I'm a Mom?!

**The advice and information shared on this episode should not be considered medical advice. Please consult your own medical providers for medical advice**Top Dermatologist, Dr Gina Caputo DO shares with us TRULY simple, doable skincare routines UNDER 3 STEPS for moms who are trying to get their sparkle back. We talk about skin, anti-aging, hair loss, Tik Tok trends that are outright ridiculous, and how to approach beauty in a healthy way as we age and change. We go in depth on this episode and name actual product names. Yes.  Secrets are literally handed out in this podcast! See Dr Gina Caputo's product recommendation list and discount codes are below and these are also the products she actually uses: 1. Cleanser: La Roche Posay oil cleanser or Dove cleanser/soap2. Non-retinol/Retinol products for anti-aging: Dermabotanica overnight repair serum (HA), Nimi’s Hyaluronic acid Hydration serum, Altreno (prescription), and Nimi retinol renewal serum. Jenny is currently using Dr Youn's peptide + bakuchiol moisturizer.Use Dermabotanica CODE: DRGINA30  Nimi CODE: GINA153. Sunscreen - tinted: Tizo, La Roche Posay melted milk (chemical), Elta MD, IT cosmetics your skin but better, Eucerin sensitive skin tinted spfSunscreen - heavy duty: Solbar shield, Blue Lizard[OPTIONAL] 4. Glycolic acid wash by Dermabotanica (intermittently). Use Dermabotanica CODE: DRGINA305. Azelaic acid prescription or OTC version by Inkey list6. Nimi skincare sunshine tallow cream for light barrier repair7. Probiotic by Seed with CODE: CAPUTO20FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

PART 2: We left no stone unturned in this hilarious conversation about everything that changed in our bodies from head to toe after having our first, second, and her third babies! I have never heard such a comprehensive, raw conversation about this topic on any podcast and I'm proud of us that we were not embarrassed and went the whole way. Thank you Sarah for filling the perfect podcast guest criteria for my podcast and being unashamed, truthful, wise, and also - super funny. Love you!*Please note that no medical advice or information is being provided in this episode (or any other episode on this podcast). These are our opinions and experiences only. Please consult your own medical provider(s) on any such health-related topics*FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

PART 1: We left no stone unturned in this hilarious conversation about everything that changed in our bodies from head to toe after having our first, second, and her third babies! I have never heard such a comprehensive, raw conversation about this topic on any podcast and I'm proud of us that we were not embarrassed and went the whole way. Thank you Sarah for filling the perfect podcast guest criteria for my podcast and being unashamed, truthful, wise, and also - super funny. Love you!*Please note that no medical advice or information is being provided in this episode (or any other episode on this podcast). These are our opinions and experiences only. Please consult your own medical provider(s) on any such health-related topics*FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

Other than being a public figure, TedX Raleigh speaker, motivational speaker on purpose (and teacher), entrepreneur, podcast host, mom of 2 twin teens, stepmother of 4 adult children, and grandmother of 5 - Lynette Lewis is a dear friend, role model, and mentor of mine. I've had the absolute honor of knowing her and learning from her life story - which is incredibly rich. She is also the purpose guru. She has studied the concept of Purpose for decades. Her course discussed in this podcast is here: https://www.mywhylife.com/Her website is: https://lynettelewis.com/Her podcast is called What Are You Thinking? and can be found here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-are-you-thinking/id1732537262You can also follow her on Instagram @lynettelewis Thank you so much for being my guest, and sharing your encouragement and wisdom with all of us. Love you so much!FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

Sophia flies into Arizona from Lagos, Nigeria at 7-8 months to give birth to her first baby (she's an American living abroad). What seems to be a situation setting her up to fail - absolutely doesn't and she has a fantastic birthing experience with BOTH of her kids. How did she pull that off? There are a number of uncontrollable factors in the birthing process, but some are controllable. What I love about Sophia's birth story is that she let go of what she couldn't control, kept a super positive attitude, and controlled what she could. If she had a positive, totally normal birth story, you and I can too. **PLEASE NOTE that none of this is medical advice and should not be taken as such. We are not medical professionals, and not your medical provider. Please consult you medical provider(s) for advice on your situation. These are our stories and opinions only.**FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

