Pursuit of Wellness - A Very Honest Life Update + Q&A

Episode Date: October 15, 2026

I’m back with another solo Q&A, and we’re catching up on everything from motherhood and work to where we’re living, my boob job, and what life looks like almost a year after having Cai. We just got back from LA, where I spoke at Founder Island with Greg, and it was such a full-circle moment going back to the place where so much of my fertility journey and early career happened. I’m also getting real about how different work feels now, why I’m saying yes to things again, and how motherhood has completely shifted what actually feels important to me.  I’m answering your questions about splitting our time between Austin and Aspen, whether we’ll eventually move to Colorado, navigating mom guilt, getting help with Cai, friendships after having a baby, and the very real chaos of his current high-energy phase. We also get into his sleep struggles, swim and gymnastics, traveling with a baby, acne and gut testing, and an update on my breast augmentation with Dr. Anna Steve, including my implant size, the Preserve method, fat transfer, healing, and whether I wish I had gone bigger. Plus, I’m sharing what surprised me most about motherhood, how I’m thinking about parenting and boundaries, what I’d do differently with baby number two, and why I’m already emotional about Cai’s first birthday. This episode is a very honest catch-up on where I’m at right now: figuring out motherhood, finding my way back to work, trying to trust my instincts, and learning to let this season look completely different than the one before it. _____ Leave Me a Message -⁠ click here!⁠ For Mari’s Instagram⁠ click here!⁠ For Pursuit of Wellness Podcast’s Instagram⁠ click here!⁠ For Mari’s Newsletter⁠ click here!⁠ For Mari’s TikTok⁠ click here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We just got back from L.A., which I haven't been back to L.A. since 2023. It was a reminder of, like, why we left. Do you live in Aspen and Austin? Yes, we go back and forth. Will you leave Austin and sell your house? I do see us transitioning to Colorado at some point. It's just a matter of when. Kai's first birthday, I mean, it's in two months, which is insane.

I just, like, can't believe it. I'm probably going to cry the entire day. What has surprised you most about motherhood, the way that it changes your brain and the way you perceive life. I'm really excited to help, like, foster a really kind, strong man. This is the Pursuit of Wellness Podcast, and I'm your host, Mari Lawellan. Hi, guys, welcome back to the show. I was just reading the comments on the last episode, and I so appreciate the kindness.

like what overwhelming positivity I so, so, so appreciate it. I was just trying to respond to some of you guys. I didn't realize I could respond. I sound like such a noob, but I was like leaving emojis and things on your comments. So I really appreciate the feedback. And I'm so happy that you guys are excited about the podcast. I am too. And I kind of feel like I feel less pressured, I feel like, because of reading your guys'

feedback of just being like, show up when you can. doesn't need to be a guest, doesn't need to be insanely researched and science-based, and that for me has made me feel so much more like relaxed about being here, and I don't feel like I have to spend hours prepping. So I asked you guys for questions, and there was a ton of really good questions today. So I do want to answer those, but just like overall updates. We just got back from L.A., which I haven't been back to L.A. since 2023, three, which is when I went for Entrepreneur of the Year. And we were in Venice, like in our

neighborhood, close to the old Bloom office, like our old stomping grounds. And it was so funny to be back. Like, very weird and very funny having Kai there, like such a crazy turn of events. Like, I feel like LA was where a lot of my fertility journey took place. And it was just so crazy to bring him back there and bring him to the Bloom office and take him to Erwan where we used to go every single day. It was pretty wild. We had a cute Airbnb and we were there for work. We spoke on a panel at Founder Land, which is a big founder event in Malibu, which was a very cool experience. And it was the first speaking engagement I've done in a long time. I used to do quite a few speaking engagements. I mean, it wasn't like my full-time job, but I would say yes to a lot. Like I spoke at

Harvard. What are some other ones I did? Just a few random ones. I can't remember the names of them, but like speaking was a, you know, a large part of my career before. So it was cool to speak on a panel. I was speaking with Greg, my husband, which was very fun. And then Dos C Cunningham, who owns NeutraBolt, C4 Energy. And great questions, super entrepreneurial business forward crowd. It was funny because Greg was, that was for sure his demo. Like if you haven't seen Greg's page, he's been posting content. Like he's become a full-blown sort of entrepreneur influencer. He's giving business advice and mindset advice to young men.

