With Mother’s Day on this coming Sunday, we wanted to take a minute (or few) to celebrate all the hard-working mamas out there! To our own moms, and the one’s we look up to and admire, we so appreciate you (see our gift guide for these fab ladies here)! Ellie Knaus is one of those inspiring moms. We thought we would share her sweet mother-daughter photos and pick her brain about motherhood and her encouraging podcast Atomic Moms, which serves as an awesome reference for moms everywhere on so many pertaining topics.

The primary ingredient for starting Atomic Moms was blind optimism! I had no idea what a huge undertaking it would be as a new mother or how deeply fulfilling. Atomic Moms gives me the opportunity to interview experts, best-selling authors, and parents all over the world in order to celebrate the highs of parenting, commiserate over the struggles, and to get some answers. I chose the podcast format because moms can listen on their commute to work, or while pushing their strollers, or during the night. It’s important to have your hands-free as a mom and a podcast gives you that freedom.

I’ve just released our 75th podcast episode and I feel like we’re just getting started. The topics arise in my everyday life or in my parenting friends’ lives, subjects like: Sleep Training, Setting Boundaries with our Kids, Postpartum Depression and Anxiety, Breastfeeding, How to Trust Your Instincts Again If You Think They Might Be Broken, Family Legacy. And then I’ll find someone who can address that topic. I’ve been incredibly lucky to meet parents and experts willing to share their sometimes very personal discoveries with us.

How it has changed me completely. Yes, I have some more lines on my face, and my body hurts in the morning. But my heart is so much bigger. I’m more sensitive to everything. Happiness is more likely to find me when I am with my child. Unless we are at the airport, in rush hour traffic, or waiting at the pediatrician’s office…Then, forget about it.

Sabrina wants to be Superman when she grows up. She loves climbing, and swinging, and horsing around on the playground with her neighborhood pals. Winding down can be a challenge in the evening. We have a bedtime ritual that we jokingly call “spa time”. She’s obsessed! We dim the lights, spritz aromatherapy spray, stretch, and breathe into our bellies. It helps calm us both.

It helps me to remember that I’m not alone in this; no one has figured it out! It’s also comforting to remember that the way it is today is not how it will always be. Our lives are constantly evolving. Also, “effortless” takes a lot of effort. Those who make it seem easy either have a lot of help or don’t get much sleep.

I can’t believe I’m going to put this out there, but I think I’m ready to get pregnant again! My girlfriends and I have joked about a pregnancy pact for the summer. Fingers crossed.

Honestly? At the very top of my wish list is getting this podcast out to moms who are feeling undervalued and overwhelmed, who want some professional insight or a mom pal to keep them company. I would also love to curl up and watch TV for a few guilt-free hours by myself.

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