Our Honest Birth Control Journeys: The Good, The Bad, & The Hormonal

Summary

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Always Here Podcast, Ep. "Our Honest Birth Control Journeys: The Good, The Bad, & The Hormonal"

Hosts: Abby Howard & Abbey Howard
Date: June 12, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this candid and extensive episode, sister-in-laws Abby and Abbey share their personal journeys with birth control—exploring the ups, downs, and everything hormonal with humor and depth. As they dissect their own experiences, the Ab(b)ys weave in audience feedback, historical context, and current trends in women’s health. The episode is rich with personal stories, practical insight, and a dash of "that’s crazy!" relationship moments that make Always Here both relatable and educational.

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Major Discussion Points

1. Vacation Recap & Sister-in-Law Bonding (01:44–15:25)

• Tahoe Family Trip: Highlights from a recent family vacation, relaxed schedules thanks to kids’ naps, and tales of the "same name" confusion leading to perks like Target pickups.
• Funny Moments: Abby reveals her reason for wearing a turtleneck in June: “My husband gave me a fake hickey that turned into a real hickey.” (07:45)
• Travel Takeaways: Importance of rest, routine, and quality time together.

2. Women’s Health, Periods, and Hormone Awareness (15:27–22:41)

• Both Abby and Abbey discuss how their awareness and care for hormone health increased after childbirth.
• Shifting Narrative: They underscore the importance of teaching daughters to see periods as a sign of health, not shame, referencing advice from a recent Women’s Health podcast.
  • “It’s so healthy for our bodies as women. It’s... a huge sign of our overall general health.” — Abbey (18:23)
• Menopause & Perimenopause: Early discussions with their mothers about hormone therapy and the goal of continuing open, shame-free conversations surrounding these topics.

3. Birth Control: History and Current Trends (44:19–48:32)

• Ancient practices: Brief overview—from honey/lint pessaries and linen condoms to animal intestine sheaths.
• The Pill and Beyond: Oral contraceptives since the 1960s, then hormonal implants and IUDs.
• Modern Choices: Segment highlights the complexity and individuality of women’s choices around birth control and how normalization and openness are increasing.

4. Real Audience Insights—Poll Results (48:32–51:51)

• Top Methods: 19% on the pill, 12% IUD, 18% condoms, 51% natural family planning or other.
• Why Birth Control? 47% for pregnancy prevention, 8% health, 12% acne, 33% period management.
• Noted surprise at how many listeners don’t use birth control—discussed as a sign of changing trends or life stages.

5. Hosts’ Honest Birth Control Journeys (53:02–75:22)

• Personal Stories: Both Abbys and guest Addie detail their ages, methods (pill, NuvaRing, IUDs, natural family planning, condoms), reasons for starting, and side effects.
  • “I went on birth control... at 17. I was not sexually active at the time, but kind of planned to be in the future.” — Abbey (53:02)
  • “I felt like my periods were very manageable and light even after years being off of it.” — Abbey (54:38)
  • “We just did condoms, and we didn’t use a condom one time. Then we had our second child. So, I learned my lesson!” — Abby (67:32)
  • “I tracked very rigorously... so we did condoms and abstaining during ovulation. Then we decided to get pregnant, and that happened right away for us.” — Addie (77:17)
• Effect on Well-being: Notable change in energy, libido, and mood when off hormonal contraceptives—especially after second removals or postpartum periods.
  • “My energy was so just amazing. And my sex drive was, like, way higher, too.” — Abbey (79:06)
  • “I...never want to be in that state again.” — Abby (78:56)

6. Doctor Pressure & Patient Autonomy (81:33–83:25)

• The hosts reflect on feeling pressure from doctors to use birth control (especially postpartum) and weighing that against personal preferences and health complications.
  • “I felt pressured to get on birth control. I didn’t want to be on birth control... I said, we’re just going to use condoms and track my cycle.” — Addie (82:54)
  • Doctors often warn about condom efficacy: “Just so you know, they’re only like 98% effective... just, you have to use them.” — Doctor’s advice (83:18)

7. Shifting Attitudes & Frustration with the Status Quo (86:17–88:34)

• The Abbys question the automatic prescription of birth control for teenage period symptoms, emphasize the need for better education, and grieve medical approaches that overlook root causes.
  • “I look back and I’m like, dang, if only I had...just, like, been educated maybe on my cycle more than just slapping a band-aid on something.” — Abbey (85:00+)

8. Male Infertility & The Untold Half (89:52–91:13)

• Eye-opening stat: 50% of infertility is male-related. The group laments the stigma and lack of broader conversation.
  • “Family planning takes two. It’s dango to make a baby.” — Abbey (89:29)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• [07:45] Abbey: “If you’re curious why I’m wearing a turtleneck in June in Phoenix, it’s because my husband gave me a fake hickey that turned into a real hickey.”
• [18:23] Abbey: “I think it changed a lot of the ways... I want to talk to Vivian about menstrual cycles, which has been really fun to think through that, because I think I’ve always heard periods... usually in a negative connotation.”
• [79:06] Abbey: “That... changed my opinion a lot on things. My energy level was so just amazing. And my sex drive was, like, way higher, too.”
• [82:54] Addie: “I felt pressured to get on birth control... I said, we’re just going to use condoms and track my cycle. And [doctor] was like...condoms aren’t super effective.”
• [89:52] Abbey: “It feels a lot easier to change their little swimmers than to change our entire daily cycle...”
• [90:00+] Abbey: “50% of infertility is male-sourced and 50% is female-sourced... I didn’t realize there were such high levels of male infertility.”

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Additional Segments

Love Island Recap (25:51–33:34)

• Addie gives a summary of Love Island USA and UK, discussing format, drama, and "bombshells."
  • “That’s crazy!” becomes a running bit during this section.

Wild Car Story (33:15–41:14)

• Addie details a saga involving Blake’s car, hit-and-run drama, and tow truck hassles—a slice-of-life moment many listeners will find relatable and amusing.
  • “They held your car hostage.” — Abby (36:58)

Lighter Moments & Listenership Q&A

• Voicemails: Listeners call in to ask about kitchen disasters (95:32), favorite toys for kids, and life hacks.
• Practical Wisdom: From kid toys (Magna-Tiles are a must), to meal planning and life hacks (using hair gel for brows, conditioner for slick ponytails).

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Key Timestamps

• 01:44–15:25 — Tahoe recap, wife/husband humor
• 15:27–22:41 — Opening up about periods, women’s health podcast insights
• 44:19–48:32 — History of birth control
• 48:32–51:51 — Audience birth control poll results
• 53:02–75:22 — Birth control stories, personal impact
• 81:33–83:25 — Medical pressure, post-baby decisions
• 86:17–88:34 — Critique of teenage birth control norm
• 89:52–91:13 — Discussion of male infertility

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Takeaways & Final Thoughts

Abby and Abbey encourage listeners to:

• Be curious, critical, and informed about their own reproductive journeys.
• Reframe periods and cycles positively for themselves and their daughters.
• Recognize that personal experiences with birth control are wide-ranging and valid.
• Acknowledge the importance of open conversations—at home, with friends, and even with providers—to dismantle shame and misinformation around all things hormonal.
• Advocate for greater male involvement and education in the family planning process.

With their signature blend of heart and humor, the hosts affirm that there’s never a “one size fits all” solution—just the importance of being… always here for each other.

Transcript

[Abby Howard]

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[Addie]

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[Abby Howard]

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[Addie]

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[Abbey Howard]

If you're curious why I'm wearing a turtleneck in June, it's because my husband gave me a fake hickey that turned into a real hickey.

[Abby Howard]

Those take a minute to go away so long.

[Abbey Howard]

I look back and I'm like, dang, Going on birth control so young. If only I had gone back and looked at lifestyle and given myself time and just like, been educated, maybe on my cycle.

[Abby Howard]

So you can get pregnant if you don't have a period. I just want everyone to know that

[Abbey Howard]

when I said, like, we're just going to do condoms, she's kind of like, just so you know, they're only like 98% effective.

[Abby Howard]

Just so you know, you have to use them.

[Abbey Howard]

Welcome back to Always Here.

[Abby Howard]

We're your hosts, Abby Howard and Abbey Howard.

[Abbey Howard]

And welcome back to the show, ladies and gentlemen.

[Abby Howard]

Let me tell you, we really wore out the fact that we have the same name on this trip to Tahoe. We really did. Everywhere we went, it just came up. I feel like they just placed it in our lap. Yeah, it did.

[Abbey Howard]

It was just too easy.

[Abby Howard]

We went to this tot spot and they were like, we. What's your name? You had to like, sign up your kids. And it was like, abby Howard. And then I was like, abby Howard. The coffee shop, the coffee shopping. And they're like, oh, don't worry. She's like, what's your name?

[Abbey Howard]

We're like, same Target pickup. I got your target pickup. I said, she put it under my name because we have the same name. Got her stuff when she was on the plane.

[Abby Howard]

We were just really, really.

[Abbey Howard]

We were reaping the benefits.

[Abby Howard]

There's a Lot of benefits to this.

[Abbey Howard]

So it gets more convenient as we get older, I think.

[Abby Howard]

Seriously? Well, the more we spend time together.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. Truly. I'm like, oh, yeah, same name. So that was great. Tahoe was amazing.

[Abby Howard]

Yes. We went to Tahoe with Matt and Caleb, her husband's family. And we stayed at a house that we've stayed before. It's like a family owned house.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Relative. Yeah, family. And it was super fun.

[Abbey Howard]

It was. I felt like the house was the perfect size where everyone had their own space.

[Abby Howard]

But we had to hang out.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, we had to hang out. But if you needed alone time, it was easy to like go separate yourself a little bit. So I think that's the perfect. Especially because it was a week long trip. So of course you're gonna need some recharge alone time. And so I feel like it was just the perfect balance of quality hang time, outdoor activity, chill, rest, nap, relax.

[Abby Howard]

I think also it was great traveling with the kids because it's built in semi schedule. It's like you have to get out in the morning.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Because you have the afternoon nap. So then we all like would collect ourselves and get out the door in the morning. Yep. Otherwise I feel like we would have maybe lingered more and like not made a. And then like then they have bedtime so you make plans more. And so we did a lot. But we also rested a lot because there's like three hour nap breaks.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

All of our kids really do take long naps.

[Abbey Howard]

They take long naps. CJ's still a three hour napper. Vivian takes like one long four hour nap. Because she's a baby.

[Abby Howard]

She's a baby.

[Abbey Howard]

You just squeeze it all into one.

[Abby Howard]

You're such a casual mom.

[Abbey Howard]

That's really nice.

[Abby Howard]

I was really thinking that when she was in the back of that bike.

[Abbey Howard]

I really felt bad about that one actually.

[Abby Howard]

No, why? I think she was having a blast.

[Abbey Howard]

Really pushed that girl until like 2:30pm yeah.

[Abby Howard]

We just push her a little too far till 2:30.

[Abbey Howard]

It was late. She had no nap the whole day. I mean she had opportunities to sleep on the go and she chose not to actually. So maybe it's her really.

[Addie]

Like she doesn't sleep in a car seat.

[Abbey Howard]

She's just an extrovert.

[Abby Howard]

She wasn't ever in a car seat.

[Abbey Howard]

She was never in a car seat. Yeah, she does sleep in her duna. But if she's like in it. But that whole time she was worn or held or in a bike, she was chilling.

[Addie]

She won't sleep when she's Warm.

[Abbey Howard]

Not anymore.

[Addie]

I don't know if braille would. I haven't worn her in a long time.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, not anymore. Sad. But she did really good the whole time.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

What was your favorite activity that you did, that we did or you did?

[Abby Howard]

Well, I honestly think that it was really fun to bike and go to that little cafe and get ice cream afterwards.

[Abbey Howard]

I thought the food was amazing at this cafe. Did you think it was or was I just really hungry?

[Abby Howard]

I love everything Caleb said.

[Abbey Howard]

I kept, like raving about this food. It was like this little general store along the trail. And you walk in, it doesn't look like it's.

[Abby Howard]

I felt like you weren't excited when we walked in.

[Abbey Howard]

No, I truly thought it was just gonna be like cold cut sandwiches. Well, that's. Cause. Yeah, that was the vibe that we picked up.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

And then you get in there and they're like, no, we have a full menu.

[Abby Howard]

I thought the food was really good.

[Abbey Howard]

I was in disbelief of how good this food was. And I kept going to kill. I'm like, that's the best Philly steak sandwich I've ever tasted in my life. Can I have half of it? And, you know, I kept mine, but I was like, wow, that's incredible. And then later he's like, you really liked that food. But I think it was just okay. And I was like, what? So is it as good as I thought it was or was I just starving?

[Abby Howard]

Maybe not as good.

[Abbey Howard]

They got so hungry.

[Abby Howard]

We were hungry.

[Addie]

Hungry.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. That was a really fun day.

[Abby Howard]

That was fun. It was fun. We got a boat, we went out on. The water was freezing cold. Not the air, but the water was cold. It was like in the 40s.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. And the air was chilly when we were riding. But it wasn't horrible.

[Abby Howard]

No, it was just really beautiful to see from the lake. It's a really beautiful lake. It's like the deepest LAKE in the U.S. i'm pretty sure. Maybe globally.

[Abbey Howard]

Well, we were on that boat for two hours and got just. I mean, I felt like we traveled far and we didn't really go far at all.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

Comparatively to this massive lake. We actually drove around the lake the one day when we kind of did our own family days and it was really fun to drive around it. And. Yeah, you just see just how massive it is.

[Abby Howard]

It's huge.

[Abbey Howard]

It's huge. It was really fun.

[Abby Howard]

We went up on the gondola to our family, did and did the mountain coaster, which the kid thought was so fun. And yeah, it was a great time.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

It cost more than Disneyland.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay. I thought this trip was pretty expensive, too.

[Abby Howard]

I'm talking about to go on the gondola. Oh, yeah. When you were in the prices on that mountain coaster.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

It cost more than a day at Disneyland.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. I was like, we're probably gonna skip that one, but we're gonna go road trip.

[Addie]

I'm glad they had fun.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. I'm glad they had fun, too. There's a lot of pressure on that.

[Abbey Howard]

I was like, please enjoy this.

[Abby Howard]

That was outrageous.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, I know. I would have loved to see it from that view because your pictures from it looked crazy. It was really cool.

[Addie]

What was so expensive? The gondola or the gondola?

[Abby Howard]

Because you ride up to this part, but the only way the activities is to ride the gondola. Wow. It wasn't. I can't say it was worth the money, but it was really cool. We knew what we were getting into because we did it the last time. And I was like, it's one of those things. We're like, we'll just do it. And we stayed at the house for free. Like, we ate a lot of meals at the house.

[Addie]

That's fun, though.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. We're like, this will be an area that we splurge, but. Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

More than Disneyland for our whole family.

[Abbey Howard]

Totally.

[Abby Howard]

For less than two hours.

[Abbey Howard]

Totally. You know what? It's a memory.

[Abby Howard]

It's a memory. It's a memory. It was such a overall great trip. Yeah. And we are here on this podcast to share the hope in the heart. So do you have.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

With heart and humor.

[Abbey Howard]

With heart and humor, which I think there'll be humor in this. If you're curious why I'm wearing.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, this is your.

[Abbey Howard]

Should I make it my heart?

[Abby Howard]

You should.

[Abbey Howard]

If you're curious why I'm wearing a turtleneck in June in Phoenix, it's because my husband gave me a fake hickey that turned into a real hickey.

[Abby Howard]

I like this story more because it's like, I'm so mad. I think it's funny.

[Abbey Howard]

I'm so mad.

[Abby Howard]

I.

[Abbey Howard]

We got home from our trip last night, and of course, you know, going through the fridge, cleaning it out.

[Abby Howard]

Spooky, scary.

[Abbey Howard]

And there's a little bit of milk left, like, this much in the gallon. I shook it, I smelled it. It was fine. I'm like, perfect. Just enough for, like, someone have a glass and me to have enough for my coffee in the morning before I replenish the milk. Going through the night, doing whatever. I go see that Caleb had chugged the milk just like out of the gallon and finished it. And I was so mad just for funsies. Well I think he was starving because I didn't make dinner. So he was like scouring the pantry like eating crackers and old cheese and see he was just going for anything. And I go into the bedroom because he was going to bed. And I go, you drink the milk that I was planning to drink so that I was like a little bitter. And then I went and got the ice cream that he loves and I finished it in bed in front of him. Cause he doesn't eat desserts after 8:30. And I put the hard shell and I was like, they have to watch me enjoy this ice cream. So then he started tickling and he's like, I'm gonna give you a hick. And you know what he did? And I'm mad about it.