And all these people were coming up to him at this event, which I'm not like used to. He was always more behind the scenes. But all these guys were running up with their new product and their business ideas. and he was giving advice and I was just very, very proud of him. It was very cool to see him in his element. We got to see a lot of people we know in the industry, great brands. It was a really fun, exciting moment. And then we went out for lunch afterwards.

I was like definitely sad to leave Kai that day. It was definitely a full day. I'm not used to being away from him for that long. But I think it was good for me. It feels good to like use my brain. again. Maybe that sounds bad, but like do things that I feel like are my expertise. And honestly, people kept asking like, how does it feel to be back? How does it feel to be like working again? And I was like, it feels good for sure. It just maybe people could relate to this. Like I think some

people, I don't know, whatever. For me, it was fun and I loved it and I do want to keep doing things like that and now I'm open to more opportunities and getting back on the podcast and things but it just carries less weight for me like when I'm sitting up there it's not like I'm it doesn't feel as like crucial like when I used to go to speaking engagements I was like I have to crush this like this is a huge opportunity I want more of this like I was very hungry and I said yes to everything and now I'm kind of like yeah I'll do it you know um and I want to do a good job and give insightful information, but I'm not like, there's just less weight to it. Like, I don't care about anything as much as I care about Kai and motherhood in this moment, obviously, probably

for the rest of my life. But being on stage felt fun and it felt exciting and valuable. But it's not like my top, top, top priority, which I think is actually kind of a nice feeling to do something because it's fun for you and, like, can help other people, but it doesn't feel like the be all end all. Does that make sense? It's just a shift in the way I'm thinking about things, but it definitely was exciting. Being in LA was cool and the weather was great and it was fun to walk everywhere with Kai. Like Venice is pretty walkable. However, it was a reminder of like why we left because there's just parts of Venice that don't feel safe. And with the stroller and baby, I was like on full alert and I was not comfy with the vibes like the way there's some drug issues around around town and the way

I just it's not my vibe and I just am very anxious and I don't want people near Kai and whatever dangerous vibes and I was like yeah get me out of here so that was a good reminder um so we got back we've been dealing with Kai has honestly I we've had it pretty good with his sleep looking now having a little bit of perspective like he has been sleeping through the night since he was like I don't know six months five months maybe always falls asleep around seven seven 30 wakes up you know he at first he woke up at like six and then we shifted to seven and for the most part he sleeps through the night like most of the time we are not getting woken up at all which is a blessing if we feed him well the night before um

But the last week, it has taken us two hours plus to get him to fall asleep. Like he is fighting, fighting, fighting, fighting to go to bed. He's like pushing off of me and flinging his pacifier across the room and like growlinging and like laughing and just like not down to sleep. And it's taking two solid hours to get him to sleep. And the first night I was like, okay, maybe he didn't eat enough. Like maybe he's hungry. Then the second night he did it again And I was like maybe he's teething

Maybe he's going through a growth spurt And then the third night I was like Okay I think we need to change his nap schedule Because I feel like he's 10 months now And I think maybe the naps like are too long And we need to adjust So today we're adjusting and seeing If we can fix that

I mean I don't know if you guys saw on my Instagram story But I was fully like climbing inside the crib And I'm 5'10 And I was like I'm gonna break this crib but I don't know what else to do. I got in there with him. He did not care. He was climbing me, pulling my hair.

Like, he was not chill. Greg is honestly way better than me at getting him. Like, Greg is super patient and he will just stand there and like keep laying high down until he sleeps. So Greg's been super helpful with that. Also, just in general right now, like, I do feel like having a boy at this stage. stage and maybe I'm wrong. Like maybe there's some mums out there with girls who are a little nutso, but Kai is, I mean, he is full teradactyl vibes right now. Like does not sit still.

If he's sitting still, he'll start going like this. He, he, he, he, because he wants to move. And I have to bring snacks everywhere. Otherwise, he gets pissed off. Hates a stroller, hates the car seat, hates sitting still. He's the best. Like, it's so fun. And he's, starting to walk with the walker and like it's really really fun but he is crazy all day all day long he just wants to be playing throwing himself into pillows we go to gymnastics he's doing swim class he is so unbelievably high energy and it's just it's exhausting to be honest with you guys like wow and i've heard this from a lot of other boy mums and then i'll see like girl mums and they're the girls are playing and, you know, hugging their baby doll and just sitting.

