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The New Mom Podcast is a Christian motherhood podcast for women navigating pregnancy, postpartum, and early motherhood.
Whether you're a first-time mom, expecting, or in the middle of sleepless nights, this show offers real, honest conversations about motherhood, marriage, identity, and faith. We talk about birth stories, postpartum recovery, relationships, mental health, and trusting God through every stage of motherhood. If you're looking for encouragement, practical advice, and a reminder that you're not alone—this podcast is for you.
Our prayer is that New Mom leaves you feeling seen, strengthened, and a little more equipped for the beautiful calling of motherhood!
New episodes weekly.
Hello, and welcome back to New Mom. In today's episode, I got to have a wonderful conversation with Lauren Swickard. She is an actress, writer, producer, also a wife and a mom of two, soon to be three. You may know her and her husband Josh from A California Christmas on Netflix. She's wonderful.
Carrie:We had a great time talking about raising her two babies, life on her farm. She and Josh have an avocado ranch. And we also just talked about screen time, asking for help with our kids, and so much more, honestly. She is just a joy. And I really hope you enjoyed this conversation with Lauren.
Carrie:Okay. Well, hi, Lauren. Welcome to New Mom. Thank you so much for being here.
Lauren:Thank you so much. I'm so excited to do this. I love I love that you're doing this. I feel like I feel like this is needed in the podcast world, so good on you. Seriously.
Carrie:Thank you so much. I honestly am so excited about it. I feel like it's it's something that I when I was pregnant, I've only had one baby, but when I was pregnant with my first, I just kept searching and I was like, I just am looking for a specific I'm a podcast girly. I was like, I'm looking for a specific kind of podcast where I can just hear moms just talk life giving conversations, moms that know the Lord. I just wanna hear them chat and like, I wanna laugh with them.
Carrie:I wanna be encouraged. And there are some great motherhood podcasts, but I just didn't find like mine, you know? Where you're like, this is like, I found my girls. I found what I wanna listen to. And so that's like what prompted me to kind of pray about it and be like, okay, well, I love talking about this stuff and I love getting to meet other moms and be encouraged by them.
Carrie:So why would I not? Like, just just do it. So I'm doing it.
Lauren:I'm so happy for you. And I'm so happy to be here. Yay.
Carrie:Well, thank you thank you so much for joining us. I like I really appreciate you taking the time because you're currently pregnant with baby Yes. Number three.
Lauren:Baby number three, which we we say we maybe want four babies, god willing. So it doesn't I it it feels so good to be pregnant again and crazy. It doesn't feel like my last pregnancy. I feel like Really? Yes.
Lauren:I feel like when I talk to a lot of moms who are, you know, I'm done having kids, they say, and they talk about their last pregnancy being okay. When they were pregnant, they knew it was their last one. Like I said, if God has it in the cards for us to have another baby, then we are so down. But, yeah, I love being pregnant. I just it's so fun.
Carrie:Have good pregnancies then? Because I I honestly really enjoyed being pregnant, but for the most part, I mean, you know, there's always the things. There's things. I think a lot of women have really rough pregnancies, and they're like, I love my babies, but I absolutely hate being pregnant. I did I kinda liked it.
Carrie:Have you had good pregnancies? Like, how are they how were were they different? Were they all the same? How are like, how have you felt?
Lauren:Yes. So with both of Arthur and Savannah, I was working full time for the entire pregnancy. So I was sitting
Carrie:Oh my gosh.
Lauren:I was sitting at a computer, both pregnancies for on average ten hours a day, which in the industry, I know, in the entertainment industry, that's very normal. And I would have, you know, I would have days off, like I would have weekends off most of the time. And then I would, you know, I had a team behind me, so I had some, it wasn't ten hours a day every single day, but on a workday, it was on average ten hours a day. So my back was killing me for both pregnancies. I bet.
Lauren:Was totally prepared for my back to be hurting this pregnancy and it hasn't been hurting because I'm not really working. And so this pregnancy has felt so much more comfortable. I did start seeing a chiropractor this pregnancy, which I highly recommend.
Carrie:Good to know. I've heard people say that. I didn't do it last time. I didn't specifically have back troubles till like the end and then I probably should have gone, but it helped. Yes.
Lauren:It's okay. It helps so much. And I was afraid at first, especially when I started to get bigger being adjusted, but oh my gosh, they're so well educated with pregnant women. It's been helping me a lot. It's amazing.
Lauren:This has been my favorite one. It's a thing. I
Carrie:honestly thank you for saying that because after having one, I'm like, okay. I really really hope and pray that it's not downhill from here. You know, it's like every pregnancy is harder and I'm older and my pelvic floor and like all the things. So that's actually really really encouraging to me because I desire to have, you know, we're praying to have numerous kids and I'm like, okay, I really hope that like, it's just encouraging to hear that you could feel better in your third than your first, you know. You don't hear that a lot.
Carrie:So I love that. And it is interesting like, are you just do you feel like you have a little bit of a slower pace of life right now? Do you think that could be part of it? Just feeling like you're able to care for yourself?
Lauren:So honestly, I feel like it's just mental. I feel like my mental capacity capacity for for life life is is so so much much fuller because I chose to not work full time during this pregnancy. So I'm not thinking about a project. I'm not, you know, on the phone with multiple people every day. I'm really able to enjoy homemaking and being with the kids.
Lauren:And we live on a farm now, which you know, this is so weird late to the podcast because we're chasing a chicken.
Carrie:I that's the best reason I've ever heard to be like, can we push just 15? I just have to go grab my chicken real quick.
Lauren:This chicken.
Carrie:She lives on a real farm. This isn't like this isn't cute little Instagram farming, you're you're you're full on farm.
