20. The Unexpected Joys of Parenthood (Yes, They Exist!)

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In this week’s episode of Caffeinated Chaos, Whitney flips the script on the common narrative of parenthood being all struggles and sleepless nights. Instead, she dives into the unexpected joys of parenting—those sweet, funny, and magical moments that make it all worth it. From watching a baby take their first awkward crawl to the joy of seeing your toddler’s quirky mispronunciations, this episode reminds us to pause, appreciate, and cherish the little things. Whitney shares practical tips on how to stay present, savor the sweet moments, and shift your mindset to see the beauty amidst the chaos.

In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• How to embrace the unexpected joys of parenthood, even during chaotic times
• Practical ways to savor those sweet moments that can easily be missed in the hustle
• Tips on creating “mental snapshots” to help you remember the small, joyful moments
• The importance of verbalizing joy and love with your family, no matter how small the moment
• How journaling and reflecting on these joyful moments can build a positive mindset

Quotes from This Episode:

• “Parenthood isn’t just about the sleepless nights. It’s about those unexpected moments that make your heart explode with love.”
• “Sometimes, it’s the smallest things that make the biggest impact. A silly word or a big sister giggle—those are the moments we should hold on to.”
• “Parenting is chaotic, yes—but there’s magic in it if we take the time to notice it.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• Sip and Share Segment: Submit your funny, chaotic, or joyful parenting stories for a chance to be featured in an upcoming episode!
• Journal Prompt: Write down one unexpected joyful moment from today and share it with a friend or family member.

Got your own moments of joy you want to share? Send them to Whitney via DM on social media or submit them for the Sip and Share segment!

If this episode made you smile or helped you appreciate the magic in your own parenting journey, share it with another parent who might need a reminder of the joys of raising little ones. Also, don’t forget to rate and review the podcast—it helps more parents find the encouragement they need!

Want to hear more?
Subscribe to Caffeinated Chaos to stay updated on new episodes every week! Until next time, keep sipping that coffee, embrace the chaos, and remember, there’s magic in the mess. 💖

Cheers! Thank you for joining us for another episode. Have a chaotic moment, question, or topic you want us to cover? Drop us a message or leave a review! If you loved this episode, share it with a friend who thrives in beautiful chaos too.

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• Connect with us via email at [e-mail]
• Follow us on Instagram: @caffeinatedchaospodcast or @aguonstudios
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• Sip and Share: Click here to submit

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome back to CaffeinatedChaos, friends.
And today we are flipping thescript.
Instead of dwelling on sleeplessnights, sticky fingers, and the
sheer chaos that comes withraising tiny humans, we are
going to celebrate moments thatmake it all worth it today.
The unexpected giggles, the wayyour kiddo says a word that is

(00:21):
completely wrong.
But you kind of never want tocorrect them because it's just
too darn cute and theindescribable feeling of
watching them become their ownperson.
Okay, if I'm being honest, Iwent into motherhood expecting
the hardest job of my life.
Don't get me wrong, I wanted tobe a mom and yes, it is hard.

(00:44):
No one prepared me for how muchI would actually genuinely love
my children, though.
Like, I, I would die for mychildren.
It's a full body, like, heartexploding, can't believe this is
kind of my life moment when allthese little things happen
together and I am in such a cutephase with my children right now

(01:05):
because my toddler And, mynewborn is now almost six months
and she is just, you know,developing her personality and
learning to crawl and smilingmore and interacting more.
And so my toddler is completelyenamored by her.

(01:26):
She goes around and she goes,I'm her big sister.
I'm her big sister.
We're going to play together.
They're playing together isliterally just my toddler
jumping up and down While thebaby laughs and it's the cutest
darn thing in the world and Ithink when people talk about how

(01:47):
hard parenthood is, part of theproblem is that we're so
conditioned to focus on thestruggles, like, yes, sleepless
nights.
Yes, we know all that stuff isgoing to happen.
And it's weird because societylikes to remind us about how
exhausting parenthood is.

(02:07):
I mean, during the pregnancyalone, people were like, Get
your sleep now because you'renot gonna have it later.
And yes, true, but there are somany other things going on too.
It's not all about the struggle.
It's about embracing things thatare also true, that are
positive.

