Gaining Mom-entum

Abi’s poetry e-chapbook, Gaining Mom-entum: Poems, Parenting, and a Podcast is available now! (See below for more info)

Welcome to the final episode of Gaining Mom-entum! It is with teary eyes, full hearts, and a can’t lose attitude that Abi & Meghan announce that this will be the final episode of the Gaining Mom-entum podcast. Please join them as they take a stroll down podcast memory lane, a retrospective of sorts of the three seasons of the GM pod. They revisit the wide range of conversations and topics that made up the 32 episodes and 19 minisodes to highlight their top moments from each season. Turns out, there’s a lot that Meghan & Abi love about creating and hosting this show. A huge highlight for both of them were the many guests who shared their time, their perspectives, and their truths with the GM community. Abi & Meghan also interview each other to see how each of them feel about different parts of the GM experience, including a rapid fire Q&A round. They round out this final episode by reflecting on the things they’ve learned, the things they’re still learning, and the things they will keep learning after three seasons of heartfelt, meaningful conversations with each other, their guests, and the Gaining Mom-entum community. Thank you for joining us! Please take care of yourself, take care of each other, and continue to get comfortable being uncomfortable while we do our best to raise our kids for the world we want them to grow up in and the world we live in now. Meghan & Abi wish you all  the best as you continue on in your parenting and life journeys!

As always, thanks for listening! Even though we’re saying goodbye, please keep sharing Gaining Mom-entum with anyone in your life who you think would benefit from listening to the pod!

Welcome to the penultimate episode of Gaining Mom-entum season 3! Abi & Meghan kick things off with what they’ve been listening to, reading, and watching lately that features Black artists and/or was made by Black creatives. Afterwards, they move into the subject of this episode - entrepreneurship. They are thrilled to welcome their guest, Christine Hardie, to the podcast to talk about starting her business, Riley’s Cidery. Christine shares how the idea for the business came about, familiarizing herself with the unfamiliar, and learning not to expect perfection. She talks about not letting the idea of making mistakes hold her back and that being “perfect in its own way”. She talks about asking for help, marketing, and embracing community by creating a space for people to gather and engage. Christine lets us know how she manages her time with the many hats she wears in her life as well as involving her children in the business in their own way. She shares with Meghan & Abi the challenges of entrepreneurship as well as her favourite parts of owning and operating a business. They round out the episode celebrating the gold medal that Riley’s Cidery’s Sip & Tell won at the International Beer and Cider Awards and with some advice that Christine would give to any parents looking to take the leap into starting a business.

As always, thanks for listening! Share Gaining Mom-entum and follow/comment/review wherever you get your pods.

Welcome back to another episode of Gaining Mom-entum! Meghan & Abi catch up on what they’re watching, playing, and listening to with their families these days. (Hint: They do talk about Bruno.)

This week’s topic - educational entertainment - finds Abi & Meghan having two conversations with two talented, engaging creators of children’s content. Up first, they speak to Michael Moore, the creator, animator, and narrator of the popular children’s video series, Brain Candy TV. He shares how he got started creating Brain Candy TV, the skillset he needed to acquire to make Brain Candy TV happen, and helping children become ready for the things they’ll learn in school through his videos. Meghan & Abi share how their children incorporate what they’ve learned into their pretend play. Michael lets them in on what he likes most about making Brain Candy TV, the seriousness with which he takes the responsibility of the impact his videos have on kids, as well as the challenges. He also discusses his plans to expand the STEM video offerings that are part of the Brain Candy TV archives and reflects on some of his favourite feedback, complete with a little cameo from Abi’s child.

The second half of the episode features Meghan & Abi’s conversation with children’s book author, Monique Perreira. Monique shares her process for how she came to write and publish the bilingual children’s book, Mirai Montre et Raconte Show and Tell, as well as giving many well-deserved shout outs to her illustrator, Chantal Piché. She discusses the decision-making that went into making Mirai a bilingual book, how her love of children’s books began as a young adult and the great inspiration that is Robert Munsch. Monique shares her challenges, joys, and the feedback she’s received as well as the children’s health series that she’s working on next.