**Please note that none of the content in this episode is or should be considered as medical advice. None of us are medical professionals, and you should consult your own medical provider(s) for any medical advice. This is only us sharing our experiences and opinions alone**My key takeaways: C-sections are NOT easy! omg! hats off to all of the c-section mamas out thereANY birth can be traumatic. Vaginal, c-section, fast, slow - there is no objectivity on concluding something is traumatic. We go into depth with my therapist on this in EP 3 don't miss it!What is also astounding is that even in the pretty bad experience Veni had with her first c-section, she still had aspects of her birth that she appreciated. She had a good team of doctors and providers around her. They communicated to her well, clearly, and kindly. This cannot be understated and was mentioned in EP 3 again with my therapist.Even in a scheduled c-section, there could be surprises because her baby decided to come early. There is no such thing as a 'birth plan' - most of the time, in my humble opinion. Thank you Veni for your time and wisdom, and vulnerability in sharing this with the world of moms. FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

What makes a successful birth? Are they possible? I was an unbeliever, until I learned some really hard lessons from my first birth (and through the birth trauma) and applied it to my second birth that ended up being mostly successful.One of the big ticket items of having that successful birthing experience, was that after having a completely unmedicated, natural, no-epidural birth for my first baby, I went with an epidural (half dose!) for my second. I outline what I felt were the pros and cons of a natural vs. epidural birth. **PLEASE NOTE. THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE. I am not a medical professional in any way therefore the content of this episode should not be taken as such. These are simply my own recounts, opinions, and views.**FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

Who doesn't like a grand deconstruction of an identity crisis? I'm sorry if I said the word "unchanging" 120 times. I'll do better next time but I think I got my points across. We reverse engineered this identity crisis thing to its roots. As usual, I went deep into the questions:What is identity?Why do we have identity crises? why do we have them as we become moms?What then, is the solution? *PLEASE NOTE that I am not a psychologist, or any authorized or licensed individual that has the ability to provide professional advice on these things. This is a personal opinion on the subject only. FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

True to form, I share the unfiltered realities of being a new SAHM (5 MONTHS IN!! WOO HOO!), what I actually do in a day, to encourage you if you're looking to make the leap that if I can do it, you can too. Do I regret quitting my career? Listen till the end!FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

It is totally normal and okay, and in my opinion, natural and instinctual that moms change their political views after they become moms. I went from progressive to conservative, and I know this is common. It's okay to change your mind! We now have little ones who are defenseless, naive, innocent, and mean the world to us. It's not just about us anymore. We want to, and should defend and protect them from harm. Sometimes that changes our worldview, including who we vote for. I brought you along that journey with me on Season 2 and we will definitely continue talking about these hard issues later on as well.For now, we take a pause on Season 2 and wrap up that chapter.FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

The more I read the bible, and look at the world in a biblical perspective, the more I realize how hard truth can be. Truth can be hard to accept. It is divisive, it is exclusive, and it is absolute. But I love God, I fear Him, and I have a real relationship with Him. I respect His ways, His order, His perspective - above all else. You could call me extreme, out of touch, hardcore, religious, or something else - but I'm at the point in this journey where I just can't reconcile two or more different truths, when there is only one in the bible. Yes, it can be approached with grace and love, but at the end of the day it is what it is. The truth. If you are in agreement, please be comforted in knowing you are not alone! There are more conservative Christians who feel and think the same - than you think. **PLEASE NOTE: As usual, no medical advice is being provided on this episode. I am not a medical professional and none of the data presented here should be taken as such. **FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

**WARNING** No medical advice is being provided on this episode. I am not a medical professional and none of the data presented here should be taken as such. It would be remiss of me to argue for pro-life with just an emotional, personal story. Because what really matters is data. So here, I take an interesting often overlooked perspective on the abortion issue. How hard is it to get pregnant? Is pregnancy really like the plague where it is SO easy to get? Who are the women ACTUALLY getting abortions, and what do they really need? These are critical questions to be able to answer, and to know, before standing on either side of the abortion debate. Ask the unasked questions, analyze critically, and be well informed. *PLEASE NOTE that different sources say different things regarding the number of sperm that is released during intercourse. Most other sources use MUCH higher numbers, not 14 million. The average number varies between 30-90+ million per release (WebMD), and that 1000 could reach the fallopian tube, and 200 make it to the egg, in which only one can penetrate and fertilize it (invitra.com Andrea Rodrigo embryologist). My use of the 14 million number is from completefertility.co.uk and it is an extremely conservative approach. The other higher numbers further prove my point in the absolute miraculous nature of the fertilization process.Other Sources: CDC and Pew Research center 2023Guttmacher Institute New York TimesGiving CompassUnderstanding why women seek abortions in the US by M Antonia Biggs, Heather Gould, Diana Greene FosterFOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

