September 11, 2023 • 28 mins
We first intro’d you to our on of amazing team members from our digital team right before she went into labor with her first baby. Now that our Radio Sis Josie’s baby girl is here and she has settled back into work after maternity leave we hear about how her transition has been. What’s been the toughest to get used to and juggle while working from home and caring for her baby girl. She give gratitude for her village and we get to see her snap into a working mama right before our eyes. Join us for this journey as we get to experience the realness of working mama life!
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
This Mama Got Drama. We're backfor another episode, Back for another season,
back with another guest who is livinga amazing journey, a roller coaster
of a ride, right, it'scrazy. First last time we talked to
her, by the way, shewas full belly, getting ready to pop
a baby out. First off,I'm Lady Ray, one of your co
(00:21):
hosts, and here is my cohost. I'm training Gonzalez, and we
have on one of our amazing teammembers. She's on our digital team.
She definitely makes us look amazing andpictures gotta makes a noise. For Josie.
Like you said, the last timeshe was on, she was,
yeah, about to give birth atany moment. Yeah, and calm.
(00:44):
She was calm, cool and selected. I was like, girl, are
you sure? Are you sure you'vehad thirty almost at forty weeks right now?
Because you were chill, girl,I went to forty one weeks,
that was why. Wow. Iknew you were right there, but I
didn't know you went past. That'scrazy. Took forever. I tried everything,
the pregnancy, pizza curve, walking, all the stretches, YouTube videos.
(01:10):
Nothing works. So she was like, I'm I'm in here for the
long haul. You had to giveher an eviction notice, like, girl,
it's time. Yeah. I wasscared too. I was like,
oh, man, I hope thisbaby isn't huge because she's been cooking for
a while. Oh my goodness.So okay, you've gone through the delivery,
you've got baby home, and nowthe new exciting journey is how do
(01:30):
you juggle mamahood and work. Idon't know about you, but when I
first brought the baby's home, Iwas like, oh my god, people
do this every day. Like Iremember having the first night where MJ had
really bad insomnia and you know,I get up at five for work and
he didn't go to bed till likefour, and I was like, there's
no way, There's no way Ican do this. And also, did
(01:53):
you think you were going to beable to handle it better than yeah,
an you are, because I thinkthat was my big guess. Like,
I don't know, I was verynaive. I was like, oh,
yeah, I had the baby,I'm gonna go back to work, and
like I just I had no idea. We're talking about going back to work
and having a baby, right,not just like okay, yeah, Like
(02:15):
I was a little nervous definitely,because I'm I'm kind of someone who like
saves things like I have. Ialways take pictures, videos, all of
that, so I was worried,like, oh man, I'm gonna be
missing out on so much stuff.So that's what I was kind of worried
about going back to work. Butthankfully I work from home. Even then,
(02:35):
though, like I was kind oflike, oh my god, I'm
gonna miss out on so much stuffeven though I work from home. But
I do have family and I livewith family, so it's been pretty much
a blessing to have them here andhelp with the baby, especially while I'm
at work and when my husband hasat work at the same time. But
yeah, it's definitely been I'm Ithink a lot easier than other people have
it, because my thing was like, how do people do this without family?
(03:00):
And we're living at home. Ikind of even imagine like not living
with my parents or not having somebodylike in house all the time. Even
when we first came back from thehospital, those first two weeks man so
hard, and I'm grateful, Likemy mom recently retired, so she's home
(03:21):
all day and during those sleepless nights, and she heard the baby crying.
She would just wake up at threeo'clock in the morning to hey, just
bring the baby down. So youguys came back. So I've definitely I
think I have it different than otherpeople, but I definitely don't take it
for granted. Yeah, and withall that being said, momhood still is
hard, though it is hard evenwith the help. So yeah, yeah,
(03:46):
what do you think. What doyou think has been like the biggest
change for you. Definitely my schedule. I think like I'm always awake six
o'clock in the morning. I'm alwaysknocked out the second she goes to sleep.
I was just telling Cree, ourproducer, like last night she texted
(04:08):
me something something had happened or whatever, and she texted me up ten and
I said, girl, I wasout. I didn't see your still this
morning, and then she just mestenstoo. I always tell like, hey,
I'm going to take a pump break, so I've been I've been doing
that, so that's a little differentas well. So yeah, I think
it makes a difference. So havinga team and an employer that actually values
(04:30):
you as a working mom. AndI remember before I had my kids and
they created a space at work whichwas like a room where you could go
and pump, and I hadn't seenanything like that before, and I was
like, wow, like they reallythink that wasn't available. I mean,
I'm sure it could have been availablefor me right when I had my kids,
because I had my kids a fewyears prior to you. But I
(04:53):
remember, you know, it wasa conversation with the the what do they
call llectation nurses at the hospital,and they were like, no, you
need to demand it, and I'mlike, I can't. How am I
going to do my radio show andgo pump like it? Just I didn't
couldn't see how it was gonna work. But I'm so glad that there's these
(05:14):
resources now, like a pump roomand different things available and the support.
And like I said, I don'tthink it wasn't an issue back then,
Like I probably would have had thesupport. I just didn't even know how
to go about it, Like Ididn't even know how to ask for that.
So I love that we had thatavailable now. That's what I'm saying
that they've they've taken that kind ofdiscomfort out of the equation by just offering
(05:38):
it, and that should have alreadybeen the case because a lot of times
you don't really even know what benefitsare yours because it's such a new territory
that you're you're drudging into with thisbaby attached to your back, and you're
just trying to figure it out asyou go. I mean, I don't
know about you, Josie, butit's a lot like trying to play.
