From Fear to Feeding Littles with Megan McNamee (E54)

Ep. 1

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[00:00:00] Sometimes there's a moment in motherhood where everything feels like it's falling apart and somehow something new is quietly being built. That's what today's guest, McNamee from Feeding Littles found in the middle of the raw, real beginning of becoming a mom. If you've ever felt like life forced you off one path without showing you the next, this one will hit home.

Sometimes life throws us into the deep end without warning. I don't know if it's the birth plan that unraveled or the job that disappeared, right when the bills piled up or that silent question of, wait, am I even allowed to want something for myself anymore?

That's the space we're starting in today with a mom who didn't just rebuild, but reimagined what life could look like when [00:01:00] everything else was stripped away. Megan McNamee is a mom of two, a dietician and the CEO of Feeding Littles. She's helped parents raise adventurous intuitive eaters and she's the number one New York Times bestselling co-author of Feeding Little's Lunches and Feeding Littles and Beyond.

You may know her from the Feeding Little's Instagram account or the Viral Feeding Little's, busy bag. A play-based restaurant life saver for parents everywhere.

But before that, she was a first time mom laid off at 37 weeks pregnant, figuring it out like the rest of us. And today she's sharing the very real, very human story behind it all. Let's get into it.

Krissy: I am here today with Megan McNamee from Feeding Littles. Thank you so much for being here with me today, Megan.

Megan McNamee: Thank you for having me.

Krissy: Today, I wanna hear about you and your journey. So tell me, who were you before you became a mom?

Megan McNamee: Oh my goodness. I was a different person. I think like most of us were I was a dietician. I had married my hus, my high, my, not my high school, my college sweetheart [00:02:00] when we were young, 25. And I was working in, in a job that I didn't really love and I knew that there was something better for me and something different that I'd be doing, and I just couldn't.

Figure out what that was. And but I was always very driven and very task oriented. Hard for me to sit down and relax. Nothing has changed in that regard too much now. I just have a lot more responsibility.

Krissy: yeah,

Megan McNamee: but I always wanted to be a mom. I always loved babies. And I worked for the Arizona WIC program for a while which supports women, infants and children as a supplemental food program.

And we were allowed to bring our babies to work until age six months. And I hadn't had kids yet. And it was really cool. It was a really great way to support moms. And there was a lot of lactation support and people that would just take your baby for you if you had to go into a meeting, or, I know it was, they, I think they still do it.

It's really cool. It's with the state of Arizona Health Department and

Krissy: What

Megan McNamee: I, that was like my, it was my heaven because I got to hold babies a lot.

Krissy: to be like, I'll

Megan McNamee: I was like, oh, I'll take your [00:03:00] baby. And that was my first kind of. Realization like, I really love babies. Like I really, this is, this is my thing. And everyone knew that.

They were like, oh, you're gonna have so much fun as a mom. And I did. I loved having babies. I loved that process. But everything I did prior to feeding little started was absolutely preparing me for it. And I just couldn't see it at the time.

Krissy: yeah. Isn't that amazing? All the little breadcrumbs when you can look back

Megan McNamee: Yes,

Krissy: that feeling, that urge and you to do something else, but you don't know what, and then it just all happens.

Megan McNamee: my main job or my main project at that job was emo emo emotion-based messaging and teaching adults how to communicate nutrition concepts through emotion-based messaging, which is literally what I do now. And, and teaching people through online education, which was very new even, you know, back then in 2009.

So it was wild how much it kind of led into what I do now. But I, after that job, I worked for a startup that ended up kind of. [00:04:00] Petering out and I was laid off when I was 37 weeks pregnant.

Krissy: Wow.

Megan McNamee: And that was super scary. And I needed to leave. I didn't love the job. I was very unhappy. And sometimes I think when you're in something hard, it's so, it's tough to leave 'cause you need that stability and you, you don't, you can't trust that something better is out there for you.

