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/id1732537262

You 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 there
• ANY 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.

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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.**

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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.

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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 :)