Ep 3: Should Hubby Watch the Birth?

By now you probably know that Jamie is pregnant again! We’re so excited, and want to bring you along on our journey. That’s why today’s episode includes the audio from the exact moment that Doug learned about the pregnancy. We had just gotten back from Disney, and he was feeding Henley. As you’ll hear, his reaction wasn’t as excited as it could have been (and neither was Henley’s), but you get to share in the genuine, real reaction rather than a staged moment.

Today’s amazing guests are the fantastic Erica Eckman from Everything Erica and her husband Dan, a real estate guru. She and I met on social media when she reached out on Instagram, and she’s honestly one of my best friends now. She and her husband are intelligent, down-to-earth, and just lovely people.

If you’ve ever wondered about how Erica and Jamie met, this is the episode for you! You’ll learn that Erica took a chance and reached out, the two featured each other, and the friendship blossomed organically from there. As Erica points out, you never know what might happen if you just say “hi”!

Erica is a fairly new mom, and the four of us will talk about the experiences of birth and parenthood. Of course having children is an amazing blessing, but there are definitely parts of the pregnancy, birth, and parenthood process that’s a struggle. There’s no shame in asking for help or not being able to do it all yourself.

We’ll dig into all sorts of things, including how Erica’s birth process went, whether men look at women’s vaginas differently after watching them give birth, how long the recovery process takes, how much it hurts after birth (including a story involving peeing on a nurse), the issues that can be involved in breastfeeding, and much more.

Today’s Guests:

Erica Eckman on LinkedIn

@everythingerica on Instagram

@dansdadlife on Instagram

Everything Erica

In This Episode:

[01:43] - Jamie and Doug chat about the podcast, and introduce today’s topic: Jamie’s pregnancy announcement to Doug!

[05:32] - We hear the audio from when Jamie announced her pregnancy to Doug right after getting back from Disney.

[10:08] - The reaction wasn’t as enthusiastic as it could have been, but at least it was genuine!

[13:57] - Erica Eckman from Everything Erica and her husband Dan are today’s amazing guests.

[16:57] - Jamie explains who Dan and Erica are for people who aren’t yet familiar with them.

[18:10] - Erica shares the story of how she and Jamie initially met.

[21:14] - Doug brings up the point of people surrounding themselves with people who they admire or look up to.

[23:31] - Did Erica deliver her daughter vaginally or through a C-section?

[28:35] - Since Jamie works in labor and delivery, she was interested in her birth process and even checked her own dilation.

[29:38] - How painful is it after having a baby?! Erica shares a post-birth bathroom story about the pain of even peeing.

[31:50] - Erica and Jamie chat about breastfeeding and Erica’s struggles with it.

[36:02] - Is the common sense of shame over not breastfeeding self-imposed shame, or is it from external sources?

[40:45] - Doug wonders whether there’s a good way to ask new mothers whether t...