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I Did Not Want Kids. Then God Said Otherwise
Episode 614th May 2026 • Taking Life by the Raines • Brandi Raines
00:00:00 00:51:57

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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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🎧 Listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts: takinglifebytheraines.com

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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