Raw Life Update: Postpartum, Burnout, and Finally Asking for Help

Raw Life Update: Postpartum, Burnout, and Finally Asking for Help

A raw postpartum life update from an overwhelmed mom and life coach navigating mom burnout in real time. I'm sharing the honest truth about survival mode, why I'm asking for help, and why something has to change. In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on what life actually looks like right now. A nine-month-old, a threenager, a business in transition, and a support system that keeps falling through. If you've ever felt like you were doing everything right and still drowning, this one is for you. This postpartum season has stretched me in ways I didn't expect, and as an overwhelmed mom trying to hold a big vision alongside real life, I finally hit a wall. As a life coach, I talk about contentment, joy, and building a life that works…and right now I'm living proof that even the person teaching those tools has to keep choosing them, especially through mom burnout and seasons that just feel impossibly hard. This is me practicing what I preach by not doing it alone. I'm crowdsourcing wisdom, lived experience, and real resources from this community. If you've navigated postpartum overwhelm, found incredible childcare, or figured out how to build a support team as a mom entrepreneur, I want to hear from you in the comments. This life update is a reminder that contentment is a choice, not a destination. Drop your wisdom below, and if you made it to the end, you know what to do. 🐛 🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes on personal development, entrepreneurship, and authentic creativity. Try the AI Life Coach chatbot for yourself: ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/elleninmypocket [http://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/elleninmypocket] Join the Contentment Creator email list for exclusive, early-bird updates at https://tinyurl.com/thecontentmentcreator [https://tinyurl.com/thecontentmentcreator] CONSCIOUS PARTNERSHIP STARTER KIT HTTPS://ELLENBROENCOACHING.KIT.COM/4EBE129567 [https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/4ebe129567] GROWTH WITHOUT BURNOUT BLUEPRINT DOWNLOAD LINK: https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/b51104bb4dHTTPS://ELLENBROENCOACHING.KIT.COM/B51104BB4D [https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/b51104bb4d] THE CREATIVE PARENT’S COMPANION: HTTPS://ELLENBROENCOACHING.KIT.COM/CREATIVEPARENTSCOMPANION [https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/creativeparentscompanion] CEO CAPACITY CREATOR: HTTPS://ELLENBROENCOACHING.KIT.COM/CEOCAPACITYCREATOR [https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/ceocapacitycreator] THE CREATIVE PARENT’S COMPANION: HTTPS://ELLENBROENCOACHING.KIT.COM/CREATIVEPARENTSCOMPANION [https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/creativeparentscompanion] KEY MOMENTS: 0:00 – I'm Drowning: Postpartum Survival Mode & Why I Made This Video 3:29 – Competing Commitments: Being a Mom AND a Business Owner 10:20 – How Do You Get Support When You Need It RIGHT NOW? 13:01 – Joy Is Not the Product of a Well-Lived Life 16:54 – "Being in the Goo" A Metaphor for Transformation 17:56 – Contentment Is a Choice (The Reminder I Needed)

Y’all. AI TRANSFORMED my toddler parenting?

