motherhood where sleep is a rumor and laundry
is eternal and somehow we're supposed to be raising
tiny humans through it all we're here to laugh
at the chaos cry when necessary and remind you
that none of us actually know what we're doing
this is no manual a mom cast your mom friend
group chat but with microphones welcome back
to no manual mom cast Hi, everyone. Welcome back
to No Manual, a mom cast. We are super excited
about today's episode. We get to have our friend
Lindsay Boyko back on. The first time she was
on, we just chatted about your story. And this
time we're going to talk like a bit more on cycle
tracking and fertility tracking, all the things
that I feel like I'm totally unaware of. So it's
gonna be great. Yeah. So I'm going to learn.
I feel like Erica and Lindsay are like, have
some knowledge and I'm just going to be like,
I feel like I can give like an elevator pitch,
but if anyone like wanted details, I'd be like,
do not ask me any further questions. I don't
know. Yeah. Right. Yep. Well, here's the book
that I read. That's what you should do. Yes.
Literally. Well, before we hop in, do we want
to start with our mom moments of the week? Sure.
Erica, you want to go first? Yeah. So. As anyone
who listens knows, Lloyd loves the Cars movies.
Yes. Cars 3 is his favorite, but he likes all
of them. Cars 3 is his favorite. That's a hot
take. I don't actually think I've seen that.
I love that for him. I don't think I have either.
Yeah, it's a good one. Okay. But so this is a
spoiler. If you've not seen them, I'm sorry.
Cars has been out for 20 years. So at this point,
I think you can get over it. Has it been 21 years?
It's been 21 years. Guys, we're all broke. We're
all broke. Okay. But in both Cars 1 and Cars
3, there's a crash. So in Cars 1, it's like the
old race car. Mr. The King. Mr. The King, exactly.
And in Cars 3, lightning crashes. Oh, my God.
And Lloyd and his just like sweet, empathetic
heart every time. We watch these movies all the
time. I mean, at least once a month, we watch
each of them. And he just, like, gets so sad
when it crashes. And, like, he needs me to hold
him. He, like, almost starts crying both times,
like, whenever we watch either. And I was telling
Stuart the other day, I was like, I don't know,
like, I don't want to encourage this. Like, that's
not the right word. But, like, clearly he has,
like, he understands that this hurts the cars.
Yeah. And that makes him really sad. And that's
such a sweet, empathetic thing that I want to
encourage that. like aspect of his personality
to like care about people and things. So now
every time we watch Cars, and he talks about
the crashes all the time. He goes, lightning
crashes are really scary. Lloyd got sad. But
lightning's okay now, right, buddy? Lightning's
okay now. Just every time we watch Cars. It's
so interesting how their brains work because
it's like he knows that's coming. He knows it's
happening, but he's still processing it. I mean,
to be fair, My Girl is one of those movies for
me where I'm like, I know how it ends. Yeah,
you're like, and I'm still crying. And I will
still be sobbing when it ends. This is true.
Maven is the same way with Cars 1 too. Really?
Yeah, she loves Cars right now. Like we're super
into Hot Wheels and all the Cars and whatever.
But Lightning McQueen, and so when Mr. The King
crashes at the end, she doesn't say, she's like,
what's happening? Every time, what's happening?
Oh no, his body is hurting. And then she'll be
like, McQueen, go check on him. That's kind.
That's nice, friend. I'm like that. is a nice
friend so we talk about you know it's so funny
cars that scene did make me cry when i was pregnant
with zeta oh yeah like that was just it was not
it's just an empty car Yes. Like, why am I crying
at this movie? It's so good. I still tear up
sometimes. It's so good. Pixar knows what they're
doing. Yes. That's amazing. All right. What do
we got? Okay. My mom moment. So I was telling
you guys before, we've just been sick, like,
constantly. Don't know really what's going on.
But poor Colty. This was two Sundays ago. We
were at church. I get a text from one of the
kids been volunteers like, hey, do you have a
change of clothes for Cole? He just like he just
had a big blowout. And I'm like, man, like he
it's been a while since like, I mean, he's two
and a half. Like he doesn't have a lot of blowouts.
And I was like, oh, God, this bad. So I did not
have a change of clothes, unfortunately, because
I don't usually carry a change of clothes for
him anymore. And get back there. And he's just
like on the changing table. And there's just
like poop everywhere up his back. And I mean,
it hasn't been that long since I talked about.
poopmageddon which is like our christmas experience
and i'm like man we are just getting hit left
and right with sickness but poor guy like he
ended up having like a tummy bug for like two
days but um one funny thing well actually two
funny things so he actually pooped on the carpet
at church um don't know how it happened because
it did not get on his clothes at all And we really
did not need a change of clothes. They just thought
it was going to be like everywhere on his clothes
whenever they texted me. Poop was not on his
clothes at all. Somehow it was on the rug at
church. So then later that day, I ended up obviously
taking him out of Kidsman. I was like, yeah,
we're not going to deal with this. We went home.
And then at another time during the day, he's
like under the kitchen table just squeezing,
like just trying to poop. And then he walks over
to me. He's like, mom, I'm all done. He's like
waddling over to me. And it was like, it was
not good again. But then I look and under our
kitchen table, there's poop under the kitchen
table. And I'm like, how is this happening? It's
not on his pants at all. Yeah. And what I think
happened, so he's squatting. I think it literally
shot up his back, like over his diaper. Yeah.
Because it was not on his pants. It was not down
his legs. Nothing. The mystery poop on the floor.
I still don't know how it happened. Defying the
laws of physics. Yeah. But I'm like, the force
of the poop was just like so strong. It just
shot up the diaper and onto the floor. And I'm
like, that, I mean, impressive. But also nasty.
You're like, I still have to clean up poop off
the floor. Which was not a fun time. done worse
things, I guess. It's not the first time. It
really didn't phase me at all at this point.
There's so many poop stories I could tell right
now. The one that I have for this week is so
classic motherhood things. My husband Spencer
was on a retreat all week by himself and so I
was home with Maven. There was one of the days
that I was just going through it, like mentally.
I was like, I'm so on edge. I'm, you know, I'm
like struggling with anxiety. I have OCD. I'm
like intrusive thoughts left and right. Like
I'm just not having a good time. And so I was
really short fuse with Maven and I was like,
I could tell I'm just having a rough day, you
know? And so. And I caught myself a couple different
times during the day and being like, when I'm
80, this is the time I'd want to go back to.
I'm trying to be present. I'm like all the things
that older moms say. But today, I want today
to end. I know. I'm like, today, if she could
just go to bed a couple hours early, that'd be
nice. And then sleep all the way through the
night. Yes. What a dream. And so all day, I'm
just like, I'm feeling really sad for myself
or whatever. And as soon as I put her down to
bed, she's so sweet when I rock her. We'll sit
in her room in the dark and just rock. pray and
whatever. And I'll lay her down. She's so sweet.