Lauren:Oh, yes. And on Instagram, we recently started posting again. I took almost a full year off of using the app.
Carrie:Oh, good for you.
Lauren:It was great. But I just started posting again. I posted this farm video and a lot of my friends are like, oh my gosh. It's so beautiful. I'm like, yes, it is gorgeous on the video, but you guys have no idea.
Lauren:This is an actual avocado ranch. It is messy. It's hard. Instagram is not reality.
Carrie:Yeah. You're like, guys, this is a lot. You're farmers. So you you and Josh have so you have your two kids right now, pregnant with a third. Yes.
Carrie:What is the farm life like? Like, describe so it's an avocado ranch?
Lauren:So it's avocado it's a it's a working avocado ranch, but we don't have any staff. It's just Josh and I. So Josh is Oh
Carrie:my gosh.
Lauren:Josh, this is how it used to work. I used to take care of the animals and Josh used to take care of the avocados. Now being pregnant, I don't know why this pregnancy, I can clean up after the horse is fine, but I can't go near the chicken coop. There is a line, like literally an invisible line that is near the chicken coop that if I cross it and I smell the chicken coop, that is very clean. It's just this this normal.
Carrie:Just the particular smell.
Lauren:Yes. I and I'm almost I'm far into my second trimester and I still get sick if I go near it. Josh does the chickens and the orchard and I do the horses. Don't have our goats anymore. We gave our goats to my friend's farm.
Lauren:She has an alpaca farm and the goats just roam with the alpacas. So we used to have goats. We don't have goats anymore. So it's just avocados, chickens, and horses.
Carrie:Just avocados, chickens, and horses. That's that is so much I mean, gosh. I my son is eight months old. We live in an apartment, not a farm. And I feel like getting everything done each day, the dishes, cooking, caring for him, doing any it's like, I'm still figuring that out.
Carrie:I don't know if you had that experience with your first, but it's just that adjustment to, okay, I have a baby now and there's just like, there's a lot to get done and now there's a child that, you know, is gonna take up most of my attention span. How do you how do you guys navigate that? Like, raising babies on the farm, that's a lot going on. You guys also work, you know, a a good bit. I'm so curious.
Carrie:How how do you balance all of that in a day? Like, what does an average day look like if you are at home, if you're on the farm I with the
Lauren:love this question. And first, I have to say that it was really hard at first. We went from living in a small space in Studio City with, Savannah to moving into three different houses and a van while we were renovating this farmhouse while I was pregnant with Arthur and, you know, about to have him, it was a crazy time. And we were so mobile during the renovation that when we actually got into the house, it was really hard to find routine. And when do I prepare meals for the family when I have all this other stuff to do?
Lauren:Yeah. And honestly, it took Josh and I sitting down with each other and in prayer and focused with our schedules. And we really just had to take time to schedule, okay, when are we gonna have alone time? Literally, like schedule it. When are we gonna have a babysitter come for our Bible study night?
Lauren:Do I need a nanny to come so that I can prepare meals? Maybe at first. And that's what we did. We actually had some help at first, especially because I was still working too. So we found somebody that was amazing that was able to come when I was working.
Lauren:And then we held the help after I would work a little bit so that I could, you know, do laundry and organize because the house was messy. My mental, you know, my mental health was messy.
Carrie:Yes. That is real.
Lauren:And there are there are people that just figured it out really quickly and that wasn't us. And I used to carry a little bit of shame with having the nanny help me at first, but it was just what worked for us. And she was incredible and I loved having her around. And now that we don't really, you know, see her as often, it's it's just I see her and I'm just like, wow, thank you so much for being there for when I was figuring out all the things. But, man, Josh has been the best husband.
Lauren:I tell people that it's like having two moms because when I'm working full time, he's able to come home from work and, you know, pick up that pick up pick up parenting immediately. And it's really just it's it is like
Carrie:having That's amazing.
Lauren:Josh cooks. Josh cleans. He puts the kids down, when I can't. Like, it's just
Carrie:That's so great. I I feel like I, you guys are both in the film industry, actors, producer, all the things. And I feel like my Connor and I are both are both actors. Mhmm. We don't do the other side of it as much.
Carrie:But I feel like we're both in those unique places of it's not just the nine to five always job where it's like dad's off at work twenty four seven, mom's home, or even just both working corporate jobs. The industry is very unique where it's like, okay, like, actually because Connor's the same way where when I'm doing stuff, it's like, he's all hands on deck and then vice versa and we'll travel together and we're working different places and stuff. And I feel like that's just something that isn't maybe the norm, but it's something that I've really I kinda feel the same way where I'm like I think when I first had Archie those first few weeks, I was like, oh. Because he, you know, he was able to be home. And I was like, oh, are you a better mom than me?
Carrie:This guy's killing it. Because he was like changing the diapers, changing the thing, everything. But I actually think, you know, I think there's there's blessings in every type of marriage and type of dynamic. But I really I really love it. I think it's really fun that we're kind of both like able to take those times where one of us is all hands on deck and the other one gets to fully focus on the creative stuff and and the providing and all of that.
Carrie:And then it kinda switches. So Yeah. That's really cool to hear to hear that you guys balance that. And honestly, very encouraging that you say it took a little time because I'm still so fresh in it. Hence, this being But called new I'm like, I'm still like learning how, you know, if he's like last night, I put him in our kitchen on the play mat while while I was trying to cook dinner, ended up cutting my hand, ended up like so many yes.