What if your toddler’s defiance isn’t the real problem… but the place inside you that suddenly feels powerless, unheard, and desperate to win? My AI Chatbot helped me explore the emotional and nervous system activation that can happen during toddler power struggles, especially when a child looks you in the eye and openly defies you. What begins as a parenting question becomes a deeper coaching conversation about childhood wounds, control, validation, secure attachment, and how to stay connected to your child without abandoning yourself. Through this conversation, we unpack why toddler resistance can feel so intense for a parent who is committed to conscious, connected parenting. On the surface, it may look like a child refusing to listen. But underneath, it can activate an old story: “Someone is asserting power over me. I am not being heard. I have to fight to matter.” When that younger part of us comes online, the urge to “win” may actually be an old urge to finally feel understood. The episode explores the difference between performing the “right” parenting language and choosing the next truest sentence available. Sometimes validation may come before we fully feel calm, but that does not make it fake. It can become a handrail back to connection. Phrases like “I’m having a hard time staying soft right now, but I do understand that you’re frustrated” allow a parent to stay honest, safe, and connected without pretending to be perfectly regulated. At the heart of this episode is the reminder that secure attachment does not require a parent to be endlessly available for dysregulation. Secure leadership sounds like: “I love you. I’m here. And my body still belongs to me.” The goal is not to find the perfect phrase that makes a toddler calm down. The goal is to stay with yourself while staying in a relationship with your child. Free Guide: Growth Without Burnout: https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/b51104bb4dhttps://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/b51104bb4d [https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/b51104bb4d] CEO Capacity Creator: https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/ceocapacitycreatorhttps://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/ceocapacitycreator [https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/ceocapacitycreator] Try the chatbot for yourself: ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/elleninmypocket [http://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/elleninmypocket] 👍 Like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations on creativity, alignment, and building a life that feels like yours. 0:00 – Introduction: Using AI coaching to work through toddler power struggles 0:55 – The real issue: Why your toddler's defiance hits deeper than it should 5:07 – Performing vs. practicing validation — and why the difference matters 15:31 – Inner child work: What your teenage self needs to hear in heated moments 22:38 – "A feeling is not a veto" — how to validate without losing the boundary 34:03 – Setting a physical boundary without triggering anxious attachment

AI helped me follow through on couples therapy doing THIS.

What if the most important part of communication isn’t saying the perfect thing… but helping each other feel understood before trying to respond? My AI chatbot and I explore how validation can become a powerful relationship practice, especially in the moments when both partners are tired, emotionally drained, or running on very little bandwidth. What begins as a question about how to remember to validate each other becomes a deeper conversation about nervous system capacity, repair, shared language, and how couples can stay connected when communication starts to slip into defensiveness or disconnection. We also explore the importance of making validation a shared practice instead of something one partner has to police. Simple phrases like “Can we mirror first?” or “Can we do the first step?” can become gentle reminders instead of criticism. Physical cues, short repair phrases, and asking for the kind of response needed before sharing can help both people stay grounded without turning the moment into a blame game. At the heart of this episode is the reminder that validation is not about agreeing with everything. It is about helping the other person feel received before offering your own perspective, support, or solution. When both people are exhausted, the bridge between them needs simple maintenance — reflection before repair, understanding before responding, and connection before perspective. Free Guide: Growth Without Burnout: https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/b51104bb4dhttps://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/b51104bb4d [https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/b51104bb4d] CEO Capacity Creator: https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/ceocapacitycreatorhttps://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/ceocapacitycreator [https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/ceocapacitycreator] Try the chatbot for yourself: ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/elleninmypocket [http://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/elleninmypocket] 👍 Like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations on creativity, alignment, and building a life that feels like yours. 0:00 – Introduction: Can an AI life coach help with marriage communication? 0:47 – The real challenge: Staying connected when you're sleep-deprived & depleted 5:08 – Set your partner up for success: Ask for what you need before you share 7:35 – Simple validation scripts for when you're too tired to think 9:17 – The 10-minute container: How to stop late-night talks from going sideways 11:37 – Repair phrases for when the conversation has already gone wrong

The problem with investing in your business… (AI business coaching session)