As always, thanks for listening! Share Gaining Mom-entum and follow/comment/review wherever you get your pods.

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! This week, Meghan & Abi start the episode off talking about the recent losses of three celebrities who played formative roles in their upbringings - Betty White, Sidney Poitier, and Bob Saget. Then they segue into this week’s topic - anger and frustration. They start with some definitions clarifying the differences between anger and frustration before exploring their own relationships with both of those feelings and how they’ve been exacerbated by the pandemic. They look back at their childhood expressions of anger and frustration and what those expressions look like for them now as parents. They reframe how we look at healthy expressions of anger but are clear that manifesting anger in a hurtful way is never to be condoned. They talk about burnout, their anger and frustration triggers, recognizing escalating emotions, as well as outdated gender roles in expressions of anger and racist stereotypes that affect how Abi expresses anger and parents about anger. They also discuss how they strive to find positive things to do with their anger so that  expressing it can become a point of pride.

As always, thanks for listening! Share Gaining Mom-entum and follow/comment/review wherever you get your pods.

Welcome to the first Gaining Mom-entum episode of 2022! Meghan & Abi kick things off by discussing how the holiday season went for them and talking about Harry Potter and the 20th anniversary reunion. Then, Abi & Meghan are so excited to welcome their guest, Vanessa, to this week’s episode. Vanessa is the founder of Mint Worthy, a personal finances coaching company specializing in talking to and with women about money matters. She is here to answer Meghan & Abi’s questions about money and finances. Turns out, those two have a lot of questions which is great because Vanessa has a lot of helpful answers, tips, suggestions, and advice. So sit back and enjoy this conversation about money, finances, and getting comfortable talking about it all. Vanessa shares how and why she came to start Mint Worthy. Together, they get into what financial literacy means, gendered messages around money, how to teach their children about money, talking about money as a family, having money dates with their partners, financial planning, philanthropy, and so much more.

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! This is the first minisode of season 3 and the last pod drop before 2022 so Meghan & Abi are getting reflective. They spend this minisode discussing the intentions they laid out for the year and how they think they’re doing with them. Meghan’s intentions are to not let fear and self-consciousness be her driver, to be intentional with her time, and to practice patience. Abi’s intentions are to practice patience, keep getting comfortable being uncomfortable, and to spend more time nurturing the relationships in her life. As it goes with intentions, these continue to be a work in progress but it’s all about the journey, not the destination, right? Best wishes and be safe as we close out 2021 and ring in 2022, Gaining Mom-entum community! We’ll be back with a new episode on Thursday, January 6, 2022.

As always, thanks for listening! Share Gaining Mom-entum and follow/comment/review wherever you get your pods.

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! Join Abi & Meghan as they check-in with each other about their current self-care activities, including taking a journey down the rabbit hole that is S Club 7. Once they’re done naming all 7 members of the group, they get into the episode’s topic - body talk and body image. They begin by talking about their childhood memories and the messaging they took in around bodies and beauty standards. They unpack how they want to counter that messaging with their children. They chat about how being athletes has affected their relationships to their bodies over time which leads them to talk about how they related to their bodies both during and after their pregnancies. They discuss the idea of body neutrality, how each of them talks to their kids about bodies, and how they deal with their children receiving external messaging about bodies and beauty. Meghan & Abi wrap up their conversation with what they hope their children will learn from them about their bodies and how they perceive them.

As always, thanks for listening! Share Gaining Mom-entum and follow/comment/review wherever you get your pods.

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! It is Mental Health Awareness month so please take this as a reminder to make sure you’re checking in with yourself and those around you to see how you’re all doing. Meghan & Abi kick things off by checking in on how they’re talking to their kids about mental health. They discuss the global phenomenon that is Squid Game and Meghan compares it to Yo Gabba Gabba. Then, this week, Abi & Meghan are lucky to be joined by their guest, and one of Meghan’s sister-cousins, Katelyn. Katelyn is a registered nurse working on the frontlines on an ICU floor. So, as you can imagine, this conversation gets raw and real about what it is like for her working on the front lines of the pandemic. Katelyn shares why she became a nurse and what she likes about being one. They talk about mental health and self-care. She takes Meghan & Abi behind the scenes of what her day to day looks like now versus what it used to be like (hint: it is much more physical now than it used to be), and how she is managing her work life all while having become a first-time parent during the early days of the pandemic. She shares how working on the frontline has affected her home life and her family and how she is relearning her coping mechanisms. They conclude the convo with Katelyn sharing what she hopes people will take away about what it’s really like working on the front line during this pandemic.

