This week, Amy, Lauren, and Whitney share their pregnancy and birth stories: the beautiful, the terrifying, and the downright gross. (Spaghetti and meatballs will never be the same.)

Amy's pregnancy after loss was her "redemption," right up until a picture-perfect Hallmark start turned into back labor, a fading epidural, and an unplanned C-section. Now pregnant again, she's planning for a VBAC. Lauren lives through a terrifying scare in the shower, gets turned away from the hospital, and learns to advocate for herself the second time around. And Whitney, who was sick from start to finish with both boys, somehow loves labor. Her "labor denial" stories (self-tanner included) have to be heard to be believed.

Three moms, five births, zero identical stories. Thanks for joining the group chat.

In this episode:

• 00:23 — Welcome back, and "Did you just eat poop?"
• 01:46 — Today's topic: our pregnancies and birth stories
• 02:03 — Amy's "redemption" pregnancy after loss, and a 7-week bleeding scare
• 05:46 — Carrying to 40+4 without ever feeling uncomfortable
• 06:13 — The Hallmark start: mucus plug, water breaking on the bathroom tile, and a spaghetti and meatballs order
• 07:43 — The epidural that wore off
• 08:42 — Pitocin as a first-time mom: "I didn't even know what it was"
• 09:40 — Sunny-side-up baby and back labor
• 11:04 — The spaghetti and meatballs payoff
• 12:11 — Pushing, a baby who wouldn't turn, and an unplanned C-section
• 15:09 — Planning for a VBAC this time around
• 17:39 — Lauren's perineal sweep
• 18:33 — A biopsy during pregnancy, and a terrifying scare in the shower
• 21:02 — Skipping cervix checks, and getting turned away from the hospital
• 22:43 — "If you do not admit me…" and the pain relief that changed everything
• 24:25 — Saying no to Pitocin
• 26:55 — So many hands, and the question everyone wants answered: did you poop during birth?
• 28:03 — Harlow's birth: fighting in the car and an epidural at 8 centimeters
• 31:14 — Amy's theory: you get an easy pregnancy or an easy birth
• 32:44 — Whitney's first pregnancy: sick all day, every day
• 37:15 — "I love labor," and the art of labor denial
• 38:46 — The doctor who didn't like seeing patients past 39 weeks
• 40:13 — "Whitney, get to the hospital right now!" (and Derek's beer)
• 41:44 — Nurse Pam, and why everyone kept asking if Whitney's red hair was natural
• 43:34 — Three hours at the hospital, fifteen minutes of pushing, and Derek catching Baylor
• 45:37 — To look or not to look?
• 47:30 — Chaplin's pregnancy: even sicker, with an at-home IV
• 49:48 — Why Whitney recommends pelvic floor therapy to every mom
• 50:39 — Low iron and iron infusions
• 51:53 — Big heads, narrow pelvises, and prepping your body for birth
• 53:09 — Chaplin's birth: a gym day, 9 centimeters on arrival, and no time for an epidural
• 59:31 — Would we ever do a home birth?
• 1:00:14 — The self-tanner story

Mentioned in this episode:

• Pelvic floor therapy, which Whitney recommends to every mom
• The "J push" pushing technique
• Tennpop, Lauren's Tennessee seltzer

Had an amazing pregnancy and an amazing birth? Sound off in the comments. Amy wants to hear from you!

Follow the hosts:

• Amy: @amymacedo
• Whitney: @albrightwhitney
• Tennpop (Lauren's brand): @tennpopofficial

The hosts share their personal experiences. Nothing in this episode is medical advice. Please talk to your own healthcare provider about your pregnancy and birth plans.

In our very first episode, Amy, Lauren, and Whitney introduce themselves (yes, Whitney flew in from Vegas for this) and tell the story of how a 911 call, a firefighter, and a Drake concert turned three strangers into a group chat. Then they get into how each of them became a mom.

Lauren's first was a happy surprise. Whitney spent months "shooting blind" before learning how ovulation actually works, then had a terrifying St. Patrick's Day scare that turned out to be implantation bleeding. And Amy shares something she's never told in full, not even to her family: two back-to-back miscarriages, the isolation of keeping it secret, and the research that led her to an undiagnosed thyroid issue and, ultimately, to becoming a mom.

Every journey looks different. Whatever yours is, you're not alone. Welcome to the group chat.

In this episode:

• 00:55 — Meet Amy: 13 years on YouTube and quitting her pharmacy job to create full time
• 04:50 — Meet Lauren: building Tennpop, a Tennessee seltzer company, from the ground up with two little girls
• 08:16 — Meet Whitney: stay-at-home mom of two boys and a firefighter wife
• 12:47 — How we met: a febrile seizure, a 911 call, and a firefighter playing matchmaker
• 16:51 — The blind-date Drake concert
• 21:18 — Amy and Lauren: neighborhood park friends turned roommates, and what it's like to have a village
• 25:43 — "She does online stuff…" the OnlyFans mix-up
• 28:19 — How we became moms: Lauren's surprise
• 29:59 — Whitney on what health class never taught us about ovulation
• 36:31 — The St. Patrick's Day scare and implantation bleeding
• 39:08 — Whitney's second, and faking her pregnancy test reveal
• 43:09 — Amy: "I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom… now I am the rich man"
• 45:09 — Amy's first miscarriage and the decision to keep it secret
• 49:05 — The second loss
• 58:19 — Refusing to wait for a third: the book and doctor that changed everything
• 1:00:11 — The thyroid discovery
• 1:03:53 — Finally seeing a heartbeat
• 1:06:04 — Trying for baby #2 and dialing in thyroid meds
• 1:10:35 — Looking back: should she have told her family?
• 1:14:26 — Pulling back the curtain

Mentioned in this episode:

• Carrying to Term by Dr. Jordan Robertson, ND (Burlington, Ontario), the book Amy credits for finding her answers

The hosts share their personal experiences. Nothing in this episode is medical advice. Please talk to your own healthcare provider about your health and fertility.