And I'm like, oh, wow, that is a different reality. But like, all kids are different, you know. But Kai is extremely, he's a big personality, for sure. Really big personality. Like at gymnastics with the other babies, he is, like, bulldozing these other babies. And I'm just apologizing. I'm, like, trying to teach him gentle hands right now because he's saying hi to people, but like, like smacking, kind of.

And I'm like, okay, gentle. I'm like, when do we really start disciplining them? Like, when can he start? I mean, I'm kind of starting now. I'm saying like, no, Kai, that hurts when he's pulling my hair. And, you know, I think he's trying to show love, but he just doesn't know how. So I'm starting to kind of like, okay, gentle and like show him the right way to do it. Um, what other updates do I have for you guys?

I, yeah, we've started gymnastics. We've done one swim lesson and he loved it. Found a great teacher feeling really good about that. We're not doing ISR yet. She does have ISR training. So we might like integrate some skills in the next few weeks. But I wanted it to be like fun and slow. Like we're singing songs holding onto the edge, like using a toy.

And he loves the water. He did great. He was splashing. smiling. I was like on the sidelines trying not to distract him but being so proud and excited. So that's the plan with the swimming. Everyone goes about it differently. I like, I don't know, I've heard both sides of the story with ISR. Some people say it completely traumatized their kid and they hate even going in the bath now. Some people say it's the best thing they've ever done. I do think water safety is so important. Our pool is fully gated. We have locks on the doors.

all of the above, but I also want him to love swimming. And I also think about myself as a child and I was put in the pool very young and always loved swimming. My family loves, loves, loves swimming. So I want him to love it too. Yeah, that's kind of where we're at. I feel like I've been having a really great time with motherhood, but also like a challenging time right now because of the sleep and the hyperactivity. Like, it just, you know, just tapping into getting help, I think is really helping and, like, leaning on Greg. But I also still, like, immensely struggle with mum guilt.

I think that's, like, my number one emotion with motherhood. And it sucks. And everyone talks about it. But now I'm in it. I'm like, how do I stop feeling this way? And it will be ridiculous. Like, I'll be completely exhausted and need a break. and, you know, spend the whole day with him and have a great time with him and then just be so tired and ask for help and have my nanny come.

And then the second she comes, I feel guilty and sad and like I regret my decision of having her there and I just want to do it myself. Even, it just, it feels illogical sometimes and like I feel guilty no matter what I'm doing. Like, I'll go get a coffee with someone knowing I'm going to go. right back and see him and just feel guilty for being gone for just an hour. So if anyone has advice on that, I probably need to do therapy again, which I haven't been doing. It just felt like too much for me at the moment, but the guilt is real. So yeah, let me know how you guys feel about that. Oh, I also wrote on my list, I've been breaking out again, which is so annoying. I just have like a couple. It's nothing like how it used to be. But I'm not.

noticing myself break out again and I'm like, okay, do I have to go down this path of H. Pylori testing and antibiotics and all that. I think what I'm going to do is go to ways to well here in Austin and get some testing done and just see where I'm at. I've heard great things about them. I'll keep you guys posted on that journey and I also just started going back to my facialist Jackie at Vixim. And we did a chemical peel and she did extractions. That could be why I'm like having a flare up now because we like unearthed some stuff but uh we'll see um maybe my age pylori's back i have been eating a lot of sushi which always kind of makes me feel a bit worried um because of the parasites so with that said i feel like it could be a good time to answer some questions

so let me pull those up and see what we have going on all Also, Kai's first birthday, I mean, it's in two months, which is insane. And I feel really emotional. And I also feel very stressed because I want to do a first year photo album. I want to do like a painted plate. I want to do like a handprint. I want to do photo shoots. And social media can stress you out so much.

There's these moms like scrapbooking to the moon. And they have like 10 scrapbooks. I'm like, oh my God, that's not my vibe. I'm so bad at scrapbooking. but like I feel like I have to scrapbook. It's just a bit stressful. But I'm going to do the first year photo album. I just ordered prints of our Europe trip.

And it literally took me two hours to like upload all the photos. It took so long. And I'm like, there should be a better system for this. I got the funniest questions today. I mean, L.O.L. That's some of these questions. Okay. Let's do it.

Your net worth, don't lie. I don't know. The questions today are so funny. Girl, I need more rich people shit content from you. I love it. My perception is that men can get away with stuff like that and men are motivated by things like that and then women will hate on you for it.