Carrie:I like sliced my hands so deep and I'm like, he's screaming for me and I'm like, Adam, this is boiling. Please don't get near it. And it's just one of those nights where I was like, I am so thankful to have honestly, you're my first younger mom that has is pregnant with the third. Like I've had a lot of like, first time moms. And I'm like, I'm so happy I'm talking to Lauren tomorrow because I'm like, how do you do this?
Carrie:You know, how
Lauren:do you figure it out? Because it's like,
Carrie:I love it so much. But it's just that reality of, okay, I actually have to like love what you said about you and Josh sitting down because I'm like, that's, you know and we and Connor and I are really good about communicating through those things and being like, okay, where could I pick it up or, you know, where do you need this time? But I feel like just kind of really I honestly, even just starting this podcast, like just having some more workflow happening lately since having him, we've realized we need to be diligent about sort of locking in a routine and doesn't need to be rigid. But just kind of the idea of, hey, I need an hour in the evening to read or to shower or to do whatever where it's my time. When do you need your time?
Carrie:Send him to the gym. Send him to you know, and just kinda like balance Yep. It
Lauren:So important. And honestly, Josh You should
Carrie:be intentional.
Lauren:Yes. Yes. Intentional and consistent intentionality. Like Josh and I didn't, we didn't figure this out until after we had ortho. It, it really did take time.
Lauren:And, we, it, we call it state of the union. So basically we, on Sunday night, we sit down and we're like, okay, what's the next week look like? We have a shared calendar. The most important thing is when is your Bible time? When is your time with the Lord?
Lauren:And when is your exercise, for both of us? So that's, if we're both home during the day, it's funny, it's so much fun and we just have all this free time to play on the farm, but it's like, if we don't get those two things alone, Josh and I each get those two things, it becomes a little bit stressful just with having, you know, to pick up mess as the kids are playing and to the farm chores. That time is so important. And we didn't really understand how much we needed that in every day until, you know, we sat down and we're like, why are we so stressed out? Like, this is we have the coolest house.
Lauren:Like, we have the best kids. Like, what is going on? And it's we just weren't taking time to plan alone time for ourselves, a date night, and we weren't taking time to plan out our time with the Lord and our time with ourselves exercising. Sometimes I mean, I'm I'm gonna be honest, I haven't exercised in a in a little bit, as I've gotten closer
Carrie:as I got You've had a good reason.
Lauren:Yeah. Instead of exercising, maybe it's a bath with my kiddos.
Carrie:You're also probably getting a lot of steps on the farm too. It's not like you're not moving around.
Lauren:You know what? I think it's it's funny. I think we do because people stay with us and they'll just come with us during the, you know, the day. And they have I don't wear an Apple Watch, but some of my friends will have Apple Watch, their Apple Watch on, and they'll be like, oh my gosh. I got, you know, this many steps today, and it was just following us around.
Lauren:So that's
Carrie:They're like, oh, I guess I do walk, like, three miles, five miles a day. You probably do. You probably get, like, 20,000 steps accidentally. You probably do. Oh my gosh.
Carrie:I love it. Okay. I wanna go back to briefly because I feel like this I don't know. Something I wanna touch on. When you said when you did first ask for help at the beginning, when you needed it, when you guys were very busy with work and you're overwhelmed, you needed some help and a part time nanny.
Carrie:Just the small level of shame that came with that in the beginning. I would love for you to kinda touch on that. I think I personally have friends that have said the exact same thing of why do I feel so like I'm failing if I need help and I don't have family here and I can't it's just what needs to happen. But I feel like if I do it, then I'm less of a mom or something or I'm less like how did you work through that and get to the other side of just complete gratitude that you're able to have the help when you needed it?
Lauren:Yeah. So I think you said it perfectly. It's just feeling, you know, that comparison type of thing that all women deal with. A lot of it was me on social media, seeing people who, you know, didn't have a nanny or didn't, you know, didn't have screen time, which screen time, we actually now don't do it. But at first, when I was working with two babies, I would put them on, you know, on average, they would probably watch an hour a day just and that was embarrassing for me to, like, talk about, but it was when I didn't have the nanny and I needed you know, during the workday, I would have a twenty minute very important phone call.
Lauren:So I would use we we do, like, Mother Goose Gospel or Little Bear. The old the old shows.
Carrie:Yes.
Lauren:So that was shameful to me. And asking the nanny to come often was shameful to me. And I just think it's that, it's just comparing, it's just learning how to, you know, look at the bright side. I'm so blessed that I'm able to afford and hire an amazing person to help with the kids. Like that is a gift.
Lauren:It's a gift for her to come and hang out with the kids. And she has told me multiple times how much she enjoys the job and coming here and it's a gift for her. So just trying to look at the positives of it and letting go of that, the spirit of comparison, which is so hard.
Carrie:That's so good. Oh gosh. It's so hard to do. I mean, social media makes it worse. I think that's incredible that you said you took almost a year off.
Carrie:I have done that in chunks before, but not since I've had a baby. And I've often thought I'm like, this might be necessary because you just I think it can not only of course, there's the comparison which is so strong. And it can also just rob you of being present with your own kid. Like, oh, they're doing that. Should we be doing that?
Carrie:And then you're not enjoying what you are doing, which is something else that's that's great in your own home. I feel like it it helped me over the holidays to be off. And I was like, I'm so present with whatever we're doing even if it's like being in pajamas and, you know, turning on Frosty the Snowman. I'm so present with this right now and I'm not thinking about what somebody has to say about what I'd be doing right now. Or, oh, we should do that.
Carrie:Those people are doing like cool Christmas lights, whatever and cook like ours is lame. I don't know. I just there's so much to be gained from soaking up your own family and just kinda getting lost in what you're doing on the day to day that gets lost with socials. Because it's constantly, oh, that person's at the gym. Oh gosh.
