The following podcast is a Dear Media production.

Hey friend, it's Nicole, host of the Nicole Walters podcast.

Here's where we laugh, we cry, and we grant ourselves grace as we do life together.

Let's get started.

Thank you. Hey, y'all.

So you know that we've been talking all things baby to kind of kick off the new year.

And because that's where I am right now, right?

You know, I shared my birth story and I should say our birth story, right?

Me, Alex and Josephine.

And last week I talked a little bit about what it was like to be over 40 and pregnant.

And sort of some of the societal stigmas and what the reality was that I've learned.

Now, I talked about my pregnancy and how I was really fortunate to have a good pregnancy. I mean, truly, like, it was, I had a pregnancy like a 25-year-old, you know,

and I recognize the blessings that go along with that, you know, feeling healthy and all that.

But I also want to talk about postpartum, because let's be honest, if you are over 35 or 35 to 40 and you're thinking about

getting pregnant chances are you also have a career you want to have a career or you are you have a life

and friends and a home and you know you already have things you've established you know and

having a baby isn't sort of part of that establishment like it may have been when you were in your 20s.

So what does that mean?

It means that after this baby comes up out of you, you want to be able to get back to whoever you are.

And I know that when you are online and you may have listened to another podcast, people talk a lot about finding yourself and, you know, things you can do to just give

yourself grace as your body changes. Look, part of why we're friends is because of the way I talk to

you all. All of that is valid. I'm going to talk about body stuff here. I'm going to talk about, like,

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