Today We Tried

We're back with new episodes of Today We Tried and our first ever convo with a couple! Christy chats with Lauren Marek and Carra Sykes, creatives and mama and mommy to Walt, about their 4th trimester. Listen to hear how their relationship has evolved from their "meet cute" story (it involves flikr!) to how they decided Lauren would carry their pregnancy, to their birth story. to the endless, nervous early days of parenthood. Lauren and Carra are such a wonderful example of true partnership and we're so excited to share their story!

Trigger Warning: discussion of a birth injury and recovery.

This week's episode was inspired by Emily Juchau who shared her own Today We Tried moment of coming home from the hospital with baby #2 and an unexpected accessory: a catheter from a birth injury. The response to her story was massive (her Reel has 21.5M views!) and we wanted to dive deeper into this topic to help other birthing people in a similar situation feel less alone.

Christy and Emily are joined by Dr. Jocelyn Fitzgerald, a Urogynecologist and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgeon, to talk about how bladder injuries can occur during birth, the healing process, and much more, including the critical importance of paid leave, why ob/gyn departments are chronically underfunded, and how to advocate for yourself in the 4th trimester and beyond.

See Emily's story here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CZw0RmuqjfQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

This week, we're talking about going back to work after having a baby and why paid parental leave – which is crucially important – is only the beginning when it comes to supporting parents. Christy shares how her strong support of paid parental leave ran into the reality of trying to take leave while in a leadership position at a small start-up. While things didn't go exactly as planned, her experience validated the importance of finding ways to support parents both during and after the 4th trimester. We also share Colugo's parental leave policy, the additional benefits we have to help make Colugo a start-up that works for working parents, and ways to bring these policies to your workplace.

No matter how you feed your baby - bottle, boob, or a combo of the 2 - feeding your baby dominates the 4th trimester. We're doing a deep dive into this often fraught topic today Christy shares the feeding struggles she's faced and the perspective she's gained after feeding 4 babies. Listen for tips and validation to feel more prepared for or supported in your feeding journey with your little one.

This season, we're taking on the 4th trimester! There's so much written about pregnancy, but not enough about what comes next. We wanted to change that by creating space for real conversations about the 4th trimester. Using in-the-moment recordings, audio diaries, and conversations with Zac, TWT's producer, Christy documented her own journey, throughout her 4th trimester. Each week we'll cover a big topic - like postpartum bodies, hormones, feeding, and parental leave - during this wild, challenging, exhausting, fun, scary, bizarre, rewarding time. We hope this season will help parents feel more connected and confident as they take on their own 4th trimester. This week, Christy shares her birth story. On the evening of her due date, Christy felt decreased fetal movement. Thinking she was probably overreacting but wanting to be sure, she called a Lyft to take her to the hospital. Listen to the episode to find out what happened next! TW: This episode contains details of labor & delivery, including a postpartum hemorrhage.

Christy, Colugo's Chief Parent Officer, is joined by Ted, her husband, and Colugo's founder, and their 3 kids to celebrate the end of Season 1 of Today We Tried. They give an update on a big "season of change" for their family, including the impending arrival of baby #4, and they give a sneak peek of what's next for the podcast and Colugo.

Mentioned in this episode: Slumber Pod, baby names, and counting baby kicks.

Christy, Colugo's Chief Parent Officer, is joined by Kevin Gerdes to kick off Pride Month. Kevin is a real estate agent and Black, gay, single dad in LA who is fostering Baby S. Kevin shares his story of what inspired him to become a foster parent, the process, and how fatherhood has changed and inspired him.

Mentioned in this episode: LGBTQ Stories, Aviva, The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez