What I Wish I Knew : A Podcast About Pregnancy, Parenting, and Women's Health

Honest question: how much do you actually know about what’s in your baby’s formula?

We had two kids between us. Both formula fed. And we walked away from this conversation with Mallory Whitmore realizing we had been doing it mostly on instinct, word of mouth, and whatever the hospital handed us.

Mallory is the founder of The Formula Mom and the author of Bottle Service, and she has spent years filling the gap that most parents don’t even know exists. Because here’s the thing: 83% of US families use formula in the first year, and almost none of us were ever actually taught how to use it.

In this episode, we get into what formula is actually made of and why the ingredients list looks so alarming when it really doesn’t need to, the truth about corn syrup and why manufacturers use it more than they probably should, how to choose a formula when there are 50 options on the shelf, the bottle prep mistakes most parents make without knowing it, when fussiness and gas actually warrant a formula switch and when they don’t, and what Mallory would say to any parent who feels like switching to formula means they failed.

This one is for the new parents, the expecting parents, and honestly anyone who formula fed and is just now realizing how little they knew at the time. Which is us. Fully us.

Nobody talks about this. But if you are in your thirties and you have both kids and aging parents, you are already in it whether you know it or not.

This week we sit down with Samantha Vient, a certified financial planner with over 18 years of experience and a financial advisor at Ellevest, to talk about the sandwich generation. The growing number of women who are simultaneously raising children and caring for aging parents, and what that means for your finances, your career, your relationships, and your mental load.

Samantha gives us real scripts for starting the conversation with your parents, even the super independent ones who will absolutely not want to have it. She walks us through the documents you need to have access to before an emergency happens. And she talks honestly about how to weigh your kids’ future against your parents’ care without drowning in guilt.

Fair warning: Amy and Christina both realized mid-episode that their own wills need updating. So you might want to open a Google folder while you listen.

Jennifer Anderson is a registered dietitian, Johns Hopkins-trained public health expert, founder of Kids Eat in Color, CEO of Better Bites, and author of the new book Feed Them Well. She joins Amy and Christina to talk about how to nurture a healthy relationship with food in kids, from why you don't have to be a short order cook and how holding the "this is what's for dinner" boundary helps with picky eating, to how to talk about food without labeling it good or bad.

What happens when you stop climbing someone else's ladder and build your own?

Welcome to the show for women pivoting out of traditional careers and writing their own rules.

Cat Canada is a brand strategist, community builder, and founder of Re:Brand, a nearly 2,000 member community of women in transition, building the career and lives they want.

She's obsessed with the women rebranding products, industries, and themselves because she's done it herself from athlete to Marketing director to mom, and she knows it's not polished or easy. Cat and her guests talk about the choices, the mess, the revelations and the "let's go for it" moments when courage takes over.

If you're going through your own transformation or making big choices for what your life looks like, this show will leave you inspired and affirmed because a pivot is not a failure

— it's called a rebrand.

**Friends of the Pod Week! We're so excited to share this trailer with you from our new friend and overall badass, Cat Canada.

In this episode, Diane sits down with Dr. Mamina Turegano, a triple board-certified dermatologist, internist, and dermatopathologist, to talk about simplifying skincare and focusing on what actually works. Dr. Mamina shares why a minimal approach is often best, and how lifestyle factors like diet, stress, and hormones can influence skin health. We discuss common concerns like adult acne, postpartum skin changes, and eczema, along with practical ways to support the skin barrier through gentle routines and consistent care. She also offers straightforward guidance for parents, including how to treat diaper rash, when to start sunscreen, and what products are worth keeping on hand. This conversation is a helpful reset if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by skincare advice and just want a simple, effective approach.

Links Discussed in This Episode |

• Checkout the podcast storefront for recommendations from Diane.
• Subscribe to the Minimalist Moms Youtube Channel
• Active Skin RepairConnect with Dr. Mamina Turegano:
• Website
• Instagram
• TikTok
• Dr. Mamina’s Favorite Products: https://shopmyshelf.us/shops/dr.mamina

Enjoy the Podcast?

Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can also share this with your fellow mothers so that they can be inspired to think more and do with less.

Order (or review) my book, Minimalist Moms: Living & Parenting With Simplicity.

You can contact me through my website, find me on Instagram, Pinterest or like The Minimalist Moms Page on Facebook.

**Friends of the Pod Week! This week, we're excited to swap episodes with Minimalist Moms, an amazing podcast about finding simplicity in motherhood, to introduce our communities to each other's work - because there's room for all of us moms here! If you enjoy this conversation, be sure to check out more episodes from Minimalist Moms wherever you listen to podcasts and join Diane on Instagram @minimalistmomspodcast

Drumroll for greatness – Lexi Reese joins the pod this week! Lexi is the co-founder and CEO of Lanai, an AI Empowerment Platform that helps enterprises transform AI experiments into systematic success. Before Lanai, she led the Global Programmatic Ad Business at Google and then jumped to be the COO of Gusto (a unicorn, but don’t call it a unicorn as you’ll hear Lexi explain in our interview). Always one to look for ways to do more to help others thrive, after Gusto and before Lanai, she launched a campaign for California's U.S. Senate seat.

We’re tired just thinking about all of this because in addition to occupying big seats at big tables (and beautifully trying to make more seats for others) – Lexi is the mother of two girls. And for her, motherhood has been a superpower. Helping her become an even better leader (and she’s already one of the best!). As she says in this interview: “I think of motherhood as a leadership laboratory because a great leader makes people better first in their presence, but then it lasts in their absence. It stays with you. And that is what motherhood is.”

In our convo we discuss:

- Going from film-making and finance to the tech c-suite + a run at politics

- Motherhood as a leadership laboratory

- Why America sees Mothers as a bug in the system

- How kids clarified her mission to leave the world better than she found it

- How to operate at 75% when your norm is 125%

- The role her mother and her immigrant background played in shaping how she wanted to operate in the world

*******

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The Mothers is a production of Backline Media.

**Friends of the Pod Week! This week, we're excited to swap episodes with The Mothers, an amazing podcast about being a mother, to introduce our communities to each other's work - because there's room for all of us moms here! If you enjoy this conversation, be sure to check out more episodes from The Mothers wherever you listen to podcasts and join Sara on Instagram @themotherspod

Dr. Joe Dzierzewski is a clinical psychologist, sleep scientist, and Senior Vice President of Research and Scientific Affairs at the National Sleep Foundation — aka one of the most qualified people we've ever had on the show.

We get into everything parents of toddlers, school-age kids, and teens actually need to know about sleep: how much kids really need at every age (spoiler: probably more than you think), why tired kids often look like the opposite of tired, how everything you do during the day sets the stage for sleep that night, and why modeling good sleep habits matters more than you realize.

We also talk school start times, bedtime routines, sleep products that aren't worth your money, and why consistency is the only real hack.

Follow Dr. Joe and the National Sleep Foundation: @sleepfoundation

Follow WIWIK on Instagram: @whatiwishiknew_

Music by Ben Scott

Motion Design by http://Banona.co

We sat down with Luba Patlakh — bilingual speech language pathologist, certified myofunctional therapist, mom of three, and founder of Kidology Inc. — and walked away with pages of notes.

Luba started out chasing a career in broadcast journalism, worked at Good Morning America and Oxford University Press, and then took a sharp pivot into speech therapy — ultimately building a two-location therapy practice in the Philadelphia area offering speech, OT, PT, ABA, autism diagnosis, and sensory play gyms.

In this episode, we get into everything: what speech-language pathology actually is, the milestone map from babble to full sentences, when to worry and when to breathe, how pacifiers and open-mouth breathing affect speech development, what childhood apraxia looks like, and why "they'll grow out of it" is advice you should push back on. We also talk bilingualism, baby talk, sibling dynamics, and why your parents' intuition is almost always right. (We told you: everything!)

Whether you have a toddler, a school-age kid, or just want to understand how speech actually works, this episode will inform & delight.

Follow Luba on Instagram: @lubapatlakh // @kidologyinc

Follow WIWIK on Instagram: @whatiwishiknew_

Music by Ben Scott

Motion Design by http://Banona.co

Michaeleen Doucleff is an award-winning NPR science correspondent and bestselling author of two of the most talked-about parenting books in recent memory — Hunt, Gather, Parent and her newest, Dopamine Kids.

