Ep 192: The Journey of Emotional Regulation in Motherhood - interview with Kristin Mize, LCSW

In this episode of the Aligned Birth Podcast, Dr. Shannon and guest Kristin Mize, a licensed clinical social worker, delve into the complexities of maternal mental health. They discuss the impact of motherhood on emotional regulation, the mind-body connection, and the importance of self-care. Kristin shares her personal journey and professional insights, emphasizing the need for awareness of stress responses and practical strategies for emotional regulation. The conversation highlights the challenges mothers face and offers hope and guidance for navigating these experiences. Kristin also discusses the importance of emotional regulation in parenting, the impact of childhood wounds on current behaviors, and the role of the nervous system in managing stress. She emphasizes the need for practice in recognizing triggers and developing healthier responses, as well as the significance of connection in parent-child relationships. The discussion also touches on the challenges of modern parenting and the necessity of self-care for effective parenting.

Takeaways

Motherhood significantly impacts emotional regulation.
Authenticity in mental health work is crucial.
Many women struggle with anxiety rather than depression postpartum.
Understanding the mind-body connection is essential for mental health.
Recognizing stress responses can help in managing emotions.
Self-care is often neglected by mothers but is vital.
Emotional regulation involves responding, not just reacting.
Identifying triggers is key to managing stress.
Practicing mindfulness can improve emotional responses.
It's okay to seek help and not have all the answers. It's essential to notice and pause before responding.
Emotional regulation takes practice and awareness.
Many parents were not taught emotional management skills.
Childhood experiences shape our current emotional responses.
Connection with children is crucial for effective parenting.
Self-care is not selfish; it's necessary for parenting.
Understanding triggers can help in managing reactions.
The nervous system plays a significant role in emotional responses.
Reparenting ourselves is part of modern parenting.
Calmness can be cultivated through consistent practices.

Transcript

Aligned Birth Podcast (00:02.537)

Hello, hello, this is the Aligned Birth Podcast. I am Dr. Shannon. I'm one of the hosts of the show, prenatal chiropractor. Typically, our other host is Rachel, who is a doula and childbirth educator. And so we talk about all kinds of perinatal conversations and perinatal being preconception, conception, pregnancy, labor, birth, and then that transition into motherhood. And so...

Today, we've got a guest on the show, Kristin Meis, who is a licensed clinical social worker. And so we're gonna go into the, kind of the motherhood aspects of things. I have like a fun title of the show and then probably like a very, like more of a clinical title for this show, but it's more of how motherhood can impact.

Kristin Mize (00:48.942)

you

Aligned Birth Podcast (00:55.355)

our ability to regulate our emotions. So that's gonna be clinical aspects of things. It's probably gonna be more of like the, you've probably heard, if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. So that's kind of part of what it's gonna talk about today too. So I'm really excited to have Kristin on today. So Kristin Meis is a licensed clinical social worker and a coach specializing in maternal mental health. She has over 20 years of experience in the mental health field and is so passionate about what she does that it never feels like work.

Kristin has both a coaching platform and private counseling practice and has helped hundreds of women overcome anxiety, overwhelm, perfectionism, and people pleasing. She knows firsthand how hard this can be as a recovering perfectionist and people pleaser herself. Hello, I'm raising my hand as well. While working and raising three very active boys. Kristin prides herself on being messy and perfect and authentic in her profession and in daily life so other moms and parents know it's okay not to be okay.

Welcome to the show, Kristin.

Kristin Mize (01:56.62)

Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here.

Aligned Birth Podcast (01:59.817)

I so the last line of what we just what I just read from like your bio is part of the reason why and I like to say this like I've been low-key obsessed with you before we actually met so I've kind of stopped you for a bit like not trying to be creepy but the the authenticity that you possess is so like it drew me in I was like I want to be with her I you know it's like

Kristin Mize (02:17.495)

Not at all.

Aligned Birth Podcast (02:26.993)

energy vampire a little bit. Like I may not have secure attachments, but I also was just like, I want to know what she knows. I want to know how she operates and how she works and how she helps moms and like all of that. Because as a therapist, I know you've got to be authentic and real and accepting of that, like knowing, okay, this is real life as well too. So that was what drew me to have you on the show. Yes.

Kristin Mize (02:51.47)

thank you so much. That means so much.

Aligned Birth Podcast (02:55.525)

No, it's, I just love it. And I'm so excited that we actually met in real life too, because I reached out and that's where I was like, okay, I want, was like, in my mind, I like, I think we'll be friends. In my mind, we are friends. I don't know if it's, I'm for you, still again, I've got the secure, the attachment issues, but so that's why I was so excited to have you on today. And I feel like there are so many topics in maternal mental health that we could never talk about it enough.

Kristin Mize (03:06.434)

Yes.

Neutral, neutral.

Aligned Birth Podcast (03:25.059)

And it's kind of like same thing with postpartum. I feel like we never really talk about it enough. And so I reached out to you and I was like, what do you think we should talk about? And you were like, la la la la la like all these things that you're seeing. So we tried to narrow it down to one, just a few. So something that really stood out to me and I think I wanted to gravitate towards some things that I see in the office as well too with the moms that I'm working with. And so this, this,

Kristin Mize (03:35.766)

Yeah, just like you. Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (03:50.217)

concept of emotional regulation. So that's where I want to go today with motherhood. But first before I before we jump into that tell me a bit about your background and how the ebbs and flows of even motherhood led you into this work focus on maternal mental health.

Kristin Mize (04:11.692)

yeah, great question. Because I think, tapping into, and thank you by the way for mentioning, being drawn into authenticity, it took me a lot of work to get there, right? And we can, that'll kind of come out throughout the podcast, but yeah, so I am a mom of three and always knew I wanted to go into counseling, right? Since I was young and for probably a lot of different reasons, but.

Aligned Birth Podcast (04:24.263)

Hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (04:39.017)

I know. Were you the kid on the playground that was always like trying to fix the conflicts and things?