And so she was being, you know, of course it's
like, I have this horrible day and I'm like short
with her and angry and irritated. I'm just like,
try not to lose it. And then we're in the chair
and she's just like touching my face and like
praying with me and go, I love you, mama. I love
you. And she go, I so sorry, mama. And I'm like,
Oh my God. So I lay her down and I go in our
room and then I just start like scrolling through
pictures of our day, just crying. Cause then
I'm like, I was so bad. I'm like, okay, I wish
I could just redo this day. You know, I'm like,
we had such a good time. We went to this little
like play cafe that's in Bradburn. So it's like
a little coffee bar. It's called Play Date. It's
amazing. The owners are great, but. You know,
so we had like a really good day, but I'm like
sitting in the room. I'm like on our floor. Like
Spence is gone. I'm just by myself. Maven like
went down to bed like an angel. And I'm sitting
there just like crying. And I'm like, oh, this
is the worst. I'm like, you know, all the things
you tell yourself. You're like, I should have
been more patient. I'm the worst mom ever. You
know, all this stuff. And I texted Spence and
he was, you know, so sweet. He was like, you
can still show her love tomorrow. Like be gentle
with yourself. You know, it was like so kind.
And I was like, this is so classic. Like the.
highs and lows of being a mom. It's like I felt
every range of emotion in a matter of like 20
minutes. I was like, God, I'm exhausted. So,
you know, and then I woke up the next day and
I was like, okay, we're going to do it again.
You know, and it's still like, it's never perfect.
But yeah, I was like, this is the ultimate like.
I'm sitting on the floor just crying, looking
at my sweet baby on the Nana camera. I'm like,
oh, she's perfect. You're like, I just want to
go ahead and wake her up. I know. I'm like, really
horrible day. And now I feel even worse. It's
so interesting. That was like every day this
week. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. It happens so often.
But I was like, this is so classic. It's just
all of it all the time. It's so interesting whenever
your kids start to pick up on your emotions and
the empathy kicks in. Like, mama, are you OK?
Yeah. Like, you know, it'd be like, Oh mama's
sad. You know? And I cry if I'm like really,
really happy or really sad, you know? She's like,
Oh mama is sad. Your heart is hurting. I'm like,
Oh my God. I like cry more, you know? A little,
I don't know. But that's so sweet. Great. Yeah.
Oh, well, um, let's just hop right in. So we're
chatting about cycle tracking, fertility tracking,
all the things. Um, I know pretty much nothing
other than like when I'm ovulating and when I'm
on my period. And that's like. Which I feel like
is pretty normal. It's pretty normal. And even
like the ovulation piece is like more than most
women know. I think it's like the period is the
most obvious. Yeah. I think like how many people
and like myself included think or like thought
like, oh, you can, unless you're on your period,
you can get pregnant. You can just get pregnant
at any time. We all saw Mean Girls. Coach Carr
is like, don't have sex. You will get pregnant
and die. I feel like that is most people's sex
ed is that, which sort of technically is true,
but not really if you actually know things. I
feel like your experience is very normal. I know
for me that was very similar to what I knew.
Up until... Which, yeah, is mostly nothing. Like,
we're just not... Four years ago, something like
that. Three, four years ago. So give us, like,
I guess, a little bit of your background. Like,
have you been on other forms of birth control?
Yes, like, no. And then, like, kind of what brought
you to fertility tracking? Yeah. First, I want
to say two things. I think, one, everything we're
going to talk about today is not just for women
that are, like, sexually active. Tracking and
syncing and fertility awareness and everything
is for all women everywhere. I will say, just
to interrupt you, obviously, right away. No,
one of the things for me, when I've tracked my
entire cycle, I can predict my period within
a 24 -hour window. Yeah, same. Which is... I've
never been able to do that before until I started
tracking my cycle. And that's so nice to know.
Usually it's like, okay, I know it's going to
start within the next week. And then I'm like,
okay, I know it's going to start within the next
24 hours. It's pretty wild. It's so empowering.
It's so much easier. Well, yeah, just like logistically.
Logistically, and then you're like, oh, this
is why I want to kill literally everyone today.
Gotcha. Gotcha. Gotcha. Yes. So yeah, there's
like markers for just women in general in our
cycle that are rhythmic and predictable. And,
you know, and we just like, if we're not aware
of them or we don't have never been taught, it's
hard. I mean, you just, you're, I think you're
just completely in the dark. So you're just like
guessing. So yeah, everything we're going to
talk about, I think is like for all women, not
even. you know, married, unmarried, sexually
active, not sexually active, whatever. And it
also comes with a level of like, I'm going to
try not to say TMI ever. Cause we're talking
about like cervical mucus and like periods and
you know, whatever. But part of this conversation,
if you don't want to hear that stuff, you can
just skip this episode. But I think in general
is to like kind of de -stigmatize and like take
away some of the shame. Cause it's like, you
know, we grew up, I think our generation in general
and generations, you know. older than us like
there's so much like secrecy around the menstrual
cycle in general or just like shame or like gross
like don't talk about it which does not help
women and so there's like you know this whole
other soapbox about like women's health and all
that but yeah for all women I think it's like
it's a deep dive so prepare for that as best
you can if you're listening and then also like
I think everybody's applied version of this looks
different. So we're going to be talking a lot
about like fertility and pregnancy and whatever.
And that is not a one size fits all for everybody.
So I know that there's like nuance and sensitivity
and just like infertility and cycle tracking
in general. And so just know that too. And you
use cycle tracking both as like a birth control
method. And then remind me, were you guys intentionally
like were getting pregnant and did you use it
or was it kind of just. We're waiting to see
what happens. Yeah. Yeah. So, okay. Yeah. So
we, so my husband and I got married six years
ago. And so back to your initial question, I
had tried hormonal birth control in high school
because of my skin. I was like, I had horrible
cystic acne and went to the doctor and, you know,
they just like prescribe you the pill. And so
I was like, okay. And I wasn't having sex in
high school. I'm like, I wasn't sexually active.
until I was married. And so I didn't need it
for anything else. I was like, it was just like
for my skin at that point. So I was on the pill
for like two weeks maybe in high school. I was
like 16 and I wanted to drive my car off a road.
Like it was, I felt horrid on it. Was it like
immediate almost? It was immediate for me. Yeah.
And I just felt horrible. And so like, that's
the other thing too. Nothing that I'm talking
about. Like my own experience is I did not love
hormonal birth control. I know some women do
really well on it. That was not my journey. I
had a similar experience. Yeah. And I tried like.
at least three different types. So really every
single one I was like, yes. Okay. So yeah, that's
a whole other thing. Like how hormonal birth
control works in general, just, it suppresses
all of your hormones. So it like, it makes you
like not ovulate. Any bleeding is like withdrawal
bleeding. So it's not even a true like menstrual
period. Like, so anyways, I did horrible on hormonal
birth control in high school for the short time.