It's not really my vibe. But like, sometimes it's fun. I like following people that are wealthy. Like, I love following Ariel Charna. and like, but it's just not my, it's not my value set necessarily. I mean, I bought this ring, that was fun. And I got a boob job. Do you miss living in Venice?

No. I think it was like really fun when I was building my career and like running around town and doing podcasts and, you know, trying to make it. And that was very motivating. But now with a baby, absolutely not. What would you recommend getting tested? Oh, what would you recommend getting tested for some, when someone struggles with acne? gut issues for sure seems to always be the case h pylori i think is a really

underestimated um cause of acne um what else yeah sebo mold heavy metals things like that just get everything tested how do you and gregg manage your finances as your income has grown we have a team that does that for us now and it's very helpful and I'm honestly very numbers illiterate like it's not my I don't like talking about it I'm not good at it but I know it's a huge responsibility and the way we set things up for Kai and all of the above so we have a team that helps us with that and yeah I feel well taken care of and also Greg's mum used to be an accountant and she's always been very, like, helpful in that way. Breast augmentation details you look incredible.

Thank you. That's very nice. Okay. I went to Dr. Anna Steve. I kept saying Stephen on the last episode. It's Steve. In New York City, she's incredible, very, very talented, look her up. I showed her photos of what I like. She recommended for my body, and it's very dependent on your body.

She said I should do 265cc, and that is what I have. They are not massive on me. Like I'm 5'10. I also got a lift, so I got implants. I did Motiva implants, Preservei method. I got a lift, and they took a little bit of fat from my outer thigh and used it to fill out space. And did I miss anything? I think I did Demi profile, which is like medium and you can like play it up, play it down.

It's so funny. I actually was having this conversation yesterday with someone who just got a boob job at the same place. And this is going to sound crazy. Part of me, I love them so much. They're perfect. But part of me wishes I had gone bigger. And I think this is like a syndrome when people get a boob job because when you first get them their swathe. and like high up and you kind of get used to that look and now they're getting more natural

looking and I'm like oh I kind of loved how they looked at the beginning but honestly Greg I was like talking to Greg about it and he was like no these are perfect they look believable but better like you don't want boobs that are like in your chin it's not the vibe and I was like you're right you're right you're right I just I think I kind of have boob blindness a little bit now because everyone has a boob job and like Alex Earle and all these people have kind of become like the norm. Like I think we're so used to seeing fake boobs that like we think that they're real. Does that make sense? I don't know, but I'm very happy with them and the healing's going amazing.

I mean, the incisions are like very neat and clean. She did such a good job. I'm really happy with it. Yay, I was listening to all your podcast this week as I'm giving birth today, L.O.L. Oh my God. Good luck, babe. Crush it. do you like the silver cross stroller i'm in the market for a new stroller yeah i do

uh honestly there's i mean i have the bugaboo butterfly for travel i mean the names of these strollers are so ridiculous at this point but the bugaboo butterfly folds up really easily you can throw it in the car the wheels aren't great like in venice like kept running into sidewalks silver cross the wheels are bigger um yeah i love my silver cross but i have i don't have have one in Aspen. We end up using the Toolee. Kai is very particular with his strollers. He doesn't like leaning back too much. He likes to sit up.

He likes to have a bar. Now he is a snack tray. He's a bit, you know, I think he prefers sitting on the Duner bike. Like, that's where we're at in our journey. He doesn't like sitting still. He likes to feel like a part of things. Will you leave Austin and sell your house? I mean, I don't know. Honestly. Like, I have no

idea. For now, Austin's great and the Bloom office is here and Kai has like activities and we have friends but I do see us transitioning to Colorado at some point. It's just a matter of when. How have your friendships, family time, events and etc. evolved post baby. Everything is different. It's hard to like explain. I've been having this conversation a lot lately.

I think the first year after having a bit of. baby really is like it's hard and amazing and different and it takes a second like I feel like I go through weeks where I'm like yeah we got this it's going great and then I'll have a week where I'm like what the hell is going on I'm kind of in a what the hell is going on week right now it just it's so much growing pain but it's also awesome and it takes a second to wrap your head around like okay which friendships feel really valuable. Oh my gosh, I'm really feeling like I'm, you just need different types of friends, I feel like.