Kristin Mize (04:43.997)

Absolutely. I was the therapist to my friends growing up, know, the peacemaker, the problem solver, firstborn daughter, we can talk about that too. so anyhow, so yeah, I wanted to, you know, obviously the mental health field and then having my own children and my own experience with perinatal depression. Backstory, I have, I had one son and then 20 months later I had twins. So I had three under two and

Aligned Birth Podcast (04:53.913)

Yes. huh. huh.

Kristin Mize (05:13.144)

First, pregnancy postpartum was amazing. And then I was hit like a ton of bricks with just this awful, awful perinatal depression with the twins. And me being in the field that I was in, not knowing how to help myself or get myself out of it was really scary and shocking. And so that led me down a path, of course, getting my own psychiatric help. I was in counseling at the time and still struggling. And it just, that was...

gosh, almost 14 years ago, that's scary. But there was not many people at all doing this work. And so I still carried along in my private practice working with young adults, but I finally just was like, why can't I help other moms? I was led to this work by a colleague of mine who said, Kristen, we need help. There are so many women struggling. And I'm like, me, I can't do that. I didn't specialize in that imposter syndrome.

Aligned Birth Podcast (05:43.965)

I know, I know.

Aligned Birth Podcast (06:08.443)

Hmm. Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (06:10.718)

but slowly but surely started transitioning into networking and marketing myself as a postpartum therapist and certainly getting training, of course, but honestly, pulling more from the book of life as my practice continued to grow. And that's what I do today. And it's interesting that the more women I see with postpartum either depression, mostly anxiety, I will say

Aligned Birth Podcast (06:25.053)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (06:37.756)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (06:38.126)

80 % of the women who contact me are more struggling with anxiety. doing, know, peeling back some layers with many of them, they are mostly type A perfectionistic, you used to people pleasing, high achieving rule followers, and who like to just, who have historically always been able to feel in control.

by doing these things, know, perfecting, pleasing and performing. And then you throw motherhood in and obviously there's a hormonal cascade, but it becomes unsustainable. So yes, they come into me with maybe perinatal postpartum anxiety, but then we start working on pretty much lifelong beliefs and habitual patterns that we need to rework and rewire in order to be able to sustain and thrive instead of just constantly feeling like you're in survival.

Aligned Birth Podcast (07:34.953)

Mmm, yes. gosh, everything that you said.

It's the digging deeper, you know, of like, okay, we see this issue or this tendency towards anxiety in postpartum, but it's so fun when it goes back to your own childhood. And it's like, wait a minute, you know, and sometimes it doesn't. I know, and maybe as of late, it can feel a little exhausting.

Kristin Mize (08:01.551)

Absolutely. Yeah. Sure.

Aligned Birth Podcast (08:11.413)

in the mental health world of like, everything is a trauma response and that type of thing. So I know that there can play that part too, but I think at least there's got to be an awareness before there's any sort of change, before there's any sort of movement forward or progress, right? You've got to kind of be aware of those things. So I'm glad you're doing the work.

Kristin Mize (08:13.775)

Mm-hmm.

Right. Yeah.

Kristin Mize (08:21.014)

you

Kristin Mize (08:31.149)

Bye.

Kristin Mize (08:36.162)

Absolutely.

Thank you and very much. I mean, it ties so much into the work that you do. Again, all of what I do, I'm a lifelong nerd, okay? And so I'm constantly, you know, when I went to school for psychology and counseling, we were mostly focused on cognitive behavioral therapy. You know, let's change and reframe your thoughts. How do you view this? It's mindset, this, that and the other.

But over the last five years, it's become more public information. For the last 10, 15, 20 years, so much research has now come to the light that it is so much rooted in our body, anxiety, and lots of other things. But so there's this huge connection between the mind and body that was kind of not well known about.

Aligned Birth Podcast (09:17.371)

Hmm.

Kristin Mize (09:27.801)

when I was first starting this, my journey as a professional. And so now I so much incorporate nervous system healing, nervous system regulation, what is stuck in your body from growing up that you probably had no aware of. I didn't either. I had no clue about any of this until I started doing my own work, which was necessary. When the boys were about toddlers, I just started.

I was a person I just did not want to be. I always swore I would never lose my cool, that I would be the fun mom, the easygoing mom. I was never gonna yell. And I was doing that every day, because I was just completely overwhelmed. And so yeah, it was my own deep dive into why can't I fix this? What is wrong with me? There's nothing wrong with any of you guys, by the way.

Aligned Birth Podcast (09:55.313)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (10:18.749)

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (10:20.183)

It's so just understanding where all this is coming from is probably the most powerful thing you can ever learn.

Aligned Birth Podcast (10:27.685)

There's the book and I can't remember who writes it. I feel is it like a it's the body keeps the score. Yeah, and so Very trigger warning book. It's really it's really in depth But I always think of that because when I people come in I'm like is your and I was even telling my son this this morning Because I will now go to aches and pains because the symptoms

Kristin Mize (10:32.013)

Yeah.

Kristin Mize (10:38.596)

Sure.

Aligned Birth Podcast (10:51.313)

and the body that we're feeling pain, they're signs of something. And now it's like, we just have to like speak that language or decode it. And so sometimes there is low back pain. like, your back is very emotional. And so there's one component of it of like, okay, what are ways that we can work on that? But then there's also the mechanical, like, okay, well you did bend over and you were bathing your child every day over the bathtub for so long. So there's some mechanical things as well too.

Kristin Mize (10:54.607)

You

Kristin Mize (11:03.951)

Hmm. Hmm.

Kristin Mize (11:17.775)

Right.

Aligned Birth Podcast (11:21.491)

But that mentioning that psychosomatic, you're not crazy. Like it's, you know, it is very, very real how that can manifest and get stuck in the body.

Kristin Mize (11:28.214)

No, no!

