Blended Family Breakthrough

Resources
Click the link for helpful Co-Parenting Episodes:  https://www.blendedfamilybreakthrough.com/podcast/category/Co-Parenting/#filter
Episode 213. Discover How to Better Understand and Connect with Children of Divorce [with Lauren Reitsema]
Episode 229. The Heavy Burdens Kids Carry:  Loyalty Binds, Parental Allegiances, and How to Help
Episode 232. 5 Principles to Manage Contact Between Homes and Promote Your Child's Wellness
Episode 161. How do Healthy Parent/Child Roles Help Avoid the Pitfalls of Parentification? [with Ron Deal & Lauren Reitsema]
Suggest a Topic or Ask a Question  
Would you like us to discuss something specific or answer your question on the show?  Let us know!
We've made it easy.  Just click here:  https://www.blendedfamilybreakthrough.com/share
Ready for some extra support?
We all need some extra support along the blending journey — we're here to help.  You can connect with us for a free coaching call to see how we might help you experience more clarity, confidence, and connection in your home.  Schedule your free call here:  https://www.blendedfamilybreakthrough.com/free-call
You don't need to navigate blended family life alone.  Join our supportive community where you'll connect directly with us and other couples just like you who are intentionally investing in healthy blending strategies.  Click the link to find out how to join: https://learning.blendedfamilybreakthrough.com/blendingtogether
Subscribe or Follow the Show 
Click here to subscribe on YouTube
Click here to follow on Apple Podcasts
Click here to follow on Spotify
Leave a Review in Apple Podcasts
If you’re feeling extra helpful, we would be so grateful if you left us a review over on Apple Podcasts too. Your review will help others find our podcast — plus they’re fun for us to read too! :-)  Just click here to Review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and then select “Write a Review” — let us know what your favorite part of the podcast is.  Thank you, we really appreciate your feedback.

Moving between two homes is simply part of life for many kids after a divorce. Have you ever stopped to consider how much physical and emotional energy each transition requires?
Kids may be shifting between different routines, expectations, relationships, responsibilities, and environments, all while keeping track of clothes, schoolwork, sports gear, electronics, and everything else that needs to travel with them. Even when kids have healthy relationships with both parents, constantly adjusting can be exhausting. 
We know this personally. When Annika moved between our home and her dad's, we didn't always recognize the toll this took on her. Sometimes our excitement to reconnect actually created more pressure when what she really needed was time and space to settle in.
In this episode, we’re inviting you to see regular transitions through your child’s eyes. What can look like irritability, withdrawal, forgetfulness, or resistance may actually be a child trying to manage the emotional and practical strain of moving between two different homes. When we understand what may be happening beneath the behavior, we can respond with more empathy, reduce unnecessary pressure, and create a smoother landing as kids move from one home to the other.
The goal isn't to make everything "perfect". It's to pay attention to your individual child and ask what helps them experience greater stability, security, and freedom while living between two homes.
You'll Discover:
Why frequent transitions between two homes can create more stress for kids than adults sometimes recognize
How connection before correction can help when kids arrive home irritable, withdrawn, resistant, or disrespectful
Why lowering the pressure and practicing a little "subdued excitement" can give kids room to settle before reconnecting
How biological parents can manage their own sadness with goodbyes without creating emotional burdens for their kids
Practical ways to reduce the stress of clothes, school supplies, sports gear, electronics, and other belongings moving between homes 
Resources from this Episode:
Episode 84. How to Cope With Sadness, Anxiety, and Longing While Your Kids Are Gone
Episode 226. How Two Homes Raise Kids that Thrive: A Co-Parenting Blueprint for Caring Parents [with Jay & Tammy Daughtry]
Episode 168.  Actionable Steps For Helping Kids Navigate Through Difficult Emotions and Problem-Solve
Episode 222. Step-by-Step Guide:  Facing Painful Pushback Without Making Things Worse
Episode 223. The Emotion Coaching Playbook:  Handling Pushback and Building Trust
Episode 229. The Heavy Burdens Kids Carry:  Loyalty Binds, Parental Allegiance, and How to Help
Episode 210. Is Your Child Pulling Away?  Here's How to Respond with Wisdom and Love
Episode 103. 4 Revealing Myths About 1 on 1 Time Between Parents and their Bio-Kids 
Ready for some extra support?
We all need some extra support along the blending journey — we're here to help.  You can connect with us for a free coaching call to see how we might help you experience more clarity, confidence, and connection in your home.  Schedule your free call here:  https://calendly.com/mikeandkimcoaching/freesession
Subscribe or Follow the Show 
Are you subscribed or following the podcast yet?  If not, we want to encourage you do that today so you don't miss a single episode.  
Click here to subscribe in Apple Podcasts
Click here to follow on Spotify
Click here to subscribe on YouTube
Leave a Review in Apple Podcasts
If you’re feeling extra helpful, we would be so grateful if you left us a review over on Apple Podcasts too. Your review will help others find our podcast — plus they’re fun for us to read too! :-)  Just click here to Review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and then select “Write a Review” — let us know what your favorite part of the podcast is.  Thank you, we really appreciate your feedback!

