Join me on my personal journey as I share my experience weaning from exclusive pumping. In this heartfelt episode, I discuss the challenges, triumphs, and emotions I faced while transitioning away from pumping, and the impact it had on both my babies and me. Whether you’re considering making the switch or are currently navigating the world of breastfeeding, my story may offer insights and encouragement. Discover tips on how to gradually decrease pumping sessions, manage the emotional aspect of t...
Oct 15, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Brooke Miller, a certified lactation consultant and dietitian, shares her journey of helping women with postpartum nutrition. She discusses the importance of nutrition during the postpartum period and how it can impact a mother's energy, mood, and milk supply. Brooke emphasizes the need for nourishing the body with quality foods and meeting protein and nutrient needs. She also addresses common myths and mistakes women make with postpartum nutrition, such as relying on supplements and not eating ...
Sep 03, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 35
Stephanie Fischer, a sleep consultant specializing in twins and toddlers, shares her journey and how she became a sleep consultant. She dispels common misconceptions about sleep training, such as the belief that it involves letting babies cry it out. Stephanie emphasizes that sleep training teaches babies to self-soothe and does not mean ignoring their needs. She also discusses the surprises her clients have experienced, including how quickly sleep training can work. Stephanie highlights the cha...
Aug 06, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 34
In this episode, Meg shares three main things she wishes she knew before having twins or in the first few months of having twins. The first topic is how hard breastfeeding is, especially with twins. Meg talks about her experience with exclusive pumping and the importance of having a lactation consultant specifically for twins. The second topic is about the items you need for twins. Meg discusses the necessity of having two of certain items like car seats, strollers, and bassinets, but also menti...
Jul 23, 2024•22 min•Season 1Ep. 33
In this episode, Meg shares an update on her intense pumping journey as an exclusive pumper for her twin babies. She emphasizes the raw reality of exclusive pumping and the challenges she has faced over the last six months. Meg discusses the physical and mental toll of exclusive pumping, including nipple pain, clogged ducts, and the constant need to pump. She also highlights the importance of having a support system and strong mental health when undertaking exclusive pumping. Despite the difficu...
Jul 16, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 32
In this conversation, Meg interviews Allison Tolman, an expert in pumping and lactation. They discuss various topics related to pumping, including myths and misconceptions about increasing milk supply, key factors in increasing milk supply, the role of mental and emotional well-being in pumping, balancing science and practicality in pumping, and creating a sustainable pumping schedule. In this conversation, Allison Tolman, LPN, IBCLC, discusses various aspects of pumping breast milk for working ...
Jul 09, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 31
In this episode, Meg discusses her experience and challenges during the first six months postpartum with twins. She took a break from the podcast to focus on her babies and figure out her future plans. Meg shares her struggle with postpartum identity and the realization that she is a different person now that she is a mother. She emphasizes the importance of giving herself time and space to uncover her new identity and not trying to go back to who she was before. Meg also talks about the joy of ...
Jul 02, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 30
In this conversation, Meg shares her experience and tips on increasing milk supply and establishing a pumping routine. She discusses the Sock Method, which involves covering the bottles with baby socks to create a positive association with the baby and stimulate oxytocin production. Meg emphasizes the importance of finding the right flange size and pumping frequency to maximize milk supply. She also mentions the benefits of hydration, calorie intake, and supplements. Meg shares her pumping sched...
Feb 27, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 29
In this episode, Meg and Mike provide an update on their first six weeks with twins. They discuss the hardest part of parenting twins, the easiest part, and unexpected challenges. They also talk about the importance of fitting the kids into their life and the impact of having twins on their relationship. They share their sadness about their fathers not being there to meet the babies and express their love and admiration for each other as parents. They end with some final thoughts and advice for ...
Feb 20, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 28
In this solo episode, Meg shares her postpartum journey and the challenges she has faced in the first six weeks after giving birth to twins. She discusses the importance of preparation for parenthood and the realization that no amount of preparation can fully prepare you for the reality of caring for newborns. Meg opens up about her struggles with breastfeeding and the decision to exclusively pump. She also talks about the physical recovery process without holding back: get ready for some TMI sh...
