From Dog Mom to Twin Mom: The Identity Crisis No One Talks About with Dominika Knossalla-Pado
Mom's Guide to Finding Herself: Rediscovering Identity and Joy in Motherhood
Release Date: 03/09/2026
The Mom Guilt That's Keeping You From Taking Care of Yourself
Mom's Guide to Finding Herself: Rediscovering Identity and Joy in Motherhood
You finally carved out the time. A workout class, a solo coffee, a bath with the door locked. You showed up for yourself. And then — within about four minutes — the voice showed up too. The laundry isn't done. Did I pack tomorrow's lunch? What kind of mom takes a bath when there are still dishes in the sink? We call it guilt. But in this episode, Krissy makes the case that what most moms are actually feeling isn't guilt at all — and that calling it the wrong name is exactly what keeps us skipping the next class, cutting the bath short, and slowly letting our...
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The Mom Health Crisis Nobody Talks About
Mom's Guide to Finding Herself: Rediscovering Identity and Joy in Motherhood
When did you last go to the doctor for yourself? Not for a sick kid, not a well-child visit — for you. When did you last get a mammogram, a skin check, a physical? When did you last work out for more than 11 minutes before someone needed something? If you just cringed a little, this episode is for you. Krissy gets honest about her own experience scheduling a mammogram around everyone else's life — and what it revealed about how moms are conditioned to put themselves last. This isn't a lecture. It's a real conversation about why self-care feels so impossibly hard when everyone...
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Why Moms Talk Themselves Out of Everything... and How to Stop with Laura Aura
Mom's Guide to Finding Herself: Rediscovering Identity and Joy in Motherhood
You know that voice in your head? The one that says it's not the right time. That someone else is further along. That you don't have permission to want more than this. It has a name. And today we're finally talking about what to do with it. Laura Aura is back for part two of her conversation with Krissy — and this one is all about mind junk: the internal noise that talks moms out of their best ideas before they even get started. As a mom herself, Laura gets how easy it is to put yourself at the back of the line. And she's here to tell you that it is not making you a better...
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She Started a Business 6 Months Pregnant, Went Bankrupt, and Built It Anyway with Laura Aura
Mom's Guide to Finding Herself: Rediscovering Identity and Joy in Motherhood
Have you ever felt like something in your life needs to change — but you keep talking yourself out of it? Maybe it's a job. A relationship. A version of yourself you've been performing for years. You know something's off. But what's on the other side feels terrifying. Today's guest knows that feeling intimately. Laura Aura is a keynote speaker, personal growth coach, and host of The Gutsy Podcast. She started her business six and a half months pregnant, navigated bankruptcy, and after 16 years of building something successful — decided to sell it all and start over....
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The Rules I Stopped Following After Becoming a Mom (And Why Life Got Lighter)
Mom's Guide to Finding Herself: Rediscovering Identity and Joy in Motherhood
Are you secretly exhausted from trying to be a “good mom” all the time? You love your kids more than anything… but motherhood still feels heavier than it should. The pressure to enjoy every moment, keep everything together, stay productive, and never need help is enough to make any mom feel like she’s disappearing. In this episode, I’m sharing the invisible rules I stopped following after becoming a mom — the ones quietly fueling mom guilt, burnout, and identity loss — and how letting them go helped me feel lighter, calmer, and more like myself again. Because motherhood isn’t...
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How to Protect Your Sense of Self in Motherhood
Mom's Guide to Finding Herself: Rediscovering Identity and Joy in Motherhood
Are you slowly disappearing in motherhood… and not even realizing it? You love your kids more than anything—but somewhere between the snack refills, the mental load, and putting everyone else first, you started fading into the background. You’re not burned out. You’re not in crisis. You just don’t feel like a person anymore. That quiet motherhood identity loss is more common than anyone talks about—and it doesn’t get fixed by “doing more” or reinventing your whole life. In this episode, I’m sharing how to stop disappearing in the first place and protect your sense of self...
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Adding a Baby or a Dog to Your Family? Avoid These Common Mistakes with Dominika Knossalla-Pado
Mom's Guide to Finding Herself: Rediscovering Identity and Joy in Motherhood
Bringing home a baby… or bringing home a dog? Either way, your whole family feels the shift. Most parents focus on the cute moments — first snuggles, sweet photos, growing up together. But the transition is emotional, messy, and full of safety decisions no one really prepares you for. In this episode, certified dog trainer and Dog Meets Baby founder Dominika Knossalla-Pado shares what actually helps when you’re preparing your dog for a new baby, preparing your children for a new dog, or simply trying to make life with kids and dogs safer and calmer. Because training is only one piece of...
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From Dog Mom to Twin Mom: The Identity Crisis No One Talks About with Dominika Knossalla-Pado
Mom's Guide to Finding Herself: Rediscovering Identity and Joy in Motherhood
Did you ever feel totally prepared for motherhood… and then completely wrecked by it? You read the books. You made the plans. You felt confident in your expertise. And then motherhood hit—and nothing went the way you expected. In this raw and honest conversation, Dominika shares how becoming a mom to twins shook the very foundation of who she thought she was. From pregnancy complications and NICU trauma to postpartum anxiety and a terrifying moment with her family dog, this is the side of early motherhood we don’t talk about enough. If you’ve ever felt blindsided, overwhelmed, or like...
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82 The Weight of Motherhood in a Scary World
Mom's Guide to Finding Herself: Rediscovering Identity and Joy in Motherhood
How are you supposed to raise joyful, secure kids when the world feels like it’s falling apart? You’re packing lunches, wiping counters, singing bedtime songs… and then scrolling devastating headlines at 9 PM wondering what kind of world your kids are growing up in. You feel like you should be doing more. Caring more. Fixing more. But you’re also supposed to be the steady one. The cheerful one. The “fun mom.” And that tension? It’s exhausting. In this episode of Mom’s Guide to Finding Herself, we’re unpacking the emotional labor of global awareness — what it’s doing to...
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81 If Motherhood Had Performance Reviews: A Totally Biased Report Card
Mom's Guide to Finding Herself: Rediscovering Identity and Joy in Motherhood
Ever wondered what it would be like to get an actual performance review… as a mom? Let’s just say, it’s part hilarious, part emotional gut-punch, and 100% what you need to hear today. You’re doing more than you realize. But when was the last time anyone noticed? In this episode, I’m walking you through a totally made-up (but deeply validating) mom performance review—rubric style. Because whether it’s surviving bedtime or dodging tantrums in aisle nine, you deserve some freakin’ recognition. BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL DISCOVER: Why your inner mom critic is dead...
info_outlineDid you ever feel totally prepared for motherhood… and then completely wrecked by it?
You read the books. You made the plans. You felt confident in your expertise.
And then motherhood hit—and nothing went the way you expected.
In this raw and honest conversation, Dominika shares how becoming a mom to twins shook the very foundation of who she thought she was. From pregnancy complications and NICU trauma to postpartum anxiety and a terrifying moment with her family dog, this is the side of early motherhood we don’t talk about enough.
If you’ve ever felt blindsided, overwhelmed, or like you lost your identity as a mom… this episode will make you feel seen.
BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL DISCOVER:
• Why even “experts” experience a motherhood identity crisis
• How unexpected postpartum challenges can trigger anxiety and identity loss
• What it really takes to rebuild trust, confidence, and yourself in early motherhood
Motherhood changes you — but you don’t have to lose yourself forever.
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