Podcasts for Moms

I spend the majority of my days with a one-year-old which means most of my conversations consist of “Does Henry want more sweet potatoes?” and “No, Henry, you can’t put toys down the laundry shoot.” The void of reciprocal conversation while raising tiny humans is real.

In addition to the lack of conversation, lots of the things I do throughout the day are repetitive and mundane (all while being meaningful and necessary, of course): folding laundry, zipping zippers,  picking up toys, nursing, dishes, peek-a-boo, changing diapers, wiping up spills, cooking dinner, cutting up food, dishes, disinfecting surfaces. Rinse and repeat.

This is where podcasts come in.

Podcasts are perfect for moms because they fill the need of interesting discussion and can be listened to while doing your everyday stuff. I love listening to podcasts about motherhood, health, theology, politics, and lifestyle.

Below are some of my favorite podcasts for moms, but, if you want to find podcasts that aren’t just mom-related, Kate has a wonderful post about that.

The Birth Hour

If like me, you have to resist the compulsion to ask all the moms you meet about their birth story, this podcast is for you. I love hearing birth stories. I’m fascinated by why women make the decisions they do, what factors lead women to feel happy about their birth experience, and how the birth world is changing. Twice a week, Bryn Huntpalmer interviews a different mother about her birth story. The stories are incredibly diverse: homebirths, midwife assisted hospital births, planned c-sections, twin births, breech births, infertility struggles, VBAC stories, birth center stories, and everything else. There is beauty in all our stories.

Favorite episodes:

Episode 3: Indiana Adams shares how she birthed her babies at home after barely realizing she was even in labor. It’s hilarious and pretty unbelievable.

Episode 22: Blythe Fike shares her five homebirths and why she planned a hospital birth with an epidural for her sixth child’s birth.

Episode 78: Jamie Ivey shares her son’s birth and how her next three children came to her through domestic and international adoption.

Coffee and Crumbs

You might already be a reader of their popular blog or enjoy their book of essays on motherhood, The Magic of Motherhood, but they also have a podcast where they interview mothers and writers about a variety of topics.

Favorite episodes:

Episode 18: #IHadaMiscarriage: Everyone should listen to this interview with Dr. Jessica Zucker, a clinical psychologist, as they discuss what it’s like to experience a miscarriage or infant loss and what is helpful and unhelpful for women going through this painful experience.

Episode 38: Give and Take: The podcast hosts discuss how to juggle parenting with other passions and careers as well as the tensions they feel as creative moms.

Episode 40: Preserving Memories (and our sanity): Ever feel simultaneously overwhelmed and inspired by all the ways we can preserve baby and childhood memories through baby books, videos, and photography? Me too. This episode is a good mix of simple and beautiful ideas without all the stress of burdensome expectations.

Typology

Typology is not explicitly for moms, but like I shared in a previous post, the Enneagram is such a helpful tool for mothers because it teaches us to identify the wrongful coping mechanisms we use to cover up our fears and meet our needs.

Favorite episodes:

Episode 10: So Six-y it Hurts: An interview with a panel of four women about how being a Six (the Loyalist) has shaped their lives. There are many Sixes in my family and this episode helped me understand them better.

Episode 13: Nurturing Relationships with the Enneagram: One of the best things we can do as parents is to love our spouse well, and this episode is all about how the Enneagram has helped Shauna and Aaron Niequist understand and love one another better.

Episode 30: Becoming Lisa Whelchel: Lisa discusses how being a Three (the Achiever) shaped her as a mother (i.e. she planned her children’s day down to 15-minute increments) and how she’s learning to be instead of do. This is an excellent episode for moms who struggle with finding their worth in what they produce rather than who they are.

The Simple Show

This podcast is for everyone who thinks about living an intentional, unconventional, and holistic life. If I had to choose, this one might be my favorite. Tsh Oxenreider and her cohosts discuss what they say yes and no to and why (the theme of saying yes and no intentionally is based on one of my favorite books, Essentialism by Greg McKeown).

Favorite episodes:

Episode 96: Exercise: I identified so much with the idea of focusing on movement rather than exercise (P.S. I am the least competitive person I know). In this season of my life as a mom, I find it freeing to focus on moving my body throughout the day (why you might find me stretching on the floor as my son plays) rather than going to “workout.”

Episode 95: Extracurriculars: My son is a little over a year, so extracurriculars aren’t a big thing in our family yet, but I know this is a complicated issue for many families. I’m storing this discussion on why they do and don’t do certain activities as a family for a few years down the road.

Episode 93: Dating (in Marriage): I love their discussion on pouring into each other in small, daily ways rather than big, out-of-the-ordinary ways, and the freedom not to feel the pressure to measure the health of your marriage based on dates. And their suggestions about going out in the middle of the day rather than in the evening are gold for families with young kids.

And last but not least, did you know that Cities Moms Blog Network recently started their own podcast? This pilot episode has our very own Danielle Kleiner sharing her story of secondary infertility and their journey to choosing adoption. It’s a beautiful story and worth a listen.

What are your favorite podcasts? I love hearing which shows my friends are enjoying!