Motherhood can be so lonely, but it doesn’t have to be. This week’s podcast is to help moms feel less lonely on the roller coaster that is being a mom. The show is called Mom Group Chat, where Candace, Whitney, and Shannon bring their actual text group chat to a podcast.
Links from this Episode:
The hosts describe it like this. Mom Group Chat is a podcast for moms who are not perfect, but trying their best. We’re three best friends who have spent the past two years blowing up each other’s phones for honest conversation around how our lives took a full 180 in the blink of an eye. We’re tired, we’re covered in yogurt and we’re obsessed with our baby’s chubby cheeks. We’re happiest alone in the car and we’re trying to make sense of it all in our group chat. The length of each episode is between 30 minutes and an hour.
Podcast Consultation
I’ve been able to talk to some amazing podcasters about their shows while doing interviews for the friendly podcast guide. Along the way, I’ve learned so many tips and tricks on how to start a podcast from personal experience and from the hosts I’ve interviewed. I’ve talked to them about what made their launch successful and what made it more difficult. I for sure know what I would do differently if I could go back and launch my show again.
Now I want to share my knowledge with you. I’m offering podcast consults and I have a couple of spots open in the next month. If you need help nailing down your podcast idea, figuring out your niche, or any other podcast questions, I would love to work with you to make your show’s launch the best it can be.
If you’re interested in working with me, fill out the intake form in the show notes. I can’t wait to make a podcast plan that is tailored to you and your podcast, and we’ll make your launch as smooth and successful as possible. I can’t wait to answer any and all of your podcast questions.
Meeting the Moms
My name is Candace Donnelly. I am one of the hosts of the Mom Group Chat Podcast. I am a mom of 18 month old Alice. I am pregnant with my second girl due in February.
The other two hosts are Whitney Williams, who is literally going to have a baby any day now, but she already has an almost two year old, Greydon, and she lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Then we have Shannon Finn who also is pregnant. We’re all three pregnant at the same time. This is our second round of the pregnancy pact as we call it. She has TJ who will be two at the end of this year. Her new baby is due almost around the same time as well. The three of us are best friends.
Shannon is my very best friend, the maid of honor in my wedding. Whitney is my best friend from college. The three of us have gone through pregnancy together and truly our group chat which we literally called “Mom Group Chat” got us through pregnancy and through early, these early stages of motherhood.
We are each other’s people. We wanted to take that and bring it to a bigger community and a bigger platform. That is really why we started Mom Group Chat.
Bringing Moms Together in a Motherhood Community
We felt like so many important conversations were happening inside of our private little group chat. Not only that, but also the laughs and the tears and the stuff that makes you feel less alone. We felt like that was missing in the scheme of motherhood in general. We felt like so many other people were looking for community. That was the number one thing. We felt moms really needed somewhere that was relatable and funny. We love being moms, but there’s a lot of hard stuff that goes into it that’s not openly talked about. It might only be talked about in private group chats that not everyone has. We’re bringing those chats to the mic and having those conversations while laughing and crying and doing all of those things as well.
The Real Motherhood Experts
We want a place where people feel less alone. Where people have a motherhood community. We want to make everyone laugh and to let them know that even those things that feel weird and hard during motherhood are super normal and that all of us are going through them too.
No one understands moms like moms. Resources are amazing and we do love hearing from doctors, specialists and experts and all of those things. But, If I have a question about something happening in life as a mom, I want to hear from other moms.
That was kind of what we wanted with this podcast, to bring moms to the mic. As we have more guests of course we want the experts and we want to bring educational content, but we want it from real moms who know what it’s like. We hope to be a super relatable, funny place that sometimes provides education.
Sometimes we have an episode where it’s like, we’re all drowning. Is anyone else feeling this way? We want to make moms feel less alone and that we are all in this motherhood community together.
Out with Friends
I would hope the vibe feels like if you were to go out to dinner or drinks with your other girlfriends that are moms. That is the vibe we want. We want to chill and chat about what’s actually happening in life, how we’re actually feeling, and laugh about it together.
Stay Connected
You can find our show pretty much wherever you listen to podcasts. It’s called Mom Group Chat. You can also find us on Instagram and Tik Tok under Mom Group Chat. Everything is linked in our Instagram bio as well. You’ll also be able to find me, Shannon, and Whitney’s personal Instagram. If you want to follow our personal journeys and our kids and all of that.
The Truth About Postpartum
The first one that came to mind is our episode about postpartum and feeling like yourself postpartum, which is something that I feel is a little bit impossible. We talk about it in the episode. I truly feel like I’m a different person after having a baby and I think this idea of getting back to yourself and getting back to the person you were before baby is this impossible feat that society is placed upon us as moms.
I’m a fundamentally different person after having a baby. I’m having this huge life and identity shift. I love the conversation we had in that episode and discussing our experiences. We also shared our expectations of what we thought postpartum would be like, and how we thought we would feel.
We probably got the most feedback from that episode of how refreshing it was to hear someone say, you may never feel like yourself again, and that’s okay. I love that episode. If I’m ever just having a day, when I’m feeling like your life is turned upside down, I sometimes revisit that episode. It helps me remember that it’s okay that my life feels a little bit chaotic and I don’t feel like the same person I was before.
An Episode of Laughter and Memories
My second favorite episode is about our relationship with alcohol. We talk about missing alcohol during pregnancy or not missing it. We also tell some personal stories of trips we’ve gone on together and things like that. It’s so funny. I go back and watch those clips on our Instagram and they make me laugh every time. I love that episode.
A Virtual Motherhood Community
I would say to listen with a headphone because we curse sometimes and we are very real about how we are feeling. Not every episode has that, but just to be safe, I would say a headphone is best.
We just recently made a Facebook group for moms that has already become such an amazing resource and another place for us to connect. The reason we started this podcast is to create a community of moms and make them feel less alone so we’ve started that motherhood community over on Facebook. If you search Mom Group Chat on Facebook groups, you’ll be able to find it. It’s been such a great resource to expand conversations we’ve had on episodes.
If we are talking about a specific question in an episode, we’ll bring it to the Facebook group to kind of keep that discussion going. It’s a really fun place to make our listeners feel more involved. It’s a great way to hear from real moms. That’s really the point of this podcast.
Share this Motherhood Community
If you know someone who could use mom group chat in their life, will you share this episode with them? Also, if you have the itch to start your own podcast, fill out the intake form in the show notes so I can help you make your podcast dreams come true.