And so was never on it again. And then, you know,
we start dating, get engaged. And I'm like, okay,
well, I don't want to have a baby right away.
Like we knew that we wanted to wait a couple
years at least before getting pregnant. Obviously
there's a piece of just like getting married
and knowing that I wanted to be a mom that I
was like, if it happens, like the Lord is good,
you know, like all in God's time, it'll be fine.
But like, what can we do to prevent like getting
pregnant right away? And so this thus started
the deep dive on like, I don't even, I feel like
I know nothing about my body or my cycle or,
you know, and then you start thinking about like,
at least for me, I was like, what even, how,
like sex just adds a different layer of like,
okay, so now I want to further my understanding
and like my own, not control, but just like,
I don't know, power as like a woman and understanding
my own body. Anyway, so I started looking into
birth control in general. There's like, you know,
the mini pill, which is like progesterone only.
So I like, I was not totally sold on cycle tracking
at first because I was like, all that I had heard
about it was honestly from my like ultra conservative,
like Catholic friends and felt very like male
dominant and like controlling and weird. And
I was like, that doesn't sound fun. And I also
feel like there is a difference from my understanding
at least between Fertility awareness method and
natural family planning. Yes. Where natural family
planning goes on the assumption that you have
a 28 -day cycle. Yep. Yeah, so like calendar
method, rhythm method is different than this.
It doesn't track your actual like body symptoms.
It's just like, okay, here's your calendar. We're
going to assume that if your period is this week
that you're ovulating this week. Yep, circle
this day, whatever. And that's it. Whereas fertility
awareness is like actually based on scientific
information. how your body fluctuates throughout
the, whether your cycle is 28 days, which is
also an average. And most women do not have 28
day cycles. Yeah. And even if you miss it by
like 12 to 24 hours, it's like, that's still,
there's some risk there, you know? So yeah. So
fertility awareness method or FAM is different
than like rhythm or calendar tracking. Cause
yeah, it uses biological markers. So cervical
mucus, LH surge, which is luteinizing hormone,
which happens during ovulation. And then. temperature.
So your basal body temperature rises after you
ovulate. So like confirms that you've ovulated
and whatever. So there's like actual biological
like signs that you're using. If you're really
into like prove. You can also check your cervical
position. Yes. I never did that. Yep. I did that
for a while. It's fascinating. And even like
the. I said I wasn't going to say TMI, but you
can check the texture and the feeling of your
cervix at different parts in your cycle and your
whole body tilts. It's crazy. What? Anyways,
yeah. Basically, when you're ovulating, to put
your body in a perfect position in order to get
pregnant. Wow. Your body actually wants to get
pregnant when you're ovulating. Yes. Yeah. So
there's this kind of alignment that happens when
you're ovulating. Guys, our bodies are so cool.
It's so cool. So, yeah. I'm so happy to be talking
about this right now. So yeah. So when we were
engaged, I was like, okay, I think, and I, and
I had told Spence, like I, I felt horrible on
hormonal birth control and he's been so supportive
the whole time. That's the other piece of this
is like having him, uh, like carry also the like
mental and emotional weight of something like
this. It's like, it's not just me anymore. Like
he's. we're going to be married. There's a part
of like planning for a family and just like my
health that he also cares about. So having a
partner that's like supportive and like also
in this decision with you, I think it made all
the difference for me. So he was very supportive
from the get go. Did he have any like concerns
or again, like he went to, I'm guessing public
school, like had a standard sex ed. Yeah. We
basically knew the same amount of information.
So with that, was he like, nervous or like i
don't know scared maybe yeah i think we both
were okay i mean so i started once we decided
like okay i think i want to try this like cycle
tracking thing and that was you know seven eight
years ago now so there wasn't like aura rings
there's no like i used a thermometer that was
connected to an app it was called daisy and so
i bought the daisy thermometer or whatever connected
to an app now natural cycles has like a more
kind of affordable version which is great. And
it connects to, you know, smart watches and rings
and all that. But so I started tracking a couple
months before we got married, just so I could
like learn and know whatever before sex was even
like on the table. Um, cause we were both nervous.
Cause I was like, what are the odds? I just do
this wrong. Or like it actually works. Yes. I'm
like, we're going to get pregnant right away.
We're going to have a baby downtown. It's going
to be like, not a nightmare, you know, but like
not what we planned. So yeah. So I started tracking
just with like temperature at first, just to
kind of like learn even what are the like peaks
and how does your temperature even change over
a cycle and all that. Um, so by the time we got
married, I had a better idea of like, okay, I
think I, you know, ovulate close today, like
13, 14, and then was kind of like learning more
about the. like cervical mucus and like signs
that kind of point towards ovulation and then
understanding my own body more for a couple of
months before we got married. And then we get
married and I was like, well, time to test this
out, I guess. Yeah. So realistically, so there's
kind of, there's four pieces to. fertility awareness.
It's like one is just understanding the phases
of your cycle. So there's the menstrual phase,
follicular phase, ovulation, and then luteal
phase. So each one kind of carries a different
tone. There's different hormones that are dominant
in each phase. And I feel like most women, like
when you explain it, they're like, oh, that makes
perfect sense. Like, yeah. Yeah. Like your luteal
phase. Usually in the luteal phase, you're like,
I'm a psycho. Right. It's like what's leading
up to your period. And so that's when you're
like, oh, yes, I'm. Or progesterone dominant
in our luteal phase. Like I'm angry and I'm sad
all the time and feeling all of the like kind
of negative emotions. Yeah. Especially if you're
not. Well, I mean, that's kind of a whole other
thing, but like ovulation happens, your temperature
spikes, you know, and then your temperature is
sustained pretty high in order to like warm.
a new pregnancy. And so once your body realizes
that you're not pregnant, progesterone crashes.
And then, you know, that's when we feel the kind
of like just weepy, like whatever, because our
hormones are literally like shifting in a matter
of hours because our body is like preparing to
start our period. So there's just, it's so fascinating
and it like aligns so closely with like how we
feel, you know, it's like each, like I said,
like each. phase has a different tone emotionally
that carries different weight. So the first like
piece of it is like just understanding the phases
and like what's happening. The second is then
like looking for the like biomarkers of ovulation,
which again are like cervical mucus can kind
of like point to ovulation is coming. And then
on either side, like our cervical mucus is different
outside of ovulation. And so there's like a pretty
clear like difference and then thermometer or
like basal body. temperature like tracking um
kind of confirms ovulation so our temperature
doesn't spike until after you ovulate and then
kind of all the rage right now which is like
it helps because there's a visual is like ovulation
test strips test for the lh surge which is essentially
what like releases the egg from your ovary so
there's kind of like three ways you can like
really hone in on like okay ovulation is happening
and ovulation is like it is a vital sign, like
similar to like blood pressure, like heart rate,
whatever, like for women, the ovulation phase
or just being able to ovulate in general is so
key to our hormone health. So even just knowing
that about your body and knowing that like you're
ovulating regularly or whatever, again, like
outside of certain medical conditions and different
things is so key to just like understanding our
health. So anyways, I feel like I'm getting sidetracked.