But I think, I genuinely think that the universe was forcing me out. Like, this is not what you're supposed to be doing. And so I, I, that job ended when I was 37 weeks, which actually gave me a little bit of time to kind of prepare for my baby. Like I would always thought that that would be amazing to have like a few weeks off.

'cause I was gonna go back to work at six weeks postpartum, like there was no break.

Krissy: no.

Megan McNamee: And then on my due date, I got in a car accident. And on the way to my 40 week appointment. And it was so weird 'cause I was with my husband driving to the appointment, but my family happened to be like, in front of me and behind me.

'cause we'd all just gone to lunch. So we had [00:05:00] witnessed, you know, the person that hit me was the wife of a police officer. She walked, got out and was like, this was all my fault. Oh my God. I mean, it was the weirdest thing where everything lined up that it wasn't that bad, but it, it sent me into labor and I had to go to the hospital.

Krissy: Wow.

Megan McNamee: And because insurance companies are so freaked out about pregnant women as they should be,

Krissy: Mm-hmm.

Megan McNamee: they in the hospital, they're like, don't worry, we're gonna cover all of this. You'll be everything. You know, all of your expenses are fine. We're gonna cover all this. So they, they wrote me this big check

Krissy: Whoa.

Megan McNamee: settlement and it allowed me to stay home.

With my baby and it allowed me to start working for myself exclusively. I had done it on the side before, but that's literally how feeding Little started. I started teaching classes about baby led weaning at a local birth center

Krissy: Yeah.

Megan McNamee: because I didn't have a job and I was able to start slowly because of that car accident.

So

Krissy: amazing.

Megan McNamee: it's crazy. And you know, I, I look back now, I'm like, oh my gosh, everything was lining up and, and I was [00:06:00] meant to go this direction. And I really believe that it was like, well, you're not listening to what you're supposed to be doing, so I'm gonna make it happen for you. So, yeah. So that's,

Krissy: unpack there. Holy cow.

Megan McNamee: yeah, it was really a lot.

Krissy: and the

Megan McNamee: Yeah, it was, yeah, baby was fine. She actually stayed in longer. They did a whole bunch of monitoring and I wanted to, I don't do well with anesthesia. I wanted to try unmedicated birth. So I said, you know, I, I, I was like, you know, whatever, if we need to take her out now, whatever we need to do. But

Krissy: pill

Megan McNamee: she, she recovered and they, I just had to go in for daily monitoring.

She stayed in for eight more days and I had her then. And she was great and everything was fine with that, thankfully. And it was really wild. It really allowed me to have the experience that I kind of had wanted and didn't realize that. I, you know, I, I, I needed for me, and I'd always been entrepreneurial, I'd always had a side, multiple side hustles, but then I just had to figure out how to piece it together while still being pretty much a stay-at-home mom.

How do I work this into when she's [00:07:00] asleep?

Krissy: Yeah.

Megan McNamee: So that's how it all started.

Krissy: right. Like we find these turning points in our lives. Some are as dramatic as a car accident and getting

Megan McNamee: Right, right.

Krissy: and

Megan McNamee: Right.

Krissy: aren't now 37 weeks pregnant, getting laid off. I mean, you, I feel like that's a peak time for panic mode anyway.

Megan McNamee: Uh huh.

Krissy: nesting and

Megan McNamee: Yep.

Krissy: things like, oh my gosh, there's actually gonna be a human in this house.

Megan McNamee: Mm-hmm.

Krissy: that panic you must have felt, must have been just overwhelming right. Then

Megan McNamee: Well, and I knew it was going to happen. I had a, I'd been got a little bit of indicator that it was because I had to go to my, I. Like weekly appointment that morning.

Krissy: sure.

Megan McNamee: And I was, I remember they took my blood pressure and they were like, why is your blood pressure so high? You've never had high blood pressure?