Carrie:Okay. Well, my I don't have time for that today with my kid or whatever it is. It's like, there's so much So to that's really that's really true. Gosh. Yeah.
Carrie:I
Lauren:And and I always talk about, my unread texts. Sometimes I feel guilty about how much I leave my phone. Like, I just my phone
Carrie:We could talk about this cause I've gotten real bad with texting. It's so bad.
Lauren:So real. Moms understand this, the unread texts, but we were never intended to be available by hundreds of to be available for hundreds of people at one given moment. That was never on in the cards for us as human beings. I mean, the lord knew what was gonna happen. Yes.
Lauren:But it was not our nature. Our nature, it's not it's not normal to have to feel like you're available, for people to to, you know
Carrie:Twenty four seven.
Lauren:Twenty four seven. And also, I don't think it was in our nature to be able to see what thousands of people are doing. Like we we were meant to focus on our family, to focus on our community around us that's supporting us and loving us.
Carrie:And
Lauren:that was life. And I really, I try to live life in that kind of headspace. Who supports me and lifts me up? What are they doing? Am I inspired by their family?
Lauren:How can I be more like their family if it gives me joy and if it gives me, you know, if I enjoy the process of, Oh, my friend Eliza has five kids and they're all in bed by seven? I would love I would genuinely love to have both kids in bed by seven every night. I'm gonna talk to her and see what she says about that. That's fine. But it's just the, the thousands of people in one hour that you can look at on social media.
Carrie:So true.
Lauren:It's hard. That's hard. Oh my gosh.
Carrie:That's a really good way of putting it. It's like we're meant to have our our tribe, our community. Like we're meant to live, you know. And that's amazing. And it's like you don't wanna isolate, but at the same time, so different to be in person with your people than to have the extra million that are that you could just scroll and see.
Carrie:Have you ever I don't know if you've heard of Jess Connelly. She's an author and a a Christian speaker. But Oh
Lauren:my gosh. I you know what? I've heard her name sounds very familiar. I Okay. I haven't read any of her books, but I've
Carrie:Okay. She she wrote a great book that I loved called Breaking Free of Body Shame. But she also put out this incredible incredible reel recently. She's a mom. Her kids are a bit older.
Carrie:But she was like, moms, when do we reply to texts? I need to know. She's like, is it when you're cooking dinner? Is it when you wake up and you're trying to have time with the Lord? Is it when you're carpooling?
Carrie:Like, she was just talking about the practicality of Great. Of just like with socials, like people, you know, just desiring to be like, hey, you know, you didn't get back to me in one day or whatever. And it's like, gosh, I I feel that so much as a mom now where I feel don't get me wrong. I'm not mom shaming people that are on their phone in front of their kid because I I do it sometimes. But I'm trying to be good about being like, I wanna sit here with you for a playtime and like just be replying to 55 people.
Carrie:But I could because I know a lot of people and I'm so grateful to have so many more. But it's like, it's just such a good reminder. When she posted that reel, I was like, I reposted it. I was like, this this this. I think you can feel really bad.
Carrie:And she had such a healthy perspective of we need to be responsible. We need to reply, you know, we don't wanna be flakes. But at the same time, just understanding like, you know, just the reality of being a mom and it's like, can't be all the things to all the people. And it's really important to be present in our homes. And sometimes that means that that is, you know, maybe just the social texts that aren't work related or family related.
Carrie:It's like sometimes they just have to fall a little bit lower on the on the docket because Yes. Or else we're less present with our husband and our kids and all the things. So I just it touched on what you said and I'm like,
Lauren:oh my gosh. I love I have to watch this reel. I have to Yeah.
Carrie:It's really good. I'll send it to you after.
Lauren:It was really good. I I don't have, I I download Instagram to post and then I I undownload it on my phone.
Carrie:You go.
Lauren:But I know it's it's I need to find a balance. I need to be able to have it on my phone and think I need to figure that out, but working on that.
Carrie:Yeah. I feel the same way. Yeah. I I was I always was good about that. And then since, honestly, since starting this podcast, I'm running the socials right now.
Carrie:And so it's kinda hard because I'm like, oh, I'm doing like whatever each day. I'm doing one thing. I'm like, I can't delete it because then my drafts go away and then I can't. I'm like, Instagram, they've they've trapped me. They've trapped me and keeping this thing on my phone.
Carrie:It's so bad. Yeah. I need to learn how to just, like, make it less time or something so I can not click it because it's such force of habit. You know?
Lauren:Yeah. But then you just click ignore limit for today because that's what I
Carrie:That's true. Yeah. That's true. Yeah. You're right.
Lauren:It's not on my phone. Also,
Carrie:on another note, I don't know if you noticed what what I was preparing for this conversation. Did you know that I'm from Ohio too? We're both from Ohio. Yeah. I'm from Dayton.
Carrie:Yeah. So you I saw that you were from Cincinnati, and I was like, oh my gosh. No wonder you're so, like, lovely and down to earth. Yeah. Ohio girls.
Carrie:I love that. That's so cool. So when did you what brought you out to LA? Like, did was it would you come out for acting? When did you come out to LA?
Lauren:So I started acting late in high school. Mhmm. Loved it. I actually thought that it was just kind of going to be like a hobby, like acting classes, maybe some plays. I didn't really think that it would happen with film and TV.
Lauren:I loved writing too. So that's kind of where I went to school at Ohio University for a little And bit for I got into, you know, this group of people that were doing short films in the college and they It was so fun. And I was acting in the short films and I'm like, okay, I really like this. And then I kept reading these scripts and like, maybe I could write a script. I don't know.
