Growing Pains |  Where Business Owners Come to Plan Maternity Leave

Alyson Caffrey
Growing Pains |  Where Business Owners Come to Plan Maternity Leave

You’re running a business and dreaming of growing your family, but when you search for how to take maternity leave as a self-employed mom, the answers just don’t exist. You’ve pieced together advice from HR blogs, asked your friends, downloaded generic templates, and tried to “figure it out later.” Meanwhile, you’re left wondering: Can I really step away from my business without losing momentum...or my mind? Here’s the truth: You can. And Growing Pains is here to show you how. Hosted by maternity leave strategist and business operations expert Alyson Caffrey, this podcast helps self-employed moms plan for maternity leave during the trying to conceive, pregnancy, and postpartum seasons—without burning out or ghosting their business. Each week, you’ll hear honest solo episodes, expert interviews, and real-life maternity leave stories from moms who are building legacies and raising babies. No fluff. No one-size-fits-all advice. Just grounded guidance to help you navigate life and business on your terms. Alyson has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs streamline their operations and take actual time off for maternity leave, while returning to businesses that thrive. Ready to take maternity leave like a CEO? Follow Growing Pains and let’s build a business that supports your motherhood journey.

  1. 6D AGO

    What No One Tells You About Postpartum Mental Health with Dr. Emily Guarnotta

    Some moms know they’re struggling postpartum. Others just feel “off” but don’t know why. I brought on Dr. Emily Guarnotta, a licensed clinical psychologist and certified perinatal mental health provider, to talk about the signs of postpartum anxiety and depression that often go unnoticed. Her perspective helped me name parts of my own journey I hadn’t fully understood until years later. If you’ve ever felt snappy, restless, or overwhelmed as a new mom and wondered if it’s just part of the job, this conversation is for you. Emily specializes in maternal mental health and works with families navigating the full arc of parenthood: from infertility to pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond. What I love about her approach is that it’s both clinical and deeply personal. She started this work after walking through postpartum depression herself. In This Episode, You’ll Learn: • The most common symptoms of postpartum anxiety (that go far beyond worry) • Why some moms struggle more after baby #2, even if baby #1 felt “easier” • How your relationship with self-care activities may need to evolve postpartum • A smart, proactive way to book postpartum therapy even if you’re not sure you’ll need it • What to say when help doesn’t feel helpful (and how to advocate for the support you actually want) • Why it’s never “too late” to get support, even if you’re a year or more postpartum Connect with Dr. Emily: Phoenix Health Instagram: www.instagram.com/_phoenix_health Phoenix Health Facebook: www.facebook.com/JoinPhoenixHealth Instagram: www.instagram.com/dr_emily_guarnotta Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/emily-guarnotta _______________ You don't have to choose between growing your business and your family. Grab the Maternity Leave Roadmap for $29: www.mastermaternityleave.com/roadmap Send in your maternity leave questions! connect@mastermaternityleave.com xx Aly www.instagram.com/alycaffrey www.mastermaternityleave.com

    35 min
  2. JUL 2

    How Janea Kannett Launched a Diaper Bag Brand in the Middle of Postpartum and Toddler Chaos

    When Janea Kannett couldn’t find a diaper bag that actually worked for her, she designed one herself. She was in the thick of postpartum anxiety, with a baby on her hip and zero business background. Less than a year later, she’s shipping hundreds of orders from her home, showing up online daily, and slowly rebuilding a version of motherhood she actually wants to live in. I wanted to bring Janea on not because her business is perfect or finished, but because she’s in it right now. She’s growing something real, from scratch, in the middle of everyday life with two little kids. If you’re wondering whether you need a detailed plan, a massive audience, or the confidence to “show up” before you start something, this episode is a generous, honest permission slip to begin exactly where you are. In This Episode, You’ll Hear: • What postpartum anxiety taught Janea about identity, independence, and asking for help  • How she launched her product without a long-term plan (or full inventory)  • What’s working and what’s not as she juggles mom life, marriage, and business  • Why she shows up online six days a week, even when imposter syndrome creeps in  • How she’s redefining success through micro-wins, not milestones Connect with Janea + Mother and Kub: www.motherandkub.com www.instagram.com/motherandkub _______________ You don't have to choose between growing your business and your family. Grab the Maternity Leave Roadmap for $29: www.mastermaternityleave.com/roadmap Send in your maternity leave questions! connect@mastermaternityleave.com xx Aly www.instagram.com/alycaffrey www.mastermaternityleave.com

    43 min
  3. JUN 25

    Healing Your Gut for a Stronger Pregnancy, Postpartum, and CEO Life with Bridgitte Mallinson, MS RDN