Resources
Building Love Together in Blended Families by Ron Deal and Gary Chapman
Suggest a Topic or Ask a Question  
Would you like us to discuss something specific or answer your question on the show?  Let us know!
We've made it easy.  Just click here:  https://www.blendedfamilybreakthrough.com/share
Ready for some extra support?
We all need some extra support along the blending journey — we're here to help.  You can connect with us for a free coaching call to see how we might help you experience more clarity, confidence, and connection in your home.  Schedule your free call here:  https://www.blendedfamilybreakthrough.com/free-call
You don't need to navigate blended family life alone.  Join our supportive community where you'll connect directly with us and other couples just like you who are intentionally investing in healthy blending strategies.  Click the link to find out how to join: https://learning.blendedfamilybreakthrough.com/blendingtogether
Subscribe or Follow the Show 
Click here to subscribe on YouTube
Click here to follow on Apple Podcasts
Click here to follow on Spotify
Leave a Review in Apple Podcasts
If you’re feeling extra helpful, we would be so grateful if you left us a review over on Apple Podcasts too. Your review will help others find our podcast — plus they’re fun for us to read too! :-)  Just click here to Review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and then select “Write a Review” — let us know what your favorite part of the podcast is.  Thank you, we really appreciate your feedback!

Adding an "ours baby" can be a beautiful new chapter, but it can also stir up emotions and family dynamics you didn’t expect. 
We experienced that firsthand when Annika (then seven), asked Kim (who was pregnant), “Will you be closer to the baby than you are to me?” Her question revealed what many children in blended families wonder when a shared baby arrives: Where do I fit now, and do I still matter just as much?
In this episode, we explore how an "ours baby" can impact kids who move between two homes, older siblings who compare their childhood to the baby’s, stepparents becoming biological parents for the first time, and couples trying to balance competing needs, loyalties, and ideas about fairness. 
The goal isn’t to convince everyone to feel happy about the new baby. It’s to create enough emotional safety for each person to be honest about the whole experience.
We’ll share practical ways to respond with curiosity, reassurance, emotion coaching, and teamwork. Most importantly, we’ll help you focus on one intentional strategy that can protect your family as it grows.
When everyone continues to feel seen, valued, and secure, your growing family has a stronger foundation for connection and belonging.
You'll Discover:
Why kids can genuinely love a new sibling while also experiencing grief, jealousy, insecurity, or fear.
How an "ours baby" can intensify existing blended family dynamics, including loyalty binds and the Trapped Teammate/Stranded Stranger dynamic
Why thoughtful communication with an ex about a pregnancy can help keep kids out of adult emotions 
How becoming a biological parent can create new challenges for a previously childless stepparent
One practical strategy to protect connection, security, and belonging by making intentional investments in every relationship in your family
Resources from this Episode:
Episode 229. The Heavy Burdens Kids Carry:  Loyalty Binds, Parental Allegiance, and How to Help
Episode 222. Step-by-Step Guide:  Facing Painful Pushback Without Making Things Worse 
Episode 161. How do Healthy Parent/Child Roles Help Avoid the Pitfalls of Parentification [with Ron Deal & Lauren Reitsema]
Episode 211. 8 Warning Signs Your Ex is Manipulating Your Child's Heart and Mind
Episode 218. How to Positively Influence Your Kids' Character When Your Ex Undermines Your Values