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (11:35.961)

Sure, absolutely. I say this so often. The most eye-opening piece of information that I learned within the last maybe five years is 80 % of anxiety, stress, overwhelmed frustration, any stress response originates in your body. So if we only work on your thoughts, yes, mental health is so important, right? The thoughts that we, the stories we tell ourselves, it's all very important to, you

reframe in a healthy way, but that's only working on 20 % of the problem. And so when women come into my office and they're like, my husband doesn't understand why I started taking Zoloft or why I can't just relax. And I say, well, it's because your body, your nervous system feels like you're running from a bear every day when really it's just, you worked all day, you picked up the kids from daycare cranky, you're trying to get dinner on the table that nobody's gonna wanna eat.

And then you got to bathe them and then put them to bed and yeah, now you have a whole kitchen to clean, right? So Putting it in a scientific way. caught you know, I'm like I'm gonna nerd out on you for a minute here, you know, they fact there's so much relief that comes over their face when when they're like, oh, yeah, okay, yes, and Oftentimes they say like you're in my head because yes, I was you I am you you know, um, it's yeah, we all are and so um

Aligned Birth Podcast (12:50.088)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (12:57.894)

Yeah, yeah, still a work in progress. Yeah, yeah.

Kristin Mize (13:02.777)

So yeah, it's almost like a wave of relief comes over the faces of the people that I share this with. And that's usually in the first session, because I'm like, I'm gonna tell you why you feel this way. You're not crazy, you're not failing, you're not, know, motherhood is hard. It doesn't have to be this hard, and we're gonna help you find a way to not be so overwhelmed all the time.

Aligned Birth Podcast (13:26.611)

I hope like that was a light bulb moment for some folks. was, I mean, it was a light bulb moment for me just in understanding that statistic, the 80-20 aspect of it in that why the firstborn, well, I'm an only child daughter, but you know, firstborn, people pleasing, rule following daughter, it's almost not to say you can't think your way out of this, but if you are, that's where you're gonna go. You're gonna say, okay,

Kristin Mize (13:43.309)

still.

Thank you.

Aligned Birth Podcast (13:53.691)

I can think my way out of this anxiety. I know this isn't logical. know this isn't real or whatever, but it's there's more to it. I'm so glad you said that. Yeah.

Kristin Mize (13:59.267)

Yeah, right.

Kristin Mize (14:03.593)

Yes. Well, right. so again, if you're only, everyone says, I know logically that I can go to bed with the dishes in the sinker. I know logically that my child is safe and I don't need to keep checking them, right? Depending on what they're feeling anxious about. But why can't I stop thinking about it? Because I always say your brain cannot outthink a thinking problem.

Aligned Birth Podcast (14:10.718)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (14:17.629)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (14:28.521)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (14:29.645)

Like you're never gonna come to unless you do, right? So let's say it's the dishes. Well, I can do the dishes and then feel, or I can clean my house like a rage clean. It's clean, perfect for a minute. And then that will, so that's doing something, right? To alleviate that, but you can't outthink it's a dead end. It's a dead end. And so let's say, you what if this, what if that, you're never gonna come to a conclusion if it's not existing in real life. And so you just stay on the loop. What I,

Aligned Birth Podcast (14:33.798)

Hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (14:49.993)

Hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (14:53.523)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (14:58.795)

again, making the mind-body connection. So to me, this is like, yes, you know logically these things to be irrational, okay? Your body doesn't know. So it's still in a heightened sense of fight or flight. And so it's not gonna let you relax. Your body, your nervous system has one job to keep you alive. It's survival. It knows safe and unsafe. Those are the only two words it knows. It doesn't know

Aligned Birth Podcast (15:10.173)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (15:18.822)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (15:23.272)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (15:28.817)

it's just my toddler screaming in a car in traffic, right? When you have a reaction, a stress response in your body, it starts off a cascade of thoughts. Thoughts that are sort of associated with that fight or flight mode in our body are the what ifs, the my gosh, how am I gonna handle this? They're very catastrophic, right? And whereas, when we're...

Aligned Birth Podcast (15:33.289)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (15:56.911)

calm and regulated and feeling pretty even keeled, we can maybe respond to our toddler screaming in the car with more compassion or, you know, more logic and kindness than we might be if we're already in fight or flight.

Aligned Birth Podcast (16:09.288)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (16:14.043)

Mm-hmm. No, okay. I love all of that. I don't even know if that's what we were going to talk about today. Because now I'm trying to like, wait a minute. What was this episode about? It's emotional regulation. It is. It is. It is. It's all connected. So that's part of the how motherhood impacts our ability to regulate our emotions.

Kristin Mize (16:20.887)

Hmm. Why does it sideways into a... Well, it sideways into... Yeah, right. Yeah, it really is. I know,

Aligned Birth Podcast (16:42.697)

And I think too, and you mentioned this as well, it's not just first time moms, because first time can throw you for a loop, yes, but then it's also the second, third, fourth, sometimes that's also it because you also have this other one. Like sometimes I see that a lot in that ability to, especially if they're close together in age, well, even if they're far apart, because then you're trying to regulate this other child. So.

Kristin Mize (16:51.171)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (16:59.695)

Yeah.

Kristin Mize (17:04.857)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (17:09.757)

I don't know where I want to go with that. Like there's something in there of what does that mean for us to regulate our emotions to help in motherhood.

Kristin Mize (17:18.573)

Mm-hmm. Yeah. It's so funny you say that literally in one week's time, I've gotten calls from four or five moms who are second time moms who have a three-year-old and let's say a newborn. And it's just fascinating, right? And that was me too. I think I handled my first and even the second until maybe, know, toddlerhood. It's compilation of stress. So yeah, so emotion regulation.

It's really about how we respond to what we're feeling. It's not about, you know, staying calm all the time. It's not about stuffing it down. It's not about, you know, pushing through just to get to bedtime. It's really about what we notice that we're feeling and how we respond to it. Hopefully it's not by like, you know, cussing somebody out or like yelling at our kids, but that's what happens because

Aligned Birth Podcast (17:52.937)

Mm-mm.

