Let's Be Real - Mama Journeys - Episode 142 W/Fernanda Shoup

Fernanda Shoup, originally from Argentina and turning 40 with two toddlers at home!  She married her wife during Covid outside at a barn in Parker but was supposed to be in Argentina!  Talk about a different environment.  When she connected with her wife, she wasn't sure she wanted to be a mom but when she realized that she would parent with HER and that was what changed the whole thought about motherhood!  When you have a wife, everything changes. Her wife didn't want to be pregnant and Fernanda said she was 100% on board with carrying a child but unfortunately it took 2 ½ years of all kinds of infertility issues!  Her pregnancy was a breeze and it was glorious. In the 3rd trimester her legs went numb and she was in a ton of pain. She tried many different remedies but it was demoralizing because no one would listen to her. After her wife had to FORCE the hospital to listen, they did scans and found a herniated disc and kept her overnight and had to do survey for her disc issue while 36 weeks pregnant. She had immediate pain relief as soon as she woke up from surgery!  Her OB wasn't the best and didn't listen so they switched offices (always advocate for YOU) and she had a c-section at 39 weeks. Her c-section was quite the experience too! She struggled with so much postpartum depression and the "I'm not worthy" feelings. Her midwife told her "is the fact that your child wasn't breastfed going to show up on their application for medical school?"  Her feelings of inadequacy lasted months!  Even her mom said she was a shell of herself. Her sweet life and her decided that they wanted more kiddos and her wife decided she would carry baby number 2. She got pregnant on the FIRST try! So when they came home with a newborn, they were pregnant with their second!  Her wife is a firefighter and hated being pregnant and was on bedrest at 20 weeks!