Have you ever wanted to be pregnant at the same time as your BFF? Well, that’s exactly what happened with this week’s guests! Shanna and Laura came onto The Mommy Labor Nurse Podcast this week and talked all about being pregnant at the SAME time – what the journey was like, and even brought up some struggles they faced.
And, the best part? They actually documented both of their pregnancies on their own podcast, IN REAL TIME! How cool is that? Shanna and Laura have a podcast of their own – Big Fat Positive – where they each talked about their own pregnancies in the first 32 episodes – week by week! Laura was pregnant for the first time, and Shanna was pregnant with baby #2!
With weekly check-ins, special guests, and segments such as “OMG I’m Freaking Out,” hosts Shanna & Laura recount the often hilarious and always honest highs and lows of being a pregnant woman and now as moms.
In this episode, I just wanted to sit down with Shanna & Laura, and really hear more from them about how they got their podcast started (because they were literally both in their first trimesters!), what it was like being pregnant at the same time, and what their journeys since giving birth have been like.
It’s a super fun, light-hearted episode and I can’t wait to share them with you all. Let’s dive right in!
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How Shanna and Laura got started
To kick off our conversation, I gave Shanna and Laura each a chance to talk a bit about themselves, where they’re from, and how they knew each other.
Laura took the floor first and shared that they met in grad school for writing and were writing partners trying to write for TV together. While all of this was going on, they both found out they were pregnant within three weeks of each other and randomly decided to start their podcast, Big Fat Positive, and it’s still going strong.
Laura shares that even after their first round of babies were born, she documented TTC with her second, and her entire pregnancy right from the start. You’ll hear us talk a bit about how unusual it is to get to hear about the early weeks of someone’s pregnancy because so many with large platforms wait to share their news after the first trimester.
This gives their podcast a unique spin and creates a source of solidarity for women who are still early in their pregnancies and might want to listen in.
Additionally, Shanna provides the perspective of a mom that gave birth at 37 and 40, struggled with infertility and conceived with IVF for her second, and has had multiple miscarriages.
In short, on their show they dive into all of the REAL surrounding TTC, pregnancy, and postpartum – and I just absolutely love it.
Related Listening: Talking Infertility with Dr. Natalie Crawford
What was it like to be pregnant at the same time and start a podcast?
A big question I had for Shanna and Laura was what it was like to be pregnant at the same time, but more than that, what their goals were for the podcast at the time.
I wasn’t sure if they started it more as documentation and a kind of therapeutic exercise for themselves, or if they always knew they wanted it to be something big.
Here’s a bit of what Shanna had to say about it,
“It was very therapeutic. Very fun. In this day and age where people are text messaging and sending quick messages back and forth. I don’t talk to my friends as much. So this was a great opportunity to like hop on the phone or on the microphone with Laura and talk about what we were going through. I don’t think we knew how big this show was going to become. Or if we were even going to continue after we had our babies. It was just kind of like, let’s do this fun creative thing and see where it goes.”
When you listen in to this part of the episode, you’ll hear more about how they were “naively ambitious” (Laura’s words!) to start a show during their first trimester, but how it has become the highlight of their week through thick and thin over the past three-ish years.
What did you guys do in terms of birth preparation?
You guys know I’m all about birth prep over here, so of course, I wanted to know about Laura and Shanna’s experience with birth preparation and if that was something they addressed on their show while they were pregnant.
These two lovely ladies actually had very different birth plans on the agenda which, again, makes for some awesome perspective and relatability for all moms! You’ll hear Shanna talk about how she had a planned C-section the second time around after an emergency C-section with her first.
On the other hand, Laura was planning for a vaginal birth, took a hospital birth class, and was practicing hypnobirthing, but then her baby was breech! He wouldn’t turn, even though she tried #allthethings. From Spinning Babies, to visits to the chiropractor, and even something I’d never heard of called moxibustion!
Alas, she ended up having a planned C-section, but when you tune in you’ll hear her talk all about her amazing VBAC with her second!
Related: Prepare for Labor and Birth: 10 Things Not to Skip from an L&D Nurse
Wrapping up the episode
As we continue chatting, we touch on what it has been like to parent together and how that has translated to their podcast as well. It was interesting to hear that COVID hit right around their babies’ first birthday.
Even though they haven’t physically been together, they’ve connected and supported each other virtually through their podcast platform!
About Shanna and Laura
Shanna Micko and Laura Birek are the hosts of the podcast Big Fat Positive, which is a smart and funny real-life account of two best friends who found out they were pregnant at the same time.
The show follows the moms-to-be on their journey through pregnancy and into new motherhood, week by week. It includes weekly check-ins, special guests, and segments such as “OMG I’m Freaking Out” and “What I Googled This Week.” In each episode, Shanna and Laura recount the often hilarious—and always honest—highs and lows of being a pregnant woman and new mom.
Laura and Shanna are both writers living in Los Angeles. Laura’s writing has appeared in Parents Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, and O Magazine. Shanna is currently a full-time content writer for a major entertainment network.
Connect with them:
- Apple Podcasts: Big Fat Positive Podcast
- Spotify: Big Fat Positive Podcast
- Website: https://bigfatpositivepodcast.com/
- Instagram: @bfppodcast
