Um, we have a lunch and, and all that. We’ll have some breakout sessions. We head to the rooftop bar for the happy hour. Well, where we will have, some vendors up there that are usually, um, owned by moms, mom owned businesses, and we have mimosas and massages. And that kind of ends the day.

And yeah, so it’s September 30th, and if you do live in South Florida, I would love to see you there. If you go to the motherhood village.com and you subscribe to my newsletter, you will get a discount code that is for any ticket. And we have, me, myself, and I ticket to go solo. We have a bestie bundle where you can get, you know, bring your girlfriend, and then we have a girl’s day out bundle for yourself.

And then of course we also have, um, vendor table opportunities if you wanted to reserve a table for your organization, for your employees, for your clients. For your family, and I think that’s it. So yeah,

[00:31:54] Susanne: That’s it. That’s

[00:31:55] Nicole: know.

[00:31:56] Susanne: That’s a lot.

[00:31:58] Nicole: Yes, yes.

[00:31:59] Susanne: Oh, that’s

[00:31:59] Missy: We keep half joking, half toying with really doing some sort of mom and summit conference and it’s so much work.

[00:32:08] Nicole: is, but if I can listen, listen, I did the first one last year in like three or four months. I don’t ever, ever, ever recommend doing that. Um, I was mentally spent, when I tell you physic, I had never felt like anything like that in my life The minute it was over. I got sick. I actually got physically sick because I was holding so much.

Um, but if you want to talk offline, if you have that idea, I have no problem sharing you some tips and strategies. It’s not, it’s hard work. It is very hard work. The minute I put the idea together, I’m like, oh my God, this is great. And then I was like, oh shit, I have to invite people. Who the heck is gonna come to this thing?

I have to actually like sit. I’m like, oh, right. Um, Which can be very overwhelming, but I’m, I’m learning the ins and outs of really how to do it. So if there’s, if you have ideas, I’d be more than happy to share. Um, and if you wanna come, come to South Florida.

[00:32:56] Susanne: Oh my gosh. Yeah. That’s so generous.

[00:32:58] Nicole: Yes.

[00:32:59] Susanne: And yeah, I know that everybody listening is probably like, oh, I wish I was in South Florida to have these resources to be

[00:33:05] Missy: Some of them are, though.

[00:33:06] Susanne: summit. Yes. Some of them are.

[00:33:07] Nicole: Oh, they have to be at there.

[00:33:08] Susanne: I. Yes. So I know, yeah, we have a lot of listeners all over the country. Oh, actually all over the world, which

[00:33:14] Nicole: Yeah, global.

[00:33:15] Susanne: of mind ball boggling.

Um, so yeah, hopefully they will make sure that they have access in the show notes and links to the information about the summit and for you. but then I also am calling on all listeners and in our Facebook group to, yeah, let’s pull together some of the resources in our local communities outside of Florida as well, because.

Busy moms don’t have the time to research that. Let’s see. See if we can pull some stuff together to help

[00:33:40] Missy: busy moms. And then, like you said, tired moms don’t have time to process it sometimes. Just want someone to go here.

[00:33:46] Susanne: Here, come with me. We’re going to this thing.

[00:33:49] Missy: Mm-hmm.

[00:33:50] Nicole: a hundred percent.

[00:33:51] Susanne: but speaking of links to all the places to find you, where are the best places to find you online?

[00:33:56] Nicole: Yes, so motherhood village.com. Very easy. Um, there is also a section to listen to my podcast or you can go Spotify, iTunes, all the things. Also under the name, the Motherhood Village, Instagram, the Motherhood Village one. Unfortunately the Motherhood village handle was already taken. And I’m like, they don’t even post anything.

Everyone keeps

telling me to like, reach out, but I’m like, ugh. Um, but it’s the Motherhood Village one. Nicole Cumberbatch it, it should come up. And then I’m on TikTok, Facebook, also under the Motherhood Village, and I like to connect on LinkedIn. so please, if you wanna connect on LinkedIn, it’s Nicole Cumberbatch.

And you could also email the motherhood village one gmail.com if you have any questions, if you do have any questions about resources, that I can connect you with, cuz my guests are also global, right? So, or, or not just in Florida. so if anyone has any questions about who to connect them with, I’d be more than happy to share that as well.

[00:34:47] Missy: Awesome. Thank you.

[00:34:48] Susanne: Yeah, so generous.

[00:34:49] Missy: and okay. I hate that we’re here. It always goes so fast, but it is about time for look, listen and learns. And so for any of our new listeners, we’re really glad you’re here. Welcome. And at the end of every show, we spend a few minutes just talking about things we’re watching, learning, reading.