(06:00):
It's not like for people who havenever pumped before, Like this isn't just
something you do whenever, like youhave a schedule. If you miss it,
it hurts. It's like a wholething. And not to mention,
like let's just say you're in ameeting and you go over like you can
ruin a shirt fast. You knowwhat it means, and now your whole
day. And so this is forlike moms who actually had to go into
(06:24):
the office and get dressed up andlike do the whole thing. It's like
it's a whole other thing. Oh, our our producer just put in and
you were pumping at one of ourmajor concerts. You were pumping at Yes,
yeah, because so I had tohave to drive far, so I
dropped to that show and I waslike, hey, I got a pump,
And not to mention I'll forgot apiece of my pump. Oh no,
(06:46):
so I luckily it was a handpump, so I could just buy
it at the start. They're nottoo expensive. But I was just like,
man, I can't believe I forgotit was the handle. Like I
got all the pieces, but Iforgot the handle, so I had to
buy one. And then I waspumping before the show. I was supposed
to pump af like I was supposedto make some time after. But it
just gets so busy that I forgot. Yeah, And then I should also
mention to that I'm doing half andhalf, so I'm doing half formula and
(07:12):
I still pump give some whatever breastmilk I have. Yeah, But going
back to like pumping and stuff atwork. Oh sorry, I lost my
chain of thought. I think alsoto the stigma between like formula is it
is a lot better now too,Like people welcome it, and it's like
(07:32):
I'm sure people have heard like breastis best. But also I think now
the whole thing is that fed isbest. And I think when you're at
work, I know a lot ofpeople who lose their supply because you know,
because you have all these obstacles nowin the way, Like, you
know, you commute too, sothat's probably even worse. Like if you're
(07:55):
stuck in traffic and you have topump it, it ruins your supply.
So yeah, so I think that'sa good thing too that nowadays people are
not super like forcing breastfeeding. Ithink there's still out there. It's just
there's a lot more acceptance of like, you know, every woman and every
baby situation is so unique and youhave to do what's best for you and
(08:20):
your baby and your family or whatever, you know. But I think there's
definitely a lot more support around thatbecause it's really no one's business at the
end of right, But there's stillpeople out there who will tell you whatever.
And as a mom, that's gonnabe You're always going to have people
telling you, whether it's about youknow, breastfeeding or formula feeding, or
(08:41):
you know, what school your kidsshould go to, when they should start
school, you know, all thatstuff. It's there's always going to be
people different, you know, noteven just women and moms, but yeah,
people that have opinions on what youshould be doing. So I will
say too, if you and Iare best bed for that stuff hurts,
(09:03):
it is not it is not allflowers and raise. It is a It's
an experience for sure. I don'tknow if you guys went through like the
whole like lactation, consulting, likemeet with a coach and all of that.
But I remember meeting our coach andI was like, what's happening right
now? She was like all inmy business, like okay, you gotta
(09:24):
grab this and put it. AndI was like me and my husband is
there doing this and he's like,what is happening right now? Like he's
like, this is probably the closestwe've ever been through a threesome. Like,
first of all, I don't understandwhy your brain went there, okay,
because I'm trying to figure out whyshe's filling me up right now.
So I mean they don't care nowthat just grab bob, don't They don't,
(09:48):
But I mean they do it.It's their job. But it's what
they're They're there to help you out, so they're not gonna waste time.
And I remember when MJ was bornbecause he was only four pounds and you
know, I'm I'm you know,heavy chested, and so like this poor
baby is gonna smother. What arewe gonna do. I can't feed him
like that. No, And theywere trying. They were teaching me all
these different holes and like here's thefootball hole and here's this, and I
(10:09):
was like, it's not happening.It's not happening. Like we had to
like tape a hose to my chestand like feed it through this thing.
It was a whole contraption, girl. And you talk about leaving a hand
pump piece, I mean the amountof pieces they came with my pump.
I was like, you know what, I'm just gonna pump and put it
in a bottle for him. That'sthe best we can do. And my
(10:31):
man says he still has like hecan still hear the sound of the pump
machine to this day. It's adistinct whatever it was, you know,
super loud. Even when I hadkids, it's probably a lot like like
that's funny now, but he stillremembers. That's hilarious. Yeah, it's
a distinct sound and it's you cannotyou cannot forget it. Yeah, I
(10:54):
remember right when you did it.I was like, yep, that's that's
that's it right there. That's thesqueakiness that's going on. And don't fall
asleep with it on. You're you're, yeah, you're not gonna like that
at all at all. But Imean, it's it's interesting that you bring
that up that you know fed isbest, because it took a while to
even get there. I remember oneof my guy friends they had their first
(11:15):
kid, and his wife was likein tears because she couldn't produce the milk,
and he was like, I'm justgonna go by formula, like I'm
you're you're you're not gonna tell melike we have to feed the baby,
and I don't want you to feelbad. Let's just take the stress off
of you. And I remember thatwhole situation of him like having to talk
her into it because you know,like you said, back then, there
(11:37):
was a lot more like people thatwere in your face about it and telling
you it was the only way.So I like that. You know,
you're in the space right now,Josie where you can feel comfortable however you
want to do it right. Soyou know, you're you're back at work,
but you get to work from home, which is an amazing blessing,
but it's still work, right,So I mean, do you find yourself,
(11:58):
you know, in the daily likeOkay, let me get this mommy
brain, because mommy brain is areal thing. Like, I don't know,
do you ever struggle with the mommybrain? I think I have some
tendencies, but I definitely know peoplewho've had it worse. I think,
I don't. I think when Istarted going back to work, I had
(12:20):
to like learn how to type againor a woman, because I probably haven't
used the computer at all, likeye since then. And then just today
I was putting up like a pageon our website and I was asking our
produced degree and they're like, hey, this isn't working. And it turns
out I was like on this wholeother page and I'm like, oh,
that's why it's not working, becauseI was on the wrong thing. And
(12:41):
even now that's I've been back atwork for like almost two months now and
I'm still having that problem. Yeah, but yeah, I think it's more
of just relearning, not so muchof having like brain fog or anything,
which I'm grateful I know a lotof people have have it. But yeah,
I remember being out when I wasfirst pregnant and I was trying to
(13:03):
calculate the tip and I was like, oh my god, I don't know
what seven plus five is. Iliterally was like more pregnancy. Yeah,
oh my gosh, no. ButI mean I was one of those people
that could do a lot of mathin my head and just be like,
dude, you do done right.And it was just like, oh my
god, like I don't have itat all, Like I don't even know,
like I have to count on myfingers, like what's happening right now.