Like I have my mum friends who have kids at the same age and I can always reach out to and just like, oh my God, he's not sleeping. I don't know what's going on. Like, has this happened to you? Have you started brushing his teeth yet? Like, what snacks are you doing? Like, it just, you need that.

You need someone aligned with where you're out in your journey. Like whether you are trying to have a baby, pregnant or you have a kid like you just need to find people who are at that spot but I also have friends who don't have kids yet and I'm excited I mean I have a lot of pregnant friends right now which is so exciting and seeing them in that phase there's also this like sort of you know what's about to happen to them but you don't want to scare them and it's exciting but also you're like hold on tight but I don't want to ever be someone that's like a just waiter like I had a lot of people who were like that with me and you don't you don't know until you know like you can't explain

it to someone until they're in it and I do think in your 30s or whatever when we're all in these different phases there is a little bit of that like people just have to experience it on their own to see what it's like and there's nothing you can say to prepare them for it and everyone's just figuring it out, you know, and everyone parents differently, everyone handles pregnancy differently. Everyone's just doing their best. And I think, like, having grace for that is really important. Yeah.

And I'm excited for my friends and hopeful for my friends who are trying and trying to, like, help them through that. It's just an interesting time. Like, everyone's at such different points. But everything has changed, honestly. Like, I'm way more selective about what I say yes to, but also I feel way more clear on my decisions and what's worth it to me. And I'm very much still learning. Where do you get Kai's clothes from?

Little Fashion icon. Thanks. I get them from a few different places. Like, I think there's the basics, like the H&Ms and the Zaras have great options. But also there's, like, these Australian brands, like Ziggy Zaza. There's like vintage, like Malibu vintage baby. I forget their Instagram. Small co, all small.

I really love the like Copenhagen colorful streetwear, cool baby vibe. That is my vibe for Kai. I love color. I'm not like a beige mom at all. I really love bright, bold colors and he looks really good in those. also aviator nation does have really cute like sweatshorts and t-shirts that he likes well this is nice just to say love you for being real you could have 10 nannies that you do a lot yourself i appreciate that um this is a topic i think about a lot because everyone has different amounts of help right

and some people live near family and they have family help some people have hands-on husbands who are at home more, some people don't have any help, like there really is a spectrum. And I am still figuring out what I like, how much help I like to have. And again, the guilt for me is so prevalent. But I have a nanny that I love, love, love, love. We don't have family nearby. She has become family to me and I trust her so much and I love the way she is with Kai. I am pretty, I believe quite strongly that I don't want too much help. Like, she technically could come every single day for as long as possible. But I like to have, I don't know, I really like to have Sundays on my own.

I like doing nights on my own. I like having most of Saturday unless we have a date night on our own. and sometimes Greg Greg loves loves loves being a dad and he's very hands-on and helpful nowadays he works a lot he travels a lot so I don't necessarily

have him to rely on all the time and sometimes even he's like why didn't you get any help today like this is crazy the house is a disaster and it just is a value set that I have it's really important to me to be very, very involved.

With that said, I'm not someone who can be at home all day, every day. I lose my mind a little bit. Like, I need to work out. I need to do work every now and again. I need to see people. And then I come back and I feel refreshed and ready. And just with where Kai is at now, I think my best case scenario is having, like, a second set of hands, but I'm, like, doing everything.

everything. Like it is a job where you're like, hey, can you run the bath while I'm feeding him dinner and there's like food flying and I need help cleaning it up while I'm playing with him. Like Kai is not really in a phase right now where he can be independently playing. He like wants us all the time. So it's really hard to do by yourself. So I like doing it with Greg. If Greg's gone, I'll often like call a friend to come help me because I like doing that as well. it makes things just like more enjoyable um and then or having my nanny come and we do it together like that's what we're doing tonight gregg's traveling for work and tonight she will help me because he's been taking two hours to fall asleep i could use help in that department but thank you it it is a topic

that i like think about all the times i throughout the day think to myself i maybe i should just like not have any help at all and do it all myself. I think about it all the time. But then I kind of know that I would be stressed and not the best mum I can be. Does that make sense? I don't know, guys. I think about it all the time. Are you happy with your face laser? I have to wait till we're at a year for me to really report back. It was pretty intense, I feel, the way I went about it. Like, the recovery was intense, like flying out there and doing the big laser and the whole thing was like a big honestly the recovery of the CO2 laser was more intense than my boobs fully um it was more frustrating it was more annoying the upkeep was more annoying um it has Greg tells me all the time

it's definitely made an improvement with my scarring it's not perfect like I might have to get another one at some point but again we're not like fully there yet so we will see how we feel did you use an overnight nanny at any point postpartum was it worth the money yes i was going to say when we were talking about the help piece so the first it's such a blur but like looking back when kai first came home for the first month maybe like six weeks i had no help during the day at first i had gregg and then he went back to work and i was doing it myself and I didn't have family come till he was like two months old. Those days were like crazy.