Faces. what are the biomarkers to like kind of
point to ovulation and then just like how you're
applying it. So for us, we used it to avoid pregnancy
for three years successfully. You know, it's
like, there's always kind of like a, in the back
of your mind, I'm like, what if everything was
wrong and I ovulated four days early and I'm
going to have a baby in this cycle. You know,
I'm like, I'm not ready for that. But the like.
efficacy or just like the success rate in fertility
tracking versus hormonal birth control is the
same if you do it right. So like each method,
it's like you have to take the pill at the same
time every day. You have to take your basal body
temperature. You have to look for these signs
in the same fashion every single time to really
know what's happening in your body. So there's
like effort involved. But I know for me, like
I was. I had heard about it before I, like, really
put any effort into learning about fertility
awareness. And it was one of those things, which
I think is a common, like, this is why I don't
want to do it, is because of the effort. And
that is one thing where it's like, well, unless
you have an IUD, all other birth control takes
effort. And with this, one of the draws for me
was like, and now, like, you know your body so
much better. And yes, it's hard, like. taking
your temperature at the same time because you
also like. Before you move or talk or sit up
or, you know, it's like there are things about
it that are not super simple. Yes. Like now,
because I have my cycle back after having Zeta,
I did get like a band that tracks my temperature
overnight. So that way I don't have to worry
about that. Smart rings do the same thing. You
don't have to have a thermometer. Yeah. It's
great. But yeah, where it's like there are parameters
and like that was kind of the scary part for
me. You know, where it's like, well... What if
it's wrong? What if it's wrong? What if... Yeah,
I didn't sleep right the night before, so my
temperature, whatever that looks like. But yeah,
every other birth control method, there is effort
in some capacity. There's risk either way. Yes.
And I think for us, like, the risk was worth
it enough for my, like, mental and physical health.
And then again, once I really started learning
about it, it became so empowering and so helpful
to not only... Our fertility journey or just
like. planning for a family or not planning for
a family, you know, but like very freeing and
just like our sex life. And it became like, I
wasn't afraid, you know, of anything. I was like,
I know my body well enough now to know almost
to like the hour. Like there were certain times
where I, you can feel physical, like ovulation
pain. And so when you ovulate, like I knew when
I got pregnant with Maven, I knew what side I
ovulated from. Like I could feel it on a specific
side. I knew what day, like. By the time that
we were ready to get pregnant, which is the other
piece of this, I had it so locked down. I was
like, I know for absolute certain, these are
the six days. So the other part of the like fertility
window is you ovulate and the egg is viable for
up to 24 hours, but sperm can live in a fertile
like body for up to five days. And so there's
like a six day fertility window. And it's a little
bit. person to person is my understanding. I
could be totally, it depends on the health of
the sperm. I'm not an expert on this, so please
don't quote me on it. Don't quote us on anything.
Do your own research. But my understanding is
it's like, I could have like a six day fertility
window and you could have like a three day fertility
window just because of how our bodies are different.
Yeah. It's never longer than six days I think
is like the gist. And again, it's like back to
the mean girls thing. It's like I grew up being
like, if I have sex one time, I'm going to get
pregnant because you know, which also I think
is why like, I know this conversation is much,
much bigger, but I think that has a lot to do
with the infertility we see. Yes, there are definitely
situations where it's like you are experiencing
something in your body, one of you, that is causing
an issue getting pregnant. But I think a lot
of us, again, having the same experience of the
mean girls situation. We just don't know actually
how to get pregnant. We don't know how to get
pregnant. So then when it's like, oh, well, we
went off birth control and stopped using condoms
and I didn't get pregnant. after having sex twice,
there's something wrong with me. It's like, well,
maybe there is. And again, I know plenty of people
where that's actually the situation. Or maybe
it's just that you're just having sex on a random
day that your body cannot get pregnant on that
day. Literally. Yeah, your cervical mucus is
too sticky. It can't get through. We're not happening.
Yeah. So true. Yeah, and I think that's where
Spence's support really had to come into play
also so that it wasn't scary. my fertility window
is like, okay, then we're just okay. If we're
going to have sex in this time and don't want
to get pregnant, then it's like, we're using
condoms, you know, some kind of barrier method.
Because again, back to the, like your body wants
to get pregnant, like hormonally, you know, you're
in alignment, your cervix changes. There's a
reason why your sex drive is higher in ovulation.
Like we desire sex more because our body is biologically
wired for. like pregnancy and to conceive. And
again, that's not to say that like, if you've
chosen not to have children, whatever, but biologically,
like there's a desire during ovulation where
it's like, you probably want to have sex more.
So it's like, there's kind of a downside to where
it's like, yes. And also really trying not to
get pregnant. So there's just like different,
you know, like pros and cons to it. But so then
when we decided like, okay, we really, we do
want to start a family. We had bought a little
townhouse out of the city and I was like, okay,
I think now's the time. you know, statistically
it can take up to the average is up to 12 months
for a healthy woman to conceive. Just cause like,
it's just, there's a small window, you know,
it's like, it depends on the health of the sperm
too. And so I was like, we should start trying
so that like, you know, in the next year or whatever,
just in case it takes longer and you know, all
the conversations you start to have kind of around
like pregnancy in general. And the first cycle
that we tried to get pregnant, I got pregnant.
So crazy. And so I was like, okay, number one,
thank you, Lord. I was shocked when I tell you
I was like, oh my gosh, I took a pregnancy test
just to like confirm to myself that I wasn't
pregnant because I had like built it up so much
in my head that I was afraid I'd like convince
myself I was never going to have kids. You know,
just like all the fear kind of started to set
in. And I took a pregnancy test like four or
five days before I was even supposed to start
my period and it was positive. I was like, you're
joking. Excuse me, what? Oh my God, it worked.
Am I reading this right? Uh -huh. So. I think
that was also like the beauty in it too. It's
like, okay, we successfully use this method for
three years to avoid pregnancy and to like know
my body, whatever. And I knew my body so well
at that point that I was like, okay, here are
the like, realistically for me, kind of like
four -ish days that I can get pregnant. And then
it worked by the grace of God, you know? So that
was incredible. And I was like, okay, well, we
did it. And then you're pregnant and you're like,
well, I don't have to do anything else right
now. And then you forget everything you ever
learned and you are no longer pregnant. You're
like, wait. I know. And then I have to dust up
on it to make sure I'm not spewing wrong information
today. Do you know anything about like, okay,
postpartum, you don't have your period. You can
still very much get pregnant in that time. What
does that look like for cycle tracking? Yep.
I don't know a ton about, I got my period back
really quickly, which was so unfair, honestly.
But Maven started sleeping through the night.
So I was like, I guess I'll take some sleep and
I'll have my period back too. Whatever. Because
I just wasn't nursing in the night. But yeah,
so in the four phases of your cycle, a period
only happens if ovulation has happened. And so
it's like, it's shedding the uterine lining.