(13:26):
It's a real thing. It's areal thing. I welcome to my
life all the time because I can'teven blame it. I'll mot me brain,
Like I just am completely out ofit where I'm like, do I
have adult adhd? I might havea touch and I'm not even like I'm
kind of joking but I'm not.Yeah, because like all over the place
(13:48):
all the time. So well you. But the thing about it is that
people don't really factor in and theydon't give themselves grace on is you're thinking
for three different people, Like you'reliterally thinking for two other people, your
kids and sometimes your husband, right, and it's like, oh my god,
like I have to literally like sectionmy brain out of like Okay,
(14:09):
what would this person want to eat? What would this person want to eat?
What are they gonna wear today.You know, it's all these different
things that are swirling around our brain, and then you put work on top
of it, and then you putoh, I'm supposed to care for myself
too, How have you been handlingthat? I mean, you know,
you're juggling work, You're taking careof a brand new baby. Are you
fighting time for self care here andthere? I think the main thing is
(14:35):
that I get my nails done,so I have that. But I'm trying
to think, like I used toread and do a lot of things.
I used to, Like, therewas a time I was really into puzzles
because you know, being in socialmedia and doing what I do, my
eyes get really strained a lot.So I used to do puzzles and all
(14:58):
that stuff. I don't do anyof that now. I tried to read,
I just fall asleep. I've Istarted doing audiobooks because I found,
like, Okay, I love toread, but I at least I could
listen while I work or do somethingand in a car or whatever. So
I have that. But I thinkas far as self care, I think
that's mainly what I'm doing, tryingto get back into the groove of doing
(15:20):
things that I used to do,and like I said to it definitely helps
that my parents are here taking careof the baby, because if I need
to rent to the store, doyou or the things like they're they'll step
in and it's not super hard forme. I have not gone out with
the baby by myself yet. I'vedone like I've done like one drive to
(15:41):
my sister's house that live who liveslike five minutes away. Other than that,
are you nervous about that? Areyou scared about it? Or what
is? What is? I thinkit's both everything. I think the idea
of going somewhere and and grant,she's not super hard. She she loves
(16:02):
being in the car. She's likeif she's hungry, that's it. Like
all you have to do is giveher a bottle and she's fine. We
take her to restaurants all the time. I've just never done it by myself.
Yeah, and thankfully, like whenwe're out, her dad is the
one who changes her diaper, hebrings her to the bathroom, does all
that stuff. I probably only doneit like once. Yeah, So those
(16:25):
are the kind of things where I'mlike, uh, yeah, I'll wait
until she's a little older. Yeah, so she could tell me what She's
scary. It's scary because you know, you hear these stories of like babies
getting scooped up, and like,you know, my kids are fast,
so I have to like someone hasto be holding my hand all the time
(16:47):
because otherwise they're just gonna put andyou know, it's like, oh my
god, we're at a public place. I have to you know, run
after them. But it's it's kindof scary, right, Like you go
out by yourself, you don't reallyknow you you know what to expect.
But I think the more you doit, the more normal it becomes and
the easier it becomes. There's alot of new stuff that you're doing though,
(17:08):
right, Like a lot of newthings that you're just like, you
know, I'm sure you are roundbabies or around kids before having her,
but like what are some of thenew things that you're just like what I
had no idea? Like what isthis? Mm? I would say,
I mean, I have a lotof nephews and nieces like I have I
(17:33):
have six, and I've I've grownup with kids all the time, so
I've always been like an older cousinand things like that. Self, right,
I would say not a lot ofthings surprised me having my own baby.
I would say maybe pumping, likethe amount of times you really do
have to do all of that stuffevery two to three hours, wake up
through the night, But other thanthat, not so much. It's a
(17:57):
huge new thing for me because evennow, like when my sisters have work
and stuff, their kids still comeover. So if anything, I just
have like a little baby that Ihave to change the diapers for and I
have to make sure she's read.But yeah, I think I think I've
been well prepared growing up with alot of kids in my life. Yeah,
(18:17):
how about your husband, is thereanything that's like He's like, You're
like, WHOA, I had noidea. You're good at that, Like
how did you change in the diapersin public places, restaurants? Like great
diaper bag? He's got it.So on the other hand, he's never
He's probably only changed like one ortwo diapers in his whole life before he's
been with my our baby, sohe everything is definitely new to him.
(18:44):
I think he's been pretty much theopposite of me. He's been like,
yeah, let's take the baby everywhere, Let's spend the night anywhere, Like
let's go to I'll tell us dothis, and well, I'm grateful for
his enthusiasm. I'm the one.I'm the one who has to pack all
the bags and get all the thingsready. So maybe that's another thing,
Like having an overnight stay with ababy is crazy, like, yeah,
(19:07):
the amount of bags that I haveto bring. And when my baby was
maybe like three or four months,we did like a trip to Vegas like
just us for my birthday, andeven then I still had to pump and
I still had to do stuff.So it's been quite a learning curve for
(19:30):
that. I always have that thought, I'm like, how are you so
small? But yeah, you haveso much stuff, Like I don't get
it. You're so little and youhave three bags? What's happening right now?
The laundry, oh my god,is like when you have babies,
it feels like so overwhelming because there'sso little pieces yeah, little, you
(19:52):
know, little pieces of clothing andthen the bird brags and whatever you have
going on. But the socks,like they're so small. Always yeah,
lay see you see the laundry basketbottom. For like a tenth of a
second you're like yes, and thenit's like, come on, just let
me have it for thirty seconds atleast. And my girl is a drueler,
(20:15):
so her bibbs get switched out likethree or four times a day.
Yeah. Yeah, I forgot aboutthe bibbs too. Another small thing.
So much stuff, so much laundry. Well, I mean I think that
it seems like everything is kind offloating for you, like you're you're kind
of just letting it kind of happen. You're relearning what you gotta relearn,
(20:38):
and it sounds like you're not missingon it any moments, right for the
most part. I do. Likesometimes when she's like crying downstairs, it's
like it takes a lot for meto like not go go check it out.
But that's right. I know mymom got it. But maybe but
sometimes my mom isn't here, andwhen it's just my dad, I'm like,
Okay, I'm gonna go check becauseI don't know about this guy.