Lauren:And then I got an audition for a pilot that was filming in LA. And this, one of my friends who had a really nice camera, because he was in the film school at Ohio University helped me tape it. And I booked this pilot on
Carrie:No way.
Lauren:Yes, it's called, or I didn't, sorry, I didn't book the pilot on tape. I got a callback and I had a little Ohio agency called Hayman Talent. You might Oh
Carrie:my gosh. Know Hayman. Yes. I was with Nouveau Amage. I was with a different
Lauren:local boutique.
Carrie:It's super tiny. It
Lauren:doesn't exist anymore. We we I so they I I really can't remember every detail, but, I got a callback. I fibbed and I said that I lived in LA and that I would be at the callback. I flew to LA for the callback, stayed with my cousin. And then I booked the pilot and I called my mom and I'm like, oh my god.
Lauren:My parents were so sweet and so supportive. Aw. And I was so excited. It was a CBS pilot. I thought like this was the start of my whole this was the start of
Carrie:It is incredible. That is coming in hot. From Ohio University.
Lauren:It is like technically it was cool. It was a tiny part, but but and then right after that, I booked a national commercial, which was awesome. And my mom, you know, I booked my flight out to LA and I was just kind of like, I think I'm staying. And I stayed with my cousin and then my cousin and I moved into the same apartment or moved into a new apartment with two bedrooms. And I just left college because of that callback.
Carrie:Wow. That is a crazy story, and that brought Okay. You And then how how long after that did you meet Josh?
Lauren:So I actually met Josh in 2017, the 2017. That this was the Lord. Okay. This there's crazy things about this meeting. So, I had booked or I had gotten a producer session with the same company that did the movie that Josh and I met on.
Lauren:It was for a movie called American Wrestler. And I got a producer session and he told me the producer, Ali, who's now like my uncle, he's just part of my family. But he told me, want you you're not right for this one, but I'm gonna hire you for the next one. Wait for my call. And I'm like, okay, I've been in an LA for long enough now.
Lauren:Like, okay, sure. I'll wait for your call. It was in the gym and I got the call and I just got basically an offer and I had to do chemistry reads, but I was going away to Atlanta to film a different movie. And so I was in Atlanta and I couldn't do the chemistry reads. So, I didn't know who they were They chose some different guy, which I was like, okay, great.
Lauren:Love that you found somebody. And then, I don't know the full story. He was something with animals. I don't really remember, but he dropped out of the movie. The day before we were gonna have our director session at WB, Warner Bros.
Lauren:The director session where you, like, go through the rules and you talk and you, you know, meet the director and everything. And he the producer calls me the night before at, like, 10:30PM. I was out with my mom at Nordstrom Cafe, like, up the balcony.
Carrie:Oh, in the Americana? Or, like, The Grove?
Lauren:Oh, The Grove. Yes. Okay. And he calls me. I was like, oh my gosh, this is crazy.
Lauren:The producer of the movie is calling me. And we talk and he's like, okay, this guy dropped out. Are you okay if we choose this guy? And I saw his pictures. And I'm like, yes.
Lauren:He's so Of course, I'm fine. So the next day we I meet him and he had just been at, the Warner Brothers studio ranch learning how to rope. Oh my gosh. You be have comfortable on a horse and then you have to learn how to, like, swing a rope. You don't have to rope anything.
Lauren:You don't have to rope a cow, but you have to swing a rope. And so he was like, I thought he was dressing for the part because he was muddy and he had boots on. And I'm like, did you dress for the part for the director?
Carrie:Just to come here.
Lauren:Yeah. Making fun of him a little bit and, you know, I was kind. But we met in that director session. And then, you know, right away we went to Sonoma County to film the movie. It was just so it was so fun.
Lauren:But, yeah, I met him in 2017 and I moved to LA in '20 the 2012.
Carrie:Okay. Well, it's so crazy. Okay. And did you guys fall in love right away? Did you guy were you professionals through the movie and then he asked you out?
Carrie:How'd that go?
Lauren:Yes. We were professionals through the movie. We were friends first. Aw. We had our faith in common, which was so awesome because it is rare
Carrie:to find rare. Did you know that right away? Like, when did you guys realize that faith was important to you?
Lauren:It wasn't right away because yeah. It wasn't right away. I think it was during filming. I don't really remember the conversation, but we oh, I remember the conversation. We were in a car driving because I didn't bring my car to set.
Lauren:I was driven to set, but he had his car. So he gave me a ride to one of the locations instead of taking the shuttle. And we started talking about family and his dad was a his dad is still a pastor and his mom is a choir director. And I just started talking about faith. And I was I was so excited to hear to hear that.
Lauren:And then then I feel like that's when things that's when things got a little bit like, You don't see that every day. Yeah. Gotta be
Carrie:man, it I I feel that way. It is like when you meet somebody in LA, especially just in the industry that also loves the Lord, it's just it's rare. You know? I think there's yeah. Wow.
Carrie:Okay. So you guys met there. Was he already on General Hospital at the time?
Lauren:Oh my goodness. No. These are such fun questions. But back to faith in the industry, I do think there's a bit of a revival happening, which is so fun. I feel like more people are asking me about the Lord, about my faith, and I'm so you know, I'm in a place now where I feel like I can really talk about it with some nice substance behind it.
Lauren:Josh and I have been in bible studies and we're we're right now we just started. We're late, but we're reading the bible in a year.
Carrie:Me too. I'm trying with a baby. I'm like, we'll see.
Lauren:I know. Schedule girl, schedule Let's go. I'm like losing my my I'm like rambling now. But anyway, your question was
Carrie:I was curious if he was on General Hospital, but I also before I ask that question, one more thing that popped up with that was did you guys were you both pretty strong in your faith at that time when you met? Like, have you grown together, or do you feel like you met when you were both, like, fully following the Lord?