Feb 13, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 27
It’s been a minute since Mike and I recorded an episode together, and we thought what better way to jump back in than for me to interview him about the birth of our sons from his perspective. Mike was KNEE DEEP in the birth, holding one of my legs the entire time and being an essential part of the delivery of our sons, such a special moment we’ll never forget. In this episode he shares what it was like for him, no holding back. We talk about: How long Mike thought the induction would take What i...
Feb 06, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Lynette and Matt Hoyle share their journey of marriage, from the difficulties in the first year to the brink of divorce and the subsequent healing and growth. They discuss the importance of commitment and working on the marriage, as well as actively showing love and care for each other. They emphasize the need to handle conflict in a healthy way and change conflict styles that may have been learned from their parents. Despite the challenges, they believe that marriage can get better and better w...
Jan 30, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 25
In this episode I share my struggle with breastfeeding and decision to exclusively pump, and the toll the first 72 hours postpartum, aka “the baby blues” took on me mentally, physically, and emotionally. I hope this episode helps any new moms who are putting SO much pressure on themselves to breastfeed just like I was, and can’t wait to continue to share how the exclusive pumping experience plays out. Thank you for being such a supportive and loving community. I feel so comfortable sharing all o...
Jan 23, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 24
We did it folks. We had the twins!! And I was able to have them both vaginally, something that the majority of twin moms I've talked to DON'T get to experience. And boy WAS it an experience, one of which I detail in this episode. I hope you enjoy this episode and I’d like to officially welcome Ayden John and Kevin John into the world! NOTE: the sound on this is a BIT fuzzy but right now with twin parenting life I can’t re-record, so bare with me! ↓Follow us on social media: TikTok: https://www.t...
Jan 16, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 23
This week’s expert interview is with Carrie Cohen; a psychotherapist, marriage Coach, and relationship expert. And boy do we cover the gamut in this episode, touching on marriage conflict, how to navigate separation, and how to actively work on your marriage if you can’t afford coaching or therapy. As a 25 year Psychotherapist, Carrie has spent over 50,000 hours with clients, worked with 1000s of women and men, and over 500 couples. As a trained psychotherapist, Carrie uses marriage coaching to ...
Jan 09, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Is alcohol negatively affecting your marriage? Specifically…sex? YUP. We go there in this episode with our guest expert, Karolina Rzadkowolska. But we don’t just answer that million dollar question (spoiler alert: it very well MAY be), we also talk about alternatives and how to start changing your habits TOGETHER. Karolina is a certified alcohol-free life coach, with certifications including Senior Certified This Naked Mind Coach, transformation-based coaching and positive psychology. She’s also...
Jan 02, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 21
If you’ve been feeling a lack of intimacy or sexual connection with your partner or know you need to spice things up, this episode is for you. Hannah Deindorfer, a sex and intimacy expert brings us SUCH specific and actionable rituals to connect intimately with our partners on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Rituals that are easy to implement and that can almost immediately make you feel more passionate with your partner. Hannah is a fairy godmother who grants people the wish of a passionate,...
Dec 26, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Trigger Warning: Miscarriage discussions in this episode A few months ago I shared on our TikTok account how much anxiety I had been experiencing during my pregnancy because of the miscarriage we experienced last year. I was constantly wondering if my babies were still there and even if it wasn’t my main focus for the day, it was an ever present thought in the back of my mind. When I brought it up to the community over there, it took off and SO MANY WOMEN said they had experienced a similar feel...
Dec 19, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 19
I feel like the only things I was told about pregnancy was that you’re nauseous and tired all the time, two things I didn’t actually experience much. So in this episode I dive into the UNEXPECTED pregnancy symptoms I experienced, things that no one warned me about. Overall I’ve been SO lucky to have a pretty great pregnancy and feel amazing most of the time, so I hope this sheds some light on what you might experience so you’re as ready and prepared as possible, knowing what you’re experiencing ...
Dec 12, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 18
As a self proclaimed control freak, having some things I could do to prep for birth that I knew I could control helped me feel more at ease, like having my hospital bag prepped ahead and ordering things I knew we would need once the boys came. In this episode I walk you through what I packed in my hospital bag and what we had on our registry. I’m excited to do a follow up episode to see what we ACTUALLY used from the hospital bag and ACTUALLY used from the registry once they’re here, so stay tun...