Krissy: are

Megan McNamee: And I was like, well, I'm about to walk into my job and get laid off. And they were like, oh, okay, we'll check it again next week.

Krissy: Yeah.

Megan McNamee: And it was just really, it was so scary to think like, we can't afford our life without me working. And it was already gonna be such a stretch with pregnancy and all the, you know how it's so expensive to have a baby in this country as it [00:08:00] is, even with insurance?

And it was just, it was, it was wild. But I, I now look back at it with so much gratitude because I know I would never be doing this. There's, I mean, so many days that

Krissy: Yeah.

Megan McNamee: job can be really hard sometimes because it's hard to put yourself out there and

Krissy: Mm-hmm.

Megan McNamee: feedback from the public and. It can be, it can pull you down sometimes, but I get to do some really awesome things and there's times when I'm in meetings developing products or talking to these people I would never get to know otherwise.

And I'm like, this is so cool. I am so glad. Like I am so full of gratitude that I get to do this work. And it would've never happened without that really bumpy start. Never.

Krissy: No, never would've. Absolutely not. So I'm curious how far out of college, so you met your husband in college,

Megan McNamee: Mm-hmm.

Krissy: how long were you married for before you had your first baby?

Megan McNamee: We were married for almost four years,

Krissy: Okay,

Megan McNamee: been together for seven years by the time we got married.

Krissy: Okay.

Megan McNamee: we had been together a really long time. [00:09:00] Yeah. By the time we actually got married, we've been together now, uh, 23 years, which is insane. Longer than, you know, more than half our lives.

Krissy: right.

Megan McNamee: So that's a different, I I think parents don't realize how much their relationship.

Krissy: Yeah.

Megan McNamee: when they have kids. And we were very, of all of our friends, we were the most established, the people that had been together the longest, who'd been married, you know, four years is long time. We married after we've already been together for seven. So by the time we had kids, we were like, we got this, this is, this is easy.

But the, the financial strain and like the change of lifestyle with, with then having a baby on top of that, and I'm such a baby person, my husband is not like, he was so out of his element and our babies didn't take bottles. And it was just like, it was a, it was hard. So like, it was if I would go, you know, work somewhere, teach somewhere, it was like a battle for him to try to feed them because they didn't want to take a bottle from him.

So that transition was very hard and we had a lot of struggles in those first few [00:10:00] years. And I think. It is so easy to look online and look at all these people with these, what seems like glowing relationships and their husbands that are these super involved dads that, you know, they seem like they're loving parenthood.

I always tell my clients like, that's not, it's not real. You're not seeing a real side of everyone's life and almost everyone struggles in their relationship, at least in some way when their baby is born. It's just, it's such a dramatic lifestyle change.

Krissy: dramatic. Yeah. Your lifestyle, your identity, everything has changed and now you

Megan McNamee: yes.

Krissy: to air for and interact with each other in a different way than you could never prepare for,

Megan McNamee: No, and I just, I mean, we fought a lot about, it was a lot of it was also money. We fought a lot about finances because I didn't, I wanted to not go back to a full-time job and it didn't make sense for the jobs that I was finding to also then pay for childcare, and it was this big like round and around and around loop and it's just so hard for families right now because everything is so even more expensive than it was.

Krissy: Mm-hmm.

Megan McNamee: is so much more [00:11:00] expensive. You know, childcare is insane. Like I, I feel for people that are, you know, walking that early stage of parenthood right now because affording it is crazy. But I just want parents to know if you are struggling in your relationship, like it's very normal, especially at the be beginning, especially when they're young.

Krissy: Right. And it sounds like, 'cause you went through two major transitions that would be difficult on a relationship anyway, all at the

Megan McNamee: Right,

Krissy: with losing

Megan McNamee: right,

Krissy: and then deciding on a career change instead of finding something more traditional.

Megan McNamee: right.

Krissy: but it sounds like you were able to take this really unique work that you were doing that was very localized because I'm sure that kind of program doesn't exist in a lot of places.

