Marquisa talked about working as a Speech Language Pathology Assistant and being a graduate student to become a Speech Language Pathologist. Because of her schooling and work, Marquisa stressed the importance of reading and talking to your child. Marquisa shared she felt a lot of pressure when her daughter was a baby, but now loves the 3-4 year old ages. She talked about using natural family planning and knew the exact date of conception. She talked so sweetly about her super supportive husband, and how he does a lot with their daughter since Marquisa's body grew, birthed, and fed their child. Marquisa shared about that since she is Black, she was especially at risk during her perinatal experience because the Black maternal mortality rate is so high here in the United States. She also shared about getting carpal tunnel and mother's thumb, and how hard and rewarding breastfeeding was.

Marquisa shared she is not sure where she falls on the religious spectrum, but her white husband is devoutly Muslim. Marquisa talked about how they have lots of help raising their mixed race daughter in their multigenerational household. Marquisa shared that her brother Ahkeen passed away a few years ago, and they do a lot to honor and incorporate his memory in raising her daughter. Marquisa shared that The Compassionate Friends support groups have been so helpful for her family. To learn more, you can visit compassionatefriends.org.

If you would like to come on the podcast to share your experiences of being a mom, send me a message! Or if you know someone who would be interested in being on the podcast, send them my way! I'd love to chat. You can reach out to me on the Laura Asks About Motherhood Facebook page or Instagram account. Please subscribe, leave a rating and review, and thanks for listening!