[Abby Howard]

I'm mad about it.

[Abbey Howard]

That's my heart. I'm walking around like a 16 year old. I'm like two children. I'm a grown adult. I got this bruise on my neck so I'm wearing a turtleneck.

[Abby Howard]

Those take a minute to go. So long.

[Abbey Howard]

So long.

[Addie]

We'll check in next week.

[Abbey Howard]

Literally he next Wednesday he did one.

[Addie]

We're actually still recording Monday.

[Abbey Howard]

So shoot you guys, this one shirt for the next three episodes. Sorry.

[Abby Howard]

Is this why you didn't go to the gym this morning?

[Abbey Howard]

I did go to the gym at noon.

[Abby Howard]

Oh you did?

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, I grinned and buried it.

[Addie]

You're like, I can't see any of my nose.

[Abbey Howard]

My whole hickey was out.

[Abby Howard]

My whole hickey was out. Did you feel the need to address it?

[Abbey Howard]

No, I was like just who was training Mac? She didn't say anything. I know she was going to.

[Addie]

I was like why doesn't he eat after 8:30?

[Abbey Howard]

It was just his New Year's resolution to not eat treats. No, he eats regular. He eats a lot of regular. No treats after 8:30 but no sweets.

[Addie]

Yeah, that's good.

[Abbey Howard]

It's a good for him cuz it's like a short.

[Addie]

It's a small resolution but that could happen.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, he desserts before 8:30 but after 8:30. Yeah, sometimes he would just get too excited to eat a lot of desserts after 8:30. So it's a good self control test for him.

[Abby Howard]

They are a sweet tooth family.

[Abbey Howard]

Yes we are.

[Abby Howard]

No, I'm talking about our Matt is also a sweet tooth. Yeah, they are fiend at night for sure.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, it's an, it's a specifically at night thing.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

So Caleb's trying to kick that habit.

[Abby Howard]

I don't get it. I'm like, just. I get satisfied. Like, if I'm like, oh, I have one sweet treat, that's great. But, like, he will. Like, if it's like, it unlocks something, he's like, you can't have any, because it's like, he'll find everything.

[Addie]

True.

[Abbey Howard]

One cookie is not enough. I'm like, I need to at least have two.

[Abby Howard]

Okay.

[Abbey Howard]

But after two, I'm pretty satisfied. Yeah. So that was my hard. My other hard is that I'm in my luteal phase. I'm pretty sure.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, what does that mean again?

[Addie]

That's before your period.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure.

[Abby Howard]

So you're PMSing?

[Abbey Howard]

Probably. Which is probably why I got so mad about the milk last night.

[Abby Howard]

You were actually mad or were you play mad?

[Abbey Howard]

No, I was, like, annoyed. Yeah. It wasn't right. It was a silly thing to get mad about.

[Abby Howard]

I don't know. I think that's totally valid. I'm getting coffee out in the morning.

[Abbey Howard]

Yes, I did feel, you know, we spent a lot of money on the trip, so I was like, I don't want to do that. So he did pick up a gallon of milk this morning and brought it to me, which was really sweet.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, that was so nice.

[Abbey Howard]

I know. It was really sweet. Yeah, well, he better. I mean, he.

[Abby Howard]

My heart is scarred, me, so better

[Abbey Howard]

get the pal of milk.

[Abby Howard]

My heart is also really weird.

[Abbey Howard]

What is it?

[Abby Howard]

My milk came in my left armpit last night.

[Abbey Howard]

No, I feel like that's kind of later.

[Addie]

You can do.

[Abby Howard]

No, like, it came in the boob already at, like, 17 weeks. Now it's in the armpit and it's really sore. And here's the thing. It's not a problem. Like, it's not gonna give me mastitis or anything. It's not gonna. It's just ugly. And it also hurts.

[Abbey Howard]

Shoot.

[Abby Howard]

It's just trapped in there.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

So that's really great. I woke up this morning, I was like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Because when I move my arm, I can feel it. And it's weird. You wouldn't expect that to hurt. It hurts. Yeah, it kind of stings, which is weird.

[Abbey Howard]

It just feels really tender.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah, it's really tender. And it's also, like, I already had puffy pregnancy armpits, and now I have, like, worse at the gym. I was like, do I need to cover this up? Is this indecent?

[Addie]

Do I just start wearing T shirts every single day?

[Abby Howard]

I know. I probably should have. I get more sympathy though, at the gym if I don't wear a T shirt. Like, Rob was training and he was like, please modify.

[Abbey Howard]

Please modify. Okay, say less.

[Abby Howard]

It's like, because they don't know what we're capable of.

[Abbey Howard]

I don't know why I know this is wrong. Cuz I experience milk as well, but I picture it like a water bed. Like just ling your friend.

[Abby Howard]

It's firm. It's really firm.

[Abbey Howard]

Like, I know that's not true.

[Addie]

It's all colostrum in there or something.

[Abby Howard]

I don't know what it is. I don't know if that even will ever come out. Like it can't dissolve.

[Abbey Howard]

You can't pump it out of my armpit. I don't know. Like, if you pumped, would it all just come out?

[Abby Howard]

I don't know.

[Addie]

But do you want your.

[Abby Howard]

I am not going to pump. That is so crazy. That would do something wrong.

[Abbey Howard]

I don't.

[Abby Howard]

I think that's not even recommended.

[Addie]

Remember, you could put into labor like 38 weeks. Just start pumping at like 37.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah, I might do that.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, you should.

[Abby Howard]

I might do that. But then I'm also like, what is that going to do to my supply?

[Addie]

Oh, your supply is gonna be.

[Abbey Howard]

It might just come in earlier.

[Addie]

Yeah, right away.

[Abby Howard]

Okay, I'm gonna ask. I might have a doula, so that's exciting.

[Addie]

That'd be good.

[Abbey Howard]

That'd be great.

[Abby Howard]

I'll ask her. I might not, though.

[Abbey Howard]

Who knows?

[Abby Howard]

I think I'll be good anyway, so. Yeah, that's my heart. It's not really that serious, but it is just like, man, I know that's not going to go away for maybe 10 more weeks, right? It's okay. It's just really yucky looking.

[Abbey Howard]

The last 10 weeks are slow and long at the same time. Or wait, slow and fast at the same time.

[Abby Howard]

I keep saying it's such a weird amount of time. Like it feels like 10 weeks actually feels long. But then when you think about the span of like, okay, we're in June.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Then it's me, July and then August. Yeah. I'm like that.

[Abbey Howard]

And beginning of August.

[Abby Howard]

It feels fast and slow. You're right.

[Addie]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

I feel like the labor at the beginning of the month feels soon too.

[Abby Howard]

Could be the beginning, could be pretty close to the middle.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, that's true too. It could be the 11th. It could be anytime.

[Abby Howard]

It's very likely that it will be the 11th.

[Abbey Howard]

Wow.

[Abby Howard]

So we'll see. My hope though is I am extremely rested. I was literally A potato that all of Tahoe.

[Abbey Howard]

It was great.

[Abby Howard]

I didn't do a thing. Abby was working so much, and I was like, stop it. I know.

[Abbey Howard]

I didn't want to. I had to. I could only have, like, two hours a day to work.

[Abby Howard]

You could also say that I had to.

[Addie]

And no, you were like, I want to take a nap. I'm like, okay, here are the things I need. Then take your nap. And then she gets it done.

[Abbey Howard]

And then.

[Addie]

Did you take a nap?

[Abby Howard]

I got them done. I, like, cut every corner in Tahoe, and I just was a lazy bump on a log.

[Abbey Howard]

No vacation.

[Abby Howard]

I felt really good. I took a nap one day, and then I just laid around. It was just really.

[Abbey Howard]

We went on a lot of good walks. It was fun.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. It was really nice.

[Abbey Howard]

I love going on walks.

[Abby Howard]

Ate a lot of food.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Good times.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. My hope. What's the date? I'll save that one for next week.

[Abby Howard]

Okay. I'm excited for next year.

[Addie]

Me too.

[Abbey Howard]

Well, I'm just excited to get back into your routine. Honestly, I think that feels. Always feels so good after a long vacation. I feel like this vacation was the perfect amount of time to where it was long enough to fully rest and long enough to miss home.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

Do you know what I mean? And so when we came back, I was just ready to get back in routine, ready to hit the ground running. And so I feel really excited and motivated for the rest of this week.

[Abby Howard]

Good. Yeah, me too.

[Abbey Howard]

Good. I've been listening to the podcast that we kind of talked about last time. I feel like this episode is a little bit of a continuation of our periods episode. Yes.

[Abby Howard]

We talked so much about periods.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. So this one's gonna be more focused on birth control and that type, that realm of, like, women's health. But I finished. I still have, like, 40 minutes left in that diary of a women's health podcast. It's so interesting.

[Abby Howard]

You thought it was interesting too.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, I did. I did.

[Abby Howard]

Addie probably wouldn't like it.

[Addie]

The podcast.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Addie]

I haven't listened to it.

[Abbey Howard]

I feel like after having kids, I care more about my hormone health.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

I never cared before because I think now I feel the difference.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

In my body. So drastically.

[Addie]

See, I don't. And so I think that's where it comes in that I don't. Not that I don't care, but I don't feel it. I mean, yes and no at the same time.

[Abby Howard]

No. See, that doesn't make me feel.

[Addie]

See, I just thought, like, that's just what's normal. So I wasn't really thinking. My hormones are. I don't really register my emotions and, like, my thoughts to my hormones, even though that's probably where they're coming from. I just personally don't.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, like, in general or just in general?

[Addie]

Yeah, in general. Even, like, when I was having my period and stuff like that. Like, I didn't really.

[Abbey Howard]

Mm.

[Abby Howard]

It's a great excuse for things.

[Abbey Howard]

Usually only my angry. If I'm, like, feeling a bit, like, annoyed and angry, it's usually because I'm like, yeah. I just don't always feel like that unless I'm.

[Addie]

Well, Blake also tells me, which some people might think this is mean, but he's like, you can't use that as an excuse.

[Abby Howard]

No, I kind of agree.

[Abbey Howard]

No, I agree.

[Addie]

But I should.

[Abby Howard]

I feel it in my energy and postpartum. I felt it in, like, I felt crazy mentally. But in general, like, when I'm not pregnant or postpartum, I feel it in my energy levels.

[Abbey Howard]

My energy levels. Drastically different.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, for sure.

[Abby Howard]

Like, I, like, wake up. I'm very chipper or dragon.

[Abbey Howard]

I don't know what it was after pregnancy that unlocked. I think it's just a. A prolonged period of feeling bad for so long. I'm like, I want to feel the best I can all the time now when I'm, like, have the opportunity to. And I've almost become, like, an. An. Like, a little cuckoo about it. Yes. So I feel like that. That's why I'm a little like, oh, this is very interesting.

[Abby Howard]

Well, and also just like, I feel like just going through pregnancy and postpartum, you're more in touch with your cycle than ever before. Oh, yeah. So now I'm like, okay, now I know more. I feel like I understand this conversation more, and it feels more relevant to me personally. So. Yeah, because, I mean, that's the first time, like, whenever we were, like, trying for babies, that's the first time I ever really had, like, I ever felt like I was like, oh, I need to kind of learn, like, when are you fertile? When are you not fertile?

[Addie]

Right.

[Abby Howard]

Like, I didn't even really know any of that stuff before we started having kids, which I'm like, that's not good.

[Abbey Howard]

Right.

[Abby Howard]

I don't think that's the time to figure that out.

[Abbey Howard]

But

[Abby Howard]

the time is definitely when you start being sexually active and even before that, like, just to know what's going on in your body. But so, yeah, it does. In general, I'm, like, more interested in the topic.

[Abbey Howard]

I think it changed A lot of the ways it changed my viewpoint a lot on how I want to talk about. To Vivian about menstrual cycle, which has been really fun to think through that, because I think I've always heard periods or it's always usually in a negative connotation, like, oh, my gosh, I feel so cranky or grouchy or mean because I'm in my little face or bloated. You know, it's never associated with a positive feeling necessarily. And something that. My big takeaway from this was that it's so healthy for our bodies as women. It's like, the most. One of the most important factors of our body and, like, a huge sign of our overall general health. And so when I'm talking about it, it's like, oh, my gosh. I'm like, I'm about to get my period. This is really exciting. Mom's, like, hormones are doing really well, and these are signs that I'm really healthy. So, like, let's be thankful that I'm healthy.

[Abby Howard]

That's what they talk a lot about in the episode. They're, like, saying, like, it's just a good signal. Like, it's even something to celebrate, like, when you get your period, because it's like, everything is working correctly. And, like, that was. Yeah, you're. That's a really good takeaway. And I felt that, too, because I feel like a lot of times I was like, oh, to get it.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. Which.

[Abby Howard]

It's like, there's that too. Like. But, I mean, that was a really cool way to reframe it, too, and a way to think of it positively,

[Abbey Howard]

especially when you're, like, talking about. To young kids that are about to experience it. You know, I remember being. We were all so scared. So it's like, what a fun way to, like, talk about that. It's like, oh, my gosh, it's so exciting. Things are going to be working well, and you're healthy. It's great, you know? Yeah. So I think that was, like, a big takeaway for me.

[Addie]

Yeah. I think I've learned, like, as I've gotten older and, like, met so many people who are in different walks of, like, with their period and their cycle and things like that, that I'm. I've become a lot more grateful for my story with my cycle and being, like, very regular and being able to count on that to happen, because a lot of people aren't that way and, like, have a lot of problems around it, which has made me way more grateful for my period kind of like, you're saying that it's very healthy that that's happening, and that's good that it's happening. Happening. Totally.

[Abby Howard]

So, yeah, it. Oh, go ahead.

[Abbey Howard]

It made me wonder, you know, they're. I'm at the part where they're talking about perimenopause. Sorry if we're, like, referencing this a lot and we don't have context. Just know it's like, in general health. Women's Health podcast.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

We could also link it on our stories and be like, if you guys want to listen to this.

[Addie]

Yeah, I think we linked it in the show notes.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. Perfect. Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay. Perfect.

[Abby Howard]

A bunch of doctors.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. They're just discussing the perimenopause. I'm like, does that just feel like postpartum for 10 years?

[Addie]

Like, a little scared?

[Abbey Howard]

Because the way they talk about your hormones and they're like the hot flashes and the sweats and the brain fog. I'm like, is it postpartum for 10 years?

[Abby Howard]

I don't know.

[Abbey Howard]

Basically, I don't talk to my mom about it.

[Abby Howard]

I don't think. 10 years.

[Abbey Howard]

Well, it starts seven to 10 years before menopause actually happens. That's perimenopause. So you have the symptoms of it because your hormones are, you know, you're losing your estrogen and everything's out of whack.

[Abby Howard]

My mom just got all of her hormones tested. If she wants me to take this, I'll ask her.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay. Yeah, I need to ask my mom, too.

[Abby Howard]

And so now she's supplementing hormones.

[Addie]

She's really excited to start.

[Abby Howard]

She's really excited about it. And I think she's already feeling like

[Abbey Howard]

it's, like doing something that, like, changed my mom's life.

[Addie]

Same. I told her the same for my mom, too.

[Abby Howard]

So she's like, I'm going to get this all figured out, so in 25 years, you'll know. And I'm like, thanks, Mom.

[Abbey Howard]

They're walking so we can run.

[Abby Howard]

I literally was the one urging her to, though. I was like, mom, there's a good chance that your estrogen is probably too low. Zero.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Addie]

Well, I think that's the other thing with us talking about how we want to talk to. To our daughters or our kids about periods and health and cycles. It's also our parents going through menopause and how they're so afraid for it to happen in that cycle that we wanna change that, too. Of not being so afraid of that to happen in the future.

[Abby Howard]

Like, there's things that you can do.

[Addie]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

And I Also, the last thing referencing this podcast for now is that I have also recognized that the connection between. For me, the big takeaway was the connection between your cycle and your bone health. Because that's the. I mean, that's one of the major things with age is, like, your bones, like, they lose their density. That's gonna happen, but that's what's gonna slow you down. Like, ultimately, like, I want to be able to live a long, active lifestyle as long as I possibly can. And if you have really low estrogen, it, like, affects your bone health. It's terrible for your bone health.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

And so which they said that's repairable.