Kristin Mize (18:13.953)

we can only respond when we're noticing what's going on with us. We normally react because we are on autopilot so often. We are multitasking. We are involved in too many things if we have a hard time saying no. And so when you're in autopilot and it's a neuroscience thing, you're not in

Aligned Birth Podcast (18:19.941)

Mm-hmm. React. Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (18:41.281)

your logical prefrontal part of your brain, which is in charge of planning, processing, communicating, problem solving. When you're an autopilot, most of us are in fight or flight because it's just the cadence of our day, right? Our heart rate is more elevated or we're just on the verge of survival mode, of that fight or flight where one more thing and it could set us off. And so we're reacting then.

Aligned Birth Podcast (18:50.301)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (18:55.645)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (19:07.24)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (19:10.669)

we're not responding. And so that's where we walk around. If we're already just this low boil of like stress, anxiety, and overwhelm under the surface and one thing gets added on, then we're quick to react, right? Yell, lose it, whatever, jump, startle, right? And that's, know, dysregulation, okay?

Aligned Birth Podcast (19:10.931)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (19:33.469)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (19:33.611)

And so regulation is really just about slowing down and noticing to be able to respond like, I'm feeling a little irritated. What do I need to do so that I can take care of myself? Or I'm feeling out touched. I mean, who is in as a mom? What can I do to take space for myself before I snap? Now notice I said this involves taking time for yourself and how bad are moms at that?

Aligned Birth Podcast (20:02.473)

You're always last on the list.

Kristin Mize (20:03.577)

Yeah, exactly. And so for moms, it's huge because in how motherhood really truly impacts our ability is we have so much input, whether it's the to-do list, whether it's actual tasks to get done, especially if you are that list

Aligned Birth Podcast (20:15.721)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (20:23.681)

you know, checker offer, you know, or it's, you know, replaying a conversation that you had two days ago that you're feeling anxious about or and then yeah, exactly like do they like me today? Again, people are always wanting to make sure everything is right. So think about all of that noise that's going on. And that's essentially just like, act like when we have that much going on in our brain, it's going to send a signal to our body like, Whoa, where's the fire?

Aligned Birth Podcast (20:26.429)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (20:33.257)

Why didn't I say this?

Aligned Birth Podcast (20:44.094)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (20:52.879)

Why are things going on so fast upstairs? And so even without knowing it, our bodies are getting right up here into almost that stress zone where we react. And so it's just so much input. And if you're not taking care of yourself or noticing all that is up there or in your body, then there's not enough output.

Aligned Birth Podcast (20:53.544)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (21:16.583)

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (21:21.143)

And that's when we, come, as I say, it's going to come out sideways somewhere. You know? Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (21:25.061)

Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's like it's energy trapped in the body like it's gonna come out You know whether it's a reaction or a response, you know, and I do always love breaking down the word response able like responsible I really I gravitate towards that in that like I have the ability to respond, you know and responsible and you know meaning that's like to me it's like a duality of of that word and even one year I pick a word of the year every year one year was kumbaka

Kristin Mize (21:32.953)

Thank you.

Kristin Mize (21:38.257)

Mmm! Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (21:48.899)

Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (21:54.055)

And that was like the pause between from like inhale to exhale. So it's like taking something in what's happening and then like being able to respond instead of like react. I don't know how well that I'm still working on that. That word was from like years ago. So I think, you know, and for me in particular, it's the

Kristin Mize (21:57.391)

Thanks.

Kristin Mize (22:05.145)

Yeah. Yeah.

Well, use your intention. Yeah, I know. We'll try. Yes.

Aligned Birth Podcast (22:24.559)

If I have my morning planned out, if I have things that I have set to do and I want to get these done before I move on to this next one, and if an interruption happens, it took me a while to realize, I was like, why? I'm just, that just frustrates me to no end and I immediately go to...

Kristin Mize (22:31.833)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (22:49.457)

reacting instead of responding. I know I'm not the only one, but that's just like an example. I just, and so it took a while for me many, many years to be able to say like, okay, or to voice that. Like I would react or yeah, I would react and I wouldn't respond, but it would just happen. I'd be like, well, I don't know what's happening. And I think there's a point of like, okay, I can voice that when A, B and C happens, I know that this is what triggers me. So,

Kristin Mize (23:00.047)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (23:09.327)

Right.

Aligned Birth Podcast (23:19.197)

Why? What do I do to change that? Is that part of your process too in like recognizing those things or how does that work or how do you help women do that?

Kristin Mize (23:30.999)

Absolutely. So really it's just becoming aware of your stress response. Like you say frustration, right? Anytime you feel something in your body like, okay, because again, I mentioned it's 80 % of the time it's coming from there. And most of the time when I say that people are like, yeah, for sure. It starts in my chest or my stomach and then it comes out. It's a trigger obviously, right? So we look at, okay, what are your triggers?

Aligned Birth Podcast (23:36.425)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (23:48.969)

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (23:53.534)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (24:00.271)

Okay, and how can we recognize that number one, I think and then plan for how to approach that time of day, right? okay, and sit because you're right. The magical moment is the pause and that's what I say to myself all the time. Because if we can pause our stress response is very automatic. If you're used to whether it's yelling or or

Aligned Birth Podcast (24:00.521)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (24:25.225)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (24:29.941)

swearing or sometimes people shut down too. Okay, have go internal but it is so automatic. So as soon as you feel any twinge of that stress response or frustration, it's going to take you down. I like to say the autobahn, right? It is like it's there. It's super fast. It happens so fast. And let's just say, yeah, that's frustration or you spiral. Okay. But we can, I like to say, okay,

Aligned Birth Podcast (24:33.415)

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (24:48.36)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (24:57.999)

Hop off the 100 mile an hour path here, right? Because it comes very ingrained. Stress response, again, keeping you safe. Doesn't have time to think about other problems or other ways to handle the problem. I like to use this metaphor of, I want you to imagine you're gonna pull over to a rest stop and, know, hold on a second there, right? Like get off the 100 mile or the peach pass lane, whatever, you know? The fast lane and hop on to or into a rest stop.