(21:02):
Sometimes. But yeah, definitely.Though when I first had the baby at
the hospital, I was not thisoptimistic and happy all that stuff, because
originally, before having our baby,I was like, oh, yeah,
we have four kids whateverse pop thesethings out right away. Right after birth,
(21:23):
I said, I don't do thatagain? What are you kidding?
And I know, I think lasttime we talked about you guys is births
and stuff. Mine wasn't super crazy. But even then I was just like,
this is crazy. Yeah, you'llforget about that, but you'll you'll
do it again probably, Yeah.I mean, there's nothing wrong if you
(21:45):
don't. But I'm just saying youforget about it. Well yeah, and
now I'm like, cool, let'sdo it again. Yeah, exactly,
and then I'm never doing this again. Right. Did you end up having
a push delivery or yes? Idid have imaginal delivery. I got an
epidural. I was pushing for threehours, which is super long to me,
(22:07):
but the I guess the nurses saidthat's kind of normal for first births,
right, but three hours, man, and pushing is c crazy.
Like there was a point where Iwas telling my husband like I could literally
fall asleep right this second, likein between pushes, like it's so tiring.
(22:27):
And but other than that, likeit wasn't so crazy. I just
remember like tm, I but likewhat do you have? A baby bleed
a lot? And I was inthe bathroom like are you sure I'm okay?
I was the nurse like a shouldnormal. I don't think people talk
about that part enough, you know, because I had no idea. Yeah,
(22:48):
I was like all that was goingto happen after Like, I had
no idea. I felt so clueless. I'm like, what what you know?
Yeah, they go like jumbo sizedpads I give you, and you're
like, I don't want that,and then you're like, yes they do.
Can I have the whole package withyou? And I want I want
those those special underwear too, please, I need those those fishnet underwear things,
(23:14):
the stuff that they put on expensivetree and pears off the glossy store.
Seriously, seriously. I mean,I'm exciting because I feel like this
is just the beginning, right Likeshe's home, your home. You guys
are starting to see her personality comeout. Her hair is a whole other
(23:36):
thing. Like she's so cute onceyou let her hair out. I mean,
what are some of the things thatyou're looking forward to, is she
starts to blossom. So right now, she just turns six months, so
she's been eating new things, whichmeans her diaper is a little different now
(23:59):
she's she's she's been eating like peasand lots of vegetables. She's she's starting
to eat like mangoes and other thingslike that, so it's fun to see
like what she likes and doesn't.Like. She just started eating her toes,
which is like my favorite thing ever, Like I think it's so cute.
I remember my nephew when he wasa baby, he seated his toes
(24:21):
all the time. So I askedmy mom, like, when is she
going to start eating her toes?So she just started doing that. And
then it's crazy that when she hitsher six months that in my culture,
like their first birthday is huge,and I'm sure a lot of other people
are like that. So when sheturned six months, I said, oh
my gosh, we have to startplanning her birthday. It's only six months
(24:44):
away now. So it's like soI've been kind of having that on my
mind, and I just think it'sit's so fun. Like everyone everyone's always
reminding me that as every phase passes, you're gonna miss it, Like,
yeah, one of my friends.I think a lot of people say,
like the days are long, butthe years are short. So it's like,
(25:08):
oh, I'm trying to like I'mtrying to, you know, be
present as much as possible and alsolike I want. I know, I'm
gonna miss when she's like sitting aroundand like can't go anywhere, like when
she starts running and crawling and doinganythings. Like I already miss, like
(25:29):
when she would sleep for like fourhours every nap time because I'm like because
now it's like, man, nowwe have to entertainer. Now now she's
like, you know, she needsthings to do and stimulate her mind or
whatever. So it's I think it'sit's moving so fast, but she's still
so little and yeah, yeah,yeah, like you said, just be
(25:51):
present, soak it all up,enjoy what there's where there's to enjoy,
and you know, make sure tobreak through whatever there is that obstacles that
pop up, and it's just itgoes by so fast. I mean,
you're you're gonna look back at herlittle diaper and be like when did you
fit this? Like what in theYeah? Yeah, it's it's amazing how
fast that they grow. And yeah, the mom show has officially started.
(26:15):
You gotta fit on your your dancingshoes and your hat and all that stuff
and keep this little girl entertaining.Yeah man, and then with like her
clothes too. I have tubs ofclothes that she's already outgrow. Like and
mind you, she's six months now, she's wearing like nine months and twelve
months clothes. Yeah, because she'sjust she's a little chunkster. Which I
(26:40):
always felt like those clothes are toosmall, like they know it. Yeah,
my kid never fit in the clothesat the right month, so they
do. They never fit in theright You always got to my head,
like a few months, it's eitherway too small or way too big.
So exactly got to find that middleground is nice. Yeah, Well,
thanks, Josie. It's been apleasure talking to you. We're so proud
(27:02):
of you. You're gonna be inYou already are an amazing mama. But
I know you're gonna just, youknow, really come into your own and
just she's so lucky to have bothof you. Oh yeah, for sure.
Congratulations on being on a successful workyour mama. You are officially in
the club. Oh I'm sorry,I did want to bring up I remember
(27:23):
in the last time we were talking, I was super like I was worried
about what I was gonna bring inmy bag. Yeah, I love you.
Remember none of it, I OVERTII use none of it. None
of it. I do want todiscourage you then, but you know from
past experience, you don't use halfof I literally use like my tooth fresh.
(27:45):
I forced myself to use the robethat I bought because I was like,
you know what, I'm gonna justput it on, like let's just
and then I ended up like Iended up wearing the clothes I wore there
home because I was like, it'sall need like dirty, any dirty,
I'm gonna just use it. Soyeah, I thought that was funny because
I was like, I didn't useany of it. I brought everything and
(28:08):
anything, and they didn't. Wedidn't use nothing. Same thing for the
baby. I brought her like threeoutfits and all of this stuff. Literally
use like one outfit to go home. And that's all. Yeah, Yeah,
that's how it is. That's definitelyhow it is. Well, I'm
excited to hear more and more storiesas we go, and we'll definitely bring
you back on probably at the oneyear mark, just to see how you
(28:29):
handle the first birthday because it's alot. It's a lot. Congratulations again,
working mama, You're doing it.