It's, you know, whatever. So you can ovulate
before. you would have a period that's like in
the order of things. We think, I think this is
also kind of backwards again, talking about like
the most obvious marker for women is like, I
have a period. It's like, there's a visual, I'm
like bleeding, whatever. But really that signifies
like the end of our cycle because that happens
post ovulation. So most of the time I feel like
people who get pregnant, which one is like. A
myth that you can't get pregnant while you're
breastfeeding millions and millions of baby.
I'm one of them. My mom was, you know, uh, it's
just, it's a lie, but you start ovulating before
you have a period just in like the order of how
things go. And so, so yeah. I think it's surprising
when women just like don't know if they're ovulating
or not. And so until you have like your first
period, you don't actually really know unless
you're using like ovulation strips, looking for
an LH surge, like stuff like that. Which like
that would be just a lot if you don't have any
clue when your period's coming back. Yeah. And
so in the phases of the cycle, the luteal phase
post ovulation, that should be consistent pretty
much every time. And it's around 11 to 14 days.
If it's any shorter than that in like Azure cycle
tracking, or if, you know, people are like paying
attention to that, it can. signify like a progesterone
deficiency stress a thyroid issue like so postpartum
a lot of the like cycle ranges are just really
messed up because our hormones are so whack which
then also kind of means you can't get pregnant
not like not necessarily but a lot of those things
from what I've learned is that like your cycle
needs to fall in within within certain parameters
and so That's what happens with a lot of tests.
Lots of early miscarriage. If like the luteal
phase isn't long enough. Yeah. Yeah. It is. It's
wild. Yeah. And postpartum is so different for
everybody. It's like I, you know, my best friend
just got her period back almost a year postpartum
after her second baby. And I had mine back in.
less than four months i think you know so then
it was like and and since then i've done a very
loose version of cycle tracking which you know
we've had some scares because of it i'm like
i think it was this day and i'm like i don't
know but but yeah your hormones typically for
like a healthy woman will not like re -stabilize
fully for two years postpartum and so all of
the like cycle tracking stuff kind of applies
differently post baby for a little while. Um,
there's still like markers and still the same
kind of like cervical mucus, whatever, obviously
you guys had two babies, you know, after you
had your first, so your body is still like getting
back to it's like typical cycle, but just might
look a little bit different postpartum. So interesting.
I'm learning so much guys. It's really fascinating
stuff. Yeah. I think, I think I said this before
we started recording is the book that I read,
I was like, this is going to be. required reading
for all of my kids because again i all of us
want our kids to have a better life and just
more information in a healthy way than we do
and again so standard for most millennials to
have just this like flawed very basic understanding
of fertility and sex and all of this where it's
again you get your period you can get pregnant
And that's kind of it. Well, like I said, there's,
I think I also said this before we started recording,
but there's layers to it, right? So it's like
the first layer is like just as a woman understanding
your own body. And then it's like, okay, and
then are you trying to prevent or like trying
to conceive, like prevent pregnancy or trying
to conceive? And then it's like, okay, then the
layer deeper than that, even that I'm kind of
getting more into now and kind of did before
pregnancy. I did it for like two months and then
I got pregnant and I was like, again, everything's
out the window and I'm just eating toast and
I'm sick and whatever. but is like cycle syncing.
So there's nutrition and there's workouts for
each phase and like different, even like social
and work activities to do or not do based on
like your hormones and how well you're going
to be able to focus or how, you know, just like
how you're feeling in your body and kind of like
aligning it even just to like the seasons of
the year. Like menstrual phase is very much deep
winter. It's like we're resting, we're being
very gentle, we're inside, you know, it's like
we're not doing anything crazy. Follicular phase
is spring. So it's like, there's like new things
happening in your body literally is like recruiting
a follicle to be the one to like bring the egg
into the uterus. You know, it's like, there's
like spring and then summer is like ovulation.
It's like summer, happy, bright, raw veggies
everywhere, you know, just like stuff like that.
And then fall is luteal phase, which is like,
okay, we need to like warm our body up. We need
to be like a little more gentle. We need to kind
of wrap up. You know, I think about this more
in like, like my house or like work. projects
or whatever i'm like okay i'm like wrapping stuff
up i'm like tying bows on things as much as i
can because i know like menstrual phase is just
like we're gonna rest we're gonna stretch on
the floor we're not gonna do a workout you know
um so cycle syncing is like a whole other layer
to this which is also really fun kind of a just
like super far tangent but if we go into the
bible and look at like what is required and like
of women like in biblical law for their period
i'm like oh god wasn't punishing women for having
their period by saying like you go and rest for
a week like that is like the design of like no
your body needs to just chill and like that's
what's needed right now and um like learning
about cycle syncing i don't know very much um
because again i was going to try to start doing
that and then i got pregnant with zeta immediately
yeah like well i don't have time here we go yeah
and i'm just gonna lay down yeah exactly yeah
or it's like oh no your body needs rest and like
that's why this is commanded and yeah and then
there's a restorative time on purpose exactly
can we tell my kids that that'd be great yeah
i'd be like hey i guys hey mommy needs god told
me i need to go out yeah for five days in the
wilderness by myself. Thank you. Oh my gosh.
Yeah. It's so fascinating. And I think, I mean,
speaking of there's a, obviously a physiological
part of this and like biological, that's just
like, this is how our bodies were designed. I
think there's also a deeply like spiritual piece
of. just fertility awareness or cycle tracking
in general, that's like, I think felt more in
tune with like the Holy Spirit living in and
through me, understanding my own body as like
the temple that's like housing the Lord, you
know, and that God's design is so intentional
and so specific. Like the fact that there's,
you know, even like the hormones all working
together. And this is kind of how I felt when
I was pregnant too. I'm like, I don't have to.
do anything for God to like knit together this
baby in my womb. You know, it's like, I don't
have to wake up today and be like, make a pancreas
or whatever. It's like, there's something about
the Lord, like working in and through our bodies
and in this kind of like rhythmic, like rhythm
of grace kind of vibe, like throughout the month
and just like in our cycle that feels so in line
with God's design. So that was like a whole other
piece that I like didn't really expect either
to be like, Oh, I'm not suppressing. how my body
is designed to work. I'm not like, there's no
like synthetic hormones that I'm dealing with.
Like, I'm really just trying to understand how
God like designed my body to work. And then when
there were markers of like, oh, this thing isn't
actually like firing on all cylinders, then I
knew that. And it's like, I could find like the
right support or the right supplements or like
eat the right food. Like in our menstrual phase,
it's like, we're losing iron, like nobody's business.