Aligned Birth Podcast (25:21.79)

Mm.

Kristin Mize (25:29.071)

pause and Then think about how again we think about this beforehand, but how do you want to show up in those moments? All right, because again you are not going to show up in a responsive kind compassionate way if you don't catch yourself Going all the way up to that immediate stress response. And so thinking about what and how you want to show up and then Recognizing when it starts to happen. That's the magic

Aligned Birth Podcast (25:36.701)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (25:58.419)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (25:58.743)

And nobody's going to get it every single time. Being calm and emotionally regulated doesn't mean you're going to be like perfect and, you know, Mary Poppins all the time. Yeah. Right. Exactly. No.

Aligned Birth Podcast (26:06.705)

Yeah, there's like a dumpster fire all around and you're just over here with your chamomile teeth. That's not and I usually tell people to that with like the nervous system. I'm like that's no I want you to respond appropriately. Uh-huh. Yeah

Kristin Mize (26:14.934)

Right. Saying you're fine. Yeah, saying you're fine and you're fine and there's that dumpster fire happening beneath the surface, right? You're not fine. And like I said, that's going to come out. And so it's really just about noticing, pausing and responding in a different way. And it sounds so simple. It's like, but if you can do that, I don't, and I always say start with something small, right? I have clients who might be better at

Aligned Birth Podcast (26:21.033)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (26:41.192)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (26:45.647)

creating a change, let's say in work-life balance, like, okay, I can stop work when I need to, when originally they come in, it's all very overwhelming and stressful, but then they start to set a small boundary with work and then they get better at that. And so then they continue to create boundaries at work. And so they get really good at, let's say at work-life balance, for instance, or not letting work consume their brain at home when they're playing with their baby after work, right?

Aligned Birth Podcast (26:56.477)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (27:12.605)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (27:13.871)

All right, well then it's just copy and paste. How did you do that? Well, you noticed where something wasn't working for you, you came up with an idea of how you want to respond or be present there, and you practiced the same skills of pausing and responding differently, except you can just apply it to different aspects of your life, whether it's work, whether it's cranky toddlers, whether it's your husband.

Aligned Birth Podcast (27:16.211)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (27:37.287)

Mm-hmm.

And I would say it gets easier, you know, as far as you're like, I think it gets easier to notice what triggers and then to, I love that you said, well, how do you want to show up? You know, like, and I have to look at like, okay, if I have a goal or something, well, what does, what does that person do to achieve that? You know, what does their day to day look like? And it's kind of the same thing in that, like, if this is, how do you want to parent? How do you want to show up? Well, then how, how does that person?

Kristin Mize (27:51.503)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (28:09.809)

respond to certain things, you know?

Kristin Mize (28:12.431)

Right. Exactly. And again, it's exactly, and the biggest thing though is it takes practice because as I mentioned, that stress response is so ingrained and so automatic that, and most of the time, for instance, women, if they come to me in their early thirties, you know, it's been over 30 years of programming. And so it's about

Aligned Birth Podcast (28:19.872)

yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (28:32.582)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (28:36.231)

It's like learning a new language. You know how you do flashcards when you're learning Spanish in middle school or something? I liken it to the same thing. Like you have to practice this every single day to then train yourself to notice and become more aware when you are going down the path you don't want to, let's say, and take that pause and then respond. Because truly, as it comes to emotion regulation skills,

Aligned Birth Podcast (28:46.013)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (28:55.495)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (29:04.217)

bless our parents, but this is all new. And so we were not taught these skills. Every newborn is born with every single emotion they'll ever experience, but zero skills to be able to manage said emotions. And so yeah, if we're taught skills like life skills, how to brush your teeth, how to, even as you get older, pay bills, right? How to drive a car, we're taught.

Aligned Birth Podcast (29:07.325)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (29:30.991)

But if our parents didn't know that they were skills, right? They were just like, stop crying or here, give your sister her toy so she'll stop crying. you know, we were kind of, go to your room, knock it off. I'll give you something to cry about. You know, these are many of the things that our parents, for no fault of theirs. And so those aren't skills. We were just taught like, just be quiet and don't cause problems. A lot of, you know, and...

Aligned Birth Podcast (29:46.269)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (29:49.917)

Exactly.

Aligned Birth Podcast (29:57.186)

Mm-hmm. Yeah, and avoidance of it or not even discussing it. Yeah, yeah, yeah or feeling the things not even name. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (30:02.273)

Mm-hmm. Not even naming it, right? And that's, think, a generational thing that's coming up with millennials in particular, where now we know this information and people say it's soft parenting, gentlemen. It's not. It's conscious parenting. It's just like helping our kids learn how to manage their emotions. But a lot of times, if you're a millennial like myself, geriatric millennial, and then younger, we're learning these skills alongside them.

Aligned Birth Podcast (30:11.283)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (30:27.003)

Yes. Thank you.

Aligned Birth Podcast (30:32.337)

Yeah, that's real fun. That's been a lot of fun. That's been lot of fun. Yes, I know, because you and I have very similar age children. I have a 15 year old and a 12 year old. And so I'm constantly talking to my 15 year old and I try to, I'm like open enough to have this like relationship, but also, you know, I'm just kind of like, sometimes I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know why I'm responding like this. I'm sorry, like I'm working on this.

Kristin Mize (30:33.167)

Because we never did. Yeah! Especially with teenagers.

Kristin Mize (30:41.839)

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (30:57.699)

This one!

Aligned Birth Podcast (30:59.527)

But this, when you do this, I feel a certain way and it's not your fault, but I'm letting you know that this is uncovering things in me. I say that a lot. I'm just like.

