We sat down with @lacycounts - mompreneur, accidental developer, special needs mama, and the most real person you'll meet on the internet.

In This Episode:

• Why Lacy calls herself an "accidental developer" (and an accidental influencer)
• Life with a 9-year-old special needs son who's been sleeping like a newborn for almost a decade
• Running multiple businesses (BBQ restaurant, coffee shop, hair salon, 20,000 sq ft mixed-use development) while raising a nonverbal autistic child
• Why chaos is actually her self-care
• The truth about work-life balance: "If I'm crushing it as a mom, I'm a horrible wife"
• Moving next door to her parents and creating a quasi-compound
• Marriage advice that doesn't involve date nights (spoiler: it involves foot tickles)
• Why leaning in is a lie and you literally cannot give everybody everything all the time

Follow Lacy: Instagram: @lacycounts

Follow Us: Instagram: @momlifeunfiltered_by_thecaep Shop THE CÆP: thecaep.com | @thecaep

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Join hosts Malliha Ahmad and Corinna Emery for one of our most raw and honest conversations yet with Makeba Lindsay (IG @ynotkeeb), a single mom who’s breaking down every myth about “natural” motherhood. From the brutal reality of hating breastfeeding to literally feeling her brain shrink and return, Makeba shares the unfiltered truth about postpartum recovery, single motherhood, and why your partner can make or break your entire experience.

Key Topics Covered:

The Breastfeeding Reality Check

• Why “the best nutrients on the planet” can still feel impossible

• Hating something you’re “supposed” to love and what that means

• The commitment that carried her through: “just do it like a zombie”

• Finding flow at 6 months when everything finally clicked

Your Brain is Literally Different

• The science behind mom brain: why your brain actually shrinks during pregnancy

• What it feels like when your brain “comes back” after 2 years

• Why you can’t handle challenges the same way you used to

• The “stuckness” that isn’t your fault - it’s biology

C-Section Recovery Reality

• Feeling “everything” while choosing no medication during breastfeeding

• The 12-week clearance myth: “I was in no place to be working out”

• Creating a home gym with baby as “little coach”

• Why movement looks completely different after becoming a mom

Postpartum and Partnership

• The direct correlation between your partner and your postpartum experience

• Why abusive relationships make postpartum depression “10 times worse”

• How partners can literally help bring you out of that space

• The myth that postpartum is something that happens TO partners, not WITH them

Single Mom Doubt and Determination

• “I don’t know if I can do this” - the honest internal dialogue

• Recovering from damage while trying to be present

• The belief that children need two-parent households vs. single mom reality

• Changing your mindset to change everything else

The Celebration We’re Missing

• “Two things can exist” - loving your kids while hating tantrums

• Why we need to celebrate showing up despite feeling unqualified

• The reality: nobody wants to deal with tantrums, and that’s okay

• Recognizing people who abandon their parenting roles vs. those who keep showing up

Connect with Makeba:

Instagram: @ynotkeeb

Join Our Mama Village:

• Instagram: @momlifeunfiltered_by_thecaep

• Website: thecaep.com

What happens when cultural expectations collide with modern motherhood? German mom Janina’s story will break your heart and open your eyes to the impossible standards moms face, no matter where they live.

From being brutally shamed for her “chunky” exclusively breastfed baby (with suggestions to give a 7-month-old TEA instead of milk) to discovering the shocking differences between European and American food regulations, Janina’s experience reveals how judgment follows moms across continents. Her honest admission about her own screen time judgment - before finding herself in that exact situation - offers a powerful lesson about empathy and assumptions.

This conversation dives deep into the cultural pressures that make parents feel like failures, the society that creates problems it then blames parents for, and why we need to normalize children being children in public spaces. Whether you’re navigating cross-cultural parenting, struggling with judgment, or trying to build your identity beyond motherhood, Janina’s wisdom and vulnerability will resonate deeply.

Perfect for moms who are tired of impossible standards and ready for honest conversations about the realities of raising children in a world full of opinions.

Guest: Janina Reimann (@janina_reimann23)