And, and take it nationally, but we'll, we'll talk more about that in a little bit. I wanna hear more right now about your bottle refusal experience, because that is painful.

Megan McNamee: It's awful. And I feel like a lot, like what the feeling I got was I'm [00:12:00] trapped. And I love, like I said, I I'm a baby person, like I was, I, I was one of those people that was kind of like really into the baby phase and really into being a mom and really, you know, I know, I know not, I know not everyone feels like that.

And I know a lot of people just, they're like, I'm not digging this. I don't like this. And I think that's totally normal and valid for me. I loved it, but I was so frustrated that she wouldn't take a bottle and that I felt like I couldn't go anywhere and I didn't see the forest or the trees. I didn't think, I didn't know.

Okay, well, around five or six months she can start drinking from a cup.

Krissy: right.

Megan McNamee: So, and a baby doesn't have to learn how to drink from a bottle. I mean, technically it's not a skill that they have to know how to do.

Krissy: Sure.

Megan McNamee: eventually they'll be self-feeding, drinking from cups, like all of this will be totally.

Krissy: Yeah.

Megan McNamee: Easy for them.

Krissy: way,

Megan McNamee: Right. And well now it's, I mean, I remember when they were older toddlers, they would find like a pacifier, which they also refused both of my girls. Or they'd find a bottle, like a play, and they put it in their mouth and I was like, really? Really? [00:13:00] Yeah. But I just felt in the moment I was like, this is so endless.

I'm never gonna, I'm never gonna get out of this. And what ended up working was we have, we actually ended up writing a blog post. My retired business partner, Judy and I wrote a, a really long blog post about this because we know that this is very common. She, we even tried to get my kids to take bottles and she's like a magician with this.

And she was like, oh yeah, no, they will not.

Krissy: is not happening.

Megan McNamee: Mm-hmm. I had really, like oversupply and really strong let down. So I think the bottles were actually more work for them.

Krissy: Yeah.

Megan McNamee: the only thing that I could find that would work were these really old play text, like drop-ins that you dropped into the bottle and you, you could squeeze them and they don't even exist anymore.

I was like squeezing it into their mouth and that they were like, oh yeah, this is what I'm more used to. And it, but it was hard. 'cause usually with bottle refusal, babies don't, they won't take the bottle from their breastfeeding mom. They won't because they, they're like, well, why would I do this from you?

So then you have to have somebody that's willing to work on it

Krissy: Mm-hmm.

Megan McNamee: [00:14:00] with them. And that person's usually frustrated because they're the one that they're refusing the bottle from. Right. So that was hard. We tried, you know, a lot of different people. She never really ended up, my oldest never ended up taking a bottle.

We literally went to an open cup around five months with her. And then a straw cup, right. Pretty soon after. And she, I remember there was a time I went and taught a few, uh, you know, I was gonna be gone for a few hours and I left a, a cup of pumped milk in the fridge.

Krissy: Yeah.

Megan McNamee: And my hu I was like, just give it to her when she seems hungry, you know?

Krissy: Mm-hmm.

Megan McNamee: husband said we were learning sign language, we're doing sign language with her. And he said, she looked at him and signed milk,

Krissy: Mm.

Megan McNamee: just like the squeezing of your hand. And he was like, whoa, I know what that is. I know what she wants. And he walked over to the, I can do this. I walked over to the fridge, didn't mean we didn't heat it up.

It was like, well, we're just going to gave it straight to her. And she started drinking it. And that was the moment where he's like, okay, we can do this. So if I was, if I had to leave her from there on, I just left cups. [00:15:00] She just never, I never had to wean from a bottle because I, yeah. Yeah. So that was huge.

Krissy: Amazing. Now though, you mentioned that the, it's only five or six months seeing the forest through the trees, but man, looking back, isn't

Megan McNamee: Uh.