[Abbey Howard]

Which I didn't know that. Yeah, Yeah, I thought that was encouraging.

[Addie]

Yes.

[Abbey Howard]

How do you get that tested your bone density? How do you just Blood work? Do they just do blood from your bones? How do they test that?

[Addie]

You do, like, spinal tap?

[Abby Howard]

I don't know. Google that.

[Abbey Howard]

I'm so curious how to find what your bone density.

[Addie]

To find bone density, you need a specialized low dose X ray called a DEXA scan.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, yeah, I want to do that.

[Abbey Howard]

They have one in epicenter.

[Addie]

It's quick, painless and non invasive test measures mineral contents in your hip and lower spine to diagnose different risk factors.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, okay. I really want to do that DEXA scan.

[Addie]

Routine screening is typically recommended for 65 and older.

[Abbey Howard]

Perfect. So here I am at 30 getting my routine scan.

[Abby Howard]

A lot of young people do that. Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

I wanted to do it to test because it tests like skeletal muscle, skeletal muscle mass, everything. I just want to make sure I meant trending up.

[Abby Howard]

Trending up.

[Abbey Howard]

We always laugh because every time I go to the doctor and they take my blood pressure, they give me the numbers and I'm always like, cool. So trending like up or trending down? And that's not really how blood pressure works. It's not like I never know what blood pressure means.

[Abby Howard]

They always tell me and I'm like,

[Addie]

yeah, Usually afterwards they tell me, they're like, and that's good.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, but that was good. I'm like, good, but good. Compared to my last time, her fat Compared to my last, like, training up, I get really competitive with myself. And so Caleb's always like, it doesn't work like that and makes fun of me. So I'm like, I want to get these scans to make sure I'm trending up.

[Abby Howard]

Trending up.

[Abbey Howard]

Thank you to Omaha Steaks for sponsoring this portion of today's episode.

[Abby Howard]

We have been eating so much grilled meats in our house. Matt grills, like, every single night. And so now we're just like, what other meats can we try? We've had a lot of fun trying out our Omaha Steaks. We recently made their pork chops, which I had vowed never to have. Pork chop? No. We had some great pork chops.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. From mouthwatering burgers, chicken, pork, seafood, dessert, and more. For a great dinner just minutes away, that's what Omaha Steaks offers. I loved their salmon. I was so good. I made it in the oven and I baked it. It was really juicy, really flavorful. Everything that they have is so lean. It's so high quality. You can build a custom plan on your schedule, stock up on high quality proteins, and have less food waste.

[Abby Howard]

And Omaha Steaks is so elite because they have been perfecting the art of premium protein for over 100 years with zero compromises. Here's the thing. You don't want to be wondering where your meat is coming from.

[Abbey Howard]

And I feel like just knowing what is put in our meat, like the antibiotics, the hormones, all the different crazy foods that these animals are feeding, it's directly going into our bodies. So knowing that Omaha Steaks take really good care of their animals, it's sourced ethically. Just you taste the quality difference and your body just feels different when you eat it.

[Abby Howard]

Totally. I really agree.

[Abbey Howard]

Taste the Omaha Steaks difference and never settle for a grocery protein again. Get flavorful, high quality proteins delivered by visiting Omaha steaks.com/get $35 off when you use promo code abby at checkout. That's Omaha steaks.com code Abby terms apply. C site for details.

[Abby Howard]

Wow, that's crazy. Wow, that's crazy. That's crazy. I want to know what's going on in the reality world.

[Abbey Howard]

Tell us. Enlighten us.

[Addie]

Okay, so when we're recording this, there's only been one episode of Love island out.

[Abby Howard]

Is this the one that comes out every day?

[Addie]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

Sheesh. Lapiz.

[Abby Howard]

It's crazy.

[Addie]

See, I love that. Like, I love a show to watch. How long? I like it. It's like a month.

[Abbey Howard]

No, I mean time of episodes.

[Addie]

Well, last night's first episode, an hour and 45 minutes.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, the movie.

[Addie]

Typically 60 minutes.

[Abby Howard]

Okay. Whoa.

[Abbey Howard]

That's still a lot.

[Addie]

Yeah, well, they edit it, like, in real time. Like, they're probably, like, two days ahead, actually.

[Abby Howard]

That's really cool.

[Addie]

It's really cool that they do it. The other crazy part of that is, like, the social media aspect of it. These people are going in, don't have phones or anything, so when they get out, they have hundreds, even maybe like millions of followers. Yeah. So it's like kind of spooky, like going from nothing.

[Abby Howard]

Is that what's motivating them? Probably.

[Abbey Howard]

So that would motivate me to go

[Addie]

on those types of.

[Abby Howard]

Okay, like, I want it Love Island.

[Addie]

There's like a starting group of girls and starting group of guys. They couple up and they couple up themselves depending on the. Like, they change it every year. How they initially cup couple up. This year they have.

[Abby Howard]

They call it cupping coupling.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, coupling up.

[Addie]

They couple up.

[Abby Howard]

How they cup.

[Addie]

They couple up. This year they like had doors and the girls got to stand behind the door of the guy they wanted to couple up with. So they're taking this person, like they have met them for like maybe an hour.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, okay. So they have like a little cocktail hour and then they go and they

[Addie]

come up and they have like a challenge. And the challenge is she was.

[Abbey Howard]

What was it? Just dumb.

[Addie]

It was one where I literally watched like this. They all kissed, basically. There were like questions at each door. And then you stood behind the door, like an easier one was, are you a dog person, a cat person or a plant person? And then they stand behind the door and then once they open the door, the girls that are behind that door kiss the guys that are behind that door. If there's multiple people, you kiss both of them. You kiss one and then you kiss the other. And then there's just a lot of.

[Abbey Howard]

I think he's trying to see if there's like a spark. Yeah.

[Addie]

But there's lots of kissing. Very uncomfortable.

[Abby Howard]

You know what's weird to me is that I am 27, I have bit. I have children, I'm married. That I can't believe that there's other 27 year olds and younger on that

[Addie]

show doing that literally 23 year old

[Abby Howard]

that doesn't feel older than me because I'm like, you're going and kissing random people. I know, I know.

[Addie]

Yeah. So 23 year olds, they were kissing the situation and then they were coupling up and so they're in their couples. And then every other day or so new people come in. Like new bombshells come in.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, is that what. New bombshells.

[Addie]

That is where that comes from. So a guy will come in and there will be. So there's only five girls or there's six guys and five girls.

[Abby Howard]

So there's people on deck.

[Addie]

So there's a guy who will go home. So that bombshell will come like recouple with a different.

[Abby Howard]

Do people Just go home if they don't have someone?

[Addie]

Yes, mostly.

[Abby Howard]

And they choose to go.

[Abbey Howard]

So there's some strategies.

[Addie]

No, they don't choose to go home. So they couple up, and if you get left without a couple, you go home. If you don't get picked at the

[Abby Howard]

end of the day, there's some strategy.

[Addie]

Yeah, there's strategy, too, but there's also. It's supposed to be love.

[Abbey Howard]

How does the game end?

[Addie]

So people will get eliminated by usually. Well, there's a couple different options. They kind of rotate through. Either the game ends by couples getting sent home from audience. Like, we will vote on our favorite couples and a couple will go home, or they'll. The islanders have to decide two couples to go home. So there's like, safe couples. Like, the audience votes for their favorite couples, and three couples are safe, and then those three safe couples get to pick who's going home out of the remaining couples. So there's. The islanders pick sometimes, and then the audience picks.

[Abbey Howard]

So the audience gets really invested in these people.

[Addie]

Yes, and that's why it's live, too. So we can. Like, the audience votes on what's happening. So then you vote for the winner. There hasn't been a chance to, but yes.

[Abby Howard]

So what was bad about the first episode?

[Addie]

All the kissing. It was so bad.

[Abbey Howard]

Was it loud, too? I hate when they have the mics turned up.

[Addie]

Okay, here's the bombshells came in.

[Abby Howard]

Bombshells.

[Addie]

Bombshell. They had two. They had a girl and a guy.

[Abby Howard]

Is this in Australia?

[Addie]

So this is in Fiji. Yes, but it's an American. This one is Love Island.

[Abby Howard]

So they don't say hot new bombshell.

[Abbey Howard]

That's a Love island uk.

[Addie]

The guy.

[Abby Howard]

It's the same audio.

[Addie]

The guy. It's not an audio. He does it every time, basically. His name's Ian something. He does a lot. There's, like, a lot of jokes. Like, the audio is kind of. He does them every week. Like, for the episode. Every day for the episode, he records new ones.

[Abbey Howard]

Wow.

[Addie]

Like, that relate to the episode. And he's doing Love island uk, which is also on. Right.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, so his. It's the same guy across all franchises.

[Addie]

Not all franchises, but USA and uk he does.

[Abbey Howard]

How do you get that job? That's a great voice actor.

[Addie]

I don't know. He's done it for a long time. I think he was. No, I don't know. I was gonna say he was married to someone at some point that was in the franchise. I don't know. That could be wrong. But the Bombshells came in. It already been, like, two days that they've been there. And the girls and the guys, they stood behind these doors again. And they got to stand with that. They couldn't see each other. Girls are on one side, boys are

[Abby Howard]

on the other side because they both like dogs.

[Addie]

No, no, this is different now.

[Abby Howard]

Oh.

[Addie]

Just different doors now. The plain doors. You stand on the red if you want to. Like, you're open to coupling up with someone new. Like, that you want to meet new people, and you stand on the green dot if you want to stay in your couple. Oh. So that's kind of. You can't see if your other. The guy is doing that. So the girls who stepped on the red, like, and the guys who step on the red that wanted to mix it up, the bombshells came in, started kissing them, and you could hear on the other side that someone's getting kissed. And then they took them and they're off somewhere. And we'll know tonight what happens.

[Abbey Howard]

Whoa. Okay, so who's more likely to switch? Do more girls switch or more guys?

[Addie]

Two of each switched. One couple. They both chose to switch or to, like, be open.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. Like, this ain't gonna work.

[Addie]

Yeah. And then one girl and a couple and one guy and a different couple, they switch. They, like, chose. They wanted to explore other connections.

[Abby Howard]

Ouch.

[Addie]

So it's.

[Abbey Howard]

So they go home.

[Addie]

No, not.

[Abbey Howard]

No one went home yet.

[Abby Howard]

Found a bombshell.

[Addie]

Someone will probably. Well, there's an even amount of people now, so I don't think anyone will go home. Go home yet.

[Abby Howard]

Okay.

[Addie]

But.

[Abbey Howard]

Wow, Addie, that's crazy.

[Addie]

But listen, Love island, uk. I can't talk about this for too long. There's the bombshells that came in for this one. Their episode.

[Abby Howard]

Did you watch two episodes last night?

[Addie]

Yesterday, yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, wow.

[Addie]

Well, the UK one comes out earlier, so I can watch it.

[Abby Howard]

Why do they do that at the same time?

[Addie]

It's so annoying. Because it's a summer. It's a big commitment. I'm like, give me one in December or something.

[Abby Howard]

And then, you know, it's not really relevant.

[Addie]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Unless you're watching it in real time.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Addie]

But the UK Bombshells, they could come in, they could eliminate anyone they wanted for any reason after 24 hours of being there. But it's a secret. No one knows. So they're like. They're talking to girls are talking to guys, and they don't know that they're like, that they are going to pick someone to go home. So I got to Watch tonight's episode to see who they.

[Abbey Howard]

I'd be curious. I mean, it's one of the most popular shows.

[Addie]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

In the world right now in it.

[Addie]

Yes. Love island is very, very popular. I think it's hard because it is. This episode. First episode was so bad. I was just like. It was just so raunchy with all the kissing. I'm like, I can't watch this. But I like them chatting. I like them having conversations. I like them getting dressed up. I like the challenges. They do are typically pretty fun, but there are some sexy elements to it that I don't love. That's usa. UK is not as raunchy, really.

[Abby Howard]

He is lawless.

[Addie]

I watched two episodes of UK and it's been nothing like USA really in the way that this first episode was so.

[Abby Howard]

Really?

[Abbey Howard]

That's interesting.

[Addie]

Okay.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay.

[Abby Howard]

Well, I actually. I was crazy. Wow. That's crazy. I actually realized you have a couple real life. Wow. That's crazies.

[Addie]

I do. You don't know. Oh, my gosh. A week ago today, Blake got in a car wreck.

[Abby Howard]

Hit and run.

[Addie]

Hit and run, Car wreck.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. Yeah. Horrible.

[Addie]

That was at 1pm on Wednesday. By 10pm on Wednesday, the tow truck company had still not picked up Blake's car. We were going through our insurance. They got a free tow truck. Great. Awesome. 10pm still had not picked up the car. Okay. And we.

[Abby Howard]

It's not drivable.

[Addie]

It's drivable, but we were worried that if he drives it, that insurance would be like, oh, you caused this damage while you drove it somewhere. If the tow truck is free, let's do the tow truck.

[Abbey Howard]

Totally.

[Addie]

And so I'm calling the tow truck company all day trying to get a hold of them. No one's answering. Calling usa. Hey, they still haven't picked up our car. We're not with our car. Imagine if we were with our car and had no place to go. We'd be there at 10pm with no car, with no place to be. So at 10pm I get a message that it was delivered to where we're supposed to be. Then two days later, Blake gets a call from the place that it's supposed to be at to be evaluated. Hey, are you gonna drop off your car?

[Abbey Howard]

What?

[Addie]

What do you mean, are we gonna drop off our car? The tow truck company said they did. They sent us pictures of it. It's not here. Oh, okay. Call our insurance, try and get ahold of them. Got ahold of them. They're trying to figure out what happened. Tow truck company's not answering. Didn't answer for two days. They call. We finally got ahold of them. Yeah, we have it here. We couldn't deliver it because it was overnight, and we don't have access to their overnight lot. And we're like. They're like, yes, you did. You had the code. You could have gotten it also.

[Abby Howard]

It's been two days.

[Addie]

It's been two days. They have it in their lot. The tow truck company has it in their lot. They've raked. We've. We've raked up $455 of charges for it being held at their lot.

[Abbey Howard]

Absolutely.

[Addie]

Obviously, we're not going to pay that. I get a message on Sunday evening that my car has been delivered to where it's supposed to be. They were supposed to pick it up on Friday. I get a call Monday that, hey, we're on our way to go get your car, but no one's answering to let us into the lot from the tow truck company.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, my gosh. Are you serious?

[Abby Howard]

And this person that did the hit and run, they're in a. They were being followed by a state trooper because of reckless driving.

[Abbey Howard]

Right, of course. But when.

[Abby Howard]

So they had the license plate and everything, but this. The driver of the vehicle was not the one that was licensed registered with that car. So there's nothing.

[Addie]

They don't know who the driver is.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, he stole the car.

[Addie]

They could have stole the car. Could have been a boyfriend. So the car is registered to girl. Car is registered to a woman. The driver was a male, but they never caught the person.

[Abbey Howard]

So even though he was being.

[Abby Howard]

Once the car is delivered and evaluated,

[Addie]

then Blake gets a call from the police department. Hey, we have the insurance of the car that hit you. Oh, perfect. Great. Amazing. But we can't confirm that. That is, like. We can't confirm yet that who the person was that hit you. I'm like, does it matter?

[Abbey Howard]

Why does that matter? It's the car.

[Addie]

I feel like it does. If it's stolen, that person didn't. The person in the car or the registered to the car didn't do the damage. I don't know how that all works.

[Abby Howard]

I think if it's stolen, it has to be reported as stolen, though. You know what I mean? They would know right away.

[Abbey Howard]

Yes.

[Addie]

So they haven't turned themselves in. So then I think. Think must be someone who. But they have a. The police have a person of interest. We'll see where that goes. But we have their insurance, so we'll see.

[Abby Howard]

Bad luck with cars.

[Addie]

Yeah, he does and then so I actually as we're here recording, I got a message that hey, your car arrived at 2:02pm today.

[Abbey Howard]

Perfect. So after you pay like a thousand dollars, this other lot who basically held you car hostage. Hostage, yeah, for sure.

[Addie]

Which to cup. Tow truck companies try and do that.

[Abbey Howard]

Fantastic.

[Addie]

Also then my car's in the shop too cuz I got a check engine light on.

[Abbey Howard]

So what did you do here?

[Abby Howard]

I.

[Addie]

So Blake has a bridal car. I took my mom's car. So we have none of our our own car.

[Abby Howard]

Love it.

[Abbey Howard]

Love that.

[Addie]

That's my. Wow, that's crazy.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh Addie, I'm sorry. That's so stressful. Car stuff is so stressful.

[Addie]

If we can just get the insurance from the other people, that would be fantastic.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah man, we'll see what happens. Tow companies are ruthless. Yeah, they're ruthless. In college my car got towed. I parked in front of a drive know it was a driveway, full curb and grass, but it was someone's driveway. And I pull up through my car and go, someone stole my car. Started crying, I'm like bawling like Caleb,

[Addie]

someone stole my car.

[Abbey Howard]

We call the cops. It was towed. Cuz apparently it's blocking the driveway.

[Addie]

How do you know where your car is if it gets towed?

[Abbey Howard]

Well, yeah, you have to call the police and they tell you who where they took it.

[Addie]

Like the tow truck company tells the

[Abbey Howard]

police if someone calls and reports it, they have to report to the police because.

[Addie]

Oh, that's good. I was wondering if that ever happened. What?

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, because I'm like, how would you know where to pick it up?

[Addie]

Where's my car?

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, the police, they have to report it. So I call, they told me where it was, they tried to charge me an arm and a leg. And I just remember going in this little office and this woman was so stressed. Like there was so much going on her. She had a baby in her arm, she was swinging this baby around. Like every time she walked through the doorway that baby's head almost hit the door. And I was like so frazzled watching this scene and people were coming in and out and they're yelling at each other and good thing Caleb was with me cuz I was like. They said on the phone, it's gonna be $200. She goes, it's gonna be $550 or something crazy. And I was like, excuse me. They said it was gonna be $200. Like holding back tears, panicked. And Caleb was like, she's not paying that. So thankfully he like was a voice Because I was so panicked. But, yeah, they're ruthless.

[Addie]

I feel usually they wouldn't let you get away with.

[Abbey Howard]

No, they, like, really? No. We had, like, he had to fight him a little bit. Yeah. But they really, like, they try to jack up that price.

[Addie]

I'm like, it's our insurance. They're not gonna let this go. They're not gonna pay that. They're gonna definitely fight you on this. Like, it's not a person. It's our insurance. They're not gonna, like. Also, why is your insurance using this tow company? Better never use again.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Seriously?

[Addie]

Couldn't get a hold of anyone.

[Abbey Howard]

Totally.

[Addie]

It was sweet. Our appraiser, he had to patch me into them so we could have a call together. And he goes, thank you for everything you've done. I really appreciate it. And then he gets off the phone with him. He goes, took everything in me to say, I appreciate them.

[Abby Howard]

That's funny.

[Addie]

He's so sweet. He's the best. He's like, I've really never. They had to use the geolocating features of the photographs of the. Our car to find out where it was. To find out it was at the truck company. You're kidding. He's like, we've never. I didn't even know we could do that, but apparently we can.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay, well, also, you're like, well, wait a minute. You can track me at any time.

[Addie]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Okay.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay. We'll talk about that later.

[Abby Howard]

Photo, probably, or something.

[Addie]

Yeah, I must have been. So, yeah, they had a.

[Abbey Howard]

We'll address that later.

[Addie]

I'm like, the tow truck company want to answer? So they had to literally look up this photo.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, my gosh.

[Addie]

Yeah, it's at the lot now. We're good. It's getting checked out two to three days.

[Abbey Howard]

We hope it's there.

[Addie]

We do. He said, it is, but we'll see.

[Abbey Howard]

We'll see.

[Abby Howard]

When we were working at the pizza restaurant in college, there was a high schooler that worked with us and this. She was always, unfortunately, finding guys to go on dates with that we were like, oh, man.

[Abbey Howard]

Shoot.

[Abby Howard]

And he took her. This guy took her on a date, and he got his car towed with her stuff inside of it while they were on the date. And she called me, which I felt very honored because.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, yeah.

[Abby Howard]

And she was like, I literally can't get in my house. I can't. It was like, all of her stuff was in this car. And I was like, well, I'll go with you to the tow truck company, and I will accept. Explain why we need to get in the vehicle.

[Abbey Howard]

Right.

[Abby Howard]

I'm not towing this schmuck's car. Getting it out. Parked in a terrible spot. Of course, I didn't know that. They will not let you get anything out of your car.

[Abbey Howard]

Really?

[Addie]

Oh, I didn't know.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. They won't let you get anything out of your car.

[Abbey Howard]

They hold everything hostage.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. And so I'm, like, looking at this guy, I'm like, what are your plans for getting your car out of here? Like, me, I'm, like, talking. This random guy that's probably in high school. I was like, what are your. How are you gonna get your car out of here? And he's like. Like, I don't know. She's like, my parents are gonna kill me. Like, she's all worried. And I'm like, how much does it cost to get this car out? 275 at this lot. And I was like, are you two confident? I like, look at the guy. And then no one had that. And I was like, well, freaking. I had. Like, that is like, literally what we made in, like, two weeks.

[Abbey Howard]

So you paid for it?

[Abby Howard]

Yes.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh.

[Abby Howard]

And I was really stressed about it. I had like, no.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, that's generous.

[Abby Howard]

We're gonna have to find a way

[Addie]

you to pay me back.

[Abbey Howard]

Make way. Make way. You give me all your tips.

[Abby Howard]

That's what I learned. I mean, what do they say, like, if you ever lend money, don't lend money. That you don't expect to give it.

[Abbey Howard]

Never let money. Just give it.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah, Well, I was like. I told this guy. I was like, yeah, I would love to get that back. Because I was like, I'm not being generous with you for you. But he's like, yeah, I don't. Like, okay, okay.

[Addie]

I'll never gonna see you again in my life.

[Abbey Howard]

He avoids Bella. Seen, I gave information.

[Abby Howard]

So if it ever comes back to me, I will know.

[Addie]

Yes.

[Abby Howard]

From that random, perfect guy, you get

[Abbey Howard]

a random Venmo request.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. Just so you know, you can't get anything out of your car at a tow lot. That's good to know if there's anything in it.

[Abbey Howard]

Crazy facts.

[Abby Howard]

Remember, Josh got all of his stuff stolen from his car that was in a tow lot.

[Addie]

No, stolen from.

[Abby Howard]

Stolen from the car in the lot.

[Abbey Howard]

I mean, that'd be a great place to hit if you're a thief, because

[Abby Howard]

your owners cannot get to it.

[Abbey Howard]

They can't get to it. And no one cares.

[Abby Howard]

And, yeah, they literally don't care. No one knows who's in charge.

[Abbey Howard]

No one knows who's in charge there.

[Abby Howard]

Long detour there. But that's a birth control.

[Addie]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

No. Before we go to birth control, one last detour. You guys see my hair?

[Abby Howard]

It looks great.

[Abbey Howard]

Thanks. It's called a partless slick back.

[Addie]

I actually.

[Abby Howard]

Is this a thing?

[Addie]

I noticed it, actually. Kylie Jenner's partner.

[Abbey Howard]

Kylie Jenner's partner. Partless look back. Everyone is, like, laughing online because she got coined wearing a partless slick back to a basketball game with Timothee Chalamet. And then people were like, don't you just mean a ponytail?

[Abby Howard]

That is funny. I never heard about this.

[Abbey Howard]

It just happened over the weekend.

[Abby Howard]

Is it.

[Abbey Howard]

It's happening online. Yes. And everyone's like, only Kylie Jenner could give a ponytail a chic new name.

[Addie]

I'm not kidding. I was looking at your. I'm like, she did it.

[Abbey Howard]

I did it. I like it. I might have a headache later, but

[Abby Howard]

why would the part make it any less headachy?

[Abbey Howard]

No, I'm not sure it would.

[Addie]

Oh. How to achieve this look when you look it up on Google.

[Abbey Howard]

How to achieve the partless look back.

[Addie]

Prep the hair. Brush your hair thoroughly.

[Abbey Howard]

Get really sweaty.

[Addie]

Apply products.

[Abby Howard]

I'm a super low adopter to all these trends. Like, it took me a long time to adopt the middle part. Then it took me a long time to adopt a slick back. And even then, I can't do a super slick back. I can't.

[Abbey Howard]

And you look good with a slick back.

[Abby Howard]

Thank you. I love it. I just am a really late adopter, and I just have to just stop rejecting it. I just have to know that I'm gonna get there, but I'll be, like, six months late.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, perfect.

[Abby Howard]

Sounds good. I'll see you in six months.

[Abbey Howard]

See you in six months. Probably. Slick back, ponytail. Okay, now we can move on. I actually really liked the stats that Emma pulled. Do you want to read them, Maddie?

[Addie]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay. So we were talking about birth control.

[Addie]

Yes.

[Abby Howard]

Love the combo. It's kind of taboo to talk about, but I'm like, it shouldn't be, like.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. I mean, it's like a personal thing. For sure.

[Abby Howard]

It's personal. Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

But also, we're a ladies podcast, and that's what we talk about is personal things.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. I don't know why I'm not. I'm not. I don't find it personal for me, like, sharing my own experience with. Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

I'm not going to talk about to my. My male neighbors. But, like, I'll talk about.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, yeah. I feel really safe here.

[Addie]

Our producer went through and found US some stats on how they did birth control in the past. So the ancient methods were early recorded methods in ancient Egypt and Greece utilized barrier and spermicidal.

[Abbey Howard]

How the heck do they figure that out?

[Addie]

Pess made with honey

[Abby Howard]

pesticides.

[Abbey Howard]

So basically are they are getting

[Addie]

P E S S A R I E S, Pessaride, pessarides and lint to block out sperm. So it was just like a barrier, like a.

[Abby Howard]

Like a condom or a female condom

[Addie]

with honey leaves lint to block the sperm.

[Abbey Howard]

Gosh dang, that sounds sticky.

[Addie]

Honestly, why in my brain did I just like think they just. They either just had sex or they pulled out. Like that was probably.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. I don't think to me in my home, like, they probably didn't think about it.

[Addie]

No. They're like, how are we getting pregnant? I have no clue.

[Abbey Howard]

Sometimes I think people of the past, I'm like, oh, they didn't have brains like me. But like, that's just a stupid thing.

[Abby Howard]

They couldn't use the Internet

[Addie]

in the 16th century. Early condoms, they used a linen barrier devices. They're pioneered by a Catholic priest. That's interesting.

[Abbey Howard]

That's actually really.

[Addie]

Wow.

[Abbey Howard]

Shocking.

[Addie]

Well, early reusable she saw made of animal intestines were famously popularized.

[Abbey Howard]

So basically took the casings that you eat on a bratwurst. Yeah, yeah. Got it. Perfect. Yucky. Yucky. Honestly. Smart. All right, keep going.

[Addie]

The modern pill, which is 1950s to 1960s. It was developed by biologists and doesn't matter who it's funded by. The first oral contraceptive was approved by the FDA in May of 1960s. That seems really like early.

[Abbey Howard]

Like you thought it's been around newer.

[Addie]

Yeah, yeah, I think so.

[Abbey Howard]

Wow.

[Addie]

For the pill and then currently 1960s to 1990s flexible plastic and copper devices. The IUDs were introduced for widespread use in the 1960s, followed by hormonal implants approved in the 1980s and 1990s. Hormonal implants. Would that be like the.

[Abby Howard]

The bar.

[Addie]

The bar, which is. A lot of people said that one. It starts with an N. That's actually Nexipla. Nexapla, yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

That's actually interesting. I only knew one person in high school that had the bar and I remember she would like always play with it.

[Abby Howard]

Yes, I'd be like that too.

[Addie]

I wonder what the benefits of that one are to other.

[Abbey Howard]

That's the research I should have done before this episode, to be honest. Like the differences between the different implants. Well, the implant versus the pill. Like is it a hormonal difference? Mostly. Is it just the fact that it's like an implant so you don't have to worry about taking something every day? Kind of like the iud? Is it. Is that the main benefit? Was the main benefit then of just not having to remember to take something?

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. Okay.

[Abby Howard]

It's foolproof.

[Abbey Howard]

That's interesting.

[Abby Howard]

It probably has a higher rate of, like. What do they call those? Like a prevention on prevention? No, to prevent. No, of prevention. Like, I think the highest is, like, the most successful. Yeah. Iud.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay.

[Abby Howard]

And I think that's, like, considered a form of IUD, right?

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, is it?

[Abby Howard]

Except not an IUD.

[Abbey Howard]

No, it's not. Because IUDs not in your uterus, but

[Abby Howard]

an implant, wearable type of thing.

[Addie]

Okay, next one implant lasts up to three years. Highly effective. Over 99%. Yeah. Set it and forget about it. Fertility returns quickly after removal. That's what that one says. And then the hormonal IUD lasts three to eight years, depending on the brand. Dramatically lighter or no periods. Highly effective and reversible.

[Abbey Howard]

Interesting.

[Abby Howard]

So we pulled you guys for those of you that wanted to participate on what form of birth control you used. And I feel like these. This kind of surprised me. First of all, we asked, do you use birth control? And 73% of you said no.

[Abbey Howard]

I was surprised, too. But then I did think. I think most of the women in our audience are, what, 18 to 34

[Abby Howard]

or like 25 or 34, though really young now. Yes.

[Abbey Howard]

But I think we have a lot of women that are probably in the family planning season of their life.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

Like our audience, like, we're moms. We talk about motherhood. I would assume a lot of people want to be moms or currently moms or planning to be moms.

[Addie]

I also thought there might be a. A group of our audience that are like Christian women that are not sexually active.

[Abbey Howard]

Yes. Also true, too.

[Abby Howard]

There's a lot of people that are not sexually active that do use birth control, though. So that's why I was like, yeah, surprised. Surprised by that.

[Abbey Howard]

I wonder if the conversation has switched, though, around, like, the use of birth control. And as for health symptom stuff, instead

[Abby Howard]

of just like, it definitely is switching,

[Abbey Howard]

it's been changing a lot. So, yeah, I am surprised with that. Number two.

[Abby Howard]

Going to go over the stats for

[Abbey Howard]

what form of birth control did you use? 19 said pill, 12 said IUD. 18% said condoms. 51 said natural family planning or other.

[Addie]

A lot of the others are either the nexo. What was that?

[Abbey Howard]

The arm, the Nexa one.

[Abby Howard]

The arm implant.

[Addie]

The arm implant. And then a lot of Poland Prey.

[Abby Howard]

Poland. Pray. Been there, Been there.

[Abbey Howard]

It's a great method. Nexplanin. Is that what it is? Next, Next one on.

[Addie]

Thank you. So sorry.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, my God.

[Abbey Howard]

Hey, I would know.

[Abby Howard]

So Midwestern.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay.

[Addie]

I will say. Okay, I'm looking at our. Our audience insights on Instagram, and we have 53 of. Our audience is 25 to 34.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay, so that makes sense to me why, like, natural family planning would be the biggest and maybe not. Because that is, like, prime family planning

[Abby Howard]

years where you're kind of like in between, like, pregnancies. Just, like, not necessarily. Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

You're coming off the pill. You're trying to, like, regulate your cycle, learn your body more so you don't

[Abby Howard]

need the most effective form.

[Abbey Howard]

Exactly.

[Abby Howard]

Like when you first get married or.

[Addie]

Yeah. The other people who are saying they don't use birth control is because their husbands have a vasectomy. Ah.

[Abbey Howard]

Our ladies that have beat us there.

[Abby Howard]

The ladies that have beat us there.

[Abbey Howard]

I love that.

[Abby Howard]

So that's interesting. And we also did ask another question because there's so many caveats.

[Addie]

You said, he got fixed.

[Abbey Howard]

He got fixed.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, yeah. We'll be there. We'll be there. We also asked, because here's the thing. Even in my own life, there's been so many different things I've used for birth control. But, like, it all kind of just depends on, like, what, like, what the why for that specific time of your life. So we asked why you were initially put on birth control. 47% of you said pregnancy prevention, which I feel like that's what I would have expected for that. 8% said health reasons, 12% said acne, and 33% said to manage period symptoms. And I'm guessing for health reasons, is that probably related to, like, pcos? Pcos, Endometriosis.

[Addie]

That's exactly what I was thinking.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

Because if you separate it from acne, then, yeah, I would assume.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. So that's all very interesting. And all these things really influence what method you choose or whether or not you don't use, you know, anything like that. And so I think it's just a broader conversation that we've talked about. Like, it's just becoming more relevant in our lives as we, like, are entering our family planning stage. Or, like, even when I first was, like, engaged and, like, thinking about, like, all I'm like, how do I even enter this whole realm? Because it was never conversation in my house. Like, as, like, as a teenager, it was Never a conversation of like it was. I never even felt like I could ask to be on birth control. I didn't have a reason to be on birth control. I was not sexually active. And I also didn't. I've always had very manageable periods, but I always was like, well, hopefully I have friends in my life whenever I'm like engaged and married that could help me. And they did. I was educated by my friends.

[Abbey Howard]

And so that's.

[Abby Howard]

Let us just kind of. We can talk about our own personal experiences. And then also it could enlighten or like maybe just be like, oh, I find myself in the same stage of life as you right now. This might be what is good for us too.

[Abbey Howard]

So. Totally. Yeah. I actually went on birth control. I think I was 17. 17 or 18. I was a senior in high school. I was not sexually active at the time, but kind of planned to be in the future.

[Abby Howard]

I'm hoping that it's over.

[Abbey Howard]

Shared my testimony in the past. So this was like pre that. And yeah, so that was like a motivation for me internally. But when I was talking to my mom about it, that obviously was not shared. So I. I did have pretty bad cramps and I had really irregular periods and that was an issue that I felt like I had. And so it was kind of like, oh, I get two birds, one stone. And so that was when I went to the doctor and talked about it at 17, which I look back on that now because I was on the pill from 17 to right before Caleb and I got married. At 23 I switched to the NuvaRing and I think I. Not that my doctor didn't like tell me anything about the pill, but I also like didn't really know anything about it.

[Abby Howard]

Like I still don't since I've never done the pill.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, I. Listening to that podcast, I actually felt like better about it because I appreciate that my body had that seven day break each month.

[Abby Howard]

But is there an option where you

[Abbey Howard]

don't take like you could skip the sugar pills and just skip your period altogether. Yes, you could, but I never did that.

[Abby Howard]

So that is recommended is to take sugar pills for seven days. So you never forget to take the pill. Right. But then you still get your period because you're not taking the pill.

[Abbey Howard]

Exactly. Yep. It's like a dosage.

[Abby Howard]

You.

[Addie]

You don't get your period. Like when I got on one birth control pill, I didn't get. I got my period and on a different one I didn't.

[Abby Howard]

So also just even with the sugar pill.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, really I always did. They were definitely lighter and like, very manageable when I was on birth control, which I felt like before they were heavy. Like I would use super plus tampons when I was 17. And actually when I got off of birth control before having kids, I felt like my periods were very manageable and light even after years being off of it. So I think it was just being young and like my body not being regulated on its own necessarily, and my lifestyle probably really jacked up my, my. You know, I was extremely reckless as a 17 year old in the way that I ate, slept and like lived my life, basically. So there were probably those factors too that affected it. But yeah, I was on it for about seven years before going off of it.

[Abby Howard]

Wow, so you're on the pill for seven years?

[Abbey Howard]

Well, let's see, 17 to 23. How many years is that?

[Abby Howard]

Almost seven.

[Abbey Howard]

Six.

[Abby Howard]

Six years.

[Abbey Howard]

And then I was on the NuvaRing from 23 to 26 and that was.

[Abby Howard]

I. After listening to the podcast, I was like, I feel like that's a really good option.

[Abbey Howard]

I. Yeah, I actually thought the new room was really easy. It's basically like it looks like a ponytail holder and you just pinch it and it slides up in there. It's really comfortable. You don't feel it. And then you wear it for three weeks. So it's not something that you have to like take every day or remember all the time, but you just kind of mark when it comes out. You take it out and you have your period every month and your body gets a break from the hormones. So I really enjoyed that. I felt good on it, felt fine. But when I came off birth control, I did notice a big difference in how I felt. Like, I think I went on it so young. I never actually knew what my normal was. So that's kind of my experience.

[Abby Howard]

I feel like, yeah, so far, the NuvaRing. Do you know what hormones are in that? Because I'm learning that there's like estrogen and progesterone. Like some of them have both. I think from what I heard, I'm learning it's better to probably have both.

[Abbey Howard]

I think I was always on a. Both hormones. Okay. My pill was both. I do remember that. And I think my nuvering was also of both.

[Abby Howard]

Okay,

[Addie]

yes, it's estrogen and estradiol.

[Abby Howard]

Estradiol.

[Abbey Howard]

Estradiol, I think.

[Addie]

So those two are what's in a nucleus.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, so it doesn't have progesterone.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, so it doesn't have progesterone.

[Addie]

Well, estrogen Is that what you want? Progestreal is a progesterone. Is a progest.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, it's like a synthetic progesterone and

[Addie]

then there's a synthetic estrogen. Yeah. Okay. So a progesterone and then a synthetic estrogen. So. Yes. So it had both the common word. The words they use are not those words.

[Abby Howard]

That should be progestidile. This is not a science.

[Addie]

It says a progestion.

[Abby Howard]

We have the educational resource. This is the chatty conversation.

[Abbey Howard]

We could be wrong. So just ask me about doctors.

[Abby Howard]

So that. No, I do think that that's what they said on the podcast. They referred to that being, like, a good option.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. Because it has both. And then you also get the break each month from the hormones.

[Abby Howard]

I also like the idea that you don't have to take it at the same time every day because.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, that was a lot. Which I did that for seven years. I mean, I said an alarm on my phone and I would have to change it based off my life stage. But you can't change it in the middle of the month. You have to change it at the beginning of your new pack if you want to change your time that you take it. So you would have. Once you picked your time that month of when you were going to take it, you had to stick to that time for the whole month. You had an hour before and an hour after that you could take it.

[Abby Howard]

Wow. See, that's tricky.

[Abbey Howard]

So I would set alarms, like, if

[Abby Howard]

you travel and stuff and you're, like, trying to figure out time zones.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. I mean, I was in high school, so I relatively had the same schedule.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

And then college, it got a little trickier, but I could kind of. I could kind of understand what my schedule was going to be. So I actually feel like during school, it wasn't the hardest to keep track of. But, yeah, once I graduated, it was a lot harder to keep track of my schedule, my time that I see.

[Abby Howard]

I feel like I know myself. And when I was. I don't think I could do that. It's hard for me to even remember to say prenatal.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. Honestly.

[Abby Howard]

And that's something that will eat you up that I. I'm like, I'm damaging my baby. The gill.

[Abbey Howard]

And it's like, okay, you're fine if you miss a couple.

[Abby Howard]

No. And I. And I really haven't. But I remember that being, like, really hard for me. Like, I got really in the swing of things. I've been on prenatals for a year now. Over a year. So. But yeah, I'm like, that probably wouldn't have been a good method for me early on when it was like, really important for me to, like, prevent pregnancy. Isn't there an option that's a patch?

[Addie]

Yes, yes. The patch is weekly application versus a daily pill. Similar benefits to the combined pill.

[Abbey Howard]

I've never known anyone that's done the patch.

[Abby Howard]

I did. I knew someone that did the patch where they put it on their butt.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, okay. That makes sense.

[Addie]

It's probably similar to.

[Abby Howard]

I kind of like that idea rather than a ring up there. Thank you to Flamingo for sponsoring this portion of today's episode.

[Abbey Howard]

Can I feel your legs?

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. Can I feel yours?

[Abbey Howard]

Wow.

[Abby Howard]

We both are freshly shaved. What are the odds, really, when think

[Abbey Howard]

about it, honestly, we are the same. I love the Flamingo razor. It has been a game changer in my routine. I used to get a lot of cuts under my armpits. I would burn when I put deodorant on. It has not been an issue. I love how their razor has the, like, surrounding edge. It's like the perfect fit under my arms. Bumper. The bumper. Thank you for putting it in.

[Abby Howard]

Well, I don't know if that's the right word for it, but it also just smooths your skin, so smoothing glides so nicely. A lot of the women's razors that are on the market are cheap, Cheap and flimsy and they just irritate your skin, leave you with redness or burns from shaving. And we don't want that. We need the strength of a man's razor, but with the consideration of a woman's body. And that's what Flamingo does.

[Abbey Howard]

Yep. The women who helped build Harry's found themselves rolling their eyes when other companies were just shrinking men's razors and making them pink. So they decided to shake things up. Flamingo has a no pink tax pricing, so no Flamingo design and no irritation. Flamingo was born to give women shaving solutions made with their bodies in mind.

[Abby Howard]

Their starter set has everything you could need, whether it's time for an everything shower, if you know what I mean, or if you just need to shape up your brow line. For a limited time, our listeners can get the Flamingo starter set for only $7 at shopflamingo.com Abby this set includes the Flamingo original razor, one five blade cartridge, a 1 ounce foaming shave gel, and a shower holder.

[Abbey Howard]

Just head to shopflamingo.com Abby to claim this offer and after you purchase, they'll ask you Guys where you heard about them. And please support our show and tell them that always here sent you someone

[Addie]

and I. I know has a patch for, like, menopause, and it has to go below a certain level.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, interesting.

[Abby Howard]

Like, you can't wear it up high.

[Addie]

Yeah. You can't wear it up by your breasts or anything.

[Abbey Howard]

Is it hard to, like, swim in and stuff?

[Abby Howard]

It's really sticky.

[Addie]

Yeah, I think it stays. It stays on for, like, for a week.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, okay. Oh, yeah. I guess you have to shower, so water shouldn't affect him.

[Abby Howard]

Once a week feels better than every day, but once every three weeks. Also good options. Yeah. I'm just. I'm just excited now to learn about other options. Because I feel like with me, like, I. I'm not saying I wasn't. Like, I could have done a lot more research, but I just was like, they're like, oh, there's a pill that you have to take every day. Or you could just do this one thing, and then you don't have to think about it. And so when I. A month before I got married and we waited, like, to be sexually active until we got married, I was like, okay, it's time to choose an option. And I was. I felt like. I was like, you could either do something every day, or you could just do it one time. I was like, one time.

[Abbey Howard]

Check it off the list.

[Abby Howard]

Let's do it one time. And so that's when I got the Kyleena, which is the iud. They generally recommend before you have children. And I remember that there was, like, all kinds of YouTube videos of, like, IUD horror stories. Oh. And it was like, they were actually really scary.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, they're super. That's why I never got the iud.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, my gosh. But then also, like, my mentality, I don't know. This is just more of my personality. I'm like, that's not gonna happen to me. It's all gonna be fine. And I really wasn't worried about it. And that could have been really naive. Cause I could have had a terrible experience. But I actually had a really good experience. Like, I literally went in, and they actually recommended that I had, like, a driver, her for that. Like, they recommended, like, someone else take you.

[Abbey Howard]

Wow.

[Abby Howard]

And I remember that my friend was supposed to go through it. Plans fell through, and I was certainly not gonna ask my mom. And so I just took myself. And then my mom found out, and she was like, abby, like, I would

[Abbey Howard]

have come with you.

[Abby Howard]

I was like, actually didn't really need anybody. It was Totally fine. Like, they. So I, like, went in and then they just, like, shoot it up there.

[Abbey Howard]

Wow.

[Abby Howard]

And it's not comfortable. Like, goes through your cervix.

[Abbey Howard]

Ow. Like, it pierces it. Almost like an ear piercing or what?

[Abby Howard]

Yeah, or just clip it. It goes through and then it's a T, so it stops.

[Addie]

Oh.

[Abby Howard]

So there's, like, tiny little wire still, like, in. But it's pretty high up there.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

So you can't feel it, really. Like, I think they say you can check the strings.

[Addie]

Yeah. So they have strings that come down so they can take it out, but they usually try and cut them pretty short so you don't feel them. But if they leave them long enough, you can feel them. Or your partner could feel them.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah, they told me to check them, and I was like, well, sometimes after

[Addie]

a certain point, they can feel a little sensitive, but they'll, like, get wrapped in mucus and stuff like that at a certain point. But if they're bothering you, they can sometimes tuck them up into your cervix.

[Abby Howard]

It never was anything I felt. I never felt anything like that. But the kyleena one is a little smaller. I think it also has both.

[Abbey Howard]

Is that why they recommend it before you have a kid? Because things are, like, tight.

[Abby Howard]

It lasts five years, nice and tight.

[Abbey Howard]

Pretty complete.

[Abby Howard]

Things are still intact, and then they're damaged a little looser. That's essentially what happened.

[Abbey Howard]

I've been through some things, seen some stuff. This has been through a couple rodeos,

[Abby Howard]

and that's exactly what happened. Because I. Yeah, so had that one, and it was extremely effective. I didn't have. I didn't have a period. Which now in hindsight, I'm like, you didn't love that. That should have been. At the time, I was like, this is incredible. It was more just for convenience sake. Like, I didn't have to think about it. Of course, in hindsight, I'm like, maybe that was probably too high of a dose for my body because it was probably preventing ovulation. So there's. Yeah. I don't know how in the weeds you want to go, but with IUDs, like, they're not. They aren't marketed to prevent pregnancy by stopping ovulation. It's by thickening your cervical mucus. But since I didn't get a period, sometimes that is also an indicator. That was also the dosage can be high enough that it's like stopping ovulation altogether.

[Abbey Howard]

Gotcha.

[Abby Howard]

So I think that's really what was happening. I probably wasn't ovulating for that amount of time.

[Abbey Howard]

Did you know? Is that bad?

[Abby Howard]

I didn't know. Based off listening to that podcast. It's not ideal, but I don't think I ovulated.

[Abbey Howard]

I didn't ovulate, but I still had periods. Like, even with the pill, because it stops ovulation, But I had a period every month.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

It's almost just like your uterine lining is shedding, I guess. But there's no egg.

[Abby Howard]

I probably was not ovulating and not having a period.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay, gotcha.

[Abby Howard]

Like, I was probably not having either one.

[Abbey Howard]

I remember someone told me that one time, like, oh, yeah, it's a fake period. And I was like, what does that even mean? I didn't understand.

[Abby Howard]

It probably just means you didn't drop.

[Abbey Howard]

I didn't drop an egg. Yeah. But I still bled.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

For seven days, which is crazy.

[Abby Howard]

That is crazy.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. I had nothing. And I also relatively had, like, getting it in wasn't a big deal. It was uncomfortable.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

But it was quick. And I felt regular. I felt, like, a little crampy that day, I think. But then nothing serious. And then I. And it's. I had a good experience. Some people have really bad experience. Their body kind of rejects it and anything but, so. And I had no period for two years. Over two years. And then whenever we were ready to start trying for a kid, I got it taken out. And that was really easy. Like, it's literally just like, oh, yeah, it was. It's. It's like, you feel it, but it's not. For me, it wasn't anything painful.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

And then I got my period literally 28 days later, like, on the day, which I do think is unusual. And I also want to preface this conversation by saying, like, I have learned more through having conversations with other people and from, like, listening to other women share their stories on podcasts. Is that my situation being so normal is actually not normal.

[Abbey Howard]

Like, being able to have. Get pregnant so quickly.

[Abby Howard]

Well, and also just, like, my cycle returning really quickly and, like, having, like, relatively no side effects on them. Like, I'm sure I. I'm sure that I did feel like, oh, like, probably less drive. I probably felt, like, less energy, but it was nothing noticeable at the time.

[Abbey Howard]

Sure.

[Abby Howard]

And so I. And I think it's also just hard to say, like, I'm like, did I. Who knows? I felt, like, no symptoms, but the fact that I felt no symptoms. And also my. My cycle returned really quickly. Like, that's not the typical story.

[Abbey Howard]

Right. They normally recommend six months. Right. To Go off birth control before you want to conceive. Like they say, give yourself at least six months for your body to, like, re. Regulate itself.

[Abby Howard]

And I think I did figure for that. But we did. We conceived like that. Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah,

[Abby Howard]

that. Yeah. And so that was an unusual experience, but I had a good experience with that. With. That was a long way of saying, like, I had the kyleena IUD for. Until we had our first.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

And then the kyleena's hormonal, correct?

[Addie]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Okay.

[Abbey Howard]

It's the copper one. That's not hormonal.

[Abby Howard]

Yes. Okay. And so I. Then we had our first. And then we're like, we're just gonna do condoms, and we didn't use a condom one time. Then we had our second child. So I learned my lesson about myself.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, see, that's interesting.

[Abby Howard]

No, I think that we'll. Yeah, we're not reliable.

[Abbey Howard]

See, we're strict about it, but everyone's got their own thing.

[Abby Howard]

We weren't home, so.

[Abbey Howard]

So. And we packed them.

[Abby Howard]

Gosh.

[Abbey Howard]

We packed them.