This Mama Got Drama. We're backfor another episode, Back for another season,
back with another guest who is livinga amazing journey, a roller coaster
of a ride, right, it'scrazy. First last time we talked to
her, by the way, shewas full belly, getting ready to pop
a baby out. First off,I'm Lady Ray, one of your co
(00:21):
hosts, and here is my cohost. I'm training Gonzalez, and we
have on one of our amazing teammembers. She's on our digital team.
She definitely makes us look amazing andpictures gotta makes a noise. For Josie.
Like you said, the last timeshe was on, she was,
yeah, about to give birth atany moment. Yeah, and calm.
(00:44):
She was calm, cool and selected. I was like, girl, are
you sure? Are you sure you'vehad thirty almost at forty weeks right now?
Because you were chill, girl,I went to forty one weeks,
that was why. Wow. Iknew you were right there, but I
didn't know you went past. That'scrazy. Took forever. I tried everything,
the pregnancy, pizza curve, walking, all the stretches, YouTube videos.
(01:10):
Nothing works. So she was like, I'm I'm in here for the
long haul. You had to giveher an eviction notice, like, girl,
it's time. Yeah. I wasscared too. I was like,
oh, man, I hope thisbaby isn't huge because she's been cooking for
a while. Oh my goodness.So okay, you've gone through the delivery,
you've got baby home, and nowthe new exciting journey is how do
(01:30):
you juggle mamahood and work. Idon't know about you, but when I
first brought the baby's home, Iwas like, oh my god, people
do this every day. Like Iremember having the first night where MJ had
really bad insomnia and you know,I get up at five for work and
he didn't go to bed till likefour, and I was like, there's
no way, There's no way Ican do this. And also, did
(01:53):
you think you were going to beable to handle it better than yeah,
an you are, because I thinkthat was my big guess. Like,
I don't know, I was verynaive. I was like, oh,
yeah, I had the baby,I'm gonna go back to work, and
like I just I had no idea. We're talking about going back to work
and having a baby, right,not just like okay, yeah, Like
(02:15):
I was a little nervous definitely,because I'm I'm kind of someone who like
saves things like I have. Ialways take pictures, videos, all of
that, so I was worried,like, oh man, I'm gonna be
missing out on so much stuff.So that's what I was kind of worried
about going back to work. Butthankfully I work from home. Even then,
(02:35):
though, like I was kind oflike, oh my god, I'm
gonna miss out on so much stuffeven though I work from home. But
I do have family and I livewith family, so it's been pretty much
a blessing to have them here andhelp with the baby, especially while I'm
at work and when my husband hasat work at the same time. But
yeah, it's definitely been I'm Ithink a lot easier than other people have
it, because my thing was like, how do people do this without family?
(03:00):
And we're living at home. Ikind of even imagine like not living
with my parents or not having somebodylike in house all the time. Even
when we first came back from thehospital, those first two weeks man so
hard, and I'm grateful, Likemy mom recently retired, so she's home
(03:21):
all day and during those sleepless nights, and she heard the baby crying.
She would just wake up at threeo'clock in the morning to hey, just
bring the baby down. So youguys came back. So I've definitely I
think I have it different than otherpeople, but I definitely don't take it
for granted. Yeah, and withall that being said, momhood still is
hard, though it is hard evenwith the help. So yeah, yeah,
(03:46):
what do you think. What doyou think has been like the biggest
change for you. Definitely my schedule. I think like I'm always awake six
o'clock in the morning. I'm alwaysknocked out the second she goes to sleep.
I was just telling Cree, ourproducer, like last night she texted
(04:08):
me something something had happened or whatever, and she texted me up ten and
I said, girl, I wasout. I didn't see your still this
morning, and then she just mestenstoo. I always tell like, hey,
I'm going to take a pump break, so I've been I've been doing
that, so that's a little differentas well. So yeah, I think
it makes a difference. So havinga team and an employer that actually values
(04:30):
you as a working mom. AndI remember before I had my kids and
they created a space at work whichwas like a room where you could go
and pump, and I hadn't seenanything like that before, and I was
like, wow, like they reallythink that wasn't available. I mean,
I'm sure it could have been availablefor me right when I had my kids,
because I had my kids a fewyears prior to you. But I
(04:53):
remember, you know, it wasa conversation with the the what do they
call llectation nurses at the hospital,and they were like, no, you
need to demand it, and I'mlike, I can't. How am I
going to do my radio show andgo pump like it? Just I didn't
couldn't see how it was gonna work. But I'm so glad that there's these
(05:14):
resources now, like a pump roomand different things available and the support.
And like I said, I don'tthink it wasn't an issue back then,
Like I probably would have had thesupport. I just didn't even know how
to go about it, Like Ididn't even know how to ask for that.
So I love that we had thatavailable now. That's what I'm saying
that they've they've taken that kind ofdiscomfort out of the equation by just offering
(05:38):
it, and that should have alreadybeen the case because a lot of times
you don't really even know what benefitsare yours because it's such a new territory
that you're you're drudging into with thisbaby attached to your back, and you're
just trying to figure it out asyou go. I mean, I don't
know about you, Josie, butit's a lot like trying to play.