Krissy: to think that that was just five or six months

Megan McNamee: Yeah.

Krissy: through? Like you feel this sense of urgency, I think because we know it's so short that

Megan McNamee: Right,

Krissy: it all.

You feel

Megan McNamee: right,

Krissy: visions that you had for yourself as you're seeing other moms go back to work, I mean, you were envisioning going back to work at six weeks,

Megan McNamee: right.

Krissy: probably had this vision of this mom that you'd be going

Megan McNamee: Mm-hmm.

Krissy: and doing all of these things and now all of a sudden you're not what you expected.

Megan McNamee: Yeah.

Krissy: that's a lot to face on top of everything else. The shame, the guilt, the, the disappointment, whatever it might be. How did you manage that?

Megan McNamee: That's

Krissy: Or did you just have

Megan McNamee: a really good, I don't think I did.

Krissy: Yeah,

Megan McNamee: That's a really good question. I, I just remember feeling there was a lot of resentment and a lot of I just felt like I [00:16:00] didn't have a lot of time for me. Like I see moms now that are, you know, doing a really good job. Not everyone, but some people are really doing a great job of like, booking out time for themselves.

And I know that takes an immense amount of resources to be able to do that, but they're actually like getting their hair. I didn't get haircuts for like three years. I got like one a year.

Krissy: Yeah.

Megan McNamee: You know, they're, they're going to the gym. They're, they're, they're going on date night. Like, things that just felt kind of impossible for me.

Even once my babies were older, they still, they nursed well into toddlerhood, so it was a little hard for people to put 'em down at night

Krissy: Yeah.

Megan McNamee: you know. And then I had my second when my first was two and a half, so I kind of just went from one to the next with breastfeeding. And it, it's so funny now I look back at it like, that was such a short period of time.

It feels so short now, but when you're in it, it feels so long. And I do remember thinking like, oh, why can, why does everyone else have this figured out? Why can everyone else have independence and have time for [00:17:00] themselves? And,

Krissy: Yeah.

Megan McNamee: I just, I can't and I never will. And that's, that's not true. I, you know, you just can't see it when you're in it.

Krissy: no.

Megan McNamee: hard to think. I mean, my, my kids both started preschool at two and a half, so suddenly I, I had, you know, three or four hours of time when they were at preschool and was able to build my business and do that kind of stuff. And then now they're at school all day. And I mean, mine are old enough now that they're old enough to be at home alone.

Like they're able to watch themselves. And so it's like, as you go through these stages, I think you, you get so much more. Independence and you look back and think, I wish I hadn't. I wish I had seen the light at the end of the tunnel a little bit and not been so hard on myself, and not so hard on my kids.

But it is just, I think it's just hard in the moment to feel any sort of perspective.

Krissy: Absolutely. It is so hard and it's so valid. And there's no, I mean, there's no reason to think like, oh, I should, I should've, should've, should've. Because you can't, I mean, when you're in

Megan McNamee: how would you know?

Krissy: all there is. That's

Megan McNamee: Right?

Krissy: And [00:18:00] you can think that sure, in the future, things will change.

We all know that. We all know our kids are gonna be 12 and nine like yours

Megan McNamee: Yeah. Yep.

Krissy: and that life will be different. But what about me now?

Megan McNamee: Yeah,

Krissy: now? And that's important too. And even those moms that we feel like are going out and doing all the things, the date nights, they've, they're, they've got all the things too.

But I can

Megan McNamee: they do.

Krissy: relate so much to the resentment

Megan McNamee: Yep.

Krissy: what you think other people have that you

Megan McNamee: Mm-hmm.

Krissy: did. And it, it's hard to so scroll social media sometimes.

Megan McNamee: Well, I think that's actually the most dangerous part about social media for moms now is the comparison game. We didn't have, social media was bare, barely starting in that way. There weren't, the influencers weren't a thing. 12 years ago, we were one of the first accounts to even talk about food and feeding.