So it's like, okay, I'm having red, I'm like
eating steak. Thank God, you know? Like I'll
have more steak, sure. Spinach, you know, it's
like I'm supplementing. my body and supporting
my body how it's supposed to be working. We have
to buy the $75 steak. And I'm like, I'm so sorry,
babe. We have to buy a cast iron too because
I need to reverse sear it and I don't make the
rules. Yeah. It's really for my health and then
all of our health because you want me to be in
a good mood. Yeah. So that was another piece
too that was kind of surprising. Yeah. No, it
is crazy. The more you learn about, and this
is just such a tangible. example like oh things
were designed so intentionally like our body
isn't an accident again you don't just accidentally
get pregnant like your body is preparing for
that in every phase of your cycle and yeah again
down to your cervical mucus and position and
your body temperature spiking to keep a baby
warm it's it's just crazy and that's usually
how like especially now with Apple Watches or
smart rings or whatever, that it can predict
pregnancy before you would miss a period because
your temperature is sustained at a high level.
So it's like 0 .3 to 0 .5 degrees higher. Does
it notify you like, hey, you might want to take
a pregnancy test? Pregnancy likely. Yeah, that's
how I found out I was pregnant with Lloyd. What?
It was funny because I do have an Apple Watch,
but I don't have one that tracks my temperature.
But I had convinced myself I wasn't pregnant.
Yeah. why do we do that it's like a it's a defense
i guess so that way you're not disappointed i
guess i don't like that's the only thing i can
think but yeah so if you don't know your temperature
rises after ovulation and then it will drop for
me it drops the day before my period and that's
how i'm like okay Today's the day. It's going
to happen. But there are a couple things that
can like skew your temperature. So like if you
don't sleep well, you won't get a correct read.
If you've been drinking, you won't get a correct
read. And then if you've been sick, you won't
get a correct read. And if you sustain a high
temperature for 18 days, it's pretty much like
you are pregnant. Like not like you could be.
You are pregnant. At that point, you probably
would have missed a period. Right. Yeah, from
like 14 to 18 days. people are like, hello, your
body's warm. Yeah. And I don't remember what
day it was, but I had kept a high temperature,
but there had been a couple of days where I had
like not taken my temperature. I think, of course,
this is always how it goes. We had like had a
dry month when I got pregnant. And then right
away I was like, well, obviously like, not that
I binged, but we like went out for margaritas
with friends. You're hilarious. And then like
went out for drinks. Oh, a dry month from alcohol.
From alcohol. Yeah. So we had a dry month from
alcohol. I thought you meant sex and I was like.
abstinence also brings the items let's go we
had a dry month from alcohol and then like that
week I did not like go crazy, but like we had
like a few things. We had like a friend's night
and stuff like that. And so I didn't take my
temperature because of alcohol. So then when
I had this high temperature for however many
days, I was like, well, I had a couple of days
I missed. So is this actually true? Like it's
the tequila. I'm not still in my system. The
margaritas were throwing me off. And then so
I was like, I'm just going to take a test because
whatever. And so when it came back positive,
I was like, oh, oh, oh. Sorry, buddy. It's okay.
It's okay. So, yeah, but that's how I figured
I was pregnant with Lloyd is because it's a high
temperature. With Zeta, it was kind of the same.
But since I was breastfeeding, I also assumed
that my cycle just was not normal yet. Yeah.
Well, yeah, because it's not. Because it's not.
Because everything is crazy. Were you guys, so
you were cycle tracking. Have you guys been on
hormonal birth control? I have. Before? I have,
yes. Yeah. Not to turn this podcast around, but
I'm interviewing you now. Yeah. No, I, so I was
on it for my skin. Okay. For probably six years.
Yeah. Something like that. But I tried multiple
different types of pills and I did not have like
super terrible reactions other than just like
some didn't work for my skin, some did. Yeah.
And looking back, I think like mentally, I think
it did affect me a little bit, but I just like.
wasn't aware yeah of like the anxiety it brought
when you start so young it's like yeah i think
i started it when i was like 14 or 15 crazy and
that totally was like that my doctor was like
well let's just get you on the pill you're like
i'm 14 this is why i have acne yeah i know well
that's because i'm 14 i know well and i was allergic
to gluten and dairy But I didn't know that until
I was like, I don't want to be, because they
were like, you got to be on Accutane, but you
have to be on birth control too, because if you
get pregnant, there's tons of birth defects.
And I was like, all of this sounds horrible.
I don't want to do any of that. Oh my gosh. Yeah.
That's so young. Yeah. Yeah. And so I was on
the pill all the way until, oh gosh, maybe it
was even longer than six years. I finally stopped
taking the pill when Michael and I got married.
Yeah. And we were just like, we're like, well,
we'll let the Lord decide. Yeah. You want to
have babies. And we totally wanted to start a
family right away. And then we couldn't. And
I mean, looking back, like, could it be partially
like, I didn't know my cycle. Who knows? Yeah.
Who knows? But I mean, we finally did like fertility
treatment and got pregnant, but yeah. Well, and
that's the, I think for me going into marriage,
it was more about just like, I just wanted to
be informed. I was like, I just want to know.
And I want to be able to make the best like informed
decision for myself and for me and Spence and
for our family. Like I'm not willing to tank
my mental health again. I want to know what's
going on. I also, I'm like, it's like informed
consent too, where I'm like, I don't want to
be forced into something just because I don't
have all the information. So like I was like
an information sponge for a while, but it's like,
that's, it's most, women's experience and stories
unless you kind of take that approach eventually
which it's like eventually i did you know yeah
to be like prescribed something without any of
the information or just like this will fix the
symptom of whatever's going on which is the like
most women i think start really really young
because of acne yeah it's like of course in high
school you want to do anything you can to get
rid of it so it's like i'll be on birth control
i don't care you know and then if like my friends
that ended up on the pill for their skin but
then it was like Well, now also I can't get pregnant.
So like, is anyone going to know I'm sexually
active? So it's like, it's just a vicious cycle,
you know? For sure. And a cycle in a bad way,
you know? But yeah, I think that was like part
of it for me. I was like, I just want to know.
I just want to have all the information and then
just like make a decision. That's so cool. It's
honestly inspiring me to learn more about it
because, yeah, not that we're trying to get pregnant
or anything right now, but. I think it would
be so cool just to understand like, okay, I'm
in this phase and my body needs this. Being able
to predict like, I'm going to start my period
this week. Just your period alone. Yeah. That's
nice. Even if that's it. My best friend this
morning. She texted us and she was alone with
her five kids somewhere and started her period.
She's postpartum. So it's like kind of, she didn't
know exactly when it was going to come, started
her period and she was wearing a white dress.