(06:00):
It's not like for people who havenever pumped before, Like this isn't just
something you do whenever, like youhave a schedule. If you miss it,
it hurts. It's like a wholething. And not to mention,
like let's just say you're in ameeting and you go over like you can
ruin a shirt fast. You knowwhat it means, and now your whole
day. And so this is forlike moms who actually had to go into
(06:24):
the office and get dressed up andlike do the whole thing. It's like
it's a whole other thing. Oh, our our producer just put in and
you were pumping at one of ourmajor concerts. You were pumping at Yes,
yeah, because so I had tohave to drive far, so I
dropped to that show and I waslike, hey, I got a pump,
And not to mention I'll forgot apiece of my pump. Oh no,
(06:46):
so I luckily it was a handpump, so I could just buy
it at the start. They're nottoo expensive. But I was just like,
man, I can't believe I forgotit was the handle. Like I
got all the pieces, but Iforgot the handle, so I had to
buy one. And then I waspumping before the show. I was supposed
to pump af like I was supposedto make some time after. But it
just gets so busy that I forgot. Yeah, And then I should also
mention to that I'm doing half andhalf, so I'm doing half formula and
(07:12):
I still pump give some whatever breastmilk I have. Yeah, But going
back to like pumping and stuff atwork. Oh sorry, I lost my
chain of thought. I think alsoto the stigma between like formula is it
is a lot better now too,Like people welcome it, and it's like
(07:32):
I'm sure people have heard like breastis best. But also I think now
the whole thing is that fed isbest. And I think when you're at
work, I know a lot ofpeople who lose their supply because you know,
because you have all these obstacles nowin the way, Like, you
know, you commute too, sothat's probably even worse. Like if you're
(07:55):
stuck in traffic and you have topump it, it ruins your supply.
So yeah, so I think that'sa good thing too that nowadays people are
not super like forcing breastfeeding. Ithink there's still out there. It's just
there's a lot more acceptance of like, you know, every woman and every
baby situation is so unique and youhave to do what's best for you and
(08:20):
your baby and your family or whatever, you know. But I think there's
definitely a lot more support around thatbecause it's really no one's business at the
end of right, But there's stillpeople out there who will tell you whatever.
And as a mom, that's gonnabe You're always going to have people
telling you, whether it's about youknow, breastfeeding or formula feeding, or
(08:41):
you know, what school your kidsshould go to, when they should start
school, you know, all thatstuff. It's there's always going to be
people different, you know, noteven just women and moms, but yeah,
people that have opinions on what youshould be doing. So I will
say too, if you and Iare best bed for that stuff hurts,
(09:03):
it is not it is not allflowers and raise. It is a It's
an experience for sure. I don'tknow if you guys went through like the
whole like lactation, consulting, likemeet with a coach and all of that.
But I remember meeting our coach andI was like, what's happening right
now? She was like all inmy business, like okay, you gotta
(09:24):
grab this and put it. AndI was like me and my husband is
there doing this and he's like,what is happening right now? Like he's
like, this is probably the closestwe've ever been through a threesome. Like,
first of all, I don't understandwhy your brain went there, okay,
because I'm trying to figure out whyshe's filling me up right now.
So I mean they don't care nowthat just grab bob, don't They don't,
(09:48):
But I mean they do it.It's their job. But it's what
they're They're there to help you out, so they're not gonna waste time.
And I remember when MJ was bornbecause he was only four pounds and you
know, I'm I'm you know,heavy chested, and so like this poor
baby is gonna smother. What arewe gonna do. I can't feed him
like that. No, And theywere trying. They were teaching me all
these different holes and like here's thefootball hole and here's this, and I
(10:09):
was like, it's not happening.It's not happening. Like we had to
like tape a hose to my chestand like feed it through this thing.
It was a whole contraption, girl. And you talk about leaving a hand
pump piece, I mean the amountof pieces they came with my pump.
I was like, you know what, I'm just gonna pump and put it
in a bottle for him. That'sthe best we can do. And my
(10:31):
man says he still has like hecan still hear the sound of the pump
machine to this day. It's adistinct whatever it was, you know,
super loud. Even when I hadkids, it's probably a lot like like
that's funny now, but he stillremembers. That's hilarious. Yeah, it's
a distinct sound and it's you cannotyou cannot forget it. Yeah, I
(10:54):
remember right when you did it.I was like, yep, that's that's
that's it right there. That's thesqueakiness that's going on. And don't fall
asleep with it on. You're you're, yeah, you're not gonna like that
at all at all. But Imean, it's it's interesting that you bring
that up that you know fed isbest, because it took a while to
even get there. I remember oneof my guy friends they had their first
(11:15):
kid, and his wife was likein tears because she couldn't produce the milk,
and he was like, I'm justgonna go by formula, like I'm
you're you're you're not gonna tell melike we have to feed the baby,
and I don't want you to feelbad. Let's just take the stress off
of you. And I remember thatwhole situation of him like having to talk
her into it because you know,like you said, back then, there
(11:37):
was a lot more like people thatwere in your face about it and telling
you it was the only way.So I like that. You know,
you're in the space right now,Josie where you can feel comfortable however you
want to do it right. Soyou know, you're you're back at work,
but you get to work from home, which is an amazing blessing,
but it's still work, right,So I mean, do you find yourself,
(11:58):
you know, in the daily likeOkay, let me get this mommy
brain, because mommy brain is areal thing. Like, I don't know,
do you ever struggle with the mommybrain? I think I have some
tendencies, but I definitely know peoplewho've had it worse. I think,
I don't. I think when Istarted going back to work, I had
(12:20):
to like learn how to type againor a woman, because I probably haven't
used the computer at all, likeye since then. And then just today
I was putting up like a pageon our website and I was asking our
produced degree and they're like, hey, this isn't working. And it turns
out I was like on this wholeother page and I'm like, oh,
that's why it's not working, becauseI was on the wrong thing. And
(12:41):
even now that's I've been back atwork for like almost two months now and
I'm still having that problem. Yeah, but yeah, I think it's more
of just relearning, not so muchof having like brain fog or anything,
which I'm grateful I know a lotof people have have it. But yeah,
I remember being out when I wasfirst pregnant and I was trying to
(13:03):
calculate the tip and I was like, oh my god, I don't know
what seven plus five is. Iliterally was like more pregnancy. Yeah,
oh my gosh, no. ButI mean I was one of those people
that could do a lot of mathin my head and just be like,
dude, you do done right.And it was just like, oh my
god, like I don't have itat all, Like I don't even know,
like I have to count on myfingers, like what's happening right now.