As always, thanks for listening! Share Gaining Mom-entum and follow/comment/review wherever you get your pods.

Season 3 of Gaining Mom-entum is almost here! Until then, please enjoy the final re-release of our Gaining Mom-entum summer hiatus. Meghan & Abi will be back with brand new episodes of Gaining Mom-entum starting Thursday, September 2nd!

________________

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! This week, Abi & Meghan are joined by guests, Megan and Gray, to talk about parenting children who are neurodiverse. The conversation is open and honest with Megan, Gray, and GM’s very own Meghan, sharing what their parenting journey has been like with their children who have gifts that are often overlooked by society. They discuss knowing and learning about their children’s brain wiring, embracing it, and erasing the stigma. They share what they’ve learned about themselves on their parenting journeys, how they want to show up for their kids and support them through mindfulness, intentionality, patience, and reframing the conversations they have with/about their children. They talk about whether or not they owe people an explanation when a complex moment occurs in public (spoiler: they do not), which leads to the idea of divesting from giving energy currency to people who seek to make life harder and more uncomfortable for their families. They discuss pushing back against stereotypes and expectations of what neurodiversity looks like and how they advocate for their children academically, emotionally, and socially. They wrap up the conversation by sharing what other parents can do in their own homes, with their own kids to create a more accepting, respectful, kinder world for children who are neurodiverse, including letting children be who they are and not who people think they should be.

As always, thanks for listening! Share Gaining Mom-entum and follow/comment/review wherever you get your pods.

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! Though Meghan & Abi are on hiatus for the summer, they are still committed to keeping up with the Gaining Mom-entum community, so please enjoy this supersized, remixed re-release of the Gaining Mom-etum on Gender episodes from season 1. In this re-release, Abi & Meghan wonder why some people have such a hard time with the idea that gender exists beyond the binary. They talk about growing up as girls and what they have internalized and carried with them into adulthood about gendered norms. They discuss what stereotypes that other people have tried to impose on their children and what they’re trying to push back against. They focus on the gendered nonsense they’re trying to be aware of and combat against in parenting their kids, talk about the insidious gendered messages that society passes onto children, and why talking about feelings makes their job as parents easier. They finish off with a discussion on creating a safe space for children who are non-binary. As always, thanks for listening!

Don’t forget to follow/subscribe to Gaining Mom-entum & turn on notifications so you don’t miss an episode!

As always, thanks for listening! Please share Gaining Mom-entum with all of the wonderful people in your life!

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! This week, Abi & Meghan are joined by guests, Megan and Gray, to talk about parenting children who are neurodiverse. The conversation is open and honest with Megan, Gray, and GM’s very own Meghan, sharing what their parenting journey has been like with their children who have gifts that are often overlooked by society. They discuss knowing and learning about their children’s brain wiring, embracing it, and erasing the stigma. They share what they’ve learned about themselves on their parenting journeys, how they want to show up for their kids and support them through mindfulness, intentionality, patience, and reframing the conversations they have with/about their children. They talk about whether or not they owe people an explanation when a complex moment occurs in public (spoiler: they do not), which leads to the idea of divesting from giving energy currency to people who seek to make life harder and more uncomfortable for their families. They discuss pushing back against stereotypes and expectations of what neurodiversity looks like and how they advocate for their children academically, emotionally, and socially. They wrap up the conversation by sharing what other parents can do in their own homes, with their own kids to create a more accepting, respectful, kinder world for children who are neurodiverse, including letting children be who they are and not who people think they should be.

As always, thanks for listening! Share Gaining Mom-entum and follow/comment/review wherever you get your pods.