Episode 123. How to Connect More and Rekindle Romance in Your Relationship - Even if You're Super Busy
Episode 103. 4 Revealing Myths About 1 on 1 Time Between Parents and their Bio-Kids
Episode 136. How to Intentionally Create Positive Family Time and Reduce Relational Tension
Episode 39. How to Create Strong Bonds with Resistant Step kids
Episode 19. How to Help Step-Siblings to Get Along Better
Ready for some extra support?
We all need some extra support along the blending journey.  You can connect with us for a free coaching call to see how we might help you experience more clarity, confidence, and connection in your home.  Schedule your free call here:  https://calendly.com/mikeandkimcoaching/freesession
Subscribe or Follow the Show 
Click here to subscribe on YouTube
Click here to follow on Apple Podcasts
Click here to follow on Spotify
Leave a Review in Apple Podcasts
If you’re feeling extra helpful, we would be so grateful if you left us a review over on Apple Podcasts too. Your review will help others find our podcast — plus they’re fun for us to read too! :-)  Just click here to Review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and then select “Write a Review” — let us know what your favorite part of the podcast is.  Thank you, we really appreciate your feedback!

Deciding whether to have an “ours baby” is deeply personal, and in a blended family, the decision can carry some unique complexities.
We know because we’ve lived it.
When we were building our life together, Mike felt certain that he wanted the opportunity to have a biological child, while Kim had already reached a place of contentment raising her one child. As our relationship grew, so did our conversations about what we each wanted, what concerned us, and what adding a baby might mean for our marriage and for Annika.
In this episode, we share four important questions that can help you navigate this decision with greater honesty and clarity.  We also share some of our own journey of welcoming Phoebe and Jacob into our family. Their arrivals brought incredible joy, but they also reminded us that even careful preparation can’t predict exactly how the story will unfold.
The goal isn’t to rush toward a yes or a no. It’s to create enough safety and honesty for both of you to fully engage in the conversation, understand what’s at stake, and ultimately move forward as a united couple with realistic expectations, caring for everyone in the family.
You'll Discover:
Four important questions to explore before deciding to have an “ours baby”
Why a baby shouldn’t be expected to fix marital struggles or automatically unite a blended family
How finances, fertility, support systems, family logistics, and previous parenting experiences can shape the decision
Why couples need to talk honestly when their hopes don’t align
How the emotional security of your current children should factor into how you prepare to grow your family
Ready for some extra support?
We all need some extra support along the blending journey.  You can connect with us for a free coaching call to see how we might help you experience more clarity, confidence, and connection in your home.  Schedule your free call here:  https://calendly.com/mikeandkimcoaching/freesession
Subscribe or Follow the Show 
Click here to subscribe on YouTube
Click here to follow on Apple Podcasts
Click here to follow on Spotify
Leave a Review in Apple Podcasts
If you’re feeling extra helpful, we would be so grateful if you left us a review over on Apple Podcasts too. Your review will help others find our podcast — plus they’re fun for us to read too! :-)  Just click here to Review, select “Ratings and Reviews” and then select “Write a Review” — let us know what your favorite part of the podcast is.  Thank you, we really appreciate your feedback!