There's no one route to getting a family. The path to conceiving can look very different for many women.

Today we had Megan Bendinelli on for part two of our series on infertility. Megan is the CEO of Fertility Framework and a board-certified family nurse practitioner specializing in the area of fertility and assists many men and women with the miracle of starting their family.

In part two of this interview, Megan discusses different fertility treatment options such as IUI and IVF. We talk about how a diagnosis can help you get closer to the path of success (and ultimately starting your family).

She also dives into the topics of third party reproduction and what that can look like for couples when deciding to use an egg donor or surrogate. She shares her candid advice on how to support a friend navigating through infertility and her favorite part about her career.

• How a diagnosis can help you distinguish the paths to success
• Reframing how you look at the infertility journey and focusing in on the missing pieces of the puzzle
• What IVF is and how it differs from an IUI
• What third party reproduction is and going through the process of using an egg donor or surrogate
• Tips on supporting a friend who's dealing with infertility and what you should or shouldn't say to someone going through infertility
• Getting to that end-stage of acceptance and peace, with or without conceiving

The process of trying to conceive can be overwhelming and daunting.

That's why in this episode we decided to bring on Megan Bendinelli, the CEO of Fertility Framework and a board-certified family nurse practitioner specializing in the area of fertility.

She shares what prompted her to start the Fertility Framework after her own struggles to conceive. We discuss everything from infertility to secondary infertility, what a regular period looks like and the steps you should take when you're ready to start your family.

She talks about the differences between an OBGYN and a reproductive endocrinologist, the types of testing that help medical professionals piece together the puzzle of your fertility journey and why it's necessary to lean on the advice and guidance of a professional instead of using Dr. Google.

• Why Megan started Fertility Framework after her own struggles trying to conceive
• What infertility is and how it's different from secondary infertility
• Her advice for steps to take if you're ready to conceive
• What a reproductive endocrinologist does and how that differs from an OBGYN
• What types of testing they do to guide them in doing fertility treatments

Have you been looking for an alternative approach for teaching your children? Today on the podcast we brought on Simone Davies to talk about the Montessori method of education. Simone is an international educator and AMI Montessori teacher. She has been working in Montessori education for 15 years and is passionate about how its methods help parents garner greater happiness and fulfillment with their children. She shares specific activities they use in the Montessori school, why it is important to let children make their own decisions and how this method will make your home life run smoother.

What's In This Episode:

• What the Montessori approach to education is
• How the Montessori classroom is set up
• Letting children guide their own experience
• Reinforcing good behavior to build their intrinsic motivation
• Modeling behavior for children

Does the thought of a medical emergency for your little one bring you fear?

For most moms, the answer is without a doubt yes. That's why we wanted to bring on today's guest, Shannon Tripp. Shannon is a pediatric ER nurse, birth coach and the founder of a course for mommas called, "Mastering Medical Emergencies for Moms".

We talk about leaning into your intuition as a mama, how to know when you should or shouldn't take your kids in for emergency care, why education is so powerful and how to help educate others who care for your children on what to do in emergency situations.

She shares tips for keeping your kids safe at home, why she decided to move her family to Hawaii and why she's so passionate about empowering other moms with this education for their families.

• How her career as a nurse made her want to help other moms
• Why education is so important to know what to do in emergencies
• Following your intuition when deciding whether or not to go to the doctor
• How to know when to pause and call for medical emergency responders
• Techniques and tips for keeping your kids safe at home

Motherhood can be lonely.

That's exactly why today's guest Kate Turza and her co-host Liz Sanicola set out to start a podcast for moms. The two wanted to help create a sense of community in motherhood.

In this episode, she comes on to chat about her experience of being a podcast host and what inspired her to start a podcast about motherhood. We dive into her career as a postpartum doula and how as moms, we don't know what we're doing from time to time and how that's completely okay.

She shares a few of the common themes she's seen emerge on her own podcast and what she hopes to build within her community as she and Liz continue to grow their podcast.

• What inspired her and Liz to start the podcast
• Common themes about motherhood today that she's noticed from her podcast including how motherhood has changed from previous generations of moms
• What she hopes people will gain from her show
• A few of her favorite and most memorable episodes (and why they stood out to her)
• What she hopes listeners will gain from her podcast including a sense of community

Do you want to feel amazing naked? Why wouldn't you?