And I didn't even start it until a few years into already teaching classes. And I work with new moms now every month and I just, they're so overwhelmed. They're [00:19:00] so second guessing everything about themselves. And I'll say like, you know, the majority of the information you guys are getting on TikTok is not accurate.

Right? Like it's wild. The stuff that they're telling me, like, I'm like, that is not correct, that's not true. But they're getting it from. Other moms and, and I obviously love peer-to-peer sharing, but I think there's just, people don't realize right now what's happening on social is that everyone's vying for everyone's attention because our views are so down.

Krissy: Yes.

Megan McNamee: So just to give people a perspective,

Krissy: Hmm.

Megan McNamee: like right now we have almost 2 million followers. A few years ago, if we would've posted a reel, we would've gotten a million views, which is expected for having that many followers, right? Sometimes we would get 2 million views. A not so great one would get 500, 700,000 views.

Fast forward to now, it's amazing if our views break 300 K.

Krissy: Wow.

Megan McNamee: So now that's, and that, and that's not typical. So now you're getting like 20% of the views [00:20:00] that you used to get. Well, if you are doing this as your full-time job and you're selling a product or a service. You're not, you're not making ends meet anymore.

Krissy: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Megan McNamee: everyone is in that boat for the most part and they're all scrambling and trying to figure out, how do I get your eyeballs? How do I get you to stop scrolling? And it's such an ethical dilemma for me because the way to do it is to say something outlandish is to say something judgmental, something

Krissy: Controversial. Yeah.

Megan McNamee: controversial and, and I refuse to make people purposefully feel like crap about themselves.

Krissy: Yeah.

Megan McNamee: So I'll post something sometimes that is like, well, you know, this might help. Or this could be what's happening, gentle language. 'cause that's how I talk to my clients. But it's not what gets people to stop scrolling because it's not strong, strong wording. The 10 things you're doing to mess your kid up right now.

Five foods I would never feed my [00:21:00] toddler. That's the kinda stuff that's gonna get you stop scrolling. I refuse to play that game.

Krissy: right. And

Megan McNamee: So,

Krissy: sensationalized hacks that

Megan McNamee: yes. Yes. And they actually aren't hacks. It's just like people are trying to get your attention. They're trying to get your eyeballs. And so that's what, that's, I don't think moms realize like that's the soup that they're swimming in right now.

Krissy: Mm-hmm.

Megan McNamee: And it just feels like everyone's screaming at them. And it's not because what they're teaching is necessarily right or the only way to do something. It's because people are vying for their attention online.

Krissy: Right,

Megan McNamee: That's it. Or they're trying to scare them into buying something. So that's a really challenge. I I, I don't envy new moms right now.

Like I would, it's easy for me to tune it out 'cause I, I know and I can see through it. But if I were new to this world, I would be on my phone constantly trying to consume information. I feel like I, I was somebody that was really worried about being a good mom and doing it right. And I would've really struggled in this [00:22:00] environment.

Krissy: It's such a good perspective, what you just shared as being a creator, the creator side of it, because we know that people, that it's not good for us to

Megan McNamee: Yep.

Krissy: and to be

Megan McNamee: Mm-hmm.

Krissy: We know that. to hear the inside piece or like your po your thoughts, your take on where some of these wild videos are coming from

Megan McNamee: Wild.

Krissy: behind

Megan McNamee: Mm-hmm.

Krissy: it puts it in a whole different perspective of we're no longer just looking at regular old moms sharing their regular old bus the, uh, day to day and, and their genuine true hacks and things that they've found helpful. They're sharing things that are just bizarre to get you to

Megan McNamee: Right? To get you to stop and,

Krissy: Yeah.

Megan McNamee: and create, you learn, right? What performs and what doesn't. And so if you posted something that was a little bit more outlandish or a little bit more judgmental, and you saw that it got a lot of views, you're gonna keep doing that. You're gonna keep making that kind of content.