Buying, whatever it is. Sometimes they’re really ridiculous, sometimes they’re really serious. It’s just kind of whatever is on your mind right now. And we don’t like to put our guest in the hot seat. So Suzanne, you get to tell us you are, look, listen, and learns first this week.

[00:35:19] Susanne: All right. Let’s see. What am I looking at? I feel like I have done this look before, but it has come full circle, no pun intended. I’m talking about Wheel of Fortune. Um, the last we.

[00:35:31] Missy: done this. Look, have you? Oh, no.

[00:35:33] Susanne: I may have already just talk about it too much within the family. I don’t know. We watch it. We were watching Jeopardy for a long time and I think maybe we all started feeling a little dumb because like celebrity ge, we like to do celebrity Jeopardy and then like the college student.

Jeopardy cuz it

makes us feel a little smarter. Yeah. And we ran out of those. So then we went to Wheel of Fortune, which, which I had to explain to the kids, but it came back again last, in last night’s episode. They had a little, uh, little, it’s huge. It’s like a life size ceramic dalmatian. And so anybody who’s as old as I am and has watched Wheel of Fortune since the seventies knows that the Dalmatian was like the last item that people would always buy because when you would win money in each round, instead of taking that money with you, you had to go shopping

at a little wedge of this circle store in the middle of the Wheel of Fortune

[00:36:29] Missy: Oh, I always wanted to do it so badly,

[00:36:31] Susanne: Yeah, there was like the Toblerone bar like, and then whatever money you

[00:36:36] Missy: be stuff like furniture, there’d be all kinds of

[00:36:38] Susanne: Yeah, there it depended each, each little wedge had a different theme and yeah. And then there was always this ceramic dalmatian that, you know, when you were down to your last couple hundred dollars and then you would take the rest on a van clef and Elle’s gift certificate.

Do you remember that? Anyway, it’s, it’s, they’ve so changed the format

[00:37:00] Missy: They really have. The shopping was really fun.

[00:37:02] Susanne: The shopping was fun and then I was looking up some images of it this morning. This is why my hair’s wet cuz I was looking up the images where it was kind of like, your grade school photos that would have like a face on picture of you, but then like a little.

it had like a little heavenly edging to it around a, you know, a side portrait of you kind of floating off there on the

[00:37:22] Missy: Yes.

[00:37:23] Susanne: And so, yeah, it would just be like this little angel person floating around the set as they went and looked at the items. Like, I’ll take that sofa for $2,000

[00:37:33] Missy: Oh my gosh.

[00:37:35] Susanne: Yes, so we’ve been looking at Wheel of Fortune and trying to explain, there are on YouTube and various places where you can actually go watch some of the classic, I swear, I think people took like a camcorder and videotaped their TV. On most of them. It is not high quality production, but. You get the idea.

So I’ve been looking at that listening. Oh, I am just starting lessons in chemistry. I’m so excited. That’s been one of Missy’s look lesson and learned. Oh, you thumbs up too.

[00:38:03] Missy: book. Okay.

[00:38:04] Susanne: And I’m just taking control of my own destiny cuz my book club did not pick the book that I wanted and lessons in chemistry was in second place.

I’m reading it anyway.

[00:38:13] Nicole: What, what one first place?

[00:38:15] Susanne: Oh, it was first place. Oh shoot. It was the one. I just did a look. Listen, it starts with a B

[00:38:22] Missy: Bunny.

[00:38:22] Susanne: it up. No, Burnham. Burnham Wood. Yeah, Burnham Wood. Which again, I did not give rave reviews, but I just saw like 500 more awards for it. Recently in

[00:38:33] Nicole: What is it called?

[00:38:34] Missy: raving Burnham. Oh.

[00:38:37] Susanne: Oh,

[00:38:37] Nicole: Is it fiction,

[00:38:38] Susanne: it.

I just started it plain. It is fiction and it is a story of, uh, it’s this like environmental group, but they’re kind of not rogue. They’re very grassroots in the sense that they will just go take. Land that people are not using, like behind abandoned shops or, you know, or people’s great big yards where they don’t look in the back and they’ll plant things and then they’ll sell these, the produce or whatever.

And then it just, and then it just, it gets really, really bizarre from there or something. It starts off I, and then it’s like, what, what happened? Um, but it gets lots and lots of awards, so do not listen to me. I, as we have been discovering over the past two months of my book reviews, I think I just have low class.

tasting books. So

[00:39:24] Missy: Oh, and I keep telling you, it’s not low class. You just like what you

[00:39:27] Susanne: I

like what I

like

and what I

like. Does not win awards.

