Society puts tremendous pressure on moms; not only are they expected to keep their children safe and well-fed, but they’re supposed to also make sure the house is perfectly styled (and always clean), bake the cookies for the class party, recreate all the fun Pinterest projects… all while balancing the other majors in life: relationships, full-time jobs, businesses, etc. It’s exhausting and a game they can never win.
I’m sitting down today on the pod with my best friend of 20+ years, Lauren Alquist. I’ve known Lauren since we were 8 (legitimately) and she’s someone I deeply admire for her approach to motherhood. She loves her girls hard and gives them everything they need, but she does so without sacrificing her own identity. In this episode, she talks about how she’s maintained her sense of self.
In this episode:
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The pressures moms of all styles (stay-at-home, working) face today
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How to integrate becoming a mom and giving your kids your all— while maintaining your own identity
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Parenting children with completely different personalities, finding tidbits of your own personality in your kids and the full-circle moment that brings, and how being a good mom to your kids doesn’t = being their friend
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How putting yourself first in terms of health not only helps you (which is actually most! important!), it also serves the needs of your family
Timestamps:
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10:45 Parenting two children with completely different personalities: one regimented and one completely free-spirited
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16:30 Our relationships with our siblings and how we totally (lovingly) hazed my sister as a freshman in high school
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24:09 The rise of Facebook in college and how every time we went out it was a 30-photo FB album event
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27:30 How Lauren found her own style of being a mom and how she integrated that with having a job she loves; not sacrificing her entire identity in being a mother when society expects it
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50:08 How different it is today in having children and knowing the sex vs. knowing the gender; navigating “boy mom” and “girl mom” readiness while experiencing the fear and joy of impending motherhood- it’s not one or the other.
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57:00 The “life-altering love” people say happens at birth; it doesn’t actually for everyone and it’s not a bad thing if it doesn’t happen for you
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1:06:00 The pressure to bounce back to “pre-baby weight” and the lack of respect we have for women’s bodies always, but especially during and after pregnancy, all stemming from the very narrow acceptable range of what a woman’s body can look like at any given time
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1:17:30 The mommy influencer scene and how inauthentic it can feel
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1:23:52 How Lauren navigated not feeling good in her body and taking steps to feel better while still presenting a healthy body image to her girls
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