And the problem as a viewer is if you watch that and you watch it all the way [00:23:00] through. You're telling Instagram or TikTok, I like this,

Krissy: Hmm.

Megan McNamee: I want to see more of this. And so now you keep getting fed and the more you buy into it, the more you're gonna keep getting fed that kind of content. And then it suddenly seems like everything is that when you're just seeing a tiny little pocket of the internet.

Krissy: right.

Megan McNamee: it feels like, oh my gosh, everyone has, it actually happens really easily in the, like the fitness space

Krissy: Hmm.

Megan McNamee: because I try to keep tabs on that, obviously with what I do as a dietician, but I also love to lift weights. And so I started following some people about like different weight lifting techniques and oh my gosh, the bombardment of what I eat in a day and how I'm in a calorie deficit and like, like it became my whole feed.

And I was like, what is happening? It's like wild how quickly you can change the type of content you see by what you start consuming and it can be really dangerous for your mental health. So I just hope parents know that, you know, if you want to start seeing. If you don't wanna start seeing that kind of stuff, start unfollowing or, you know, stop [00:24:00] consuming it because the, the more you pay attention to what you actually want on your feed, the more you're gonna start seeing more of that.

And if there's an account or some type of content that you really like, start engaging with that content and that's how it will change your own personal AL algorithm.

Krissy: Right. Find the people that you trust

Megan McNamee: Yes. That you trust and you feel safe there and you feel comfortable. And then start watching their stories or start commenting and liking on their content.

And that's going to shift what you start seeing.

Krissy: Yes. The engaging is so huge because I noticed so quickly how people that I love following fade away from my stories. They're no

Megan McNamee: I know,

Krissy: at the end because

Megan McNamee: I know.

Krissy: the heart in enough times, and,

Megan McNamee: Right.

Krissy: and then some other people are cycling their way through. So if you want to keep those people at the forefront because you trust what they're bringing to the table for you and bringing value,

Megan McNamee: Engage. And you can also favorite them too. You can add them to your favorites on [00:25:00] Instagram, and then they should show up at the top of your feed. Or you can even sort by favorites in your feed. And that just helps. I don't know, man, it's just so, it's like wild west out there with what people are seeing and it's, it's a alarming to me because it's, you don't have to have any sort of credentials or any sort of education now to teach and to influence and a lot of it's not accurate.

And that's what's so scary about that. So anyway, keep yourself safe. Moms and dads like that. It's okay to put the phone down. It's okay to just not go on it if it's affecting your mental health in that way.

Krissy: Yes. 1000%. So I wanna hear before we wrap up this episode, what is, as somebody who has a two and a 4-year-old, and a lot of my audience has younger children, what are some of the things we have to look forward to? I,

Megan McNamee: Oh, this is the best question. Oh my gosh. So you soon will be out of diapers. You can go places without worrying about a nap schedule. We go to Disneyland every year, and I don't [00:26:00] bring in, when I walk into the park, I bring a, like a belt bag. That is it. That is it. I put my water in there. We tend to just like share my water.

My kids will drink or we'll buy water if we need to or just grab water on the go. 'cause we're going on rides. That's another thing. You're going on rides. So if you have older kids, you get to do all the fun, big, scary rides. I mean, not every kid is into that, but my kids kind of have been forced into that because that's our family and we love it.

And they, and they're the, you know, as you get older, I know it makes, the internet makes it seem like, okay, you only have these four years or these five years of little kid life. But the, the magic doesn't end when they go to kindergarten. They actually remember those mem those traditions that you have as a family.

Krissy: yeah,

Megan McNamee: And it's more special to them because they have more, they have more memories around them. Right.

Krissy: yeah,

Megan McNamee: holidays are more fun. I think. I think like there is so much magic in like the elementary age. I like it more. I thought I would [00:27:00] really, I, I mean, I wish I could go back to my kids a little and just like hold them and hug them as that age, you know, for a day.

