The Stepmom Diaries | Blended Family & Stepmom Support Podcast

Ever feel relieved when your stepkids go back to their other home, then immediately feel guilty about it? You're not alone. And it doesn't make you a bad stepmom.

In this episode of The Stepmom Diaries, Cameron Normand talks with Alyssa Kirk, founder of Stepmom Social Club, about stepmom guilt, impossible expectations, high-conflict co-parenting, and why taking care of yourself isn't selfish. From the pre...

"I don't like being a stepmom today."

Have you ever thought that and immediately felt guilty about it? Maybe you're dreading another custody weekend, feeling resentful about everything you're expected to do, or just wishing you could take a little break from stepmom life.

I've been there. And here's something I want you to hear: You can love your stepfamily without loving every minute of being...

Can you love your stepkids and still grieve the child you may never have? It's one of those complicated feelings that can be incredibly hard to admit, even to yourself.

Infertility as a stepmom brings a unique kind of grief. You're already part of a family, helping raise children, and watching your partner experience parenthood while wondering if you'll ever have a child of your own. And the guilt, resentm...

Should a stepmom discipline stepkids? It's one of those questions that sounds simple until you're the one living it.

A lot of stepmoms come in wanting to help, be supportive, and feel like a real part of the family. But when you're expected to parent without the same history, authority, or connection, things can go sideways fast.

In this episode, Cameron sits down with April Eldemire, LMFT, a ...

What if some of the things you've been told a blended family should look like are actually making things harder?

This episode is a special one pulled straight from our recent Stepmom Summit, where I sat down with three of the leading researchers in the stepfamily field to talk about how to make a blended family work based on what the research actually says, not what Instagram, your neighbor, or the Brady B...

High-conflict co-parenting has a way of making it feel like someone who doesn't even live in your house somehow has way too much control over what happens inside it.

The texts, the emails, the constant curveballs, the tension with your partner... it can start to feel like your entire relationship is being shaped around someone else's chaos.

In this episode, I'm talking with Livi North, founder...

Have you ever felt like the harder you try to be a good stepmom, the worse things seem to get?

That was me in my first few years of stepfamily life. I tried to make the kids like me, stepped into authority too quickly, rearranged my entire life around our parenting schedule, and kept wondering why I still felt like I was failing.

What I eventually learned is that I wasn't dealing with a lack o...

Have you ever felt like people see you differently the second they find out you're a stepmom?

The wicked stepmother stereotype has been around for centuries, showing up in fairy tales, movies, and cultural stories long before any of us stepped into this role. And even when no one says it out loud, that stereotype can quietly shape how other people see stepmoms and how stepmoms start seeing themselves.

What does your stepchild actually need from you, even if they cannot put it into words?

In this episode of The Stepmom Diaries, Cameron sits down with Robin Breuner, host of Step Stories: Thriving and Surviving Life in Blended Families, to talk about the stepmom and stepchild relationship from a perspective stepmoms do not often get to hear: the adult stepdaughter looking back.

Robin shares wh...

When Bio Mom Doesn't Like You: Dealing With a High Conflict Bio Mom

There are some parts of becoming a stepmom you expect to be complicated.

Your relationship with your partner's ex probably isn't one of them.

But when you're dealing with a high conflict bio mom, suddenly someone outside your marriage can affect your schedule, your relationship with your stepchildren, and sometime...

Have you ever felt like you have to be helpful enough, easygoing enough, or needed enough to truly earn your place in your stepfamily? Psychotherapist and bestselling author Terri Cole joins Cameron to explore how a father wound in stepmom life can quietly show up as overfunctioning, people pleasing, resentment, and the belief that everyone else's needs should come before your own.

In this episode, you'll ...

What happens when you have an ours baby in a blended family and suddenly one child is staying home while their siblings leave for another house?

In this episode of The Stepmom Diaries, Cameron sits down with Morgan Lindahl and Amanda Gonzales, two moms and stepmoms who created a resource specifically for the children in blended families who stay behind when their siblings transition between homes.

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