Welcome back to another episode of Gaining Mom-entum! Meghan is fired up this week about a PAC meeting that she Zoomed into at her child’s school. After debriefing, they get into this week’s topic — queer parenthood. This week’s awesome guests are Astri & Ainsley, long-time friends of Meghan’s, who were extremely generous in sharing their time and their experiences as new parents. If you hear some background noise, it’s just the sound of multitasking parents and their infant daughter. After sharing preferred pronouns, Ainsley & Astri share the story of how they welcomed their child into the world and dealing with invasive, inappropriate questions from family members. (Heads up: Please keep in mind that we had this conversation in a safe environment, with it being made very clear that Astri & Ainsley were in the driver’s seat in determining what they felt comfortable sharing with all of us. They were incredibly open and giving in their responses, but they did not owe us any of the stories that they shared.) This conversation covers a lot of ground including pandemic parenting, the harm caused by assigning gender to parenting roles, the need for education and open conversations around gender diversity, how we conceptualize resources for new parents, queer relationships, and the language we use to talk about it all. The conversation wraps up with a reminder that queer kids need to know they are loved, and talking to all kids about gender diversity and diverse families is one way to we can all work together to make sure that happens.

As always, thanks for listening! Please share Gaining Mom-entum and comment/review wherever you listen to your pods.

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! This week, Abi & Meghan celebrate the midway point of season 2! They reflect on the first half of the season and express gratitude for the guests who have shared their time, thoughts, and experiences. Then it’s time to get into the week’s topic: parenting in the digital age. Meghan & Abi get into what they’re doing with their kids around technology and how the digital moment that we live in has impacted their parenting (for better and for worse). They don’t have all (or even most) of the answers but they do have a lot of questions and they’re hoping the GM community will weigh in. Their conversation on parenting in the digital age includes the benefits and challenges/concerns of parenting during this digital moment (their children have become BFFs with Google Home and Alexa), building community connection, trying to teach delayed gratification when everything is instantly accessible, and of course, screen time. They take a trip down imaginary lane to ponder what having social media as teens would have been like for them, which leads them to empathize even more with the impact that it can have on the lives of today’s youth They talk about their differing practices on posting images of their children, the responsibility of digital content creators for what they put into the world vs. the responsibility of parents to monitor what their kids consume, and end with some takeaways for how to parent their kids in this era, and encourage the GM community to join them in continuing the convo.

As always, thanks for listening!

Follow Gaining Mom-entum and comment/review wherever you listen to your pods.

Minisode time! This week’s mini starts off with Meghan asking Abi how she’s doing, which leads them to discuss whether or not they can appreciate art from the past knowing that it doesn’t quite hold up under the lens of the present moment. From there, they segue into talking about their conversation with Chaw-win-is, including pushing back on narratives, decolonization, and expanding what is available in educational institutions. They also touch on some listener feedback about moving the decolonization conversation forward. Abi & Meghan end the minisode off talking about a new show by one of their favourite comedians, Doing the Most with Phoebe Robinson. While discussing the show, they take a moment to stan Phoebe and her accomplishments (as well as shout outs to Whitney Cummings and Amber Ruffin) before pondering which activities they’d like to participate in if they found themselves lucky enough to be the celebrity friends invited to be on Doing the Most.

As always, thanks for listening! Please spread the love by sharing Gaining Mom-entum with the people in your life!

Follow Gaining Mom-entum wherever you listen to your pods & please feel free to leave a comment/review. (Be sure to turn on notifications so you don’t miss an episode!)

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! Abi & Meghan are back with part 2 of their conversation with Chaw-win-is, Indigenous Educator, member of the Cheklesaht and Tla-o-qui-aht nations of the Nuu-chah-nulth people, and all-around amazing storyteller. The conversation picks back up with how Chaw-win-is got started as an educator. They discuss the importance of storytelling, processing our feelings, and bearing witness to each others’ emotions. Chaw-win-is shares her podcast idea that will form her PhD dissertation. This leads to discussion of pushing back on educational institutions and how parenting gives us the power to re-examine history in different contexts. Chaw-win-is generously shares with Meghan & Abi some ideas for how we can all better understand and talk with our children about decolonization.They talk about bystander intervention and finish out their conversation talking about how the stories of our histories can provide the keys to unlocking change.