**CAUTION** This episode talks about graphic imagery related to abortion and other content that may be disturbing to listeners. Four years ago, I was pro-choice. Now, I'm pro-life. My transformation was three-fold. One was due to a very personal and emotional experience - my miscarriage which I talk about here on this episode. The second is through science and data. The third, is actually through the bible - and all three will be shared in sequential episodes. I hope you can relate.Referenced accounts: @annefarrens_official  @prolifeabbyjohnson @lydiataylordavis.p.s. apologies on the audio quality! I didn't realize our central heating was so LOUD! and something was off with my mic. Will make sure this doesn't happen again :) FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

**CONTENT WARNING** Information that may be considered disturbing is shared on this episode that relates to sexual crimes, harassment, children etc. Women's bathrooms, locker rooms, private spaces are being compromised. Why are these spaces that are meant to be safe, private, and segregated - no longer? Where is this trend in transgenderism coming from? Would you feel safe with a dude in a public women's bathroom? Well, what if there were 10 dudes in a public women's bathroom - would you, your daughter, your niece, your mom - feel safe? We are where we are for a reason and the indoctrination of gender ideology has been in motion for decades. But can you guess where it came from?FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

These were actually my thoughts as a young woman in my teen/early twenties. I really did think that having a baby would ruin my career and my life. Family wasn't a huge priority. Can you relate?And then I became a mom 3 years ago and I have realized how incredibly toxic this line of thought is, and I explore where the heck this came from in this episode. FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

'Mental load' has been thrown around a lot lately, and I 100% can relate. We all suffer. In this episode we talk through the massive transformation of mental load pre vs post mom, the intense but finite season of it, and potential ways to lessen the load. Career mom podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/7BoUVQkhIN7D6hHGlG3vSb?si=6bf8e746abd047a9Suzanne Venker podcast: https://youtu.be/xZS-O4TIRUU?si=fncJ8hMdwcRH-5JoAli Wong clip (part of it): https://youtube.com/shorts/wSxUNb7opy8?si=7ld_ApMk2rzIQIAxFOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

Time seems to always slip through my fingers, even while I am spending the most time I've ever had with my girls. Becoming a mom has made me think of mortality in a completely different way, and I'm disciplining myself to be more present daily so I can make the most of this precious season. Love Letter to Right Now - the Lis and Sarah podcastSlipping through my fingers - Declan McKenna FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

Mom guilt seems like something we all suffer from. I struggled with little guilts, big guilts and everything in between - from the lack of baby nursery to sending my first to daycare at 4 months 9hrs a day. Can we ever be free from mom guilt? Why do we feel guilty? Is guilt always a bad thing? Have an open conversation with me about this!FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

**CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussions about medical complications, negligence, PPD, stress, depression, trauma, and other mental health issues, along with graphic scenes that may be upsetting and stressful to some people. Opinions shared by me/all featured voices are their own and should not be considered as legal or medical advice**Our hormones go WILD during pregnancy, labor, then postpartum. It's a time where the 'norm' is 'crazy'. In this podcast episode, I dive deep with my therapist (who has helped me heal from birth trauma) about what is normal, what the signs/symptoms are for PPD, Anxiety, OCD, and Birth Trauma. This made me feel so seen and encouraged that we are not alone going through this crazy journey of becoming a mom!Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :) www.postpartum.net Dr. Elizabeth Pearce - Grace Behavioral Health NJ#crazy #mentalhealth #postpartum #mom #sahm #sahmlife #corporatemom #newmom #newmomsupport #howdoiknowifimcrazyFOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

**CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains discussions about medical complications, negligence, PPD, stress, depression, trauma, and other mental health issues, along with graphic scenes that may be upsetting and stressful to some people. Opinions shared by me/all featured voices are their own and should not be considered as legal or medical advice**The crazy transformation of becoming a mom starts from pregnancy, and really hits hard during the labor and birthing process. This is a real, raw, and relatable episode about how it went for me. No epidural (not by intention), and an almost 9 pound baby...FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)

I went from super selfish, immature, career-obsessed woman who looked down on SAHMs. Now, I quit my job (2 months ago) and I AM a SAHM! WHAT? What happened? FOLLOW ON IG: @imamompodcast Please share this podcast with friends/moms to be/moms who may feel lonely on this journey :)