[Abby Howard]

We packed and we did.

[Addie]

You didn't think you were ovulating?

[Abby Howard]

We were. Really. I hadn't. I didn't get my period, so I didn't think that I was ovulating. But you can't ovulate without your period, so we were just kind of being careless until I got my period that time. No.

[Abbey Howard]

Perfect.

[Addie]

This is old advice. Used to be wait until three months after getting off birth control, but it's largely outdated, and research hasn't shown any benefit for waiting for safety reasons. The main reason is to give yourself a cycle or two and simply to know your body.

[Abby Howard]

Oh.

[Abbey Howard]

So I say three months before.

[Addie]

That's old. That's old.

[Abbey Howard]

Now, this one, because she said six.

[Addie]

Yeah. This is. It's mostly just so you can understand your body a little bit more. Know your sight cycle.

[Abbey Howard]

I don't think this lady was saying that it would be, like, harmful to your body or anything like that. I think she was just saying, like, normally it would take six months for your body to regulate itself, which would make it easier than to get pregnant. It depends.

[Addie]

What.

[Abby Howard]

Probably birth control.

[Addie]

Well, which one were you. Was she talking about or just hormonal?

[Abbey Howard]

Hormonal.

[Addie]

Hormonal. Yeah. This says, like, the pill patch or NuvaRing combined hormonals. It's typically one to three months before people ovulate again.

[Abbey Howard]

I went off the NuvaRing when I turned 26 because I had to pay for my own insurance. And I was like, well, I'm just not gonna Go to the doctor. I think I was like, well, I'm just. I'll just call it a day. And we had kind of, like, been talking at that point, like, hey, we're not ready. But wait.

[Abby Howard]

Can I tell you something I've never told you before?

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

I saw on your. Okay, so the night that we got locked out of our house.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

After getting home from some trip.

[Abbey Howard]

You were on a trip all together when you got locked out of your house.

[Abby Howard]

Okay. We stayed the night at your house. We were in your guest bedroom.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

On that whiteboard, it said, have a baby.

[Abbey Howard]

Did it really?

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. So then when you're like, it was unplanned, I was like, wait a minute. I saw it on your vision board.

[Abbey Howard]

Not my vision board.

[Abby Howard]

It said, have a baby.

[Addie]

Oh, my gosh.

[Abbey Howard]

That's funny. I mean, we had talked about it because I had just. I turned 26 in May, and, yeah, I was like, hey, if we get pregnant, like, cool, but let's not try kind of vibes, but we'll pull the goalie. And I was just kind of like a smooth transition. Like, lost my insurance. I wasn't gonna worry about a doctor. And then it was like, cool, I'll just go off birth control. And so we just did, like, pull out and condoms.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

You know, you. It just takes one time. So it just takes one time of your responsibility. But obviously, it was, like, the best timing for us. And I was. Oh, I feel like sometimes I'm the personality type, where I was grateful that my hand was forced a little bit because I am just not, like, a planner. And so having that decision made for me was perfect from the Lord. So that was really good. But what was I saying? What was my point about that?

[Abby Howard]

In 26, you went on birth certificate.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay, so that was May. I got pregnant in October. So how many months is that? June, July, August, September, October. Five months. Which we only, you know, we used other protection during that time, but, yeah, got pregnant pretty quickly after that.

[Abby Howard]

So you can get pregnant if you don't have a period.

[Abbey Howard]

That's good to know.

[Abby Howard]

Everyone to know that.

[Abbey Howard]

Did you feel differences? Well, I guess. Okay, when you went off of your IUD the second time, did you notice a difference in how you felt? Should we talk about your second?

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. So then I had my second. I was pregnant with my second. And then after that, we were like, we need the most highly effective contraception.

[Abbey Howard]

Very fruit.

[Abby Howard]

And so we got back on the iud, but this time I needed the Big Mama one. I had the Mirena oh, my God.

[Abbey Howard]

That's so funny. For such a petite girl, you're like, give me the big mama.

[Abby Howard]

Give me the big mama. IV this one lasts eight years versus five.

[Abbey Howard]

That's so crazy.

[Abby Howard]

And so we. I got that one. I literally got that. I'm pretty sure I asked for it at my six week appointment, and they were like, you need to wait two more weeks.

[Abbey Howard]

Why?

[Abby Howard]

I don't know.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, I guess because things were.

[Abby Howard]

I think my cervix was probably been through a lot. I think it was closed, but I think they were like, let's give it a minute.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, and you had a C sect with Augie, too, so.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah, but I think I did still dilate probably a little bit early on.

[Addie]

You got it right before we went to Malibu. Did you get it?

[Abby Howard]

Okay, maybe I was six weeks.

[Addie]

Yeah. Because I was like, I feel like you got it that day that we left or the day before.

[Abby Howard]

I think I got at 6 because

[Addie]

you were like, I need to get this before we leave. I'm not going anywhere without this.

[Abby Howard]

How do you remember that? I didn't remember that.

[Addie]

I knew you had a doctor's appointment that day.

[Abby Howard]

Tmi. Wow.

[Addie]

Sorry.

[Abby Howard]

But I feel like I asked for it at that appointment. They said no.

[Addie]

Oh, maybe.

[Abby Howard]

I think. I don't think that most doctors want to do it right at six weeks, but I do think I got it, like, at eight weeks, and I think I tried. And they're like, girl, girl, slow down.

[Abbey Howard]

How to heal.

[Abby Howard]

Slow down, slow down, girl. And so they. I got it at eight weeks, and it was very effective. And I did not get. I didn't have a cycle ever since. And since I was only six weeks postpartum.

[Abbey Howard]

Never got a period.

[Abby Howard]

I never got it for, like, a really long time. Yeah. Getting off of that. I had relatively the same experience as the last time.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

I got my cycle back, like, literally probably a month later. That's great. And. Yeah. But then we just did condoms again, so. Yeah, that. Because then we were like, okay. At this point, we're not. We're. We're gonna, like, let. It's not gonna. We're not in the red zone. We don't have a baby.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Like, we're gonna be. It's okay. And so then we just used. Tracked my cycle and used condoms.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Did you.

[Abbey Howard]

How's tracking your cycle? I've never tracked ovulation or my cycle ever.

[Addie]

Really?

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, I didn't track ovulation.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh.

[Abby Howard]

It predicts when you ovulate based on when you get Your cycle.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, okay. So you use an app.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah, I used an app ever since I was in high school. I have the same app that I use ever since I got my first period.

[Abbey Howard]

That's probably awesome. I have a lot of data.

[Abby Howard]

I have data.

[Abbey Howard]

You just tap it when you start your period.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. And you. You can mark. You can mark a lot of things. Like, you can mark, like, your symptoms. You can mark, like, your flow. And I never really got super detailed about it, but I want to know when I had started.

[Abbey Howard]

I mean, I have a list on my phone of all my dates, like, of all my periods, but I don't track.

[Abby Howard]

Just in your notes app. Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

That's a lot of bullet points there.

[Abby Howard]

There's so many resources, Abby.

[Abbey Howard]

Listen, I know, but just. For some reason, they do have an app. Just feels overwhelming.

[Abby Howard]

It's so easy. And then you can share it with your. Like, Matt has it, too, and so he could, like, know. Like, then we for sure need to use.

[Addie]

He's already prepared.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, because the ovulation factor of it.

[Abby Howard]

Yes.

[Abbey Howard]

Perfect.

[Abby Howard]

Or if it's like, we're trying, then it's like.

[Abbey Howard]

Like, let's go.

[Abby Howard]

It's happening.

[Abbey Howard]

I'm usually like, yeah, I'm probably ovulating right now. So just, you know, be aware.

[Abby Howard]

That's what I. Yeah, that's what it. That's what it is. Because it's not accurate. They don't know.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Doesn't know. I never did, like, the natural cycles.

[Abbey Howard]

Is that what you did?

[Addie]

I did natural cycles, and I had an OURA ring and tracked my.

[Abby Howard]

I wanted to do natural cycles after my first. But it doesn't work until you get your period back. You're. It's. It's not effective in, like, it can't.

[Abbey Howard]

You have to have your cycle.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

So unfortunately, it. I didn't get to use it.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Well, fortunately, because, gosh, I'm glad we have Augie. But of course, that was gonna be the plan.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Once that came back. So really, I've only used IUDs and condoms. Pollen parade.

[Abbey Howard]

We've all done different things.

[Addie]

Yeah. I got an. I had a. I was on the pill when I was in high school to manage period symptoms. Cramps, and I want to say very loose, kindly, like, I have no. I feel no reason against my mom or, like, the doctors for giving me on the pill. I wish potentially now, or what I might do in the future is, like, what are you eating? Are you hydrated? Like, let's try these other things. Like, are there Supplements you could be taking that could be helping in these areas. Before we jump to throwing you on birth control. Yeah, I think that could have been an option before jumping into birth control, But I was on the pill for my sophomore year of high school until my sophomore year of college, and then I was just like, why am I on this? I'm gonna try and get off of it. And my doctor was like, sure, went off of it. I got my period back. I felt fine. I didn't have my period at all during that time either.

[Abbey Howard]

Wow.

[Addie]

So then I was off of it for, I guess, sophomore year, until the beginning of my sophomore year, until the end of my junior year. I got an iud. I remember texting you or talking to you about it and being like, is it gonna hurt? Like, what do you think? And you're like, it doesn't hurt that bad. And it didn't hurt that bad for me either. I know people say it's really painful.

[Abby Howard]

Maybe it depends on your anatomy. Yeah, maybe it depends on your service.

[Addie]

I always said it felt like the three worst cramps back to back, and then it was over.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, I'm sure it's uncomfortable. It's really far up there.

[Abby Howard]

Well, I think the worst part is they clamp your cervix once they, like,

[Addie]

clamp, you're like, it. Like, it's like the worst cramp of your life.

[Abbey Howard]

I mean, it probably feels like a membrane sweep, does it not?

[Addie]

And then it.

[Abby Howard]

Not like that. Well, they also stick a really long ruler up there.

[Addie]

Sheesh. I feel like a membrane sweep is kind of, like, kind of similar pain level a little bit, but I feel like a little less.

[Abby Howard]

The sensation is different.

[Addie]

Yeah, the sensation is different. But I was on an IUD from 20 or, like, May of 2022 till May of 2024. So two years. And then I got it out, and then we did natural cycles, and I had an OURA ring, and I tracked very rigorously my cycle when I was ovulating, when I wasn't. So we did condoms and abstaining, like, during the ovulation. And then we decided to get pregnant. And so that happened right away for us. The first try, once we stopped, and we got pregnant in December. So May to December of 2024. So I was only off of it for six months, seven months, and then got pregnant.

[Abbey Howard]

Did you guys notice a big difference when you went off of it?

[Addie]

No.

[Abby Howard]

Really?

[Addie]

I never did either time.

[Abby Howard]

I didn't notice until my second time that I had used an iud. I felt like, oh, Wow. I have a lot more energy.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

I noticed it in my energy. That's why I always say, like, I was like, oh, I, I felt like I first noticed it at the gym.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Because I was like, oh, wow, I can do this for longer.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

And I can, like, I just felt more.

[Abbey Howard]

Yes.

[Abby Howard]

And I, I think it's, I don't know. I, I, I've said, like, having kids and going, learning more about this. It's like, it's kind of been like, oh, I can pinpoint now why I feel this way, whereas before I was probably feeling it, but I couldn't identify the why. Right. And now I was. Then I was, like, able to for that, like, period of time before we got pregnant, where I was like, oh, wow. And now I'm like, I never want to be in that state again.

[Abbey Howard]

Exactly. That's how I feel, too, after I went off of it. Well, you know, I actually forgot that I went on the pill for one month after I had CJ and I had that pulmonary embolism scare. Do you remember that?

[Addie]

Yeah, I do.

[Abbey Howard]

They thought I had a blood clot in my lung. And so I went to the ER for shortness of breath and basically was the whole thing. I didn't, I either was healed or I didn't have one. We don't know. I'm going to go with heels. But they did all the scans that I had one overnight, went on blood thinners. The next day, I did scan, scan, and it was gone. So that was really scary. And I was like, I'm done. Like, I'm not going to put this medicine in my body anymore. That's, like, potentially going to cause blood. I just like, to me, the risks. I was like, I'd rather have a baby than like, potentially beyond this medicine that could cause some side effects I didn't want. So to me, I feel like that changed my opinion a lot on things. And I felt so drastically better off of the pill. Like, my energy level was so just amazing. And my sex drive was, like, way higher, too. And so those were the two biggest things that I felt. Like, the, wow. I feel so good. I'd never want to go back on that and feel so, so sluggish again. It was noticeable for me.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. Especially being that close postpartum. Yeah. Like, where you're like, okay, I don't need anything else making me tired.

[Abbey Howard]

No, literally.

[Abby Howard]

And yeah. And I. So, yeah. I also do think that that would have helped my, like, postpartum experience. After our second not having jumped to a hormone like, once again, more hormones. Like, it's like my hormones had not regulated after six weeks, right? No, we were not there yet.

[Abbey Howard]

Well, does it help your hormones because you're getting the synthetic version, or is it not?

[Addie]

I feel like you're not able to regulate them on your own, like, just

[Abby Howard]

kind of masking everything.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, it's like, okay. It's like a band aid over the problem, probably. Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

It definitely didn't make me feel better. Sure it did. And so. But, like, one of the. That's also. That time is such a, you know, a foggy time anyway, where I was like, who knows what it would have felt like? You can't compare. But I definitely remember feeling after my second time having the iud, I was like, okay, now I feel, like, totally, like, different. And also I was like. I once. I felt also, like, really comfortable at that stage of my life getting a cycle, too. I was like, it just felt like a good indicator of, like, my hormonal health, my fertility. Like, it felt good having that again.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Especially since mine weren't unmanageable. And I was like, I don't want to lose that anymore. I don't want to artificially make that go away anymore.

[Abbey Howard]

Totally.

[Abby Howard]

And also, like, learning more about it. I was like, okay, I. I want to keep this happening in my, like, life. And so I'm curious for you guys.

[Addie]

So after eight weeks, you got on an iud. After six weeks, you started on the pill.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Addie]

Did you feel pressure from your doctor to get on a birth control?

[Abbey Howard]

They did, kind of like, they were like, okay, what are you thinking about any birth control methods? And I was like, I don't know. And they're like, well, we really recommend it. Like, we don't want you to get pregnant for at least 18 months. And that's, like, the best way to ensure it. So they definitely, like, strongly recommended it. And I was, like, on the fence about it, and I was like, well, if I don't like it, I can always stop, you know? And so I did, like, based off their recommendation, get on it. But I didn't think it was. I mean, I had told her I didn't want to get pregnant, so I didn't feel like it was a pressure of, like. I think she really just thought it was my. In my best interest.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah, because you had a C section.

[Abbey Howard]

I had a C section. And I had a. Had, like. Like, a lot of complications, too. So she was like, I think it would be really, like, recommended that you go on something. So. Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. My Doctor was like, what's your method? Like, she was like asking about that. And I was like, you know, gonna do something? It's like natural the first time. And then the second time I was like, yeah, give me the strongest thing you got.

[Abbey Howard]

I do think when I said, like, we're just gonna do condoms, I think

[Abby Howard]

she wasn't like that.

[Abbey Howard]

She's kind of like, it's a little. Just, you know, they're only like 98% effective or something. You know, she kind of gave me

[Abby Howard]

like a, you know, you have to use that. That's exactly what, that's exactly what my doctor said. Yeah. Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

And I was like, okay.

[Addie]

I felt pressured. I felt pressured to get on birth control. I felt pretty pressured and I didn't want to be on birth control. I said, we're just gonna use condoms and track my cycle. And he was like, he said, condoms aren't super effective. Like, they, they can have problems too. I'm like, we're pretty rigorous. Like, we. Yeah, I, I mean, it was only a few, like seven months that we tracked and we didn't get pregnant. But I'm like, I'm type A. Like, I can make sure this doesn't happen.

[Abbey Howard]

I also think Trojan would probably fight him on that. They said 99.9 effective.

[Abby Howard]

You just have to use them.

[Addie]

You have to use them. We will.

[Abbey Howard]

You gotta put them on. Yeah, yeah.

[Abby Howard]

That's interesting now that you say that. The first time I was. When I was like casual about it, they were like,

[Addie]

I do wonder if, like, you had complications. You had a C section with your first.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Addie]

And so I wonder if that conversation changes a little bit. Like, I had a natural labor. Is that right? Not natural vaginal delivery.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah, I did that time. And she was like, you can get pregnant.