Lauren:So, we have grown so much together. Josh is an incredible spiritual leader in the marriage. He's always reading, like right now he's reading, oh my goodness, NT Wright, which is a really hard author to read, but he's just always he's so hungry to learn and I'm like hungry for the next, you know, IT novel, like that dragon series. Like, that's what I'm reading.
Carrie:And he's like, you know, N. T. Wright says, okay.
Lauren:So, but, we have grown so much together. We when we were engaged, we went to premarital counseling and I found faith later. I found faith at the very end of my of high school.
Carrie:Mhmm.
Lauren:And he kind of grew up in it. So it was really interesting, like dating him and getting to know him better and seeing how powerful it is to have a childhood that's steeped in faith.
Carrie:I feel the same way. Yeah. Connor Connor's dad's a worship pastor and he grew up kind of in church and I grew up, attending church. I was Presbyterian, but I kind of just didn't really start following Jesus and connect to my faith till I was in my early twenties. So when we met, I had not really been walking with the Lord the last few years.
Carrie:And he had kind of come back as well because I think he had his, like, pastor's kid time of, I don't know. I gotta kinda figure this out for myself. But it was cool because I think because he had just that foundation of like kinda just growing up in the church even like probably like Josh even behind the church scene, which is kind of a whole different layer of
Lauren:Oh, yeah.
Carrie:I don't know. For good for better or for worse, it's like a whole different layer that comes with it. It was really cool because I felt like he always was just able to to lead me in that and had kind of just to see the difference between someone that really grew up in it and then someone that like knew the Lord, attended church, but but not in the same way. I feel like it made us a really good match because he was able to lead me really well. And then now I feel like we're just consistently growing together and able to kind of continue to call each other up.
Carrie:But, but that's funny. I feel like he and Josh have similar probably backgrounds with that.
Lauren:That's so cool. We need to hang out. I know.
Carrie:I know. We really do. I know. We will. We will.
Lauren:Yeah. That's that's definitely similar to to me in the fact that I I actually grew up Catholic. My family was Catholic. I went to Catholic school. I wore the Catholic I did all the prayers, you know, but didn't really realize that you can have a relationship with Jesus until I was in high school.
Lauren:I went to a Christian high school in North Carolina. I moved from Ohio to North Carolina eventually with my family. And I went to a Christian high school and pastor Steven Furtick
Carrie:was
Lauren:new to, we were going to service my friends and I, we were going to service in a cafeteria of a high school. For elevation? Yes. Our rival type. He was preaching in a cafeteria and we would all go.
Lauren:And that's honestly I read the book Redeeming Love, which is was one of my favorite books that brought me closer to faith. And then pastor Steven Frick at my That's incredible.
Carrie:Yeah. I love hearing that. Yeah. Similar. I feel I feel similarly where I'm like, I I always grew up going to church and in faith, but just connected to it at that at that older age, which I think is common in America for a lot of people that grow up just with the tradition of Mhmm.
Carrie:Faith and then connect to it later. That's so cool. So Yeah. It was now back to my question that I forgot to finish asking earlier. Was Josh on General Hospital when you met or did that happen?
Lauren:Okay. So we were filming our movie called Roped. He got an audition for General Hospital, and I love the casting director of GH. I love everybody at GH. I'd actually tested for no.
Lauren:No. No. I didn't test for GH. I got a producer session for GH years ago. And so I kind of knew the deal.
Carrie:So you're familiar with the world.
Lauren:Yeah. I knew the deal. And he gets this audition, this tape, and we tape it in the hotel room of, you know, where we were filming. And it was late. We wrapped.
Lauren:We were starting filming in the middle of the day. We were doing splits. So you know what that is, where you start at 3PM so that you wrap at 3AM. So you have daytime hours and nighttime hours equal in the day. So you can film daytime and nighttime, which is changing now with camera.
Lauren:You can actually film night for day and day for night way easier than you used to.
Carrie:Didn't realize
Lauren:that. Yeah, within the last two years, it's changed drastically, which is awesome. Yeah, we accept. But so we were filming in the hotel room. I think we started at 03:45AM and I was grilling him.
Lauren:I'm like, I know this show. And he got a callback and he had to get the day off of filming Ropes to do the callback. He goes to the callback in LA. I can't remember if he flew or if he drove. I can't really remember.
Lauren:Then he gets an offer and then that role didn't actually pan out so that he had about six months off the show right after we wrapped Roped. And then six months after we wrapped Roped, the character changed and his offer was reestablished. And then he got he got out.
Carrie:Crazy. And he's been on ever since. He's still on. Right?
Lauren:Still on. And it's
Carrie:That's amazing. What a blessing for you guys. That that that is really cool. I feel like sometimes the Lord does that where it's like, when obviously you guys were meant to get married and, you know, it was like the beginning of that time. I think it's so cool when the Lord gives a blessing like that.
Carrie:It's like the fact that it happened right in those early weeks or months of you guys knowing each other and you got to be a part of seeing the before and after of that. It's so cool. So how long were you guys married before you had Savannah? And I would love to know as people of faith, but also actors and also producers, writers, you're in the industry. Yeah.
Carrie:How did you guys make the decision? Like, was that a hard decision to start your family? Were you nervous about that at all, or was it something you were super excited about? Or I'm sure you were excited, but you know what I'm asking.
Lauren:Yeah. We had a lot of we had a lot of momentum before COVID happened career wise. A lot of opportunities, a lot of things. So we weren't even really thinking about having a baby in 2019. Not really.