Kristin Mize (31:09.379)

I say I'm growing up with you too.

Aligned Birth Podcast (31:12.197)

Yes, it really is and I think that's what's throwing me for a loop most of the time like, my god, I didn't expect this but it's a beautiful people journey to be on

Kristin Mize (31:19.919)

you

No, we want to feel connected with our teenagers. We want to feel connected and calm with our toddlers. It's the same principles. I went through a lot of self-work and figuring this stuff out when my boys were toddlers. And I'm like, my God, it's bringing more out of me as their teens as well. And so a lot of the things that I teach my clients, it can be for toddlers, teens, and anywhere in between, because yeah, it's...

Aligned Birth Podcast (31:27.773)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (31:39.453)

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (31:49.807)

really, really hard. to your point, a lot of times what we don't realize is our own wounds, our own stuff is coming out, which most people don't think. They're like, I had a great childhood. And I'm like, I love that for you. I know you did. There's these, so our own childhood wounds come out or our own triggers are usually something that feels so big in the moment because it's not just about what our child is doing in front of us.

Aligned Birth Podcast (32:06.727)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (32:19.487)

it brings up a lot from our own past. And so that's why a lot of times our reactions are way bigger than what's actually going on. And so yeah, it's recognizing those things as well. We do a lot of that in therapy.

Aligned Birth Podcast (32:28.168)

Hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (32:36.623)

I think and for anybody listening, maybe a good tool is just to kind of ask the question why. Like, and you may not be able to completely dive down wide, but I know I got to, I mean, it came to like a hard stop and I was like, why do I have these thoughts? Why am I feeling a certain way when all of this is okay? What is going on? Why? And then it was kind of a, okay, I think I need to talk to someone and let's figure this out.

Kristin Mize (32:53.805)

Hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (33:06.057)

the why and it was for me when I had started therapy the biggest thing and I always loved this was the questions the therapist would ask because it's like I wasn't asking myself those questions but or I would give her a response and most of the time I would she would ask something I respond I was like I don't really like what I just said there you know and it was kind of like but this is what came out

Kristin Mize (33:29.039)

Yeah?

Aligned Birth Podcast (33:31.475)

But that's where I think the conversation is so key to have the connection with the therapist, to be vulnerable, to be real. You've got to be that if you want to progress and you want to move forward. But for me, it was those questions of, okay, well, just the questions she would ask. I'm like, I wouldn't even think to ask that. And then I'd be like, why am I responding like this? And then it would just open that up to be like, okay.

maybe a little bit of why to give me the chance to respond, you know?

Kristin Mize (34:03.535)

Absolutely. I kind of liken my work to an investigator Trying to help you figure out, you know, a lot of times when we have big reactions present day It's because it reminds us of something or and not reminds us I'm gonna I'm gonna say this most often we have really big emotional reactions like you know, whether it's yelling or anxiety

Aligned Birth Podcast (34:08.227)

You are. are. It's the questions.

Kristin Mize (34:31.373)

because what we're seeing in front of us, let's say our child, they're acting in a way that did not feel safe for us to act when we were young. Now, I'm not suggesting that everybody went through harsh abuse, but if we were told be seen and not heard don't cause problems, right? If we had these ideas, just keep achieving, stay perfect, make sure everybody's happy, and you have a kid who's throwing themselves on the ground with huge emotions being loud.

disruptive, that is going to trigger us because that feels very unsafe. We weren't necessarily not allowed, but it wasn't really welcomed maybe in a lot of the homes that we grew up in to have these full on meltdowns at five, right? Like you're too old for that. Well, not really. We know a lot more to developmentally that what is appropriate, age appropriate and what isn't, right? We were just expected to be able to handle our shit by the time we were, I don't know, five, six, seven.

Aligned Birth Podcast (35:10.61)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (35:15.675)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (35:29.323)

Now we know so much more that it's not developmentally appropriate for kids to be able to manage their emotions until about seven years old. They're not actually capable, even neurophysiologically, of doing so. Anyways, I could go on for days about that. So think about if you're overwhelmed, if you're overstimulated, if you're having really big reactions that don't feel good to you.

Aligned Birth Podcast (35:33.307)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (35:38.897)

Hmm. Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (35:56.865)

Number one, think the first thing I always tell my clients is, it's not because you're mean. It's not because you're a bad mom. You're overwhelmed. Your system is overwhelmed. And the first thing that I suggest to clients is to start to do things that calm their body down. Because if your body is not calm, your brain will not stop. Because if your body's constantly on edge, your brain's going to say, well, where's the fire? Right?

Aligned Birth Podcast (36:14.397)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (36:24.285)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (36:24.887)

They're freaking out downstairs. What do we need to do? I liken that office scene of like, what's the procedure? And everybody's freaking out. That's what's going on in your brain when really there's no bear standing in front of you. There's nobody standing in front of you with a gun. It's really just a long day of maybe being out touched, overstimulated, too much noise.

Aligned Birth Podcast (36:32.584)

I love it. That's very true. Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (36:42.089)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (36:55.439)

I tell my clients to breathe. know it's, they're like, I came to you, I need a breather. I know, you? Yeah, have have diaphragmatic breathing. I tell them to spend time in quiet, which a lot of them don't like, because then they're with their thoughts, that's, know, but that's the point. I tell them to listen to guided meditations because, and they're like, I'm terrible at it. I said, I know everybody is when they start, but it's something to help you.

Aligned Birth Podcast (36:57.819)

Mm-hmm. I know they're like I do breathe and I'm like do you?

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (37:22.249)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (37:24.975)

Essentially, the work, most of the work, the hardest work is letting your body know you're safe to relax. It's safe to calm down. And when we do that, your brain is like, wait a minute, things are calming down. Maybe we can actually slow down. But it's a totally different framework.