We dig into the world that today's parents are actually navigating: one where apps, games, streaming platforms, and ultra-processed snacks are engineered by billion-dollar companies specifically designed to keep our kids wanting more. Michaeleen breaks down why so much of the common advice around screen time is outdated, why taking things away without replacing them almost always backfires, and what the science actually says about building better habits with our kids.

This conversation kept coming back to something simple but easy to lose sight of: one of our most important jobs as parents is making sure our kids experience real joy, real satisfaction, and real contentment. Not the endless wanting that comes from a screen, but the happy, settled feeling of a life lived to the fullest - even as a child.

Visit Michaeleen's website: http://michaeleendoucleff.com

Follow WIWIK on Instagram: @whatiwishiknew_

Music by Ben Scott

Motion Design by http://Banona.co

Kumiko Love — known as The Budget Mom— paid off nearly $80,000 in debt as a single mom and built a multi-million dollar community helping others do the same, but this conversation goes far deeper than budgets and spreadsheets. Kumiko gets honest about her own story and why she believes your finances are deeply personal — that knowing who you are and what you value is the real foundation of financial freedom. This one is equal parts money wisdom and self-discovery, and we're warning you now: have a tissue nearby.

Follow Kumiko on Instagram: @thebudgetmom

Follow WIWIK on Instagram: @whatiwishiknew_

Music by Ben Scott

Motion Design by http://Banona.co

Our favorite nutritionist is back! In this conversation with Haley Miskowiec, we dive into pregnancy nutrition and do our best to bust some myths - are you actually eating for two? What nutrients do you need more of during different trimesters? Is there a normal amount of weight gain to expect? We learned the answers to these questions and many more. Haley breaks down the facts around nutrition while pregnant.

Follow Haley on Instagram: @prenatal.nutritionist

Follow WIWIK on Instagram: @whatiwishiknew_

Music by Ben Scott

Motion Design by http://Banona.co

TW: contains content about miscarriages

This episode features Dr. Liz Grill, a reproductive health expert who holds many, many titles: Director of Psychological Services at the Ronald O.

Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Weill Cornell Medicine, Assistant Attending Psychologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and the current Chair of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association.

In short, she knows her stuff. We picked her brain about what infertility actually feels like, why so many people suffer in silence, and how to support someone going through it.

Follow Dr. Grill on Instagram: @dr.lizgrill

Follow WIWIK on Instagram: @whatiwishiknew_

Music by Ben Scott

Motion Design by http://Banona.co

When it comes to feeding your baby, there is no single path that's right for everyone - other than making sure your baby gets the nutrients it needs. This could mean breastfeeding, or pumping, or formula, or any number of combinations of these methods. We spoke with Leah Tribus, a registered nurse, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and Senior Director of Clinical and Strategic Partnerships at The Lactation Network, about the reality of making feeding decisions and all the different factors at play - including some you'll be surprised to hear. Learn why she thinks we should stop calling breastfeeding "natural", when you should consult a lactation consultant, and how to block out all the expectations that society places on women when it comes to feeding their baby.

Follow Leah on Instagram: @lactationnetwork

Visit their website: http://lactationnetwork.com

Follow WIWIK on Instagram: @whatiwishiknew_

Music by Ben Scott

Motion Design by http://Banona.co

Attention, women in your 30's and 40's: have you ever looked at your body in the mirror and thought, “What...is....happening?” If so, we'd like to cordially welcome to perimenopause. But don't worry - it's not the beginning of the end. Think of it as a recalibration, a years-long hormonal shuffle that can make your workouts feel weird and your sleep impossible (even without little kids to blame.)

In this episode, Christina sits down with CrossFit champion, coach, and mom of four Michaela North — someone who has lived high-intensity sport, multiple babies, and now a totally different relationship with strength, protein, and recovery — to break down what’s actually happening (fr fr), and what you can do about it.

Follow Michaela on Instagram: @hungryfitness

Visit their website: https://hungryfitness.co/

Follow WIWIK on Instagram: @whatiwishiknew_

Music by Ben Scott

Motion Design by http://Banona.co

As women, we can be our own worst enemy when it comes to recognizing our true worth. We're overly critical of our appearance, we prioritize our family's needs over our own, and we judge ourselves more harshly than anyone else. In part 2 of our series with Dr. Cara Reeves, a clinical psychologist and executive member of Girlology, we discuss ways to combat this negative behavior and model authentic, lasting self-love.

