Homework Battles and Life After a Screen-Time Ban
Homework season starts and goes about as badly as Laura feared, leaving her looking for a way to get it done somewhere other than…
Big Fat Positive podcast
Full Episodes
481 episodes
Big Fat Positive began in August 2018 with two best friends who got pregnant at the same time. Laura Birek and Shanna Micko recorded every week of those pregnancies, starting at 8 and 12 weeks, then kept going through newborn days, toddlerhood, preschool and the school years.
A new episode comes out every Monday. The newest are first below. To hear it all in order, start with Episode 1.
Newest episodes
Morning Routines Made Easier
Shanna’s drop-off struggles with her youngest escalate, so she lands on an unconventional solution to improve her family’s morning routines. Laura scrambles to find…
Choosing a School and ADHD Medication: Ask-Us-Anything Minisode #12
Choosing between charter, magnet, public and private schools is overwhelming, and so is the trial-and-error process of finding the right ADHD medication for your…
School Drop-Off Meltdowns and How to Cope
Shanna navigates two school drop-off meltdowns in one week and finds an unexpected way to regulate herself afterward. Laura reports on her boys’ first…
Puberty Talks and Back-to-School Prep
In this week’s “What’s in Your Bag?” segment, Shanna and Laura confess the items they’ve somehow ended up hauling around, including one thing that…
Beauty Standards
In this week’s “They Said What?” segment, Shanna and Laura cover a bedtime conversation that took a shocking left turn, a sentence Laura never…
Parenting Hacks for Hair Care, Laundry, Bubbles and More
In this episode’s “What the Hack?” segment, Shanna and Laura share a laundry trick for linen and gauze, a tip for getting tiny hair…
Taking Kids on a Rustic Cabin Vacation
In the special segment “Would You Rather?,” Shanna and Laura pose hypothetical parenting scenarios involving airplane antics, an irresistible newborn kitten, and more! Also,…
What Gets Easier as Your Kids Grow Up
In the special segment “Just You Wait,” Laura and Shanna share some of the things that get better as children grow up, including delightful…
Hard Reset: A Screen Time Wake-Up Call
In the special segment “OMG, I’m Freaking Out,” Shanna and Laura share what’s currently keeping them up at night, including a dental mystery that…
When Summer Camp Just Isn’t the Right Fit
In the special segment “Stump the Moms,” Shanna and Laura embark on a tour through history, grilling each other with surprising parenting trivia that…
Is the Tooth Fairy Still Exciting to Kids in 2026?
In the special segment “Why Is My Kid Crying?,” Shanna and Laura explore the things that have caused their little ones to melt down…