And it was, you know, so I was like, oh my gosh,
I was like the irony as I'm about to go on this
podcast and talk about all this stuff. And I
told her in a text, I was like, it's a beautiful
journey. And I'm so freaking sorry. That is the
absolute worst. But yeah, even that alone, being
able to like predict when that is, it's like,
that's nice. And I think it can sound, so daunting
like all the cycle tracking stuff can feel so
daunting it's really simple it's like not easy
like again it takes effort yeah um but it's the
same every single month so it's like you learn
it and you start to understand it and then it
just kind of becomes like you said where like
i think it's a very steep learning curve but
then once you know your body unless you're like
trying to be an expert in this for everyone which
most of us are not you really just need to know
your body so you don't need to know all the details
for how it's going to work for every single person
you're like but you can go okay i know that my
ovulation is going to be approximately on day
13 day whatever and i can use ovulation strips
to test it for sure and great you know I know,
like, we took one of the kids' temperatures the
other day because they were sick. And Stuart
was like, oh, they're kind of low. They're at
97 -something like that. And I was like, oh,
well, I'm usually at 96 unless I'm ovulating.
That's when I know I'm at, like, 97 -point -something
-something. He was like, what? Like, and in my
luteal phase, it's 0 .5 degrees. Yeah, yeah,
yeah. It's like, yeah, it's kind of nerdy after
a while, which is really fun. Do you literally
just have like a thermometer that you... So I
did for a while. You do have to have one that
gets like to... The basal body thermometer. So
it's like, yeah, your base temperature. It's
a little more accurate. Yeah. And so it has to
get to like... 0 .00. The hundredths or tenths,
I guess. Yeah, the tenths, I think. We've been
out of math for a while. You can't have one that
just says 97. It has to be like 97 .75. Oh, okay.
Four digits. And you can't do a forehead one
or anything like that. You have to use an actual...
Under the tongue, yeah. Yeah, or again, Oura
rings can track this well. Apple Watches can
track it. I have a band that I wear overnight
that tracks it. Do you have the whoop? Is that
what you're talking about? No, Natural Cycles
has a band. Oh, is it? Okay. And I was like,
they sent it to me for free if I paid for their
thing. Listen, I'm like, it's annoying, but it's
really worth it. It is. Yeah. Have you ever used
like an app to track or do old school actually
write down your temperature? Okay. So that's
how I started, which I also, when I kind of first
started, like before we got married, my best
friend, she lives in Salt Lake. She was like.
spooked by the government like having her information
or just like knowing anything which I'm like
I actually get that and so she was like charting
her temperature like on paper she might even
still be doing this I should ask her and so for
a while I was like actually writing it down and
I was like I feel like I'm in algebra or whatever
math class I'd be like making like a like point
graph but no so I got the Daisy thermometer at
the time and that paired with an app with the
Daisy app it was expensive though because again
it was like at the time kind of one of the first
like actual pieces of hardware or software that
was like for cycle tracking. Yeah. Now every
influencer, you know, literally, and there's
so many different kinds. So like any of the smart
rings will do it. Um, and we'll pair with natural
cycles. I use one now it's a different app, but
it's for cycle syncing outside of natural cycles,
but it's, it's more for like nutrition and workouts
and, you know, mental health and that kind of
thing. Um, like I said, I've been lightly tracking
my cycle for the last little bit, not like super
close, but mostly just for like, you know, my
period and whatever. But so yeah, natural cycles
has a thermometer and an app now. Um, but it's
so the amount of information and resources that
we have now is wild and it's so accessible and
so easy. Like And again, it's not like there
is effort involved. There's like a barrier to
entry. But once you do it, it's like wearing
a smart ring overnight and having your temperature
track. You don't even have to like, that was
the most irritating part, honestly, was taking
the thermometer, like not moving, grabbing my
thermometer off the nightstand when my alarm
went off, taking my temperature before I even
sat up. Because it was like, that's how quickly
you have to take it for it to get like an accurate
reading. Oh, wow. That's annoying. But I did
that for three years, you know, so it was like.
it still worked, you know? But yeah. So now with
the technology and stuff kind of advancing and
like learning more about women's health and cycle
tracking in general, there's so many more tools
and resources for women available, which is so
nice. Dang. Yeah. I feel inspired. I'm going
to go buy something to take my temperature. To
take my temperature. I don't know. Just so I
know. Yeah. Yeah. That's cool. Yeah. Yeah. Well.
if there was like if there's a woman out there
like laura like me like me sitting on this couch
who is just like maybe interested in like knowing
more or they're maybe even gung -ho and like
this is something i'm doing now what is like
something you'd recommend whether it's a resource
or just What would you suggest? What would you
say to them? Number one resource, and you have
it sitting right here, is a book called Taking
Charge of Your Fertility by Tony Weschler, I
think it is. It's the guide. It's more information
than you'll ever need. I've recommended it to
friends. I've let people borrow it. I usually
tell people to just go to the parts. in the book
that you actually want to know about and like
look into those kinds of details. You don't have
to read the whole thing. It's a huge book. It's
like a textbook. I don't think I read the whole
thing. I didn't read the whole thing. So when
I started kind of learning about this, I watched
YouTube videos and read parts of this book and
that's how I started. So it was just like little
bits of information just to like understand more
fully what was going on in my body. So it's like,
take one step. with either a book, YouTube video,
TikTok is a huge resource for women right now
with cycle syncing and cycle tracking, especially.
And so like, again, there's just so many, there's
so much information, so many resources on it
that are just like. available at our fingertips,
like in our hands, literally in our phone. So
yeah, YouTube videos, taking charge of your fertility.
There's another book if people are interested
in cycle syncing called in the flow by Alyssa
VT, I think it is. That's kind of a simple approach
to like the nutrition workouts, like kind of
reorienting your life around your cycle. But
yeah, I would say any amount of interest, I would
just take one step. So whether it's like, you
kind of know the phases of your cycle, look into
like what hormones are dominant in each cycle.
and how do I feel when my estrogen is rising?
What does that mean for me emotionally and mentally
and physically? What does it do to inflammation
in my body even? So I think just whatever right
next step feels attainable, just start there.
Again, there's so much information in all of
this and so many layers to it. You don't have
to do all of it all at once. It's like start
small. Order even just like an ovulation test
kit on Amazon and kind of around the time you're
ovulating, like it's similar to a pregnancy test
where there's two lines, but the first line will
get darker and darker and darker that will signify
like the actual surge that like points to ovulation
or triggers ovulation. And so even that it's
like. just like mess around with ovulation strips
for a couple of days and just like see what you
notice, see what you notice in your own body.
But yeah, so those two books, Taking Charge of
Your Fertility and In the Flow and then TikTok,
YouTube, the internet is a, it's a scary place,
but it's a wealth of knowledge. I know some people
are against AI for valid reasons and I totally
understand that. ChatGBT, great resource for
even just like a really simple like. Can you
give me an overview of the four phases of my
cycle, how long they should last, how I would
feel in each one? Like just getting that amount
of information to start is helpful. So yeah,
I think whatever feels like attainable and not
overwhelming because it can feel overwhelming
because then once you start learning about it,
it gets really easy and exciting and way better
to just like take in all of the information and
just learn as you go. Well, thank you so much.
Yeah. So much information. Thank you for having
me. So I know it's so, I feel like I told my
friend this morning, I was like, I'm just nerding
out about hormones, writing down all these notes,
which is great. And it's so, it's so worth it.