[Addie]

Okay. Because I was like, I feel like he was pressured me, but I probably. It probably would have been more if I had a C section. Because he should wait.

[Abbey Howard]

I mean, I'm sure they see so many. I always give the doctors the benefit of the doubt. I'm like, they see everything under the sun. So I'm like, in their head, they're probably like, like, yeah, they're gonna say, they're gonna use comments, but I'll see them here in six weeks. You know what I mean?

[Addie]

Like when they. My doctor, when I went in for my six week checkup and he's like, didn't heal properly. I need to cauterize this. Like, he did some stuff. He's like, wait another two weeks and then come back in like, sorry, yeah, no activity. I'm like, can I work out, though? He's like, yes. I'm like, that's all I care about. I come back and he's like, so, did it hurt? Like, did it? I'm like, did what hurt? He's like, I'm like, I didn't do. I didn't.

[Abby Howard]

I followed the rules. I followed the rules.

[Addie]

He's like, wow. Most people don't. I'm like, I would never heal properly. Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

What do you mean?

[Abbey Howard]

I want to go against my doctor's order.

[Addie]

It was so funny when he was, like, he was taken aback into his rules and I didn't have sex for too long.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah, see, that's like, I don't want to.

[Abbey Howard]

That's what I always tell myself. I'm like, they probably give so much advice that people don't take that. I just. Yeah, I get it. I. I do feel sometimes like. I feel like I viewed birth control so differently now, in this season of my life, than I do then. Like, I'm all for family planning and, like. Like using birth control, condoms, all these things when you are, like, you know, actively with your husband and your spouse, like, trying not to. You're trying to prevent pregnancy when you guys are not ready or prepared. I do think. I look back and I'm like, dang. Going on. It's so young at 17 now I did have the factor of, like, wanting to be sexually active. So that was, you know, that was a different thing, but, like, for managing period symptoms. My. Dang. If only I had gone back and they looked at lifestyle and giving myself time and just, like, been educated, maybe on my cycle, more so than just, like, slapping a band aid on something and never actually learning. Because now I'm 30 and I'm learning all these things that I wish I would have known at 15 when I went through puberty. And, like, I know my mom didn't know these. No, we were just never educated on, like, how our bodies worked. And so sometimes I get, like, frustrated when I hear from my friends or different peers or hear these things on podcasts, and I'm like, dang. Like, they're just so quick to throw us on the pill sometimes at, like, such a young age. And I feel like that really was our generation. Like, I knew it was crazy to me when I met people for the first time that were not on birth control. I was like, what do you mean you're not on birth control? Like, you didn't go on it for your acne. You didn't go on it for your cramps.

[Addie]

33 went on to manage their period symptoms.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Addie]

That's their first initial reason.

[Abby Howard]

Right.

[Abbey Howard]

So I think to me, sometimes I'm like, dang, that's like, I don't know. Just maybe I'm just becoming crunchier as I'm getting older.

[Abby Howard]

But. And also, I do think, like, get being married and also in our years where we, like, wanted to have babies.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

It makes that necessity for preventing pregnancy, like, that's, like, lower, you know? So, like, even though we had a quote unquote unplanned. We did. We. You know what I mean? Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

We were still.

[Abby Howard]

We knew we wanted more children.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

And, like, we were also married and, like, we'd already had babies together. It was like we were okay with the risk that we were okay with that risk. And, like, we certainly took it. And then. Oh, okay. And then we weren't okay with that risk. We did a different option.

[Abbey Howard]

Right.

[Abby Howard]

And so it's just like, you always have to just reevaluate your lifestyle, like your life stage, like, that you're in. And that also just, like, led me to think, like, okay, well, what does this look like? Once we feel like our family's complete, but I'm still having my cycle.

[Abbey Howard]

Right.

[Abby Howard]

And so we've already, like, started having those conversations just because we're not done having kids. But, like, it's part we're getting. I mean, this will be our third baby. Like, well, we're starting to, like, prepare for that stage. And so, yeah, those, like, look differently than I might have thought they would have looked before starting all of our family planning journey.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, for sure. Totally. I agree. It is. Yeah. It is just, I think too, like, being in this season of life, I do have friends that, like, struggle with infertility or struggle with pcos. And I mean, like, just some of these things that I'm like, this is where I get the mixed feelings about the pill because I'm like. Or like, birth control, I'm like, it obviously, it's done so many so good for so many reasons. But then they're obviously like these hard parts of it where I'm like, man, I had friends that probably went on birth control at 17 because their head cramps, and then 10 years later, they want to start their family and they go off the pill and then they can't get pregnant, and they realize, like, I have what I have PCOS that went undiagnosed for 10 years, and now my ovaries are, like, so inflamed. And it, you know, it's just, like, these different things, and I'm like, I just. I'm not more so mad at, like, the medicine as much as I am. Maybe just that, like, that women aren't educated on these things.

[Abby Howard]

Totally.

[Abbey Howard]

And I think that's also something that I've really enjoyed listening in this podcast to reference back to that. But I'm glad that the conversations are shifting a little bit more away from that. And, like, hey, let's. I don't know. The conversation around women's health is so tricky, and there's so many holes in it. I just.

[Abby Howard]

It's just frustrating. So it just got so one size fits all. We all were, like, searching for an answer that was so incredibly nuanced to our own body.

[Abbey Howard]

Yes.

[Abby Howard]

And then it's like, okay, well. And I know that that's what they have to do. Right. In medicine, but I do wish that there was more resources when we were, like, younger for, like, oh, wait, maybe try this first. Or try this first.

[Abbey Howard]

Right.

[Abby Howard]

Because, like, for boys, they weren't putting them on some type of hormonal pill because of their acne. No.

[Abbey Howard]

Like, let's give you all the topicals.

[Abby Howard]

We know. We know what to do.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. You're a girl. Birth control baby.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. And so it was like, maybe that was the. Wasn't the cause. And so. Yeah. I also just wish that men knew more about. I'm like, I can't blame them. I didn't know what was going on in my own body.

[Abbey Howard]

I am nothing.

[Abby Howard]

But it should be more of a universal conversation because family planning takes two.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

It's dango to make a baby. And so I think it would also just do everyone a lot of. Do everyone a lot of good.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, totally.

[Abby Howard]

And I'm pro coming up with the male birth control. My donation. I'll put my donation forward. It feels a lot easy to change their little swimmers than to change our entire daily cycle. That's different every single day of the month.

[Abbey Howard]

Wait, that was so crazy to me. Okay. In the podcast, they said 50 of infertility is male source and 50 is female sourced like crazy. I didn't realize. So there were such high levels of male infertility.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

Because I've never heard of

[Abby Howard]

always just

[Abbey Howard]

going to the woman.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

But also, like, I guess guys just

[Addie]

don't talk about it.

[Abby Howard]

I know one guy. Well, you have one friend that they. They was like, the infertility that they

[Abbey Howard]

were experiencing was on his side, but

[Abby Howard]

it took a long time to figure that out because they had. They did a million tests on the woman first.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

And then they're like, I guess, last resort. I Wonder about your 50 of this ball game.

[Abbey Howard]

And the easiest to test, actually, I feel like that should be first. It's the easiest to test.

[Addie]

It's so hard.

[Abby Howard]

They can't treat it as well.

[Addie]

I think it's weird that I'm not thinking about that. I'm thinking about the fact that, like, for women, our tests are so different, that guys, they have to give their sperm.

[Abby Howard]

Abby can say it.

[Abbey Howard]

It's Eve, baby.

[Addie]

It's the fall.

[Abby Howard]

No, that's not what. I thought you were Jiz. I thought you were to say J. Oh, my God.

[Abbey Howard]

Take it back to Genesis.

[Abby Howard]

That is the. Oh, my gosh.

[Addie]

That's funny. Abigail. You can say the fall.

[Abby Howard]

Jeez. Yeah, you're right.

[Abbey Howard]

No, that's two totally different.

[Abby Howard]

I think it's harder for them to figure out, like, if they don't have quality sperm, I don't think that they can really, like, there's much that they can do to fix that.

[Abbey Howard]

I feel like men is the easiest to fix because you can change one thing in a man. They could stop going to saunas and rejuvenate their sperm in 90 days, I

[Abby Howard]

guess, if that's the problem. But usually if they're. From what. I know, I know, it's very little. If it's a. If it's a fertility issue on the male part, there's very little they can do to fix it.

[Abbey Howard]

No, I don't think that's true. That's not what the lady said. She said she's. The lady in this podcast said there in no other area of, like, no woman's area of woman's health can you change one lifestyle factor and completely change.

[Abby Howard]

I guess if it's the quality of lifestyle factor, but if it's like, they don't have quality sperm, they can't make it good quality, really.

[Abbey Howard]

But I feel like if you change your lifestyle, it would be good quality. No.

[Addie]

Most male infertility comes down to sperm quality evaluated by count, motility, how well they swim, and morphology, shape and structure often easier to address. Lifestyle factors, nutrition deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, infections. More difficult to address is a zoo spermia, which is no sperm when they ejaculate.

[Abbey Howard]

So they have no sperm, obviously.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. This person had really low or genetic causes. They can still ejaculate, but there's no sperm in it. Or this was a. They had a sperm shape abnormality, so they couldn't Change that.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay.

[Addie]

Not correctable though. Sperm can sometimes be. This is genetic. Causes can sometimes be. Still be retrieved for ivf.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, that's cool.

[Addie]

But just depends.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay, interesting. Thank you Addie for that. That makes sense. Okay, well, very interesting.

[Abby Howard]

And I've also heard of a lot of men with low sperm count.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

So yeah, that can happen.

[Abbey Howard]

That can happen. I was just surprised by that because no men ever talk about it.

[Abby Howard]

No.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. But that is, I mean that's probably

[Abby Howard]

embarrassing man to man, but we need to.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, we need to get rid of the stigma. For the men.

[Abby Howard]

Yes. For the men's.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

We'll move to Patreon to talk a little bit more about like our future plans for birth control, family planning, how we see this going in the future. Will our mans get the snip and. Yeah. And then we'll hop back over here for always hungry.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

Voicemails, all that good stuff. So we'll continue this conversation on Patreon.

[Addie]

Woohoo.

[Abbey Howard]

This show is sponsored by Better Help.

[Abby Howard]

Summer is here and our schedules are all a little bit different. Probably a lot of us, we have kids home now, we have travel plans, we have new change of schedule with different extracurriculars and for some that can be really overwhelming and tough trying to navigate. That's really where Better Help comes in. It's a great therapy online service that I have personally used many times. I just find it as amazing option for us moms. I know a lot of us are moms, new moms.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

It meets you where you're at. You can do it online, at your house, on your schedule. Better Help makes therapy accessible wherever you are, whether online or through the app. All you do is you fill out a short questionnaire that helps identify your specific needs and preferences. And they have over 12 years of experience and industry leading match fulfillment rate. Which means they typically get it right the first time they match you with a therapist. But if you aren't happy with your match, you can switch to a different therapist at any time from one of their tailored recs at no extra charge to you. There shouldn't ever be any shame for seeking out that extra help. I know it's been been amazing for me in my own life, especially now that I'm a mom. I just feel such a responsibility for showing up as the best version of myself every single day. It's been such a motivator to work on some of the issues I've experienced in my life and I've seen a lot of progress in myself through individualized Therapy.

[Abbey Howard]

That's awesome, Abby. Thanks for sharing that. You don't have to say yes to everything this summer. Find support in therapy. Sign up and get 10 [e-mail] always. That's better. H E L P. Ask, ask, Ask Abby. Okay, you guys, it is time for our voicemail segment of our podcast. Ask Abby's. If you guys want to call in and leave a voicemail. We love hearing from you guys and honestly just love hearing your guys's voice. 6024569690 is the number and leave your questions for Abby for us, anything. It could be questions for us or advice. We love, we love your guys input.

[Abby Howard]

Hi Abby's, this is also Abby. I love hearing you guys talk about your favorite recipes each week, but I'd love to hear about the other side of the story. I love to experiment in the kitchen

[Addie]

and let's just say it can end badly. So my question is, what are your

[Abby Howard]

biggest cooking or baking disasters of the podcast? Bye.

[Abbey Howard]

I'm pretty sure I shared this toy already on the podcast, but I made this like Mexican quinoa casserole a couple times and was like, oh, it's good. Did I already tell the story?

[Addie]

You did.

[Abby Howard]

Wait, tell it again.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay. Well, I was like, it's been a hit in the past. So yummy, so good. And I made it differently. Instead of using a taco seasoning packet, I'm pretty sure I used a chili seasoning packet because it's all I had, which is very different. And I added too much cumin. And then I, I doubled it, which also, you know, it takes more seasoning. And I packed it up and I brought it to a family that I had never met but was Caleb's friend that had just had their fourth baby. And so then I get to their house late, pretty late, because I was running behind.

[Abby Howard]

I've been there.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, I felt really bad dropping off a late dinner to them. We get home, we open up our second one. Caleb goes, this, this tastes horrible. And it tasted so bad. That was so embarrassing. I felt terrible. I'm like, poor children profusely apologize. Yeah, I was really bad. So that was really horrible.

[Abby Howard]

Were they like, no, it's good.

[Abbey Howard]

No, I don't think they lied. I, I don't think he had tried it. I don't think he had tried it, but I don't eat it. Yeah, like, just don't eat it. Please, please. And then another time, I made like a chicken sausage thing for ourselves at home. It was really gross. And really weird. I wish I had more details, but I just remember thinking it was a chicken sausage soup. It was really weird.

[Addie]

That does seem weird.

[Abby Howard]

You just freestyle it more than I do.

[Abbey Howard]

I actually hate. Sorry, guys. I actually hate following a recipe. No, I always do, like, follow recipe for the first time, and then after that, I'm always free balling it after. And I make my own changes to a recipe. But I'm so, like, I like being in the kitchen and just floating around and seeing what comes. Following recipes are really stressful.

[Addie]

Sometimes.

[Abby Howard]

I don't want to freestyle it. Yeah. This one I just remember because this was when Matt and I first got married, and I was, like, just trying everything new. And we were also in school, so I, like, put a lot of crock pot ones because I would, like, come home. And this is when I'm like, we were in that newlywed stage where it's like. It's just so cool that we're living together and that I'm making him meals. Like, I'm like, this is just a fantasy world. Like, this is so fun. And then I'm like, he's gonna love everything I make. And I quickly found out that my husband is very honest, and I do really appreciate that.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

But this was one of those moments

[Abbey Howard]

where I was like, oh, hi, Twitch.

[Abby Howard]

I made. And I don't even know why I did this. Some type of. What do they call, like, sweet and sour sauce? It's like, they have a name for it with meatballs. Oh, my gosh. It was like, I'm gonna have to ask Matt.

[Abbey Howard]

Kung pao meatballs.

[Abby Howard]

It was something like that. I want to say. It was like yin yang, you know?

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Abby Howard]

And it was probably just like, the whitest recipe ever. Yeah. Clearly had grape jelly in it. And I. Yeah, we both ate it. And I was like, you know, it's not terrible, because I'm also not that picky. And then Matt was. I was like, do you like it? And he was like, mm. And I was like, okay, well, I know you're lying. And you're like, yeah, I don't like it. It's really bad. Never make this again. It's really bad. Never made this again. And I started throwing up a ton that night. I had to go to the urgent care.

[Addie]

Was it bowl of unrelated.

[Abbey Howard]

That's unrelated.

[Addie]

Or Hawaiian meatballs or Jewish sweet and sour meatballs?

[Abbey Howard]

No, no.

[Abby Howard]

Mushu. No. Michu Michou. I don't know.

[Abbey Howard]

Mushu from Mulan.

[Abby Howard]

I have to ask Matt.

[Addie]

This is. What are Those sweet meatballs called. Those sweet and sticky party meatballs are commonly called grape jelly meatballs.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, that's. I've only ever had it, ever.

[Abby Howard]

Now I'm like, was it orange jelly? I need to ask Matt about this.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, wow.

[Abby Howard]

It was yucky. And I started.

[Abbey Howard]

I had cyclical vomiting from the meatballs,

[Abby Howard]

probably not from the meatballs. I think I was already gonna get sick. But that made the flavor of these meatballs so bad. Really memorable. I kept experiencing it over and over. I had to go to the ER and get IV meds to stop vomiting.