As always, thanks for listening! Please spread the love by sharing Gaining Mom-entum with the people in your life!

Follow Gaining Mom-entum wherever you listen to your pods & please feel free to leave a comment/review. (Be sure to turn on notifications so you don’t miss an episode!)

It's not an April Fool's joke, Abi & Meghan really are back with another minisode! In this week’s minisode, Meghan & Abi check in with each other on how parenting has been going lately. They’re both feeling a little drained by the pandemic of it all. They also dig into listener feedback on the first half of their conversation with Chaw-win-is. They go over what the GM community shared regarding what role family history/stories plays in their lives and ask some follow-up questions that they’d love to hear your opinions on.They also discuss how their interest in their own family histories has increased as they get older. Abi & Meghan round out the minisode by each sharing a family story about one of their great-grandparents that they are excited to pass onto their own kids.

As always, thanks for listening! Please spread the love by sharing Gaining Mom-entum with the people in your life!

Follow/subscribe to Gaining Mom-entum wherever you listen to your pods & please feel free to leave a comment/review. (Be sure to turn on notifications so you don’t miss an episode!)

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! This week, Meghan & Abi keep the preamble short so they can get right into their sit down with their guest, Chaw-win-is Ogilvie. Chaw-win-is, an Indigenous Educator, is a member of the Cheklesaht and Tla-o-qui-aht nations of the Nuu-chah-nulth people on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. She was kind enough to share her time with us to talk about her own family histories. The conversation covered a wide range of topics from the '60s scoop and finding home to learning about our histories, the importance of listening, decolonization, and deciding for yourself who you are in the world. They also talk about the power of learning about family history and teaching it to our children as a way to break the cycle of assimilation. Chaw-win-is is a gifted storyteller and educator which allowed the conversation to flow freely and widely. Abi & Meghan feel incredibly lucky to have spent the time with her and to be sharing part 1 of their 2-part conversation with the Gaining Mom-entum community.

We’re excited for you to hear part 2 in two weeks!

As always, thanks for listening! Please spread the love by sharing Gaining Mom-entum with the people in your life!

Follow Gaining Mom-entum wherever you listen to your pods & please feel free to leave a comment/review. (Be sure to turn on notifications so you don’t miss an episode!)

In this week’s minisode, Abi & Meghan catch up on what they’ve been cooking with their kids since their conversation with Heather Staller (last episode’s guest, founder of Happy Kids Kitchen). They talk about what it’s like cooking with their own kids and then get right into discussing feedback from the Gaining Mom-entum community on their experiences with cooking as kids and with their own kids now. Meghan & Abi also talk about the baggage and the celebration around food that we carry into adulthood from our childhoods. They round the minisode out by getting excited about Michelle Obama’s new Netflix children’s show, Waffles + Mochi, a show about discovering, eating, and celebrating food.

As always, thanks for listening! Please spread the love by sharing Gaining Mom-entum with the people in your life!

Follow/subscribe to Gaining Mom-entum wherever you listen to your pods & please feel free to leave a comment/review. (Be sure to turn on notifications so you don’t miss an episode!)

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! This week, Abi & Meghan are talking to the talented and insightful trained culinary professional and cooking with kids expert, Heather Wish Staller. As that description suggests, this episode is all about cooking and cooking with kids. Join Meghan & Abi as they get to know Heather from how her upbringing steered her towards a career in food to how she ended up focusing on cooking with kids. Heather tells us all about starting her business, Happy Kids Kitchen, and how she created her cookbook, Little Helpers Toddler Cookbook. She also expresses gratitude for the community who supports her through her Instagram work (@heather.happykidskitchen). Heather shares about her kids’ favourite things to cook with her and how she involves them in her work. She provides a lot of wonderful advice for how to cook for picky eaters, suggestions for nut-free and dairy-free cooking, and how to make the process of making kids lunches fun instead of tedious. Throughout the episode, Heather shares tons of gems that both Abi & Meghan will be using with their kids in the kitchen.

As always, thanks for listening! Please spread the love by sharing Gaining Mom-entum with the people in your life!

Follow/subscribe to Gaining Mom-entum wherever you listen to your pods & please feel free to leave a comment/review. (Be sure to turn on notifications so you don’t miss an episode!)

