Hey everyone, welcome back to the Maracos Mama's podcast. I'm your host Elizabeth Joy and we believe in empowering women through storytelling and education.

Last week we had on the Formula Mom and had such an amazing conversation. I learned a lot and I hope that you did as well. I hope you feel empowered in however you are choosing to feed your child.

This week we are launching in fertility awareness, fertility awareness month a little bit early with Samantha Bush. She has an incredible, incredible story about her fertility struggles and and the struggles that she's been on for years and does how it's continued and I'm super excited to see where her story goes because she does has so much going on.

And she's just doing so much in that world to help others be able to have children. So I just have so much respect from for her. We had an amazing conversation.

I hope you guys, I guess this week and Easter this coming week and Easter. So we're going to go ahead and say happy Easter if you celebrate that.

If you're traveling, be safe and this is the first year that I've actually given anything up for lent and followed through so I'm going to brag on myself really quick. I'm super proud of myself.

I gave up sugar and I gave up TV during the day because sometimes I would just, you know, while I'm nursing joe be folding laundry or whatever it may be, turn on the TV and just kind of have it playing in the background while I'm getting some stuff done.

But it has forced me to listen to audiobooks and maybe some sermons and podcast or music and I really wanted to get back into doing that because like years ago, I never even owned a TV and I hardly ever watched it.

I don't know what happened, but then then I started to so for me, it was just, yeah, something that I really wanted to pursue and try. So I've done really, really well.

I barely had any sugar. So I have cheated a couple of times, but and I'm, let me redefine that quick.

I gave up like processed sugar so like desserts, cookies, cakes, sweets, that types of things. I'm still having some honey in my tea and fruit and more natural forms, I guess.

I don't know if I could ever give up fruit.

And when people say fruit is a sugar, I just disagree. Yes, it does have sugar in it, but then there's so many health benefits. So it's not like the process refine sugar. So anyways, I am just proud of myself because every single time I have this mental struggle every time I'm like, OK, I'm going to give this up.

I do the opposite same with like working out, I'll start working out again. And I'm like, OK, I'm going to work out five days a week. And then on the sixth day, I'm doing yoga. And then I'm like, I don't work out for weeks.

And because it's overwhelming. And I do the same with I'm going to cut all of these things out and then instead I'll binge on it. And I'm like, why am I self sabotaging myself. So I'm just proud of myself that I've stuck to it that I've done great and I'm just realizing that I can't be so extreme all the time, even with working out like right now I'm telling myself.

OK, if two to three times a week, I can do a 15, 20 minute bike ride on the peloton, then I'm doing great. And maybe go for a couple of walks. So two to three times a week is doable.

When I tell myself five days a week, I, I'm not there yet. And I feel overwhelmed. And then I end up not doing anything. So I get paralysis by analysis. I think of everything I have to do. And then I do nothing.

So I'm just learning slow and steady wins the race for me. I've been working out two to three times a week for a few weeks now and I feel really good and I feel good with my workouts. I'm not feeling like, oh, I should be doing more or

I'm, you know, like, yeah, I'd love to work out more, but I feel great. And I'm not, I literally work out for like 20 minutes, two or three times a week. And it has made a difference. So baby steps. And I'm realizing that that's how I function. Whereas there's other people that don't function that way.

Some people, they have to do cold turkey balls to the wall to get things done. And I just have so much respect for you. And I thought I was that person and I'm not. I had to be like, OK, I'm going to work out one day a week. I'm going to work out two days a week. OK, two to three days a week. And I'm good. I did something, you know, for myself this week.

Anyways, I'm going to be traveling with a baby next weekend. So that'll be a first going on an airplane. And I'm really nervous because I know how my ears feel when I land when I land other places. It feels OK, but it's really weird when I'm landing back into Chicago.

I feel like ears feel like they're going to explode. I feel like there is blood coming out of them. They hurt so bad. So I'm so nervous to fly with a baby because if her ears hurt and there's just nothing you can do.

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