(02:29):
You know?
The struggle is not the wholetruth.
Okay.
So, my, my toddler, she has somewords that she tries to
pronounce, and they are a littlewrong.
There also are words that shetakes from like, Bluey and
Bingo, where it's like, theydon't make any sense, but I know

(02:52):
it's from the show, um, but whenshe's trying to say actual words
and she gets them wrong.
Like, part of me is like, ugh,it's so darn cute and also I
should correct her, but I'lljust say it once and then, like,
move on because it's just sodarn cute.
Also let's talk about how theyhave zero concept of personal

(03:16):
space.
I mean, just between now, thetwo girls, and kudos to you if
you have more than two.
Um, but just me with my twogirls, I feel like I'm always in
the middle of a baby sandwich.
They are all up on me, literallylike, pressed against my face

(03:37):
when I'm just like trying toeat.
And they're like, what are youdoing?
What are you eating?
What is that?
What is And I was like It'schicken rice, you want some?
It's the same thing in yourbowl, but it's different when it
comes from mommy's bowl, I know.
And, I mean, it's just one ofthose things where it's like,
it's non stop, it is a little,you know, chaotic sometimes when

(03:58):
you're trying to get thingsdone.
But also, so darn cute because Iknow that they will eventually
grow out of this phase and wantabsolutely nothing to do with
me.
So how do we shift our mindsetand actually lean into these
joyful moments?
Because, you know, I like to behonest, in the middle of

(04:19):
tantrums, and you know, whenyou're sleep deprived, it's easy
to miss them.
So, you know me, I love someactionable steps.
So here are some things thatwe've been trying to do in our
household that you can alsoadopt if it works for you.
So one is just taking a momentand pausing and taking mental

(04:40):
snapshots, like literally stopand think, I want to remember
this moment forever.
Even if it's something tiny,just take a breather, enjoy the
moment and take a mentalsnapshot.
The other day, I literallystared at my baby for like 10
minutes while she moved, I don'tknow, like a foot.

(05:00):
But she was trying her best tocrawl, and it was more kind of
like a really awkward wiggle.
And like, her doing the worm.
But, I know that this is thelast time I'm going to watch a
baby take their first crawlingsteps.
And so, I sat there, and Iwatched it for ten minutes,
uninterrupted, just staring ather.

(05:22):
Slowly inching across the floor,and it was, let me tell you,
very peaceful, very relaxing,and something I will always
remember.
Okay?
Two, I want you to say it outloud.
Instead of thinking in yourmind, Wow, this is such a cute
moment! I mean Tell your kid howmuch you love their goofy laugh.

(05:46):
your partner about how yourbaby's snuggles make you feel.
Or, you know, if you watch yourbaby for like ten minutes, crawl
one foot across the floor.
Just tell it.
Verbalizing the joy makes itmore real, and you get to relive
that moment when you retell thestory.
Three.

(06:06):
Keep a journal.
It's not a fancy one.
Like, it can just be one ofthose spiral notebooks you get
from, I don't know, an officesupply store.
Or Target, or you know, whereveryou go to shop.
It can just be a quick note onyour phone, too.
You know, just somewhere whereyou can jot down these little
memories that make you smile,and it will be really nice.

(06:31):
And I know some people are like,okay, I just take a photo or I
take video and that also isokay.
But there's something about thewritten word that I've always
loved.
So having kind of a journal,where you can express more of
how you're currently feeling inthe moment instead of just
visually what you see.
So I enjoy that.

(06:53):
Okay.
We know that parenthood is hard,alright?
I just wanted to take a quickmoment and have a really short
episode to remind you that thereare unexpected joys of
parenthood and they are so, so,so good, alright?
It's time that we start talkingabout both sides, both the

(07:15):
struggle, the hardships, butalso the really fun and exciting
and loving parts of parenthoodtoo.
Because, yes.
We get it.
We're all sleep deprived zombieshalf the time.
We're drinking our fifth cup ofcoffee, and it's probably cold.
But, you know what?
We're witnessing theseincredible humans grow and

(07:35):
develop, and that is so magical.
So, what's a moment ofunexpected joy that you've had?
I would really love to hearthem.
Share me your stories.
You can do it a bunch ofdifferent ways.
You can DM me on social media.
You can comment on the podcastOr, on one of our stories or
anything.

(07:56):
You can even submit your storyto be shared for our next Sip
and Share segment.
So just remember that that's asegment where you can share your
chaotic story, something thatyou love, something that was
hard.
You can be anonymous or you canleave your name.
You can also leave advice forother people going through the

(08:17):
things that you are goingthrough.
Okay?
Alright, moms and dads outthere, go hug your little tiny
human, or your big human if youhave like a teenager or an adult
child, and soak up some magictoday.
If this episode made you smile,share it with another parent who
needs a reminder that they aredoing an amazing job.

(08:41):
Alright, I just want to take afew quick moments out of this
week and let you know that Youare doing an amazing job.
I will see you all next time.
Until then, keep sipping thatcoffee, embrace the chaos, but
also remember there's so muchmagic in watching your family
grow.
All right.

(09:02):
I love you all.
I will see you next time.
Have a good one.
Bye bye.