Aligned Birth Podcast (37:32.947)

Hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (37:41.17)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (37:48.079)

to wrap your head around then like I'm here because I have so many thoughts in my head and I keep yelling we think it's because there's some you know brain chemistry which yes it is but so much is also rooted in our nervous system just being so overwhelmed and overtaxed.

Aligned Birth Podcast (37:55.593)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (38:02.971)

No, definitely. see that a lot, obviously in the office. I will add my, because I feel compelled to add that chiropractic lens to it as far as, I've got, I mean just this past week, I've got a mom who's low back hurts now because she's sitting on the floor playing with her daughter who's sitting up more.

Kristin Mize (38:12.983)

Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

Aligned Birth Podcast (38:26.225)

It's the bending over the bathtub and washing the baby a lot more like in the, it's the lifting of the car seat as baby's gotten bigger and heavier and all of those things. So there's like mechanical aches and pains as well too when folks come in the office for me. But then I'm always like, I'm really excited for this adjustment to impact your nervous system, even though you weren't really expecting that. And I know you understand that too, but when I'm looking at it's like,

Kristin Mize (38:33.688)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (38:50.877)

yeah. Yep.

Aligned Birth Podcast (38:55.251)

There's so many things, there's so many parts of healing. So it's not just, it's like the work, there's more work to do. And that sounds horrible. I don't mean it's like things you have to do, but it's, there's parts to it. So it's kind of like the going in and getting adjusted, the going into therapy, but that's the like doing the breathing, the meditation. Like we know these things sometimes, but then there's always those excuses of I don't have time or I'm not good at it. And it's...

Kristin Mize (39:06.275)

Right.

Kristin Mize (39:13.977)

Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (39:22.865)

because we have all these years of baggage and it's tough. that's where it's consistency I think is huge in that. Because the end goal isn't that you are always calm. And I think some people think emotional regulation is you are always calm and there's that dumpster. And we already said this, but I want people to understand that you...

Kristin Mize (39:32.302)

Yes.

Aligned Birth Podcast (39:49.895)

there are stressors and you are supposed to respond to a stressor and then we come back to our baseline and we don't really come back to the baseline anymore because we haven't done those little healing properties. And so that's where the therapy comes in, the emotional regulation, like, you know, training procedures that you are doing with people, like I feel that the adjustments come in and really impacting vagus nerve and that ability to rest and calm. So it's not that we don't

Kristin Mize (39:53.9)

Absolutely.

Kristin Mize (40:02.927)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (40:20.271)

have stressors. It's just that we don't stay at that level continuously. Yeah.

Kristin Mize (40:26.031)

Absolutely. is, yeah, responding appropriately or even if you don't, okay, but being able to return back to, I say, green regulated, right? And again, I just want to really hammer this point because people are like, it didn't originate in motherhood where our nervous systems began to be taxed. So if we, again, grew up thinking, well, I only feel like I can relax once my room is clean, once my homework is done, if somebody's mad at me, I can't relax.

Aligned Birth Podcast (40:34.216)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (40:55.439)

if our nervous system is almost on the verge of that, like, ugh, fight or flight activated space, well, and if we don't know how to come down from that, unless we perfect, please, or perform, then our new baseline exists pretty high, right? If 10 is your max, where then you enter into fight or flight, you live at about a nine, nine and a half. So you only have one to 0.5, let's say, of room for

any more stress before your lid is just flipped, right? And so, but things like, I highly recommend chiropractic care for nervous system healing as well as functional issues. But yeah, it's these little practices. You can breathe anywhere. That's what I tell people. You can sit in silence anywhere. You can listen to a five minute meditation that can maybe help reset. And so when you practice these things,

Aligned Birth Podcast (41:42.142)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (41:54.767)

That is actually almost like doing reps in the gym and will lower your baseline nervous system state. And so yeah, now maybe your baseline, you live at a five or a six out of 10, which is not great, but it's much better. And now think about the four or five more levels that you have of bandwidth by doing that.

Aligned Birth Podcast (41:59.209)

Hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (42:17.897)

I, yeah, I don't know if you saw the light bulb go off above my head while you were talking, because I've been taking notes while I usually do this during things. It didn't originate in motherhood. That was the thing. I hope that that was like a key for somebody, you know? I really do, because sometimes then I don't want you to be like resentful of motherhood as well too. So it's like it didn't originate here. It's showing up here.

Kristin Mize (42:32.035)

This is... This is...

Kristin Mize (42:39.521)

Yeah.

No

It sure is.

Aligned Birth Podcast (42:48.207)

in that or and maybe you're now like, why is this happening? Maybe you never really questioned that why, but that's key, I think. Yeah.

Kristin Mize (42:56.035)

Yeah, right. so again, and that's the work that we do, you know, in therapy or even in coaching is just kind of like, well, let's think about, you know, it's funny. People always say, I've always been kind of an anxious person. They say that, never said I've never had anxiety. And is it anxious or have you always kind of lived in that like on edge fight or flight? Yeah. Right. Right. And so, and then

Aligned Birth Podcast (43:00.393)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (43:12.274)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (43:18.513)

Everything's up here, the water level's here at your collarbone, like yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Kristin Mize (43:24.909)

And as I think I mentioned in the beginning of the podcast, it's just that what we used to be able to do to help that go away is no longer sustainable when you have a three-year-old, a one-year-old, or just one child and you're just, you know, white-knuckling it. So it's about learning new ways and to reduce that stress in our system and in our mind. And yeah, I'm a nerd and I'm obsessed with it.

Aligned Birth Podcast (43:38.418)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (43:53.257)

Now I love it. What are some ways that people can connect with you or reach out with more questions or things like that?

Kristin Mize (44:03.375)

Absolutely. Great question. So I'm really, I try to be active on Instagram and my handle there is calm mom collective. Yeah, a little hokey, but you know, where we try and again, I help try to teach moms how to be calm, but also I've gotten so much information about teaching our kids, know, regulation skills and understanding our kids and what's going on with them. So it's also like parenting tools.

