Girls Night #142: How to Figure out if You’re Ready to Have Kids (Part 2)

In this episode, my best friend, Kelsey Bennett, and I are continuing our conversation on how to figure out if you're ready to have kids. We're talking about finances, life changes, God's timing in all of this and so much more!

IN THIS PODCAST EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

What things you can (and should!) do before you have kids.
What things you definitely do not have to do before you’re ready to be a parent.
What logistics are helpful to take care of before you get pregnant (and what really doesn’t matter that much).
How to truly know when the time is right to start your family (and how God’s timing plays into all of this).
What life (and body, and marriage, and career) changes we can expect when we become parents.
Why people act like your life will end when you have kids (and if that’s really true!)

Listen on iTUNES

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listen on stitcher

(You can also listen right here!👇)

ABOUT THIS EPISODE

Hey friends! Welcome to Girls’ Night!

I’m so excited about today’s episode because we’re diving into part 2 of how to figure out if you’re ready to have kids with my best friend, Kelsey Bennett! If you haven’t listened to last week's episode, make sure you go listen to that one first! It’s Girls Night episode number 141.

We had so much to say on this topic, we had to divide the episode into two parts. So make sure you go listen to part one first.

Today, in part two, we’re diving even deeper into some of the fears, questions and doubts that come with deciding if you want to have kids. We’re talking through questions like, “How do we actually know if we’re ready to start trying to have a baby?” “Can we ever truly be ready?” “What variables should we be looking at when trying to figure out when the right time is to get pregnant?” “Does your life really end when you have kids?” and “How does God’s timing play into all of this?”

Like I said last week, this is a huge decision, and thankfully it’s not one we need to make by ourselves. I’m SO grateful that I had women like Kelsey in my corner to help me process through all of my thoughts and feelings and questions and I’m just so honored to get to open this conversation up here too.

PIN ME!

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

Steph’s book, The Lipstick Gospel (here’s a paperback copy and here’s a free digital download!)

Steph’s prayer journals, Every Single Moment and The Between Places

Podcast episode mentioned: Girls Night #94: Steph & Carl Share Their Story of Trying to Have a Baby

Past Girls Night Episodes with Kelsey:

Girls Night #141: How to Figure out if You’re Ready to Have Kids (Part 1)

Girls Night #88: How to Stay Close to your Friends When you’re in Different Stages of Life

Girls Night #30: How to Start Celebrating (and Stop Dreading!) Your Birthday & Getting Older

Girls Night #8: How to Get Closer to God

Quotes Mentioned:

"There's no specific dollar amount that's going to be like, "Okay, that's when you're ready to have a baby"" - Kelsey

"You do the best with what you have, but, at some point, you just have to jump" - Stephanie

"God is always preparing us for something...but God never wastes the time...He's the God of abundance" - Kelsey

"The healthier I am mentally, and spiritually, and emotionally, the better wife I am and the better mom I am" - Stephanie

"The healthier we are, the healthier every other part of our lives is" - Stephanie

"I am such a fan of having extra help in our corner" - Stephanie

"When I got pregnant, I wanted my kids to catch me in the midst of living in a really beautiful, full life...I didn't want them to find me waiting, I wanted them to interrupt something" - Stephanie

"For our marriage, what we needed from each other the most...was just constant grace" - Kelsey

"These will not be the sexiest days of your life...your body is different" - Kelsey

"It won't be like this forever" - Stephanie

"Getting to see the world through fresh eyes, is just such a unique and amazing experience" - Kelsey

"The second piece of encouragement I wish I could have told myself...is choosing to rest" - Kelsey

"We really do get to decide the kind of parents we want to be and we get to make choices as a family and I get to make choices as an individual and Carl and I get to make decisions as a couple" - Stephanie