    When I first met Bridgitte Mallinson, MS, RDN, I knew I needed to bring her voice to Growing Pains. Bridgitte is the founder and CEO of GutPersonal, a female‑founded supplement company that helps women heal gut issues with personalized testing and targeted formulas. She’s also a registered functional dietitian, a mom to Lily, and currently pregnant with baby girl number two. I invited her on because so many of us wonder how to stay nourished, energized, and mentally clear while building a business and a family. Bridgitte’s story proves we can advocate for our bodies and still scale big dreams. In this conversation, Bridgitte shows exactly why functional medicine matters during the trying‑to‑conceive, pregnancy, and postpartum seasons. She breaks down simple, science‑backed habits that keep our guts happy (goodbye bloat, brain fog, and 3 p.m. crashes) and shares how that biological stability bleeds into calmer CEO decision‑making. You’ll also hear how her first whirlwind maternity leave pushed her to design a more intentional plan for baby #2, and why she now believes you can be a present mom and an ambitious founder at the same time. In This Episode, You’ll Learn:  The two daily, non‑negotiable supplements Bridgitte prescribes for every expecting or postpartum momHow vitamin D functions like a hormone, the trimester‑by‑trimester testing schedule Bridgitte asks her OB for, and how it supports mood after birth. A quick “magnesium mocktail” ritual that replaces end‑of‑day wine culture with deeper sleep and steadier nerves. What a functional “poop test” actually measures and how it helped Bridgitte ditch five prescriptions within six months. The mindset shifts she’s using to take a more spacious second maternity leave, delegate with confidence, and keep Black Friday sales humming without her.Links & Resources Mentioned:  GutPersonal supplements + gut quiz: www.gutpersonal.com/ALYSON  Get a 10 % listener discount on GutPersonal using code ALYSON10 Connect with Bridgitte: www.instagram.com/gut.personal www.facebook.com/gut.personal_______________ You don't have to choose between growing your business and your family. Grab the Maternity Leave Roadmap for $29: www.mastermaternityleave.com/roadmap Send in your maternity leave questions! connect@mastermaternityleave.com xx Aly www.instagram.com/alycaffrey www.mastermaternityleave.com

    36 min
  4. JUN 20

    How Deborah Collazo Planned Maternity Leave Across Two Businesses

    When Deborah Collazo first started planning her self-employed maternity leave, she was overwhelmed. She was convinced she’d either have to shut down her business completely or skip taking time off altogether. But after joining my maternity leave planning program, Deborah created a plan that gave her clarity, support, and confidence. Now she’s preparing to welcome her baby this fall, with her business running smoothly in the background. Deborah is an industrial-organizational psychologist based in Puerto Rico. She runs her own HR consulting practice while also managing operations at her family’s aquatic wellness center. In this episode, she shares what it looked like to go from “I don’t think I can do this” to “I’ve got this.” She also opens up about how working together helped her build a more sustainable business and confidently design a self-employed maternity leave that supports her family and her future. In This Episode, You’ll Hear: • The exact moment Deborah realized she needed to plan differently, and what she did next • How she built trust and handed off sensitive responsibilities within a family business • Why letting go of control actually made her business stronger • How planning her leave gave her permission to simplify and refocus • What she’s most excited to experience during maternity leave (hint: it’s not just the time off) _______________ You don't have to choose between growing your business and your family. Grab the Maternity Leave Roadmap for $29: www.mastermaternityleave.com/roadmap Send in your maternity leave questions! connect@mastermaternityleave.com xx Aly www.instagram.com/alycaffrey www.mastermaternityleave.com

    34 min
  5. JUN 6

    Let This Be the Beginning – Maternity Leave Roadmap #30

    If you’ve made it here, you’ve done something powerful. You’ve committed to rethinking what maternity leave can look like as a business owner. In this final episode of the series, I’m reflecting on what we’ve covered, what it really means to lead yourself through this season, and how to keep going. Because this work isn’t just about creating a plan. It’s about becoming the kind of leader your business and your family can rely on, now and long after your leave is over. You don’t have to have all the answers yet. But you do have a roadmap, and that means you’re not starting from scratch anymore. You’re starting from clarity. Want the full Maternity Leave Roadmap now? Get the complete audio and video series, email prompts, templates, and step-by-step planning tools inside the members area: mastermaternityleave.com/roadmap Need more personalized support as you prep for maternity leave? The Bond is my 1:1 container for business owners navigating leave planning with live support, team delegation, and real-time coaching. mastermaternityleave.com/bond In This Episode, You’ll Learn: • How preparing for leave rewires the way I lead • What most business owners miss when they rush the planning process • Why I believe maternity leave is a business strategy, not a personal risk • What it means to lead myself through this season, not just survive it • A reminder of what you’ve already done and what’s possible next This Episode’s Homework: Take five minutes and reflect. What do you want to carry forward from this series? Choose one next step to keep your momentum going. _______________ You don't have to choose between growing your business and your family. Grab the Maternity Leave Roadmap for $29: www.mastermaternityleave.com/roadmap Send in your maternity leave questions! connect@mastermaternityleave.com xx Aly www.instagram.com/alycaffrey www.mastermaternityleave.com