I would be in one chair pretty much the whole day and just like fighting for my life. Like this kid was super colic, crying his eyes out. I mean, it was pretty bad and I don't think I realized it was bad because I was so excited and happy. It was just a lot. But I'm also really glad that I had those weeks just me and him. and I remember I had hired a nanny preemptively and she came and it was just not for me. I was like I'm just not comfortable. I'm not ready.

Like I felt very like territorial is like a strong word but I was just not ready for other people to take care of him. But I had night help for like the first few months and that was what allowed me to be ready to do it every single day. It was very, very helpful. With the second one, I'm not sure. sure if I'll do that again. I don't know. I don't know if I want to. Here's the thing. I was pumping a lot because the night nurse would help she would take the pumped milk and use that overnight when he was waking up. So I didn't have to keep waking up to breastfeed. I might try with the second one not pumping as much and kind of being a little bit more

with the flow because I really got to the point where I was losing my mind with the pumping and the breastfeeding with Kai. So I might try to have a more relaxed approach and possibly combo feed right off the bat. Let's see. But yeah, the night nurse was extremely helpful. How do you feel post-boob job confidence level, etc? Amazing. Like I wish I had done it five years ago.

I was so nervous about it for some reason, and I feel so much more confident. I did not realize how much it was affecting me, honestly. Please touch on the no socks thing. What does that mean? I wear socks. Do you mean Kai? I keep Kai barefoot as much as possible because it helps with their foot growth and development, but I saw you didn't sleep train, but how did you survive?

So sleep train is like a weird word or phrase. because I don't know what people consider sleep training. Like some people do the Ferber method. Some people do like bring in sleep trainers. We've always been very scheduled. And I think that might be a form of sleep training in a way. And we did kind of teach him to self-soothe. But I never did cry it out.

I can't do that. So in a way, I guess we did like mild sleep training. and we would do night feeds and like filter out the night feed and slowly lower the amount of milk. And we've like done things to optimize his sleep. Um, but we never did like strict sleep training. If that makes sense. So. But now we're kind of hitting this point where I don't know, we may need to revisit because it's getting a little tough.

Um, thoughts on the bugaboo butterfly. I love it. It's good for throwing in the car. I'm sure it's good for throwing in the car. the airplane. First time mommy, what is the best advice you can give with anxiety and what I'm getting into? Really hard to give advice because everyone's situation is so different. I think the best advice I would give is like just lean into the change and kind of accept it

for what it is and try not to, I mean, again, like giving advice is so difficult because it's like it's your first baby. Like you're going to hyperfixate on everything. You're going to be a little obsessive about things. I think just allow it. Like I've kind of just allowed myself to have like gut instincts and do what I feel is best and try to. I think the biggest thing is tune out the noise because like other people will try to give you advice and project the way that they feel onto your parenting or the way you're doing things. social media of it all, like trust your own instincts. It's your child. It's your house. And it's, you're the mum. And I feel like while you can strive to be the absolute best version of you, like you know what's best, if you know what I mean. I feel like you can read endless amounts of books. And at the end of the day, they may not help at all. You kind of just need to follow instinct and what like your values honestly um yeah our babies are only two weeks apart

love that how do you make your coffee i use a jura espresso machine at home and i put it over ice in a cocktail shaker with whole milk and i shake it up and that's it i'm very particular about the color of my latte what's your go-to drink of choice when going out uh i went through a big apparel sprit phase this summer, spicy skinny margarita, love with Ocho or G4 tequila. Greg told me those are the best ones. My IVF baby is four months. Thank you for being a lifeline during that process. That is, I mean, incredible. I'm so happy for you. Wow. Love hearing that. Random but dying to know how do you comfortably hike in Colorado with the bears?