And yeah, women deserve to know fully our own
selves and what's going on in our bodies and
Christian women, like just knowing God's design
and all of it is just really beautiful. Absolutely.
Thank you for having me. Thank you. Well, should
we hop into our wins of the week really quick?
Okay. I can go first if you guys would like.
So we've talked about Colt's sleep many, many
times and how he's just a terrible sleeper. So
kind of our routine right now is I usually am
putting Cruz to bed and Michael will put Colt
to bed and we kind of just. On nights where Michael's
at youth group, it's like, who even knows how
I handle that? You're amazing. I can't imagine.
Yeah. So this last week, Colt's like new. So
when we drop Cruz off at kids ministry, he always
hugs Cruz and says, be brave to Cruz. And then
Cruz gets dropped off. So the other night, Michael's
putting Colt to bed and he goes, dad, I want
to be brave. And Michael's like. okay, buddy,
do you want to try to go to, you want to go to
bed on your own and we'll leave your door open?
He said, yeah, I want to be brave. And he, he
went to bed on his own and it was so sweet. So
now every night since then, we've been like,
Cole, do you want to try to be brave tonight?
And he goes, no, I don't, I don't want to be
brave. He's like, I can choose it and I don't
want to. Yeah. I did it the one time. Yeah. He
said, I did it once. I don't like it anymore.
So it just was so cute. Cause I'm like, oh buddy,
like. It's a big deal for you. He's very much
like separation anxiety is a big thing right
now. He wants us to be close, which I'm just
trying to soak up. Obviously, some nights it's
harder than others where it's like, I just want
to be not touched by anyone. But that just was
the sweetest thing. I want to be brave. Like
you are brave, buddy. You're the bravest boy.
So yeah, that's super sweet. Yeah. That's the
best. Okay. Who wants to go next? I can go next.
Okay. So the other day I like told Lloyd it was
nap time and he just like. put his toys away,
and then he grabbed his milk cup and took it
over to the fridge. Then he grabbed Zeta's milk
cup and took it over to his fridge. Now, I don't
tell him to do these things. Like, I would love
it if our daily routine was like, okay, it's
nap time and we clean up. But since I work all
the time, that's just like not something I have
the capacity for. So I have no idea. Like, I
did not prompt him to do this. I have no idea.
I think maybe my parents have him do this when
he's at their house. Like, let's clean up and
then it's time to go take a nap. Yeah. So maybe
he's learning from them, which would be great.
but it was just so sweet. So I was just like,
you know, it's time to go down for a nap. And
he took his lightning wheel queen and put it
in his little car basket and then grabbed his
milk and put it in the fridge. And it was just
so sweet. That's cute. It was. Yeah. I'm like,
it has not happened since. Yeah. But I mean,
it may happen once. Yeah. Yeah. It's in there.
It can happen again someday, but it was just
so cute. So cute. I love it. Oh my gosh. Okay.
Lindsay, how about you? Yeah. I feel mine's similar
to yours. It's like wild. I feel like toddlers
especially are just like little mirrors. I'm
like, once they start like saying and doing and
acting the way like back at us that we act with
them, it's like very humbling and like really
exciting. Hopefully, you know, mostly exciting.
And then sometime like the other day, Maven out
of nowhere, we were just like watching Bluey
or something. She just looks up and she goes,
what the hell? And I was like, oh my God, that
should have been my mom moment. Honestly, I was
like, I looked at his face and I was like, this
is my fault. I was like, I'm so sorry. Anyways,
so you know, there's good and bad. But no, we...
Like I said, we rock her in her room and pray
together every night. And I mean, even talking
about Lightning McQueen, it's like we are kind
friends and we check on our friends whenever.
Recently, we've been talking about how when people
are having a hard time or when Mama's having
a hard time or Maven's having a hard time, we
can stop and we can pray and we can ask Jesus
to help us and be with us. And it's like every
single time she's flailing around and she's like,
like being silly. And I'm like, is she hearing
anything I'm saying right now? And so the other
day we went to Goodwill. We went thrifting and
there was a woman that I don't exactly know what
happened. We pulled up and there were several
like cop cars and I was like, are we even going
to go in a good one right now? But there was
this woman outside they were talking to. She's
in a wheelchair and she was having like some
kind of panic attack or just like, I don't know
if she tried to steal something and got caught
or like, I don't know. Something was going on
and she was like yelling and crying and they're
trying to talk to her or whatever. And so I was
like going really quick with me and it's actually.
And full honesty, my second time back at Goodwill
that day, because I saw a purse that I thought
my mom might want, sent her a picture. And she
was like, will you go back and get me that purse?
And I was like, yes, I will. So this is our second
time back. So I knew it was just going to be
quick. So we go inside. We come back out. And
Maven noticed this woman kind of yelling or whatever.
We get in the car. And she goes, Mama, what's
happening? I was like, well, buddy, I was like,
I think she's just having a hard time. But the
police are here. They're helping her. They're
going to talk to her. Like they're checking on
her or whatever. It's okay. So I get her in the
car. And as we're driving away, she goes, oh,
mama, she's having a hard time. We can pray for
her. And I was like, oh, my God. I was like,
yes, we can. You're right, buddy. We can. I was
like, we should, you know? And so in the car
and she said, thank you, Jesus, mama. You know,
she's like not praying for this woman, but the
fact that she like connected those two things,
like the stranger is having a hard time and we
can pray for people when they have our time,
we can pray for ourselves, you know? And so I,
you know, out loud, like pray in the car. I was
like, yeah, Lord, we just thank you for Maven's
awareness to pray for this woman. And like, she's
having a hard time, but God would just be with
her. And then. At the end of every prayer, I'll
go, in Jesus' name, amen. And Maven will go,
good job, mama. In Jesus' name, amen. I'm like,
oh, my gosh. Thanks, sweetie. I know. It's so
sweet. So there's little glimpses like that when
I'm like, you know, it's been three or four months
of us like talking about like prayer and we can
talk to Jesus anytime we want. And, you know,
and then just like one moment of her being like.
we can pray for someone having a hard time. I
was like, Oh my God, I love being a mom. You
know? It was so sweet. That's so sweet. Yeah.
Sweet little baby. Well, thank you for being
on today and thank you for, yeah, just all the
knowledge you brought to cycle tracking. And,
um, hopefully anyone who listens just learns
a little bit more about their own bodies today.
Yeah. I hope so. Yeah. Thank you guys. Thank
you. All right. We'll see you guys next time.
See you next week. Bye. Well, that's enough oversharing
for today. If you enjoyed hanging out with us,
hit subscribe so you don't miss the next round
of chaos. And if you're listening while hiding
in the bathroom from your kids, no judgment,
we see you. Thanks for joining us on No Manual
Momcast, where motherhood is messy. At least
we can laugh about it together. Chocolate chip
cookie. That's so cute.