What if hiring support in your business isn’t about doing more… but about finally building a business that protects the source of your best work? I put an AI life coach chatbot to the test with a real-life coaching conversation about hiring business support, protecting creative energy, and navigating a season of limited capacity without abandoning your values. What begins as a practical question about hiring a video editor, virtual assistant, and content producer becomes a deeper exploration of energy, sustainability, decision load, and what it means to invest forward without forcing yourself into burnout first. Through this conversation, we unpack the tension many creative entrepreneurs face when they know they need support, but the process of finding that support requires time and energy they do not currently have. The business needs more capacity, but the path to capacity can feel like it demands the exact capacity that is missing. Instead of cramming hiring into evenings, weekends, or already-full workdays, this episode explores a more values-aligned way to approach growth. We also discuss the difference between hiring hands and hiring creative leverage. A strong video editor is not just a task-doer; they become a capacity multiplier. The episode introduces a calmer hiring lane built around referrals, paid test edits, simple creative briefs, and a lightweight direction system that protects the creator’s time. Instead of writing detailed instructions that take as long as editing the content yourself, the conversation explores voice notes, editor notes, timestamp cues, and short creative handoffs that allow support to actually feel supportive. At the heart of this episode is the reminder that creative energy is not extra. It is not something to spend only after the “real work” is done. Creative energy is a primary business asset. When systems are built to protect it, the business becomes freer to create, invite, expand, and generate more meaningful impact. Hiring, then, becomes less about escaping work and more about staying close to the work only you can do Free Guide: Growth Without Burnout: https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/b51104bb4dhttps://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/b51104bb4d [https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/b51104bb4d] CEO Capacity Creator: https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/ceocapacitycreatorhttps://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/ceocapacitycreator [https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/ceocapacitycreator] Try the chatbot for yourself: ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/elleninmypocket [http://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/elleninmypocket] 👍 Like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations on creativity, alignment, and building a life that feels like yours. 0:00 – Introduction: Can AI help you make smarter business hires? 0:49 – The real problem: How to hire when you have no capacity to hire 5:57 – Stop writing detailed instructions — finding an editor who needs less from you 14:20 – Hiring hands vs. hiring creative leverage: How to find the right editor 16:50 – The paid test method: Don't hire from a portfolio alone 25:10 – One active hire, one future runway: The stress-free hiring sequence

Values-Aligned Hiring (with my AI life coach)

What if the “right” decision isn’t about finding the perfect person… but learning how to trust yourself inside an imperfect process? I put an AI life coach chatbot to the test with a real-life coaching conversation about hiring a nanny, decision-making, nervous system activation, and learning how to choose support without getting lost in fear, perfectionism, or over-analysis. What begins as a practical question — “Can ChatGPT help me hire a nanny?” — quickly becomes a deeper exploration of trust, compatibility, communication, family rhythms, and what it means to invite someone into the emotional ecosystem of your home. Through this conversation, we unpack why hiring childcare can feel so deeply activating, especially when the role is not simply about supervision, but about partnership, presence, and emotional access to the family. For a work-from-home mother who is highly involved with her children, the nanny relationship becomes more than a job description. It becomes a question of ease, communication, shared values, caregiving competence, household support, and long-term reliability. The episode explores how the pressure to find the “perfect” person can actually make decision-making harder. Instead of looking for a flawless candidate, the conversation introduces a grounded framework for hiring based on current-fit, not potential. The AI coach helps clarify the difference between things that can be trained, like household systems and family preferences, and things that should already be present, such as clear communication, emotional steadiness with children, competence with toddler resistance, baby care, naps, feedings, and adaptability under pressure. This episode also explores how to assess reliability beyond promises. Instead of simply asking whether someone wants a long-term position, the conversation invites a deeper question: does this person’s life make long-term commitment likely? Through story-based interview questions, references, and attention to how someone communicates past transitions, we begin to look for ownership, maturity, empathy, timing, and integrity under change. At the heart of this episode is the reminder that choosing support is not just a logistical decision. It is a value decision. It is a nervous-system decision. It is a trust decision. And when the stakes feel high, having a clear framework can help us stop searching for perfection and start recognizing what is truly workable, safe, and aligned. Free Guide: Growth Without Burnout: https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/b51104bb4dhttps://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/b51104bb4d [https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/b51104bb4d] CEO Capacity Creator: https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/ceocapacitycreatorhttps://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/ceocapacitycreator [https://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/ceocapacitycreator] Try the chatbot for yourself: ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/elleninmypocket [http://ellenbroencoaching.kit.com/elleninmypocket] 👍 Like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations on creativity, alignment, and building a life that feels like yours. 0:00 – Introduction: Testing an AI life coach chatbot on a real decision 0:47 – The coaching session begins: Hiring a nanny & what really matters 22:16 – The 3-gate hiring framework: How to stop over-thinking candidates 24:23 – Real-life case study: When a candidate passes 2 gates but fails the 3rd 39:34 – Overall coaching review: What the AI got right and wrong 40:07 – ICF credentialing explained: How to evaluate any life coach