Episode 10: Pregnant Palooza with Rebecca June Smith

Episode 20: But What If I Don't Know How To Be A Mother with Mandy Cai

We talk to a lot of women who have trouble conceiving, but what about someone whose "fertility trouble" isn't that at all? What about someone whose trouble is what to do when she does get pregnant? You know, like how to be a mother in the first place? Mandy Cai was born in China and sent to a boarding preschool–yes, that is a weird phrase to see typed for most of us–from age 2.5 through 7 years. Although it wasn't a form punishment but rather a sign of status at the time that a couple could afford to send their child to such a school, it definitely did some damage to its student body...at least to Mandy. Not having any idea what having a mother looked or felt like during those formative years led to coping mechanisms she'd have to reckon with throughout life (addiction), and as mentioned, it really reared its ugly head when it was time for her to become a mother herself. What did that even MEAN? Mandy Cai's story is unique in some ways, but also not for a lot of us who don't grow up with a clear source of what it means to be a parent. Now a certified birth coach and owner of The New School of Motherhood, she aims to help women like her feel empowered and as ready as possible during one of the most amazing challenges we face. For more from Mandy: https://www.thenewschoolofmotherhood.com/ [https://www.thenewschoolofmotherhood.com/] Instagram: @thenewschoolofmotherhood | @_mandycai  To get in touch with Ashlyne: Email: Ashlyne@confessionsofaslowcooker.com [Ashlyne@confessionsofaslowcooker.com] https://confessionsofaslowcooker.com [https://confessionsofaslowcooker.com] Instagram: @confessionsofaslowcooker | @ashlynehuffblue

Episode 19: From Miracle To Miscarriage To Cancer of the Milk Duct with Lindsey Garcia

Not everyone has difficult story from the outset. Lindsey Garcia can attest. She and her husband decided to try for a baby and BAM, she was pregnant the next month! Literally one and done. A few years after that, it took a mere 3 months of trying for son number two. But as it tends to do, life threw the Garcias for a loop when a vasectomy that didn't take led to a third pregnancy, then a devastating miscarriage...and two months later, a breast cancer diagnosis. Listen to Lindsey tell all the things including her terrifying bout with postpartum after the second birth, the unexpected loss of her mother-in-law, and of course, the lack of time to grieve the loss of her miracle baby when she had to start the fight of her life post cancer diagnosis. To get in touch with Lindsey: https://www.instagram.com/lindseyhgarcia/ [https://www.instagram.com/lindseyhgarcia/] To get in touch with Ashlyne: https://www.instagram.com/ashlynehuffblue/ [https://www.instagram.com/ashlynehuffblue/] Email: ashlyne@confessionsofaslowcooker.com [ashlyne@confessionsofaslowcooker.com] https://confessionsofaslowcooker.com [https://confessionsofaslowcooker.com]

Episode 18: You're Not Broken & You Can Get Better with Dr. Jeffrey Brown

If you've been on the hamster wheel of trying to get pregnant only to hit dead end after dead end with your own health? It can be so defeating and can cause you to stop believing 1. you'll ever be a parent and/or 2. you'll ever get any better. Dr. Jeffrey Brown hopes you jump off of that spinning wheel and schedule an appointment with someone like him: a doctor of osteopathy specializing in fertility (specifically PCOS, endometriosis, hormones, etc.). Our bodies are one unit, and even though every organ and system might have a different function, they all affect each other and throw the whole thing out of whack. So instead of zooming it, he zooms out in search of the root cause (which could also be trauma from a long time ago) and ways to bring everything back to a flow state. For more from Dr. Jeffrey Brown:   - Webinar: https://hormonehealthwithdrbrown.com/webinar [https://hormonehealthwithdrbrown.com/webinar]   - Free E-book (for listeners dealing with chronic pelvic pain): https://hormonehealthwithdrbrown.com/free-ebook [https://hormonehealthwithdrbrown.com/free-ebook]   - Website: https://hormonehealthwithdrbrown.com [https://hormonehealthwithdrbrown.com] To get in touch with Ashlyne: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashlynehuffblue/ [https://www.instagram.com/ashlynehuffblue/] Email: ashlyne@confessionsofaslowcooker.com [ashlyne@confessionsofaslowcooker.com] Website: https//confessionsofaslowcooker.com [http://confessionsofaslowcooker.com]

Episode 17: The Pursuit of IVF Happiness with Sarah Herron & Alex Leddy

Sarah Herron is no stranger to being vulnerable. Not in front of a worldwide TV audience on The Bachelor as the first contestant with a visible disability (and subsequently on Bachelor In Paradise), not through her vast social media presence, not in building her non-profit SheLift, and certainly not in her pursuit to be a mother via IVF. Her relentlessness is inspiring, and alongside Alex Leddy (who is both Ashlyne and Sarah's acupuncturist), Sarah recounts her 4 egg retrievals, 5 transfers, 2 positives (with one devastating loss of her son). Around her twin daughters' second birthdays, there is cause for celebration of all she went through to get here. And all there is left to accomplish. To get in touch with Sarah: https://www.instagram.com/sarahherron/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/sarahherron/?hl=en] http://shelift.org [http://shelift.org] To get in touch with Ashlyne: https://www.instagram.com/ashlynehuffblue/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/ashlynehuffblue/?hl=en] https://confessionsofaslowcooker.com [https://confessionsofaslowcooker.com] email: ashlyne@confessionsofaslowcooker.com [ashlyne@confessionsofaslowcooker.com] To get in touch with Alex: http://www.alexleddyacupuncture.com/staff/ [http://www.alexleddyacupuncture.com/staff/]

Episode 16: Risky Business: Colleagues In IVF with Ashley Ernst

I've heard of women wanting to get pregnant at the same time as their friends (or sisters), but I'm not sure that applies to co-workers going through IVF. The road to starting IVF can be fraught on its own. The process during IVF is rarely straightforward and instead full of unexpected twists and turns and setbacks. So imagine going through it alongside someone you work with every single day. Host Ashlyne Blue and former colleague Ashley Ernst experienced this for multiple years. Listen as they talk about their respective journeys and the inevitable comparisons drawn in terms of eggs retrieved, embryos obtained, and the timing of getting pregnant (or not). To get in touch with Ashley Ernst (especially if you experience uterine lining issues!): https://www.instagram.com/ashleyc.ernst/ [https://www.instagram.com/ashleyc.ernst/] To get in touch with Ashlyne: https://instagram.com/ashlynehuffblue/ [https://instagram.com/ashlynehuffblue/] https://instagram.com/confessionsofaslowcooker/ [https://instagram.com/confessionsofaslowcooker/] ashlyne@confessionsofaslowcooker.com [ashlyne@confessionsofaslowcooker.com] https://confessionsofaslowcooker.com [https://confessionsofaslowcooker.com]