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! Before diving back into the second half of their conversation on aging and mortality, Meghan & Abi have a bit of a longer check-in than usual, starting with going down a Cameo-filled rabbit hole. (If you don’t know about Cameo, Google it! Also, you’re welcome!) They talk about how they’re connecting to Black History Month and why they think it’s important to do so. They also check in with each other about how the intentions they set for 2021 have been playing out so far. Then it’s time to get back into part 2 of their conversation with Femi and Susa!. They pick things right back up with a question about how this current social justice movement might impact how people think about death and dying. They continue on to discuss facing their mortality for the first time and how becoming a parent played into that. Susan & Femi talk about the difference in how they approached play as parents versus how they approach it now as grandparents. Also, Abi & Meghan learn that Susan is a pearls of wisdom machine, so if anyone is interested in creating some GM merch, feel free to get in touch about turning Susan’s pearls into t-shirts! The group also spends a chunk of the convo sharing anecdotes and digging into suggestions for talking to children about death and dying. As always, thanks for listening!

In this first minisode of Season 2, Meghan & Abi reflect on the first half of the aging and mortality conversation they had with Abi’s dad and his partner, Susan. They discuss GM community responses to their IG poll questions, including differing levels of comfort/discomfort with facing one’s own mortality vs. reckoning with the mortality of an older loved one. They also leave a couple of breadcrumbs for the discussion on talking to kids about mortality that comes up in next week’s episode. In attempting to normalize the conversation around death and dying in their lives, Abi & Meghan dig into Susan’s idea of death and dying dinners. Which celebrities/famous people would YOU want to share dinner with while having a conversation about death and dying? They round out the minisode by determining their death and dying dinner guest lists.

As always, thanks for listening! Please spread the love by sharing Gaining Mom-entum with the people in your life!

Follow/subscribe to Gaining Mom-entum wherever you listen to your pods & please feel free to leave a comment/review. (Be sure to turn on notifications so you don’t miss an episode!)

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! Abi & Meghan are so excited to be back for season 2. They begin the season by catching up with each other about what they did during the Gaining Mom-entum hiatus. It should come as no surprise that they both listened to a lot of podcasts and watched a lot of movies and TV shows. As they wrap up their catch up, they also discuss this week’s topic- aging and mortality. Meghan & Abi are so happy to welcome their first guests on Gaining Mom-entum! This week, they sit down with Abi’s dad, Femi, and his partner, Susan, kicking things off with a discussion of time, kind of, but really, what is time? They get into aging and mortality, both from Femi & Susan’s professional perspectives, as well as from a personal viewpoint. Unsurprisingly, things take a bit of an existential turn, which leads to self-care. There are some emotional moments that provide Abi & Meghan with generational wisdom that they hope to embrace in their lives on their own aging journeys. This episode, part 1 their 2-part conversation, ends on a hopeful note as Femi & Susan discuss the perspectives that aging has given them on being grateful and finding hope in the next generations. As always, thanks for listening!

On Thursday, February 11th, Abi & Meghan are back for season 2 of Gaining Mom-entum! Join them as they continue to try their best to parent their kids for the world they want them to grow up in and the world they live in now. They’ll keep chatting about the topics on their minds as parents, the pop culture they’re listening to/reading/watching, and this season, they’ll be talking to several special guests. They can’t wait for you to be a part of the conversations!

It’s time for one more re-release before the start of Gaining Mom-entum’s second season! In honour of Abi’s CBC Life article being published last week (link below in Resources section), Meghan & Abi wanted to revisit their episode on friendship. Feel free to call your besties, your new friends, your old friends, and have a group listening party. After you do, get in touch with Abi & Meghan to let them know how you celebrate the friendships that get you through tough times and how you say good-bye to the friendships that tear you down. They want to hear from you!

