Momhood can be pretty lonely and sometimes confusing, but few really talk about that in a time when so much of social media shows parenting through rose-colored glasses.
Enter childhood besties Ashley Pettovello and Becca Traud, girl moms on a mission to rip the lid off all the weirdness that comes with having kids through their podcast, Kids Are Weird Podcast. Listening feels like you’re hanging out with them over coffee, sharing in their infectious giggles as they spill the tea on all things mom, from Target binges to husbands’ potty habits.
Their goal: “To make as many moms feel like they are not crazy as humanly possible, or make them feel like, ‘OK I might be a little crazy, but I’m not alone,'” says Ashley, mom to Ruby, 2.
Becca, mom to Nova, 5, says she hopes sharing their struggles will help others give themselves a little more grace.
With the podcast pulling in listeners across the nation and internationally, we checked in with them on some of their fave topics.
Mom Rage
Ashley: “Mom rage is just when you finally get to your breaking point and it comes out sideways. I freaked out at my husband who asked me a question about Hawaiian rolls. A lot of mothers are really overloaded, they feel very overwhelmed. There’s a big struggle with a loss of identity and sometimes it feels like our partners don’t always experience that. Being the chauffeur, the chef, the cleaner of the house … kind of builds up.”
Becca: “The tip of the iceberg is what you see when a mom explodes but there’s a lot going on beneath the surface that has gotten her to that point. We all get there and it’s a very common thing.”
Becoming Moms
Becca: “Becoming a mom brings on so much more than I was expecting. I expected to change diapers and be in charge of feedings. I didn’t expect to have to take the time to identify issues I had within myself. I had to not push those on my own kid.”
Ashley: “Everybody has a vision in their head of how it’s going to go and it doesn’t go that way because it’s so much harder than I ever had any idea it would be. On the same hand, it’s also the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I think the hardest part is really the shift in your identity and you really feel like you don’t know who you are any more.”
Mom Bodies
Becca: “Remember that bodies change in every season of life and that’s completely normal and it’s OK to not lose the baby weight. … There’s like a shame built around it that doesn’t need to be there. We produced a life.”
Ashley: “We want women to embrace the changes their body has been through.”
The Laundry
Becca: “I don’t come with much advice but if I can tell you anything, do yourself a favor and throw all of your socks away and start over with one or two brands at a maximum, then matching socks is no longer a chore. It just happens.”
Ashley jokes (… maybe): “Laundry is just the worst thing to ever happen to me in my life!”
Mom Advice
They laugh. The podcast is NOT about doling out advice, they say.
Ashley: “My only advice is to have snacks, snacks and more snacks. That’s it, that’s all I got.”
Becca: “My advice is just have no expectations and then you’re never let down.”
Listen to the Kids Are Weird Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or your favorite the streaming platform. A new episode airs every Monday.
Follow Metro Parent on Instagram.