I Did Not Want Kids. Then God Said Otherwise
A year before I got pregnant with Riley, I said out loud that I did not want kids anytime soon. Three months into dating Casey, I was standing in a CVS bathroom with a pregnancy test on my lunch break.
Here is the thing about motherhood. Nothing prepares you for it. Not one single thing. And in Episode 6, I am getting into all of it.
The unexpected pregnancy I could not tell anyone about for two and a half months while Casey was away at boot camp. The night Casey and I stood in our living room holding Riley and just sobbed. The moment that motherly instinct clicked and I knew I was going to be okay. The way God used my kids to break me free from every trauma I had been carrying.
I also talk about something I have never shared publicly: my ADHD diagnosis in ninth grade, being put on 50mg of Adderall a day as a teenager, and then being given Ambien to sleep at night on top of it. How cold turkey stopping when I graduated contributed to my weight gain, my mood swings, and why I started my own supplement company years later. And why, as a mom now, I will never just accept what a doctor hands my kids without asking every question first.
I also cover:
• How motherhood completely rewires your brain and your hustle
• What to do when you feel like you are drowning in the overwhelm
• The mom guilt trap and why you have got to stop comparing yourself to other moms
• What it means to pour into your marriage while raising kids
• The 7-7-12 rule for staying connected to your spouse
• How to advocate for your kids when every doctor is pushing medication
• Functional mushrooms, holistic pediatricians, and what changed everything for my family
• And the word every tired, overwhelmed, doing-her-best mom needs to hear today
New episodes every week. Subscribe and join us. 💜
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0:00 Welcome back
0:53 Christians are not perfect: social media lies and real redemption
1:45 Tonight's topic: motherhood, how it changes you in ways nobody warns you about
2:13 One year before getting pregnant: I said I do not want kids
2:48 Meeting Casey in March 2015
3:30 Stone Mountain date night
4:02 Growing up with trauma
4:51 Mental health then vs. now
5:41 What Brandi loves and does not love about today's culture
6:02 Casey goes to boot camp
6:49 Gina from the office: the first person she told
7:08 Keeping it secret for two and a half months while Casey was at boot camp
7:59 Cape May, New Jersey: the trip where she finally told him
8:38 The whirlwind: young, scared, minimal money, just started dating
9:02 When you find your person
9:54 You guys are going to be fine
10:10 Moving to Pensacola pregnant: God breaking her free from past trauma
10:42 What nobody warns you about parenthood
11:09 The second night home with Riley: standing in the living room sobbing
11:50 The Holy Spirit in that moment
12:13 Motherly instinct clicks
12:47 The strength motherhood gave her
13:07 Wait for the one: why your spouse matters more than you know when kids come
13:49 The mental load of motherhood
14:09 Speaking to the overwhelmed mom
15:06 Your heavenly Father wants to carry the stress: let Him
15:35 Coming from trauma
16:13 Keeping up with the Joneses
17:05 The mental load unpacked
35:27 Approaching your spouse for support
35:52 Give exact examples
36:36 Pouring back into your marriage
37:13 The 7-7-12 rule
38:12 The car ride story
39:10 Becoming roommates with your spouse
39:40 Inner healing makes vulnerable conversations possible
40:33 Make time for your marriage now
40:58 ADHD diagnosis in ninth grade
42:26 Prescribed Adderall
43:38 50mg of Adderall a day
44:26 Then they gave her Ambien to sleep
44:51 Cold turkey at graduation
45:17 Why she started a supplement company
45:43 Holistic pediatrician, blood work, zero Flintstone vitamins
46:13 What she wishes somebody had advocated for her
47:01 Pushing back on Big Pharma
48:38 Small tweaks in diet that transformed her kids
49:05 God made you the perfect mother for your children
50:07 God slowed them down and gave them babies
50:45 From mama heart to mama heart
51:38 Closing: finish the Poppi
motherhood podcast | becoming a mom changed me | ADHD medication kids | unexpected pregnancy story | mom guilt | holistic parenting podcast | Christian mom podcast | millennial mom | marriage and kids | Brandi Raines podcast
#takinglifebytheraines #brandiraines #motherhoodpodcast #momguilt #christianmom #millennialmom #holisticparenting #adhdmom #marriageandkids #faithjourney
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