Lauren:And then when COVID happened, it was almost like, okay, we don't know what the world is gonna do. Like, we're both off. We're both here. Maybe we have a baby. And at this time I didn't have any friends who had babies.
Lauren:I really wasn't in a church community. I had one friend who had a baby, but we weren't really hanging out. We weren't super close. So we were kind of just alone in that. And talking about like social media, I started following all these like mom accounts and I'm like, wait, can I can you do this?
Lauren:I don't know.
Carrie:What does this entail? Yeah.
Lauren:Yeah. But I'm so happy it happened how it happened because it wouldn't have been sweet Savannah. And it actually took a little bit for us to get pregnant once we decided to try. It took a little bit and it's because I have an MHTFR gene mutation.
Carrie:What's that?
Lauren:It's a lot of women who have this gene mutation get pregnant and they pass the baby without even realizing it just during those four weeks before your period. Okay. And I had an OBGYN before the one that delivered my baby who was amazing, but I had an OBGYN and she never tested me for this gene mutation until I went to a naturopathic doctor. She tested me for this gene mutation, gave me a new vitamin to take and within the next month I was pregnant. Wow.
Lauren:And it's something that I don't feel comfortable when people are having trouble having a baby. I don't really feel comfortable coming right out and
Carrie:Do this, ask this. Yeah.
Lauren:Yes. But I'm happy to have this platform right now to say, you are trying and you can't get pregnant, get tested for that gene mutation. Because all you need to do is switch up. There's one ingredient that is not in a lot of prenatals that I'm not saying it out loud because I don't know if it's absolutely correct, but I think it's the difference between taking folic acid and taking folate. When you have this gene mutation, your body can't detoxify one or the other.
Lauren:I hate that I don't know.
Carrie:Oh, that's okay. But it's so helpful to know.
Lauren:That's the change. And it was the next month. Was a- Then
Carrie:you got pregnant with Savannah. That's incredible. Was that challenging the months of waiting? Like how did you because you I'm assuming at the beginning you didn't know that you had that gene mutation.
Lauren:Oh, yeah.
Carrie:How was it? I we tried for a little while and I found it to be really challenging. I pray that next time I have a better attitude, but I found it to be a little bit stressful. It was like a time where I really had to lean on the Lord. Did you guys struggle at all in that time?
Lauren:Yes. You know, there's a
Carrie:lot There are a lot
Lauren:of women that it takes way longer than it took Josh and I. And I, it was hard and I truly can't imagine, you know, what true infertility feels like that. Is heartbreaking and talk about trusting God. That is know? That this time that's all you can
Carrie:do. So hard.
Lauren:But it was difficult. I just you know, I got to a point where I we stopped trying. I deleted this the app that I had. I had all these like ovulation sticks. I just threw it all in the trash.
Lauren:And we were pregnant during the filming of California Christmas, the first movie. That's this one. I didn't know. That's so precious. I know.
Lauren:I I was get I was like getting a little puffy and I'm like, maybe I'm eating too much, you know, too much crafty. Crafty. Oops.
Carrie:Too many M and M's would be my problem.
Lauren:Yeah, we had gotten rid of everything. And then, you know, I went, I had gone to this naturopathic doctor and I didn't trust it.
Carrie:I was like,
Lauren:whatever, like I'll take, I'll just switch my vitamins, I guess.
Carrie:That'll do it. Yeah.
Lauren:I honestly, even though I was taking those new vitamins, I
Carrie:was
Lauren:just like, it's not in the cards. I'll take these vitamins in case we wanna try again. Because she said the doctor said be on these vitamins for, like, six months.
Carrie:Oh.
Lauren:So you
Carrie:didn't necessarily even assume it would happen that quickly. That's crazy.
Lauren:Yeah. So it was a it was the happiest surprise ever.
Carrie:I bet. Yeah.
Lauren:I bet. And then Sorry.
Carrie:I'm sure. How how long between Savannah and Arthur? What's their age gap?
Lauren:Two under two for two months. So what does that make them? Twenty two months
Carrie:months apart. Yes. We can do math. Yes. Yes.
Carrie:Okay. How was that? What's that age gap like?
Lauren:Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. When I talk about maybe we were renovating we were renovating our farmhouse. We we lived in two rental houses and the house they kept telling us that the house would be ready. So we would rent a house for a certain amount of time and then have to leave when the house our house wasn't ready yet.
Lauren:And finally, we had this RV. This it wasn't an RV. It's like a it was a glorified van with a with a slide out. And I had had Arthur. I gave birth to Arthur.
Lauren:He was, like, five weeks old, and then we moved into this van. And it was in the driveway of our new That's so crazy. We couldn't really play outside because there were nails, and it was just like nails everywhere, like full on house was being torn up, full on construction. So we couldn't really play outside. Yeah.
Lauren:It was was really difficult. And at this time, we had hired a nanny because I was I was still working. So I was having to drive away
Carrie:Oh my gosh.
Lauren:The van to get on my computer and produce. I think what what was I doing? I forget which I forget which project I was doing at the time. But
Carrie:That is so much.
Lauren:I don't remember which one. Why can't I remember? That's super silly.
Carrie:Mom brain. Pregnancy brain. Brain. Seriously. And then how what about with this pregnancy?
Carrie:How far how old is Arthur now?
Lauren:Arthur is almost three. He turns three next month.
Carrie:Okay. So that'll be a bigger gap. Are you excited to kinda see the difference? Like
Lauren:Yes. I'm very excited. Arthur knows the baby is coming. He's so excited. He says, I just wanna hold him.
Lauren:And I say to him, I don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet. But Arthur You guys
Carrie:don't know?