As moms, it can be hard to cultivate confidence and feel great about who we are in our own body. Today's guest Amanda Walker, the founder of Feel Amazing Naked, a company that helps women squash their inner mean girl and start owning their confidence.

She came on to discuss how self-awareness can help you to get past the mindset problems that may be holding you back. She shares her tips for overcoming your inner mean girl and getting to the root causes of your problems to make real and lasting changes.

We also chat about using self-care to make a greater transformation and enjoying the journey of becoming happier and more confident in your own skin.

• The first steps to take to start feeling like yourself again and becoming reconnected with you
• How we have weight loss all wrong and where you should start instead with your fitness goals
• How Amanda came up with the Feel Amazing Naked Program
• Practices to overcome your inner mean girl
• Doing what you can each day to pour into yourself so you can be present for loved ones

How can you make sure that the time you spend with your children during their first 18 years of life is substantial enough to have a positive impact on both your life and theirs?

Today's guest is Jim Sheils, founder of 18 Summers and the author of The Family Board Meeting. In this episode, we talk about creating relationships and memories with your children while teaching them to become responsible, kind and fulfilled adults.

He shares how he compartmentalizes business and family (and why he always puts family first), the importance of having a standing date scheduled in with your spouse and what weekly team meetings look like for his family.

He shares how an "intermittent tech fast" can improve family relationships and the importance of having one on one time with each of your children.

• Making the most of every day with your family and setting consistent rhythms in your family life
• Relationship health benefits of "intermittent tech fasting"
• What a weekly team meeting looks like for a family
• Prioritizing and making time for date night with your partner
• His biggest piece of advice for building stronger families

Does the thought of introducing allergenic foods to your kids terrify you?

We wanted to bring on an expert to help us understand food allergens and children so we brought on Katie Marks-Cogan, a board-certified allergist and the chief allergist at Ready, Set, Food!, a company that has created a way to introduce common food allergens to your kids.

Katie breaks down a lot of the myths we hear about food allergies. She shares how food allergies are developed over time and the differences between an intolerance and an allergy.

You'll hear how food allergies have become more of an epidemic compared to previous generations and how you can use Ready, Set, Food! to prevent food allergies for your little ones.

• Katie's experience of being on Shark Tank and getting a deal with Mark Cuban
• How food allergies have changed over the past generations
• Managing the differences between an allergen and an intolerance
• Myths and facts about early allergen introduction
• How Ready, Set, Food! was founded and what it does for babies

When you become a mom, you may find yourself wondering, "Why didn't anyone tell me about this beforehand?" That is exactly what we will be discussing today with Andrea Madril. Andrea is the founder of Sunflower Motherhood, a company that helps new and expecting moms with pre and postnatal care packages that support physical and mental healing throughout their recovery period. In this episode, you'll find out what you should really expect in those first few days of motherhood and what you can do to prepare for this season of life. We chat about how to support yourself and other mamas in their postpartum period and share all of the things that we wish we would've known but no one told us about becoming a mom.

What's In This Episode:

• How first-time moms are blindsided after childbirth
• What Sunflower Motherhood offers for new moms
• Preparing yourself for postpartum
• The mental and emotional parts of postpartum they wish they would've known about
• The changes in your relationship with yourself

Listen to the full episode here: https://generation.mom/sunflower-motherhood/

Do you have a dragon of self-doubt looming over you?

Today we spoke with Katherine Wintsch, founder of the Mom Complex and author of Slay Like a Mother.

Katherine came on to discuss why so many moms struggle with what she calls, "dragons of self-doubt" and what we can do to slay these dragons. She talks about the differences between struggling and suffering and why you need to give yourself grace as you grow as a mother.

She dives into how modern-day motherhood is so vastly different from previous generations and the effects this has on us as moms.

• How Katherine overcame her "dragon of self-doubt"
• How technological advances have changed modern-day motherhood
• Acknowledging the success of other mothers without internalizing it
• Giving yourself grace as you grow as a mother
• Steps you can take if you're dealing with self-doubt