___________________________________________

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! This pod’s first season began with Meghan & Abi celebrating their friendship as they invited the GM community to get to know them. Throughout the season, they have talked about race & racism, gender, mental health, and consent. They could not have had the conversations they did in the ways that they did without this week’s topic: friendship. What better way to celebrate friendship than talking about their favourite celebrity besties? After discussing the celebrity BFFs they admire and wish they could be a part of, they dig right into parenting and friendships. Abi & Meghan talk about what they look for in parent friends, how their friendships have changed since having kids and celebrating the friendships in their lives. They get into the challenges they’ve faced in maintaining friendships since becoming parents, what they wish their friends knew, and friendship breakups. Abi gets in a couple of plugs for her upcoming CBC Life article on friendship. Then they discuss how becoming parents has helped them to be more assertive in their friendships. They contemplate whether or not they should be treating their friendships with the time and attention they give to their romantic relationships. And of course, Meghan & Abi take a mom-ent to celebrate their friendship.

As always, thanks for listening! Please spread the love by sharing Gaining Mom-entum with people in your life!

Follow/subscribe to Gaining Mom-entum wherever you listen to your pods & please leave a comment/review. (Be sure to turn on notifications so you don’t miss an episode!)

Surprise! You're having a... crossover episode! After listening to the season 1 episodes, Gaining Mom-entum on Gender Parts 1 & 2, Bell from the Thirst World Problems podcast reached out with some questions. Meghan & Abi are so glad that he did! The conversation that unfolded opened all of their eyes to some new perspectives. They covered a lot of ground during their discourse, from puberty to the gendered messages we send our children to consent (how much they loathe the expression "boys will be boys"). They also talked about gender exploration, the importance of curiosity, and intersectionality. They hope you will continue the conversation with them after you listen to this special bonus episode. As always, thanks for listening!

Happy End of 2020! As we close out the shockingly long year that was 2020, it feels like the right time to reconnect with the Gaining Mom-entum community, both OG listeners and any first-timers who are joining along the way. So, please allow Abi & Meghan to reintroduce themselves. In this re-release of the very first episode of Gaining Mom-entum, we'll travel back to a time when the pandemic still loomed large, social distancing was a regular part of the lexicon, we were trying to find our footing as parents, and issues of social justice and equity were at the forefront of our minds... Who are we kidding? All of those things remain relevant at the time of this re-release. Time is a trip, y'all! We hope you enjoy getting to know Meghan & Abi (again)!

__________________________________

Welcome to Gaining Mom-entum, the podcast about trying our best to parent our kids for the world we want them to grow up in and the world we live in now. This week Abi & Meghan admit to being nervous about starting this parenting podcast adventure. They introduce themselves and talk about why it is that they decided to start Gaining Mom-entum. They reminisce about the start of their friendship and keep it real talking about their pregnancies, and some of their highs and lows as parents. And of course, they talk about what you can expect from the pod in its first season.

Don’t forget to rate, review, and, of course, follow/subscribe to Gaining Mom-entum so you don’t miss an episode!

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! This is the final episode of season 1 and we are making it into a spectacular. Meghan & Abi celebrate reaching the end of their first podcast season, complete with many callbacks to the episodes that have come before. After sharing what podcasts have grabbed their attention lately (and Abi effectively auditioning to be a co-host of The Connect podcast), they get right into their conversation on taking up space. Both Abi & Meghan are feeling super celebratory and reflective and it shows throughout their conversation. They talk about what taking up space looks like with both of their differing identity perspectives, how those lenses affect the way they’re raising their children to take up space, and how their children are motivating them to claim their space through podcasting. While reflecting on their first podcast season, they discuss what excited them about starting this journey, their fears, the lessons they’ve learned, and what their highlights are from the season. They shout out their collaborators who have helped along the way (Bell from Thirst World Problems, Evan Dysart, and Catherine Cachia). They talk a little bit about what they have planned for season 2 then they end the season the same way it began, by celebrating their friendship. Thanks for joining the Gaining Mom-entum community! Stay safe and see you in 2021 for season 2!

As always, thanks for listening! Please spread the love by sharing Gaining Mom-entum with the people in your life!

Follow/subscribe to Gaining Mom-entum wherever you listen to your pods & please leave a comment/review. (Be sure to turn on notifications so you don’t miss an episode!)