[00:39:31] Missy: because all, and this, the National Book Award, often I’ll try to read them and I’m like, it’s not for me. Not that it’s not a good book, but it’s not what I want. So yeah, don’t, no shame.

You read what you want.

[00:39:42] Susanne: Yes. And then, let’s see, my learn, my brain is just full everything in Mom too, so I can’t even, I mean, there’s like SEO chat, G P T, all the things. But my biggest learn is that the Camelback, where were we? Camelback Spa.

[00:39:55] Missy: And we’ll back in, in

[00:39:56] Susanne: Camelback Inn Resort Spa. If you go get a pedicure there, they do it in a, this massage chair, which I’ve never spent any time in.

And my niece asked for one for Christmas a few years ago, and I was like,

[00:40:10] Missy: She asked for a massage

[00:40:11] Susanne: Oh no. She’s so smart. She’s so smart. And I support her dream for the massage

chair now. It was life changing. Yeah, she’s little. I don’t even know how she fits in there. All the little nubbies, were probably going to the wrong places, but, oh my God.

I mean, it was almost forceful and dangerous and for a minute I was worried it was gonna knock a vertebrae outta place, but it was so good and I had had a headache for a week leading up to that. Gone.

[00:40:36] Nicole: Wow.

[00:40:37] Susanne: Get the pedicure because you get the built-in massage with it. Love it. The lady next to me did not have hers turn on, and I almost got up out of my seat and went and booed the remote for her.

I was like, you do not

know what you’re

[00:40:48] Missy: were wet, so you couldn’t.

[00:40:50] Susanne: I could not,

[00:40:50] Nicole: No,

[00:40:51] Susanne: I was too in bli. I mean, I seriously like had my eyes closed. I was just like so in bliss. So that, that was my biggest li that wasn’t my biggest learn of mom two. Oh. But that

was just a bonus learn.

[00:41:03] Nicole: Love it.

[00:41:04] Susanne: what about you, Nicole?

[00:41:06] Nicole: So my, look, I just finished Firefly Lane, the final season.

[00:41:10] Missy: It’s on my list. Yeah.

[00:41:11] Nicole: Um ha. Have you watched it at all or are you

[00:41:13] Missy: I’ve watched it up to this last part that they

[00:41:16] Nicole: I’ve binge watched it and I don’t have time to watch TV as often as I would like. It really truly is like I finally learned the guilty pleasure of what that means. Gimme some ice cream.

And there’s some every so often where I can go without watching TV for a couple weeks and then it just hits me and I’m like, gimme ice cream. I look at my husband, leave me alone and I can watch TV for like four, five hours straight. Um,

so

[00:41:37] Missy: kind of what I wanna do on Mother’s Day.

[00:41:39] Nicole: oh, I told my.

yes, yes, yes. yes. Um, so yeah, Firefly Lane was awesome.

Ugh. I cried and cried and cried and cried. My mom is now watching it. Um, she was like, oh my God, I didn’t know about the show. Brilliant show. Love it. I also read the book, and I loved how it was so different. I don’t know if you did both or if you read the book as well. Um, but yeah, so that was my look, my listen.

Um, well actually my look is that and what would be the book, under the book also, look, because I don’t, I read it.

Is that a

[00:42:08] Missy: Yeah, whatever. We p we play pretty fast and loose with

where things fit, wherever you

[00:42:12] Nicole: Um, uh, lessons in chemistry was great. I actually just finished it last night. I actually binge watched. Um, I wanted to finish it cuz I was getting to the good part.

Loved it, loved it, loved it. Actually didn’t know what to expect. so that, that, and then I guess a listen. I was listening to some of your podcast episodes and other women’s that I kind of met at Mom 2.0. So that’s been pretty cool to kind of un, you know, see like different people’s, like podcasts and stuff.

Um, and then as far as learn, um, Yeah, from Mom 2.0, I would say that was a big one. As far as learning, I think what it solidified for me, I wish I would’ve done the spot, so I’m very jealous because I didn’t realize till afterwards where we were going. I think it was like, again, like the overwhelm we’re going here, put it to the side, and then literally it wasn’t until a week before I’m like, oh shoot.

Like I should probably think about what we’re gonna do. And when I went to the app for the hotel, I’m like, they have a spa. Like why didn’t I book a spa service? So I was very disappointed I didn’t make it. Um, but I’m glad that you got to do it. But, um, I would say learning is just, I met so many incredible people.