(13:26):
It's a real thing. It's areal thing. I welcome to my
life all the time because I can'teven blame it. I'll mot me brain,
Like I just am completely out ofit where I'm like, do I
have adult adhd? I might havea touch and I'm not even like I'm
kind of joking but I'm not.Yeah, because like all over the place
(13:48):
all the time. So well you. But the thing about it is that
people don't really factor in and theydon't give themselves grace on is you're thinking
for three different people, Like you'reliterally thinking for two other people, your
kids and sometimes your husband, right, and it's like, oh my god,
like I have to literally like sectionmy brain out of like Okay,
(14:09):
what would this person want to eat? What would this person want to eat?
What are they gonna wear today.You know, it's all these different
things that are swirling around our brain, and then you put work on top
of it, and then you putoh, I'm supposed to care for myself
too, How have you been handlingthat? I mean, you know,
you're juggling work, You're taking careof a brand new baby. Are you
fighting time for self care here andthere? I think the main thing is
(14:35):
that I get my nails done,so I have that. But I'm trying
to think, like I used toread and do a lot of things.
I used to, Like, therewas a time I was really into puzzles
because you know, being in socialmedia and doing what I do, my
eyes get really strained a lot.So I used to do puzzles and all
(14:58):
that stuff. I don't do anyof that now. I tried to read,
I just fall asleep. I've Istarted doing audiobooks because I found,
like, Okay, I love toread, but I at least I could
listen while I work or do somethingand in a car or whatever. So
I have that. But I thinkas far as self care, I think
that's mainly what I'm doing, tryingto get back into the groove of doing
(15:20):
things that I used to do,and like I said to it definitely helps
that my parents are here taking careof the baby, because if I need
to rent to the store, doyou or the things like they're they'll step
in and it's not super hard forme. I have not gone out with
the baby by myself yet. I'vedone like I've done like one drive to
(15:41):
my sister's house that live who liveslike five minutes away. Other than that,
are you nervous about that? Areyou scared about it? Or what
is? What is? I thinkit's both everything. I think the idea
of going somewhere and and grant,she's not super hard. She she loves
(16:02):
being in the car. She's likeif she's hungry, that's it. Like
all you have to do is giveher a bottle and she's fine. We
take her to restaurants all the time. I've just never done it by myself.
Yeah, and thankfully, like whenwe're out, her dad is the
one who changes her diaper, hebrings her to the bathroom, does all
that stuff. I probably only doneit like once. Yeah, So those
(16:25):
are the kind of things where I'mlike, uh, yeah, I'll wait
until she's a little older. Yeah, so she could tell me what She's
scary. It's scary because you know, you hear these stories of like babies
getting scooped up, and like,you know, my kids are fast,
so I have to like someone hasto be holding my hand all the time
(16:47):
because otherwise they're just gonna put andyou know, it's like, oh my
god, we're at a public place. I have to you know, run
after them. But it's it's kindof scary, right, Like you go
out by yourself, you don't reallyknow you you know what to expect.
But I think the more you doit, the more normal it becomes and
the easier it becomes. There's alot of new stuff that you're doing though,
(17:08):
right, Like a lot of newthings that you're just like, you
know, I'm sure you are roundbabies or around kids before having her,
but like what are some of thenew things that you're just like what I
had no idea? Like what isthis? Mm? I would say,
I mean, I have a lotof nephews and nieces like I have I
(17:33):
have six, and I've I've grownup with kids all the time, so
I've always been like an older cousinand things like that. Self, right,
I would say not a lot ofthings surprised me having my own baby.
I would say maybe pumping, likethe amount of times you really do
have to do all of that stuffevery two to three hours, wake up
through the night, But other thanthat, not so much. It's a
(17:57):
huge new thing for me because evennow, like when my sisters have work
and stuff, their kids still comeover. So if anything, I just
have like a little baby that Ihave to change the diapers for and I
have to make sure she's read.But yeah, I think I think I've
been well prepared growing up with alot of kids in my life. Yeah,
(18:17):
how about your husband, is thereanything that's like He's like, You're
like, WHOA, I had noidea. You're good at that, Like
how did you change in the diapersin public places, restaurants? Like great
diaper bag? He's got it.So on the other hand, he's never
He's probably only changed like one ortwo diapers in his whole life before he's
been with my our baby, sohe everything is definitely new to him.
(18:44):
I think he's been pretty much theopposite of me. He's been like,
yeah, let's take the baby everywhere, Let's spend the night anywhere, Like
let's go to I'll tell us dothis, and well, I'm grateful for
his enthusiasm. I'm the one.I'm the one who has to pack all
the bags and get all the thingsready. So maybe that's another thing,
Like having an overnight stay with ababy is crazy, like, yeah,
(19:07):
the amount of bags that I haveto bring. And when my baby was
maybe like three or four months,we did like a trip to Vegas like
just us for my birthday, andeven then I still had to pump and
I still had to do stuff.So it's been quite a learning curve for
(19:30):
that. I always have that thought, I'm like, how are you so
small? But yeah, you haveso much stuff, Like I don't get
it. You're so little and youhave three bags? What's happening right now?
The laundry, oh my god,is like when you have babies,
it feels like so overwhelming because there'sso little pieces yeah, little, you
(19:52):
know, little pieces of clothing andthen the bird brags and whatever you have
going on. But the socks,like they're so small. Always yeah,
lay see you see the laundry basketbottom. For like a tenth of a
second you're like yes, and thenit's like, come on, just let
me have it for thirty seconds atleast. And my girl is a drueler,
(20:15):
so her bibbs get switched out likethree or four times a day.
Yeah. Yeah, I forgot aboutthe bibbs too. Another small thing.
So much stuff, so much laundry. Well, I mean I think that
it seems like everything is kind offloating for you, like you're you're kind
of just letting it kind of happen. You're relearning what you gotta relearn,
(20:38):
and it sounds like you're not missingon it any moments, right for the
most part. I do. Likesometimes when she's like crying downstairs, it's
like it takes a lot for meto like not go go check it out.
But that's right. I know mymom got it. But maybe but
sometimes my mom isn't here, andwhen it's just my dad, I'm like,
Okay, I'm gonna go check becauseI don't know about this guy.