But I don't wanna go back to like not sleeping and them trying to wean off breastfeeding and not, and having to be home at noon for a nap. And like the, the whole potty training thing. Let me just say like, that sucks and it's kind of a, it's a ruse because. You potty train them, quote unquote, and you put all this work into getting them out of diapers, but they still have a diaper to go to bed, and they still have a diaper sometimes for their nap.

So like, then this whole like diaper thing, to me it was like, well, why are we even putting all this effort into this? I would just rather wait till they're completely outta diapers. Like, this is complete. I don't know, I just thought it was a, you know, a bunch of crap because you're still buying diapers and you're still dealing with diapers, but now you have to like stop the second they say they're, they have to go potty and either find a bathroom or like use your mini potty.

I don't know. I was like, just keep 'em in diapers then. I just, that whole thing's. Yes,

Krissy: without,

Megan McNamee: yes. That whole thing sucks. So, I don't know. There's, [00:28:00] there's a lot of really cool stuff about big kids that you just have a lot more freedom and then they can help you do stuff around the house. They can entertain themselves.

You can wake up on a Saturday whenever you want until youth sports hit, and then that's a totally different story. But,

Krissy: Yeah,

Megan McNamee: but like if you, you're, I remember my kids learned how to. Turn on the TV and put on a cartoon. And so if they got up at six o'clock on a Saturday, I would hear them little pitter-patter downstairs, they'd turn on the TV and they'd watch a show and they'd just be waiting for me when I got up.

Like, that's game changing, game changing. When they can do that and they can entertain themselves, now they're old enough that in the summer, like I, we put 'em in camps and stuff throughout the summer, but if they don't have a camp, they can entertain themselves during the day while I work.

Krissy: Wow. Yep.

Megan McNamee: different than what that, and I just think that everyone makes you feel like the early time is all that matters.

And like you, you're building a relationship with your child all throughout their [00:29:00] life. And the stuff that's really fun are like, I like going to soccer games, all the school stuff like the, you know, first day of school, like all of the tooth fairy, like there's so many fun things past that early kid stage.

Krissy: Yeah.

Megan McNamee: think it's better actually. So I think you guys all have a really, like a lot of things to look forward to.

Krissy: Sounds like the best is yet to come then,

Megan McNamee: Yeah, absolutely.

Krissy: Tell us about where we can find you to get more of your gems of knowledge that you

Megan McNamee: Thank you. Yeah, so we're at feeding littles.com on Instagram at Feeding Littles. We have a course for infants and then a course for toddlers and kids. Um, they're very, you know, low cost courses that kind of give you access to expert advice and, um, everything you would know if you came to see us privately, but just from the comfort of your own home.

That's at feeding littles.com. And then we have a cookbook called Feeding Littles, um, and beyond. And then our lunchbox book is Feeding Littles Lunches. And we also have a busy bag [00:30:00] for like those long restaurant wait times. So we've got a lot of fun stuff. If you just had to feeding littles.com

Krissy: Well, thank you so much for taking the time, sharing your experience with us today. We'll have you back on the next episode to

Megan McNamee: Awesome.

Krissy: Feeding Littles because I have so many questions about that.

But thank you very much.

Megan McNamee: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Next week, Megan's coming back and we're getting into the messy and often guilt ridden world of feeding our kids. If you've ever spent an hour cutting fruit into star shapes, only for your toddler to chuck it across the room or questioned if chicken nuggets three nights in a row makes you a bad mom, you are not alone.

Megan's breaking down what feeding littles really looks like and how to bring more ease and connection and trust back to the table. Trust me. You don't wanna miss this. If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share with a friend. Make sure you're following the show so you don't miss an episode. Take a moment to leave a five star rating and a written review. It really helps other moms find the show so they can get on the path to finding themselves.

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