Follow Girlology on Instagram: @girlology

Visit their website: http://girlology.com

Follow WIWIK on Instagram: @whatiwishiknew_

Music by Ben Scott

Motion Design by http://Banona.co

This episode is dedicated to all those who are (or will be!) raising girls. With all the pressure and societal expectations placed on our collective shoulders about what a girl "should" be and how a girl "should" behave, how do we move forward confidently in the direction we know to be right? How do we model self-confidence, self-love, independence, strength, and respect? We spoke with Dr. Cara Reeves, a clinical psychologist and executive member of Girlology - a fact-based, physician-designed health education resource for girls and their parents - about these questions and more.

Follow Girlology on Instagram: @girlology

Visit their website: http://girlology.com

Follow WIWIK on Instagram: @whatiwishiknew_

Music by Ben Scott

Motion Design by http://Banona.co

Staying connected to your partner after having kids can be a real challenge. Between busy schedules, erratic sleep patterns, and the added financial & logistical pressure that comes with children....it's no wonder that many couples fall into a cycle of just making it through the day rather than focusing on their relationship. We spoke with Jocelyn & Aaron Freeman, acclaimed marriage coaches and authors, about realistic ways to re-connect with your partner. From leading with curiosity to understanding how your upbringing affects your behavior, we dig deep into connection after kids.

Follow the Freemans on Instagram: @meet_thefreemans

Visit their website: http://meetthefreemans.com

Follow WIWIK on Instagram: @whatiwishiknew_

Music by Ben Scott

Motion Design by http://Banona.co

TW: Breast cancer

We're kicking off 2026 by talking about BOOBS! We chatted with Dr. Dana Bonaminio, a world-class radiologist, mom of 2, and breast cancer survivor, about all things breast-related. We cover basic breast health must-knows, what mammograms do & why they're so important, and factors that increase your risk of breast cancer.

Plus, we may have coined the term "jiggle-ometer"...

Follow Dr. Bonaminio on Instagram: @danabonaminio

Follow WIWIK on Instagram: @whatiwishiknew_

Music by Ben Scott

Motion Design by http://Banona.co

Starting solids can feel overwhelming. From fear around choking to pressure about doing baby-led weaning “the right way,” many parents are left confused, anxious, and unsure where to begin.

In this episode of What I Wish I Knew, we sit down with Jenny Best, founder and CEO of Solid Starts, to break down the science and reality of feeding babies real food. Jenny shares evidence-based guidance on baby-led weaning, gagging versus choking, oral development, and how babies actually learn to eat.

We talk about why gagging is a normal and important part of development, why babies don’t need teeth to eat real food, and how letting babies self-feed can reduce choking risk. Jenny also explains how pressure at the table can backfire, contributing to picky eating and negative food relationships later on.

This conversation covers:

• The difference between gagging and choking
• Why gagging is developmentally normal
• How babies learn to map their mouths and chew safely
• Common myths about starting solids and baby food
• Why self-feeding supports long-term feeding skills
• How to approach holiday meals and family food pressure
• Tools and resources that actually help parents feel confident

Whether you’re preparing to introduce solids, already in the thick of feeding a baby, or supporting a new parent, this episode offers practical, reassuring, and science-backed advice to help you feel more confident at the table.

If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I doing this right?” — this episode is for you.

TW: Pregnancy loss & infertility

We sat down with Dr. Jessica Zucker—psychologist, author, and creator of the #IHadaMiscarriage movement—for a conversation about the silence surrounding pregnancy loss, infertility, and grief, among many other experiences that women share. We learned about how deeply conditioned that silence is, and the true cost of carrying these feelings alone.

Jessica shares why speaking your truth matters, how story-sharing can be healing (without necessarily being performative), and what it can look like to finally break the silence.

This episode gets a little heavy at times, and it's deeply human.

Follow Dr. Zucker on Instagram: @ihadamiscarriage

Follow WIWIK on Instagram: @whatiwishiknew_

Music by Ben Scott

Motion Design by http://Banona.co