Lauren:We all think it's a boy because we went to an ultrasound anatomy scan appointment, twenty weeks, and the ultrasound tech got a he. And then I went to another one at twenty five weeks and a different ultrasound tech said, the doctor will get to see how much he weighs or she, and the way she corrected herself. I couldn't have written a better acting performance if I had tried. Like, it was you know what I mean?
Carrie:Yes. Totally. You're like, I see you, but also, I don't know. So are you guys purposely so you're are you trying not to find out? Like, did you tell them
Lauren:what not to. Yeah. So even after those two slip ups, I didn't ask for confirmation. I didn't say Love that. Yeah.
Lauren:So we if it's a girl, it will be the shock of our life. Our life.
Carrie:That's okay. Did you know with the other kids? Have you always not? Okay. Oh, that's so fun because you've had you have both.
Carrie:It's like whatever. It's it's all it's all nothing.
Lauren:Don't need any stuff. Honestly, when you're you know now, like, when you are planning for a new baby, you don't really need much. You need a place for them to sleep. You need diapers, swaddles. You don't even really need onesies if you don't want them.
Carrie:That's really good advice. I I feel like now when I think about baby number two, my list of because when you're pregnant the first time, it's like, we need everything. You look at the registry sites, it's like, you need 45 different, you know, of everything. Yeah. And, you know, we didn't get all of those things, but we got a good bit.
Carrie:And now with baby number two, I'm like, my list is like five things. There's really not that much that a newborn needs and and a lot of stuff will be hand me downs from Archie. But it's just funny to, yeah, to start off being like, I'm pregnant. What do I need? I gotta look up everything.
Carrie:I gotta see all the things. And then you're like, actually, my kid needs a little, like, don't know, a little infant lounger. They need diapers. They need somewhere to sleep. Like, there's just not that many things.
Carrie:And I know. Yeah. It's good. It's good to remember that, especially when they're so little. You know?
Carrie:It's like as they grow, they want their toys and stuff. But like, at the beginning, it's pretty bare bones.
Lauren:Yes. The first three weeks, it's like you got time to order, you know, the things.
Carrie:Yeah. It's true. So when are you due?
Lauren:So I have two due dates, May 1 and May 10. Mhmm. I got this with my other two as well. And I've had a different doctor. So my baby's kicking right now, like, You don't know when I'm coming.
Lauren:The measurements, baby always measures bigger, some appointments and then weeks go by and then they measure smaller. So I, and this has happened with all three. I've gotten two updates with all three and they're pretty much like 10 Okay. Days
Carrie:So either way,
Lauren:May, little
Carrie:late April, little early May. My Archie's birthday is May 21. May is a fun month to have a baby because I feel like there's not a ton going on in May. So we were down. I was like, May May is fun.
Carrie:It's like people are still in town. They're not all summering, you know, everybody's like off on vacation. Yes. You're still kind of around. You're still kind of kids are in school, whatever, but you can kinda like squeeze in that birthday.
Carrie:So I kind of I think May was really fun.
Lauren:That's awesome. I'm May 25, my birthday.
Carrie:Oh, I love it. Okay. Do you like having that birthday?
Lauren:I love having that birthday. And there's there's a weekend. Which weekend? There's a holiday weekend around day, I think.
Carrie:Yes. I think that's when we had him because the hospital was pretty empty until the induction started. Like, the Memorial Day inductions kinda hit. We had him on Thursday. And then all of a sudden, fry they're like, you got in just in time because on Friday, like, everybody scheduled their holiday, you know, three day weekend inductions.
Carrie:So funny. Yes. So this has been so amazing. I could talk to you way longer, but I will keep you forever. I have one more question.
Carrie:So you you and Josh, I think your life and your careers and your family and your faith, it's also inspiring. And I know you share a lot of it when you are on socials and you guys are very open with, I don't know, just just your life and your faith. What would you want other new moms or other families to take from the things that you share? What would you hope inspires or encourages them about the way you guys raise your kids?
Lauren:I love this question. I think the most important thing that I've learned is to say no so that you can tell your family yes. Think, you know, when you are sitting in a rocking chair, you're 85 years old, are you going to remember, you know, the extra hours you worked to get ahead in your Or are you going to remember the extra hours you took to go outside and swing your kids in that, you know, the swing that they're growing out of and the swing that you now you look at and it's, you know, if it's still there, it's just a memory. So I, when I only recently, you know, adopted this for myself and it's just, it's okay as a mom, it's okay to say no so that you can say yes to your family. It's okay to say no to multiple, even if your community is so amazing.
Lauren:Sometimes, you know, making those double date plans, even, you know, going to prayer nights and Bible studies, it's so great, but it's even more great to have memories with your family. So, you know, I think that would be my greatest point that I want people to take away is I have said no to so many things so that I can have, you know, free hours with my family at home doing nothing. And it's
Carrie:the That's incredible. Doing nothing. That's a good way of saying it. It's like your kids just being there is something I love what you said about when you're 80. It's like, you're you're gonna be thinking those are the days.
Carrie:I'm so glad I soaked them up. You're never gonna regret it. You know? That's so good, Lauren. Thank you so, so much.
Carrie:You're incredible. And I really appreciate just just all of the wisdom and the life that you had to share. I think it's going encourage a lot of moms.
Lauren:Thank you so much. And again, I'm so inspired by you for doing this podcast. Thank you.
Carrie:And just
Lauren:knowing what you wanted to listen to and being like, you know what, With the help of We
Carrie:all make it.
Lauren:With the help of you, we can do this together. And I'm just like, wow. Aw. So amazing. I'm so excited to watch it grow.
Carrie:Thank you so much, Lauren. I really appreciate it. It was this is a great conversation. I'll see you later. Go find your chickens.