One more time, we’re gonna celebrate! This is the final minisode of Gaining Mom-entum’s first season and there’s an extra playful vibe to it. After Abi pulls herself together, she and Meghan start off by celebrating the work they’ve put in this season and thank the GM community for getting the pod to 2000 plays! (Seriously, thank YOU so much!) They talk about what this holiday season will look like for them with the COVID of it all and how Netflix holiday content is getting them through. They discuss listener feedback on the friendship episode and how common the experience of a friendship break up has been with listeners. Then it’s quiz time! Meghan & Abi round out the minisode by taking a Buzzfeed quiz to find out if either of them is a good friend. Turns out, the quiz may have been geared towards a slightly more high school-aged crowd than the two of them.

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! This pod’s first season began with Meghan & Abi celebrating their friendship as they invited the GM community to get to know them. Throughout the season, they have talked about race & racism, gender, mental health, and consent. They could not have had the conversations they did in the ways that they did without this week’s topic: friendship. What better way to celebrate friendship than talking about their favourite celebrity besties? After discussing the celebrity BFFs they admire and wish they could be a part of, they dig right into parenting and friendships. Abi & Meghan talk about what they look for in parent friends, how their friendships have changed since having kids, and celebrating the friendships in their lives. They get into the challenges they’ve faced in maintaining friendships since becoming parents, what they wish their friends knew, and friendship breakups. Abi gets in a couple of plugs for her upcoming CBC Life article on friendship. Then they discuss how becoming parents has helped them to be more assertive in their friendships. They contemplate whether or not they should be treating their friendships with the time and attention they give to their romantic relationships. And of course, Meghan & Abi take a mom-ent to celebrate their friendship.

As always, thanks for listening! Please spread the love by sharing Gaining Mom-entum with people in your life!

Follow/subscribe to Gaining Mom-entum wherever you listen to your pods & please leave a comment/review. (Be sure to turn on notifications so you don’t miss an episode!)

Minisode time! This week, Meghan & Abi check in with each other to see how they’re doing during these shorter days of fall. This past week was a rough one for them so they get into what’s been going on with them, including their parenting highs and lows. Then they discuss some of the feedback (or lack thereof) that they received from the Gaining Mom-entum community following the Get Fries With That episode on consent. They surmise that it might just be a tough time of year for people and we’re all just doing our best to get through the day until the sun starts shining again. Abi & Meghan round out the minisode talking about an awesome episode of the podcast AboutCONSENT, and what their takeaways are from the episode titled: How Kids Can Learn Body Safety and Why It Matters to Start Early.

Welcome back to Gaining Mom-entum! This week, Abi & Meghan have a conversation about consent. After checking in with each other, they take a walk down memory lane to what they remember learning (or not learning) about sex, body autonomy, and consent. They discuss why body autonomy and consent can be tough topics for parents to tackle. They also dig into the cultural conversation around consent and what has made it gain momentum in recent years. Meghan teaches Abi a useful acronym (FRIES) for learning what affirmative consent looks like. They talk about what conversations around body safety, body autonomy, and consent look like in their households, and where they think they’ll struggle along the way in their conversations with their kids. They are looking forward to hearing from the Gaining Mom-entum community about what these conversations look like across different households and how we can support each other to raise children who understand, respect and have expectations of affirmative consent. As always, thanks for listening!

Don’t forget to follow/subscribe to then rate & review Gaining Mom-entum wherever you listen to your pods. Be sure to turn on notifications so you don’t miss an episode!)

Note: This minisode was recorded on Monday, November 2nd before the events of November 3rd and whatever has transpired thereafter.

At the end of Canadian Mental Health Awareness month, Abi & Meghan dive right back into part 2 of their conversation on parental mental health. They talk about surge capacity and what they do to navigate burnout. They discuss some of the barriers that prevent people from discussing and accessing mental health services, including the commodification of wellness. They do some heavy lifting on emotional labour and making mental health a family affair. And of course, no discussion on mental health would be complete without delving into self-care. They hope some of the ideas they shared will work for you too, and they’re looking forward to hearing from you (yes, YOU!) about what self-care looks like in your life. As always, thanks for listening! Don’t forget to follow/subscribe to then rate & review Gaining Mom-entum wherever you listen to your pods. (Be sure to turn on notifications so you don’t miss an episode!)