    10 min
  6. JUN 4

    Flexibility Is the Plan – Maternity Leave Roadmap #29

    When you're building a plan for maternity leave, it’s easy to assume that once it’s in place, it’s set in stone. But the truth is, your needs, your baby’s rhythms, and your business might ask for something different. That’s not a sign you did it wrong. It’s a sign you’re paying attention. In this episode of the Maternity Leave Roadmap series, I’m talking about flexibility. Not the kind that throws your whole schedule into chaos, but the kind that builds responsiveness into your systems from day one. You’ll hear how my second leave looked completely different from my first, how I co-created flexible routines with my husband, and why a simple daily question changed everything about how I cared for myself in postpartum. Want the full Maternity Leave Roadmap? Get the complete audio and video series, email prompts, templates, and step-by-step planning tools inside the members area: mastermaternityleave.com/roadmap Need more personalized support as you prep for maternity leave? The Bond is my 1:1 container for business owners navigating leave planning with live support, team delegation, and real-time coaching. mastermaternityleave.com/bond In This Episode, You’ll Learn: • Why flexibility is a feature of great planning, not a failure • How to build supportive routines that actually hold up in real life • The simple question that helped me notice what I needed each day • How to shift your schedule without throwing everything away • The weekly habit that improved communication with my partner This Episode’s Homework: Start asking yourself each morning: “It would be amazing to have _____ today.” Track the answers, and if something keeps coming up, bring it to your weekly family meeting to explore how you can support that need. _______________ You don't have to choose between growing your business and your family. Grab the Maternity Leave Roadmap for $29: www.mastermaternityleave.com/roadmap Send in your maternity leave questions! connect@mastermaternityleave.com xx Aly www.instagram.com/alycaffrey www.mastermaternityleave.com

    9 min
  7. JUN 2

    Protect Your Energy While Prepping for Leave – Maternity Leave Roadmap #28

    What if growth didn’t have to be loud, measurable, or tied to a to-do list? In this reflective episode of the Maternity Leave Roadmap series, I’m sharing what early postpartum really felt like and how disorienting it was to go from clear, daily business progress to the invisible work of motherhood. If you’ve ever felt like you’re falling behind just because your growth doesn’t look the same, I hope this episode reminds you that this season still counts. You are growing, even if no one else can see it. Want the full Maternity Leave Roadmap? Get the complete audio and video series, email prompts, templates, and step-by-step planning tools inside the members area: mastermaternityleave.com/roadmap Need more personalized support as you prep for maternity leave? The Bond is my 1:1 container for business owners navigating leave planning with live support, team delegation, and real-time coaching. mastermaternityleave.com/bond In This Episode, You’ll Learn: • Why postpartum growth doesn’t look like business growth • How I navigated the identity shift that happens after baby • What it felt like to lose a sense of progress in early motherhood • The deeper lessons I could only learn by slowing down • How my anchor activity helped me stay grounded in the quiet This Episode’s Homework: Return to your anchor activity with curiosity. Can you let it be enough for now? Take ten minutes today to reflect on how you’re growing without trying to measure it. _______________ You don't have to choose between growing your business and your family. Grab the Maternity Leave Roadmap for $29: www.mastermaternityleave.com/roadmap Send in your maternity leave questions! connect@mastermaternityleave.com xx Aly www.instagram.com/alycaffrey www.mastermaternityleave.com

    10 min
5
out of 5
12 Ratings

About

You’re running a business and dreaming of growing your family, but when you search for how to take maternity leave as a self-employed mom, the answers just don’t exist. You’ve pieced together advice from HR blogs, asked your friends, downloaded generic templates, and tried to “figure it out later.” Meanwhile, you’re left wondering: Can I really step away from my business without losing momentum...or my mind? Here’s the truth: You can. And Growing Pains is here to show you how. Hosted by maternity leave strategist and business operations expert Alyson Caffrey, this podcast helps self-employed moms plan for maternity leave during the trying to conceive, pregnancy, and postpartum seasons—without burning out or ghosting their business. Each week, you’ll hear honest solo episodes, expert interviews, and real-life maternity leave stories from moms who are building legacies and raising babies. No fluff. No one-size-fits-all advice. Just grounded guidance to help you navigate life and business on your terms. Alyson has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs streamline their operations and take actual time off for maternity leave, while returning to businesses that thrive. Ready to take maternity leave like a CEO? Follow Growing Pains and let’s build a business that supports your motherhood journey.

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