That what I learned is that it’s solidifying that I’m on the right path that I’m on. Um, there was a lot of things that I was like, huh, I guess I’m not crazy. Um, and there were things that I was like, oh, okay, good. I’m kind of doing that, in that way. And then of course of how to implement some of the things that maybe I didn’t know that helped me of like seeing different ways, but truthfully, it really solidified that I’m kind of on the right path and this is really what I’m meant to do.

Yeah, and I learned a lot from the keynotes. Austin Channing Brown, which the from scratch ladies like.

They just did a phenomenal job with the speakers that they had, and I read the book and watched them and watched the show.

So yes, yes, yes. Like I highly recommend both. The book is more about the grieving and I feel like the show is more about the love story. So it was great to have the two contrasting views. Um, and I spoke to the author about that and she said, yes, that’s exactly right. The book is more her grieving, it’s her memoir, right.

Um, but the show is really about the love story that they had. So yeah, highly recommend that.

[00:44:13] Missy: Yeah. We will put both of all the links to all of those things and to. Yeah, we need to do a big wrap up of all the keynotes and

things that we learned

[00:44:21] Susanne: Oh my gosh. I know I usually do a recap after each mom too, kind of as a service to readers, but mostly just to re, sometimes it helps just to cement it in your brain because there is so much, so fast that it’s good to review it.

[00:44:37] Missy: Yeah. So much.

[00:44:38] Susanne: All right. Then I think, Missy, what have you been look, listen, and learning.

[00:44:42] Missy: Okay, let’s see. Well, as usual, I’m on the cutting edge of what’s on the television and I, we just started watching a show that’s Five Seasons in, and it’s actually still on tv and it’s on Network tv. Um, but it’s called A Million Little Things, and we’re watching it on Hulu because we’re five seasons behind.

But it’s the story of a Fri friend group. And this is not a spoiler. In the first episode, one of the members of the friend group commits suicide and it’s trying to figure this out, the unraveling of their group, the coming back together and I mean, we’re only in season one.

I have no idea where it’s all gonna go. Um, but it’s pretty well acted and Mark likes it. That doesn’t happen very often, that anything with a drama.

[00:45:22] Susanne: Mm-hmm.

[00:45:22] Missy: Little bit of drama to it. He, it’s not usually his thing. so we’ve been watching that together and it’ll take us probably five years to catch up because we watch one half to half an episode to one episode every couple nights.

It’s going to take a while. but I was looking forward, we haven’t watched one since I’ve been home from the conference, but at the conference at one point I was like, Ooh, I kind of can’t wait to go home and watch my show with Mark. and then I’m listening to Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting by CLA Pooley.

Uh, I listened to it on the way, there and back on the plane and, It’s an adorable story. I am not quite finished, so I dunno how it ends, but, a story of a woman who is finding that people think she’s Pastor Prime. I could not love that more. Um, she’s a little older than we are, but she’s fi you know, at work people are like, oh, we need the millennial point of view, not your point of view.

And um, and then it’s the story of the people on her train that she commutes with and how they become intertwined and.

Help each other, Evan. It’s really cute and since I’m listening to it, it’s read in a delightful British accent and I really enjoy it. But I found I couldn’t speed it up too much. Cause I was like, wait, what?

I didn’t,

what was that word? So I have to keep it.

[00:46:33] Susanne: yes, I need to slow down the British accents. I need to slow down. Downton Abby. I need to slow down pretty much any movie with British accents. I’m like, I know you’re speaking English, but I still don’t get

[00:46:43] Missy: Yeah, I always speed up my audiobooks. And this one, in fact, last night I was listening at bedtime and I was like, oh, nope, nope, nope. We gotta go down to regular speed because I am too tired to process these words.

Um, so in my learn also, mom 2.0 learn, my brain is full and just exploding. But I think my favorite thing I learned about was cks.

And I’ve been reading some cks for a while and I didn’t really understand the difference between that in a newsletter. They’re sort of like a newsletter and a blog. Got married and had a baby. and so I’ve been on and playing around and I think Suzanne and I each need to start our own and then maybe one for the podcast or maybe we just use our own to kind of tie back.

I don’t know.

[00:47:26] Susanne: Did I tell you that I had started my own?

[00:47:29] Missy: yes, and Suzanne actually already had her name.

[00:47:32] Nicole: Nice.

[00:47:33] Susanne: went to go make sure that my ck from my name was reserved, and I was like, wait a minute, and I follow like 20 people. And as I don’t know when I did this, when did TCK

start?

[00:47:42] Nicole: so funny.