(21:02):
Sometimes. But yeah, definitely.Though when I first had the baby at
the hospital, I was not thisoptimistic and happy all that stuff, because
originally, before having our baby,I was like, oh, yeah,
we have four kids whateverse pop thesethings out right away. Right after birth,
(21:23):
I said, I don't do thatagain? What are you kidding?
And I know, I think lasttime we talked about you guys is births
and stuff. Mine wasn't super crazy. But even then I was just like,
this is crazy. Yeah, you'llforget about that, but you'll you'll
do it again probably, Yeah.I mean, there's nothing wrong if you
(21:45):
don't. But I'm just saying youforget about it. Well yeah, and
now I'm like, cool, let'sdo it again. Yeah, exactly,
and then I'm never doing this again. Right. Did you end up having
a push delivery or yes? Idid have imaginal delivery. I got an
epidural. I was pushing for threehours, which is super long to me,
(22:07):
but the I guess the nurses saidthat's kind of normal for first births,
right, but three hours, man, and pushing is c crazy.
Like there was a point where Iwas telling my husband like I could literally
fall asleep right this second, likein between pushes, like it's so tiring.
(22:27):
And but other than that, likeit wasn't so crazy. I just
remember like tm, I but likewhat do you have? A baby bleed
a lot? And I was inthe bathroom like are you sure I'm okay?
I was the nurse like a shouldnormal. I don't think people talk
about that part enough, you know, because I had no idea. Yeah,
(22:48):
I was like all that was goingto happen after Like, I had
no idea. I felt so clueless. I'm like, what what you know?
Yeah, they go like jumbo sizedpads I give you, and you're
like, I don't want that,and then you're like, yes they do.
Can I have the whole package withyou? And I want I want
those those special underwear too, please, I need those those fishnet underwear things,
(23:14):
the stuff that they put on expensivetree and pears off the glossy store.
Seriously, seriously. I mean,I'm exciting because I feel like this
is just the beginning, right Likeshe's home, your home. You guys
are starting to see her personality comeout. Her hair is a whole other
(23:36):
thing. Like she's so cute onceyou let her hair out. I mean,
what are some of the things thatyou're looking forward to, is she
starts to blossom. So right now, she just turns six months, so
she's been eating new things, whichmeans her diaper is a little different now
(23:59):
she's she's she's been eating like peasand lots of vegetables. She's she's starting
to eat like mangoes and other thingslike that, so it's fun to see
like what she likes and doesn't.Like. She just started eating her toes,
which is like my favorite thing ever, Like I think it's so cute.
I remember my nephew when he wasa baby, he seated his toes
(24:21):
all the time. So I askedmy mom, like, when is she
going to start eating her toes?So she just started doing that. And
then it's crazy that when she hitsher six months that in my culture,
like their first birthday is huge,and I'm sure a lot of other people
are like that. So when sheturned six months, I said, oh
my gosh, we have to startplanning her birthday. It's only six months
(24:44):
away now. So it's like soI've been kind of having that on my
mind, and I just think it'sit's so fun. Like everyone everyone's always
reminding me that as every phase passes, you're gonna miss it, Like,
yeah, one of my friends.I think a lot of people say,
like the days are long, butthe years are short. So it's like,
(25:08):
oh, I'm trying to like I'mtrying to, you know, be
present as much as possible and alsolike I want. I know, I'm
gonna miss when she's like sitting aroundand like can't go anywhere, like when
she starts running and crawling and doinganythings. Like I already miss, like
(25:29):
when she would sleep for like fourhours every nap time because I'm like because
now it's like, man, nowwe have to entertainer. Now now she's
like, you know, she needsthings to do and stimulate her mind or
whatever. So it's I think it'sit's moving so fast, but she's still
so little and yeah, yeah,yeah, like you said, just be
(25:51):
present, soak it all up,enjoy what there's where there's to enjoy,
and you know, make sure tobreak through whatever there is that obstacles that
pop up, and it's just itgoes by so fast. I mean,
you're you're gonna look back at herlittle diaper and be like when did you
fit this? Like what in theYeah? Yeah, it's it's amazing how
fast that they grow. And yeah, the mom show has officially started.
(26:15):
You gotta fit on your your dancingshoes and your hat and all that stuff
and keep this little girl entertaining.Yeah man, and then with like her
clothes too. I have tubs ofclothes that she's already outgrow. Like and
mind you, she's six months now, she's wearing like nine months and twelve
months clothes. Yeah, because she'sjust she's a little chunkster. Which I
(26:40):
always felt like those clothes are toosmall, like they know it. Yeah,
my kid never fit in the clothesat the right month, so they
do. They never fit in theright You always got to my head,
like a few months, it's eitherway too small or way too big.
So exactly got to find that middleground is nice. Yeah, Well,
thanks, Josie. It's been apleasure talking to you. We're so proud
(27:02):
of you. You're gonna be inYou already are an amazing mama. But
I know you're gonna just, youknow, really come into your own and
just she's so lucky to have bothof you. Oh yeah, for sure.
Congratulations on being on a successful workyour mama. You are officially in
the club. Oh I'm sorry,I did want to bring up I remember
(27:23):
in the last time we were talking, I was super like I was worried
about what I was gonna bring inmy bag. Yeah, I love you.
Remember none of it, I OVERTII use none of it. None
of it. I do want todiscourage you then, but you know from
past experience, you don't use halfof I literally use like my tooth fresh.
(27:45):
I forced myself to use the robethat I bought because I was like,
you know what, I'm gonna justput it on, like let's just
and then I ended up like Iended up wearing the clothes I wore there
home because I was like, it'sall need like dirty, any dirty,
I'm gonna just use it. Soyeah, I thought that was funny because
I was like, I didn't useany of it. I brought everything and
(28:08):
anything, and they didn't. Wedidn't use nothing. Same thing for the
baby. I brought her like threeoutfits and all of this stuff. Literally
use like one outfit to go home. And that's all. Yeah, Yeah,
that's how it is. That's definitelyhow it is. Well, I'm
excited to hear more and more storiesas we go, and we'll definitely bring
you back on probably at the oneyear mark, just to see how you
(28:29):
handle the first birthday because it's alot. It's a lot. Congratulations again,
working mama, You're doing it.
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