Aligned Birth Podcast (44:15.305)

I love it.

Aligned Birth Podcast (44:29.745)

Yeah, because if we didn't know how to do it and I'm still working on it, then what do I do with this child? Yeah.

Kristin Mize (44:33.475)

Sure, same. Exactly. We're the generation that we're re-parenting ourselves, we're parenting our kids, and then maybe we're trying to parent our parents who are acting fools, boomers, I'm kidding. But it's a really difficult thing. And also, I just want to say that, give yourself grace and compassion. Nobody's got this all figured out. So I'm on CommMom Collective on Instagram. My website is KristenMize.com. It's K-R-I-S-T-I-N-M-I-Z-E.

Aligned Birth Podcast (44:39.566)

huh.

Aligned Birth Podcast (44:45.361)

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (45:03.535)

And you can reach out to me through my website or Instagram. Those are probably the two best ways

Aligned Birth Podcast (45:08.649)

Yay! I love it. Let's see, anything else you wanted to mention that maybe we didn't touch on that you really wanted to? Or I know.

Kristin Mize (45:20.195)

Gosh, I mean, I could talk all day, but I think I really encourage you, like if there's anyone listening who has questions about, this connection between maternal mental health and the nervous system, please reach out. mean, it's just, again, so much of what I do, and that's why I brought coaching into my space as well as educating, right? I mean, this is going on 45 minutes, but I could, there's hours of this that I could teach you. Of course I condense it, but, and so really I don't,

Aligned Birth Podcast (45:39.997)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (45:49.261)

I don't give advice. offer, you know, I'm kind of like coaching on here's how to approach this. Here's why this happens. And so it's so much information and education that I typically provide, which again is helpful to then go into your home and handle things differently or try things differently as well. So.

Aligned Birth Podcast (45:54.899)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (46:06.693)

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Aw. Do you ever work with, like, the parent-child, like, dyad, I guess, you know? Like, yeah.

Kristin Mize (46:14.895)

Yes, typically I don't bring children in but that's so much of what I do is offer tips and strategies on how to handle. Now it's funny, some of them I'm like, gosh, I wish I could just go in their home, right? Because especially if there's a lot of stress and chaos and conflict, especially when there's children, you know, maybe that are really clashing with mom. Gosh, I so much would want to do that, but that's not yet. But

Aligned Birth Podcast (46:23.165)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (46:30.247)

Yeah.

Kristin Mize (46:44.545)

in my office, I absolutely give off multiple strategies on how to handle different situations and how to parent in a way that they want to parent, but there's that block, right? Of like, why don't they just get this? So even just understanding developmentally where their child is can also be very helpful to parents kind of like, like for instance, if there's a parent who's like, my kid should be able to calm down, go to their room and calm down. And I was like, they're...

Aligned Birth Podcast (46:49.289)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (46:58.562)

Mm-hmm

Kristin Mize (47:13.987)

five, they're not, they need you to help show them, right? And just things like that. So, and there's no judgment because I didn't know this either, you know.

Aligned Birth Podcast (47:15.881)

Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (47:20.529)

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. It's a lot of like, we don't know what we don't know. Yeah.

Kristin Mize (47:26.279)

Right. And so I often say it's like throwing spaghetti at a wall. I have so many different back ways in to try and get parent, know, child, dyad, mesh, you better. Really what it comes down to is connection first. I'll say that connection before correction all the time. If they have a better connection with you, they're going to listen more or not listen. They're going to hear you more quickly. You're going to feel more cooperative.

Aligned Birth Podcast (47:34.749)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (47:40.733)

Yeah.

Aligned Birth Podcast (47:44.169)

Hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (47:51.707)

Yeah.

Kristin Mize (47:55.319)

But like if they're constantly like, mom's mad, she's yelling at me and there's or, you know, there's not that time for connection because we're just so busy with our things and in our head. They're not they're not going to buy in.

Aligned Birth Podcast (48:10.097)

And that boils down to that connection, I think, happening when mom can be regulated, right? Like, I think that's, and that's where that key, that full circle comes back where it's like focusing on you and helping you as mom is not, well, it is selfish, but it's important selfish. Like you need to do it. Selfish is a good thing sometimes, you know? Like, and it helps you be a better,

Kristin Mize (48:15.759)

Mm-hmm.

Kristin Mize (48:19.759)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (48:39.409)

mom to like foster that connection. So hopefully that clicked for someone too.

Kristin Mize (48:45.195)

Exactly. Remember, again, we cannot, we're not built or wired for connection when we're in fight or flight. Like I always say, like, let's say you're running from a bear, okay, because you're like, I got it. It's survival. We're not wired to stop and say, hey, you want to snuggle or like you want to spend time together? No, we're running for our life. And so if and fight or flight is really just dysregulation, right? And so if your kid or you are dysregulated,

Aligned Birth Podcast (48:52.691)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (49:02.921)

Yeah.

Yeah.

Kristin Mize (49:13.453)

the part of your brain responsible for connection processing, right? Listening is not online. And so you have to be regulated, you, and then get kid to regulate, co-regulation, in order for connection to be possible. So.

Aligned Birth Podcast (49:26.621)

Mm-hmm.

Aligned Birth Podcast (49:30.825)

It starts, Well, good. So for everyone listening, Kristen's gonna join again for another episode. I think this one's gonna come out first. in the another one that we're gonna do, it's gonna go more in depth with the behavior and parenting styles and all that. So we'll go more in depth with that. So thank you so much for joining me today, Kristen. This was so, good. I hope.

Kristin Mize (49:53.007)

Great.

Aligned Birth Podcast (50:00.713)

I know, I know people. I know people listening got something out of it and had several light bulb moments go off. So I'm gonna link in the show notes all the ways to connect with Kristen as well Instagram and her website. And again, thanks for joining me.

Kristin Mize (50:18.947)

Thank you so much for having me.