[00:47:43] Missy: It’s been around a while. I mean a couple years for sure. Maybe longer.

[00:47:46] Susanne: I could have been a trailblazer and I didn’t,

[00:47:51] Nicole: I

know.

[00:47:52] Susanne: I don’t

[00:47:52] Missy: are some really wonderful ones out there. Whatever you’re interested in, you can find that little niche out on. And it really is all about writers and creators getting paid for what they’re putting out there.

And it’s a different kind of algorithm than what exists for, say, Facebook or Instagram. It’s being driven by the people inside this, inside sub, the users are driving and you do subscribe to some of it. Some parts of it you can have. When you set one up, yours can be free or you can have a paid portion or it can all be paid.

There’s different amounts and different levels and it’s really modular and you can kind of mix it up and do what works for you in your community and you can change it as you go along. So I really love that it’s flexible and modular and creator focused.

[00:48:39] Susanne: Yes. I love that it allows people who want to write but don’t necessarily know how to do a website to actually have a voice because, I mean, there are a lot of fairly simple websites out there, but they still take some time and they take. The hosting money and they take the this, and you have to update all the pieces of it.

So if someone is out there and it’s just like, oh, I wish I, you know, could do a blog or whatever, but I don’t wanna do the tech part of it now you can. I, I do think that’s a lovely part of it.

[00:49:11] Missy: It is, it’s a really, it’s a really simple platform with really complex abilities, I guess. so I, I liked a lot and I’ve been playing with it and as we’ve all mentioned, our brains are fried, so I don’t think I’m gonna make a lot of progress on it until maybe this weekend or early next week. But, um, I have really enjoyed it.

[00:49:30] Nicole: Very cool.

[00:49:31] Susanne: Oh

[00:49:32] Missy: that’s it,

[00:49:33] Susanne: yes, we have looked listened and learned and Yeah. And when I know, I’m glad we’re all in the same place, because if we had been meeting with a guest today that was not at mom two and did not understand why, our brains are just like still kind of like, eh, what are we

[00:49:49] Nicole: It was meant to be. It was meant to be.

[00:49:51] Missy: It was meant to be.

[00:49:52] Susanne: Thank goodness for Missy’s sharp eyes and looking at name tags of the people sitting next to her or else. Can you imagine if we started this conversation and we were like, oh yeah, we just got back from mom too. And you’d be like, oh, me too. And, and since it sounds like we are doing a sales pitch for Mom too, and we, we do this all the time with it, there are actually tickets open. The next location’s gonna be in Nashville,

[00:50:17] Nicole: I know. Did you get your ticket yet?

[00:50:18] Susanne: Oh yeah.

[00:50:19] Nicole: I have. I need you to. I need to. I think today’s the last

[00:50:21] Susanne: Yeah. You better get ’em.

[00:50:22] Missy: Yeah, by the time this episode is out, it’ll be too late.

But for anyone who did get their tickets by mother’s, I think it’s by the end of day Mother’s Day, maybe it’s the best deal I’ve ever seen on a mom 2.0 ticket. Like when they flash the price up, I was like, well,

[00:50:37] Susanne: We should probably share it in the group just in case there’s people who are

[00:50:40] Missy: yeah, I think I will. We will have, by the time you hear this, shared it in our group, because it’s a great deal.

You can’t not buy one.

[00:50:49] Susanne: Yeah.

Oh, well, I would say it was so nice to meet you, but we already met you, so it’s so nice to meet you twice this week,

[00:50:55] Nicole: Yes.

[00:50:56] Susanne: and so grateful for all you are doing for moms in your community. I mean, that’s what it’s all about is the building that connection, helpings, support them with information and support them just with community.

So

thank you. thank you. for all you do.

[00:51:11] Nicole: Thank you for having me and for allowing me to share my journey and my truth. and thank you for what you’re doing with the podcast. It’s awesome.

[00:51:17] Missy: Thank

[00:51:18] Susanne: All right, everybody

[00:51:19] Missy: Happy Mother’s Day and

[00:51:20] Nicole: Yes. Happy Mother’s Day. Oh yeah. This is a yes.

[00:51:24] Susanne: Happy Mother’s Day. Alright, bye-bye.

[00:51:27] Missy: right, bye.

Thank you so much for joining us for the Mom and dot.dot podcast. We hope you enjoyed the show today. And if you know someone else who could benefit from today’s episode, be sure to share it with them. Also, please subscribe and rate us wherever you listen to podcasts. You can find links to all the things we discussed today in the show notes over at our website, mom and podcast.com with the a n d spelled out.

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