[Abbey Howard]

That happened with the. You know, that time I feel poisoning.

[Abby Howard]

Oh. Oh, yeah. That was really bad. And I've also made. One time I. I made a recipe over and over and over again. It was that chicken stew from ambitious kitchen.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

It's so good. I made it bad one time.

[Abbey Howard]

I made it bad twice. Abby, what are you guys making for that recipe?

[Abby Howard]

There's something very. There's something very sensitive about that one because you made.

[Abbey Howard]

We both made a good. I made a good. It was delicious. Yes.

[Abby Howard]

I made it great. Like two or three times.

[Abbey Howard]

Yes.

[Abby Howard]

And then I made it bad one time, and I could never make it again because it was so bad.

[Abbey Howard]

And I made it for a group

[Abby Howard]

and I was like, I made it for you guys. The time that I made it bad, you guys were like, something's different.

[Abbey Howard]

I was so excited because it was so delicious. The time you made it before, you made it for me twice. Once good, one's bad. And then I was like, well, let me try it. Made it once good, twice bad.

[Abby Howard]

What's up with that recipe?

[Abbey Howard]

I don't know. Because her recipes always slap and it was.

[Abby Howard]

It was really bad. Like, it's like. Because it has, like a little creamy element to it. And it was like splitting. It was bad. And it was like separating. Separating. And it was bad. Freaky. It was just actually so freaky.

[Abbey Howard]

So bad. Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

It has wine in it. So I felt like I was like, like fancy.

[Abbey Howard]

Fancy and elegant. Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

I was wondering what is a life hack that you swear by? Like, for me, when I do my six back ponytail, I use like conditioner instead of hair gel because it washes out really easy and it looks the same. And I was wondering what your life hack is.

[Addie]

So.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. Love the pod.

[Abbey Howard]

What a hack with the slick back.

[Abby Howard]

I've heard people doing that with hair masks.

[Abbey Howard]

Really? Okay, I should try that. So my life hack, if we're gonna. I'm gonna stick to the beauty realm because you inspired me. I Use hair gel on my eyebrows. Maybe I shouldn't say.

[Abby Howard]

No, it's really fine. Okay.

[Abbey Howard]

Cut that.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

I use just my tresma hair gel, and I have an old spoolie brush, and because I don't like pigment necessarily on my eyebrows, because my eyebrows are so dark, and I just go in with the hair gel, and they're pretty much stay all day.

[Abby Howard]

That's great. Yeah, that's. It's essentially. It's hair.

[Abbey Howard]

It's hair. It stays up.

[Abby Howard]

That's a good hack. I don't know if I have any hacks.

[Abbey Howard]

You have a sourdough tip, Patrick.

[Abby Howard]

Sourdough hack. No. Also sourdough. After reading yesteryear, I feel like a fraud making sourdough.

[Abbey Howard]

I can't wait to read this book.

[Abby Howard]

I'm like, I put my sourdough in the fridge when I don't want to use it. That's my hack. If you don't want to use it, you can just put it in the fridge. People back in the day didn't have that luxury. But I love my fridge. What's my hack? What's my hack? What's my hack? Oh, well, this is just. If we're. I guess if we're thinking about food, groceries, I think you should whenever you do, first of all, I get my groceries delivered because I do feel like that's a hack for me not to just, like, spend, go willy nilly, go get whatever. Just get crazy. And then also, whenever I buy groceries, I plan four dinners out of it, at least. So then you're not going to the store every day, because that's what I would do otherwise. And then I would spend a lot more time, too.

[Abbey Howard]

I would be very curious if we did a whole segment just on how you plan your grocery, how you plan your meals, because I could learn.

[Abby Howard]

Do you go to the grocery store every day?

[Abbey Howard]

No, not every day, but I just buy things. And I'm like, what I'm feeling today, but I should probably be a little bit more. I should be more tactful about it because, yeah, the budget usually is like, that's the one area of the budget. I usually am like, that's an area

[Abby Howard]

I'm really literal about for some reason. Like, I need to have meals before I order.

[Abbey Howard]

No, it's wasteful how I do it. For sure.

[Addie]

Blake can't think ahead. I don't cook dinner most of the time, so Blake can't think ahead of what he wants. Like, he's like, I don't know. Just get chicken and ground beef and we'll figure it out.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Addie]

Then we have chicken and ground beef all week and we never have a. Like a yes meal. But not like there's no crock pot recipes. There's no sheet pan things. There's no chicken and a potato every.

[Abby Howard]

I have a whole process for it that it makes it feel very like, I don't want to make a decision. At the end of the day, when we're done with like, like work, I want to just, like, know what I'm having and I want to just go make it and I want to.

[Addie]

Always hungry. Next week is going to be Abby's go tells us about her.

[Abby Howard]

I actually do have a very streaming.

[Addie]

I want to know.

[Abbey Howard]

I would love to know.

[Abby Howard]

I'm a little literal about this, guys.

[Addie]

Yeah, I think do it.

[Abbey Howard]

That's. That'll be next week's one of our always hungry mix ups. Okay. I'm excited for that.

[Addie]

Okay, last question.

[Abbey Howard]

Hi, Abby.

[Abby Howard]

Abby and Addie. I love the show. Love listening to you guys. My son listens with us sometimes and he goes, wow, that's crazy. Anyways, what. What is the best toy for kids that you guys love and toys that you do not love and would not

[Abbey Howard]

want to gift to anybody?

[Abby Howard]

Thank you. I love, love. Magnetiles.

[Abbey Howard]

Magnet are the absolute best.

[Abby Howard]

They are amazing. They're very durable. They don't make a big mess. They're easy to put away. You can keep going deeper with them. Just keep asking family members for new packs of them. And my kids never get sick of them. Like, Griffin will go sit in his room during his quiet time and build zoos.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, he.

[Abby Howard]

It's very imaginative, very hands on. I. I just can't say. I love Magna tiles. And I am actually very, very strict about only buying Magnetiles. Don't buy a dupe. I'm serious about this one. Don't buy a dupe.

[Abbey Howard]

I love that they say on it for ages like 2 to 99 because

[Abby Howard]

they're fun for me too.

[Abbey Howard]

I like to play with.

[Abby Howard]

And there's also so many realms. You can go with it. So, like one time I got a big thing of paper and you. Actually, my friend did this for us and they make. She made shapes that they had to fill in with the Magna tiles. That's cool. And they stuck together and they made numbers and they made. And my kids just sat there and you'd wipe it clean. They do it again and it was like. There's just so many things you can do with them.

[Abbey Howard]

I think you get a lot of

[Abby Howard]

Bang for your buck with Magna Tiles.

[Abbey Howard]

I would agree. That's a great.

[Abby Howard]

Always. I hate sand. I don't want to see.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. I'm such a experienced love kinetic sand. Now, here's the thing. I love kinetic sand. I think it's so fun. I won't be buying it again for a couple years because my dog has eaten two pounds of it in the last.

[Abby Howard]

I don't understand how your kids don't make a mess of it.

[Abbey Howard]

No, he does. But actually, this. Okay. This is so goofy. I've just been letting C.J. just kind of, like, freeball it with the kinetic sand. I was like, wow, this is really messy. I see how parents don't like this. Our babysitter, who's in high school, I came home one day and she had the kinetic sand in, like, a cookie sheet pan. And I was like, that's too freaking.

[Abby Howard]

You put it on the ground? Yes.

[Abbey Howard]

I would just let it get put on the table on the ground in this toys.

[Abby Howard]

I was keeping it in a Tupperware. I was not keeping it contained everywhere.

[Abbey Howard]

It's not keeping it contained. And I was like, man, my high school babysitter is smarter than me.

[Abby Howard]

Most people put them in those, like, sensory bins.

[Abbey Howard]

See?

[Abby Howard]

And even then, they were getting everywhere. So I was like, we gotta get rid of this.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, CJ's pretty, like, contained with it. Now that he has a spot to contain it, he's, like, pretty good at keeping it in there. But our dog just eats it, like.

[Addie]

Yeah. I was gonna say any rubber toys are just banned from our house. Don't buy us bath toys. Don't buy us anything that's, like, can. That's, like, rubber and can squeeze. Yeah, the dogs will eat them. They're not allowed in our home.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah. A toilet I also do love. This isn't necessarily a toy, but we have this really amazing, like, pool in our backyard. It's a big little pool. And it's a big little pool. It's a big little pool. And it's from Amazon. It's, like, 30 bucks, and it folds up, so it's so easy to store. It has not gotten any mold. I, like, drain it. I'll let it air dry in the sun for, like, a day or two, and then I'll fold it up and put it in our shed. And it's so nice, and it's big. And CJ plays in almost every day right now.

[Abby Howard]

A water table is also great. Our kids still love a water table. And it's like, for babies, they've had it since they were babies and they still love it. They do get in it, and I think they're going to tip it.

[Abbey Howard]

See that? To me, yeah, that seems scary, but it is scary.

[Abby Howard]

I'm like, I never got the water table. They get in it together.

[Addie]

I feel like Brielle would like that.

[Abby Howard]

I'm like, just getting it in the grass, not on the travertine where you're going to crack your skull, crack your head.

[Abbey Howard]

I never got the water table cuz the mold component of it kind of freaks me out.

[Abby Howard]

We've never gotten mold on our water table.

[Abbey Howard]

You drain it a lot?

[Addie]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

After they use it every time.

[Addie]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

Just so it's easy to drain.

[Abby Howard]

Super easy. Just a plug at the bottom.

[Abbey Howard]

Well, poor CJ's been missing out.

[Abby Howard]

It's pretty. It's educational, too, because they could put water in the top and they see it fall down. It spins the thing.

[Addie]

Cute.

[Abby Howard]

And this is how we fill it up. I have Matt go dunk it in the pool.

[Addie]

That's funny.

[Abby Howard]

Probably also why it's not getting mold. There's chlorine in it.

[Addie]

Perfect. Blake or not Blake. Brielle really likes her. She has a Ms. Rachel puzzle. It could be any kind of puzzle, honestly, but it sings to her when she takes the pieces out. So she really likes it. And that she learned how to grab the pieces. So she also learned how to.

[Abby Howard]

There's something about her voice. Every kid is just.

[Addie]

She loves it.

[Abby Howard]

She has a grip on the toddlers of Mrs. World.

[Addie]

She rarely ever watches it, but she is locked in. If there's something like, I need to focus for something. And I'm like, no.

[Abby Howard]

Augie still loves Ms. Rachel. And it's really sweet because he, like, loves Darth Vader and Ms. Rachel.

[Addie]

That is sweet.

[Abby Howard]

Those are his two favorites.

[Abbey Howard]

Those are his two personalities.

[Abby Howard]

Those are his personalities.

[Abbey Howard]

So sweet, tender, really scary. And then bad guys.

[Abby Howard]

Bad guys. Yeah. Like, he'll, like, look at me.

[Abbey Howard]

He's like, yeah.

[Abby Howard]

I'm like, oh, no.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

No, no, no. Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

I feel like he's, like, extreme on both sides. Like, he's just. He loves that.

[Abby Howard]

He's passionate.

[Abbey Howard]

So sweet.

[Addie]

Always hungry.

[Abbey Howard]

That's a great way to a passion is.

[Abby Howard]

I literally think I tell them that all the time. Like, Augie, I love your passion.

[Abbey Howard]

That's so true.

[Abby Howard]

Oh, always hungry. I have a pool dip. I made that for Memorial Day. It's a healthy pool dip. And you know what? This is something I need to take back.

[Abbey Howard]

What?

[Abby Howard]

It has cottage cheese in it.

[Abbey Howard]

Shoot.

[Addie]

Abby it was very good.

[Abby Howard]

No, because you blend it so it doesn't have the curdles. You blend the cottage cheese, Abby.

[Abbey Howard]

I did that one time and it was so messy.

[Abby Howard]

Why?

[Abbey Howard]

And it just kind of got, like, grainy and gritty, did it not?

[Abby Howard]

No, there's not that much cottage cheese. It's mostly Greek yogurt. I don't think it was grainy or gritty. Did you think it was grainy? No, it tastes. It is primarily Greek yogurt and cottage cheese. But then you put ranch seasoning and taco seasoning and rotel. Like the green chilies and tomatoes.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

And it was a good little, like, taco pool dip. It was very light. So I would say get some flavored chips for it. Like, get corn chips. I thought this would be amazing with those elote chips from Trader Joe's.

[Addie]

Oh.

[Abby Howard]

Because it's like, really. It cuts the spice. But I like, love those. The flavor of those chips.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah.

[Abby Howard]

And it's very high protein.

[Abbey Howard]

I like that.

[Abby Howard]

I'll eat it. I like that.

[Addie]

It's good.

[Abbey Howard]

Okay, I'll eat it.

[Abby Howard]

It makes a lot, so maybe cut it in half. Unless you're gonna go crazy.

[Abbey Howard]

Big party. Big party.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah.

[Abbey Howard]

My recipe is a lasagna soup. My friend Carly actually made this for us for postpartum when we had our meal trained. And it was so good. And they brought all the toppings. They had ricotta cheese and the parmesan. It was so good and filling and yummy. And I love a tomato based soup.

[Abby Howard]

I made it for the family dinner one week. I don't think you were.

[Addie]

I love lasagna soup. No, I don't think I've had your lasagna.

[Abby Howard]

I don't think you were there either.

[Abbey Howard]

Ah, no.

[Abby Howard]

It was just my parents and grandma.

[Abbey Howard]

Cute.

[Abby Howard]

But I was really good.

[Abbey Howard]

I loved it.

[Abby Howard]

I never made it before and I never had it before, but I remember someone saying they loved lasagna soup. I. I was like, that's gotta be easy.

[Addie]

So he doesn't really like it for some reason. I don't know.

[Abby Howard]

I like it because I don't love lasagna because it's so heavy. But the soup is just lighter enough. But it tastes exactly like lasagna, but it's not as heavy.

[Abbey Howard]

That should be. That's my recipe. Next week is my grandpa's lasagna. Sorry you don't like it. But that's.

[Abby Howard]

I like.

[Addie]

I haven't. I have a weird idea. What if you made, like, what would happen if you took old pasta? Like an old, like, pasta that you've already made, like a baker. And then you're like, this isn't good anymore. And then just, like, making soup. Is that possible? I'm gonna look her up because we have old pasta.

[Abbey Howard]

It's so good.

[Addie]

Oh, we made it. We made it, like, two days ago. But Blake made it, right? Like, we went. Blake's parents invited us to go get ice cream. We hadn't eaten dinner yet. Blake was making a pasta, baked pasta. So we just. It got done. We went and got Andy's. If it came home. Neither of us came to eat. We both had.

[Abbey Howard]

You just have this, like, amazing.

[Abby Howard]

Well, why don't you just heat it up now? I want you.

[Addie]

We've been heating it up, but it's. We both are. Like, it's not that good.

[Abbey Howard]

So maybe you just throw some broth in it and blend it up a little bit, see what happens. Hey, it's worth a shot. They've already counted a loss. Kind of.

[Addie]

Exactly.

[Abbey Howard]

I would either throw it away or

[Addie]

I could try to turn it into a soup.

[Abbey Howard]

Yeah, honestly, make it a soup. Make it a soup. Let us know. Report back on Monday.

[Abby Howard]

I have a report back on Monday. I'm spooked, personally.

[Addie]

That's not good.

[Abbey Howard]

I love it. Well, you guys, thank you so much for listening. Is that what we got?

[Abby Howard]

Yeah. Have a review to read. We're so thankful to those of you that rate our show highly. Give us reviews like, share, heart.

[Abbey Howard]

Follow, Follow, subscribe.

[Abby Howard]

All those things were real. It really means so much. And this user JrF000005 says:5 stars from podcast of Friends. I look forward to these episodes every Friday. I've never been much of a podcast listener until yours, and now I don't miss a week. I'm a mom without many close friends, and this helps me feel like I'm one of yours. Just having girl talk. It's so refreshing, inclusive, and fun.

[Abbey Howard]

Oh, so nice. Thank you so much. I think you added one extra zero.

[Abby Howard]

Yeah, I just said a bunch because

[Addie]

I saw them all together.

[Abbey Howard]

I just started giggling about this. Why? Sorry, Zero.

[Abby Howard]

That's what happens. Whenever I see a lot of something, I'm like, I'm just going to say it as much as I can.

[Abbey Howard]

As much as I can, exactly. Well, you guys, thank you so much for listening to this week's episode. We'll see you in the next one. And remember, we're always here.