Dec 05, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 17
(MEG) My Birth Preferences & Learning About Advocating for Yourself In Labor When I first got pregnant I had never even heard of the term “birth plan” because my only exposure to birth was in the movies and TV. I just thought your water breaks in the middle of the grocery store and you frantically drive to the hospital. But I quickly learned that’s not exactly how it goes. One of the biggest things I’ve done over the last few months is get really familiar with the birth experience and what m...
Nov 28, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Supporting a partner while they’re grieving can be tricky, especially if you’ve never experienced the type of grief or loss they’re going through. You don’t want to say “the wrong thing” or smother them, but you also don’t want to give them TOO much space. Unfortunately, we have both experienced intense grief with the loss of our fathers in the last year and a half, so learning how to be a supportive partner during this time was essential for us, and at the end of the day these incredibly hard t...
Nov 21, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 15
This highly requested topic is no surprise, cuz it’s probably the biggest question mark couples who separate have before entering the separation: are we allowed to see other people while apart? In this episode we dive into our specific “separation rules” including… How much we communicated during the separation What we were committed to personal growth wise during the time apart And of course if we were allowed to see other people while apart We say this SO many times in the episode but we can’t...
Nov 14, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 14
At the beginning of July we had to be apart for six weeks due to extenuating circumstances (which we explain in this episode). And let me tell ya, being apart from your spouse or partner for that long is NOT fun NOR easy, but we managed to stay pretty connected despite the time and when we saw each other again didn’t feel like it had been that long. It is 100% possible to maintain connection while apart, it’ll just look a little different than if you were together. In this episode we break down ...
Nov 07, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Happy Halloween!!! Be sure to peep our Instagram if you haven’t @MegandMikeDoMarriage because our Barbie themed costumes are pretty legit if we do say so ourselves (and NO, we’re NOT Barbie and Ken…it’s BETTER). ANYWHO…to the topic at hand. Our lives are about to COMPLETELY change when we become first time parents…to not one, but TWO babies at once, and in this episode we really wanted to just ask each other: how do you feel about it? So that’s what we did ;) We share what we’re most excited AND...
Oct 31, 2023•37 min•Season 1Ep. 12
If we’re only communicating things when they’re a problem, that’s when we start to feel like we’re nagging which doesn’t feel good. It’s important to acknowledge and thank our partner for things we DO appreciate. ↑And in this JAM PACKED episode, James and Angela Mitchell break down not only how to handle conflict with your partner (so it doesn’t end in a huge life altering fight), but also how to give praise to your partner. James and Angela Mitchell are the founders of Love Intentionally, a rel...
Oct 24, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Let’s talk about sex baby, let’s talk about you and me… Yes, Mike DOES sing this at the beginning of the episode, so get ready for shenanigans. This was an episode we had written down to do way before we started this podcast, because scheduling sex has been SUCH a game changer for our marriage (and cough cough, why we’re pregnant with twins). At first (as you’ll hear in the episode) the idea seemed RIDICULOUS to us, but once we shifted our perspective we realized it can be such a great way to in...
Oct 17, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Remember when I said in the last episode how this pregnancy has been smooth sailing? WELL…I spoke too soon. On Monday, October 2nd I was admitted to the hospital after my cervical sonogram came back worrying the doctors because my cervical length was too short. All in all it was a scary 48 hours but I am back home (obvs since I recorded this episode) and wanted to take this time to share the story with you and again share the IMPORTANCE of surrounding yourself with positive stories when in a cri...
Oct 10, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 9
This week's episode is a solo with Meg (me, hi!) after I received such a heartfelt message from a listener, who said “We are preparing to start trying again and I am terrified. Excited for a new chapter, but also so scared of something going wrong again. I am learning to trust that my body can do this.” After reading this I knew that this is exactly what I needed to speak on this week, because I SO VIVIDLY remember this feeling when we started trying again, and it just ramped up when we got preg...
Oct 03, 2023•30 min•Season 1Ep. 8
This episode is a fun one, and shares a bit about our fertility journey, and what it was like finding out we were pregnant and then finding out we were pregnant with TWINS, especially during a traumatic time of losing both our father’s within 15 months. Our twin boys are truly such a shining light for us, and we could not be more excited about welcoming them into this world, but the journey to get here has NOT been easy and is oftentimes a process that drives couples apart. But it actually stren...
Sep 26, 2023•57 min•Season 1Ep. 7