Um, I bring a bear horn. I'm probably a little bit more on the nervous side than Greg is. but like honestly the bears in Aspen the second they see you they run away like it's not they're not grislies they're black bears even if they look brown they are technically black bears and they're way more timid it doesn't really freak me out what freaks me out is if i were to see a mountain lion on a hike that would really freak me out but we we don't run into them that often can you tell us more about your life in austin as a mom favorite neighborhoods and places to go uh desnudo coffee is my favorite place to go, I go every single day. I like doing home body Pilates, sweat and scalp workouts. I train in my gym. We take kind of gymnastics. We're going to go to Indian Springs pumpkin patch this

weekend. I like walking the trail. I'm actually on the trail committee here in Austin. We have a gala soon. It's called the Trail Conservancy and it helps keep the trail going. because it's actually privately owned. So the city does not fund it. So we have to raise money for it. So I'm a part of that. I'm also a part of helping hands foster home. We have a luncheon this week.

Bloom helps support them. It's an incredible foster home here in Austin that I've visited and been a part of. And they do incredible work. That was a little bit separate from your question. But differences of Texas and Colorado living. Texas is for us at least. way more social, work-oriented with the Bloom Office. More indoors.

Colorado is more outside, nature, seasonal, like we have the snow, the fall, the summer. We're also social in Aspen, but like maybe a little bit less so. A lot more people in Austin have babies and are younger, I would say, and like, still like on the up and up with their careers. Aspen, it's more like established older people. Austin is like a better travel hub, I would say. Aspen's like a little bit more difficult to get around the country. It's more of a bubble. It's more small town. Austin also feels like a small town though. Like everyone kind of knows everything about everyone. Aspen is really small town. But it's less gossipy social mediae in Aspen, I would say. Like,

Austin could be a little bit of a mini LA sometimes. Does that make sense? Very sweet compliments in here. Thank you guys. Can you imagine having two in diapers? No. That's not really for me. I don't think. I've like witnessed it. Some people like to do it back to back and just pop them out. I don't think that's for me. I need a minute. You're killing it as a mom.

That's the nicest compliment ever. Thank you so much. We just... Okay. Are you cutting Kai's nails? Yes. We use a little nail trimmer. Are you using toothpaste?

We just started brushing his teeth with the finger brush. We use tubby-tod fluoride-free toothpaste. If anyone knows of a better one, let me know. So far, he thinks he's, like, eating a snack when we do it. So, TBD. It's so funny at this age. Like, he used to love getting his diaper changed and just think we were like smiling with him and he would be so chill and just lay there and smile. Now it is literally wrangling a crocodile.

Like it is diabolical. He hates it. He's screaming. He's rolling. It's all over the map. Acne update. I mean, it's not as bad as it used to be, but there's, I'm still getting some acne, which sucks. Oh, the tent in Kai's room is the.

slumber pod is what it's called it is the best thing ever we travel with it and now we just do it in his room it is essential in my opinion like if it's not on your registry it should be if you go to hotels like you never know the lighting also if you're sharing a hotel room and you need to be in the room um really highly recommend best time to travel with a baby definitely at the beginning um which people told me and we did take him to Europe when he was like six months which I'm glad we did then before he was crawling now I would be really really really nervous to take him to Europe like we're going to do it again next year but he is a very active boy right now and it's um yeah he does not want to sit still he wants to crawl everywhere climb everything uh it's going to be a tough journey for

sure. I missed a chapter. Do you live in Aspen and Austin? Yes, we go back and forth for now. Whereas Arnold, I did a whole post about this on social media. Arnold was the love of my life, the best dog ever. He doesn't like kids. He's also food sensitive. So he actually bit Greg a number of times. And we sent him to training, had trainers in the house. I spent so much time and so much money training him, training him myself when I was pregnant and being really proactive. But I just realized he really was not. He wasn't thriving in a home with a baby and it was dangerous for my baby. And ultimately, you have to choose your kids.

So for nine months, I was like super depressed, crying every day, trying to figure it out. And then I found an amazing family in Arkansas with 250 acres to take Arnold. and now he's living his best life with other dogs, no kids, and the husband is actually a duck hunter, and that's what Arnold is bred to do. So he is thriving, even though I'm very sad. And I do honestly want a second dog. I am like animal crazy,

and I want Kai to grow up with a dog that loves him. Lulu does not love him. I'm not worried about her. She's not an aggressive dog at all. She would never do anything, but she definitely, like, doesn't like Kai. like she runs away unless he's eating food than she's hanging out underneath him but um she's not a big fan of him and like i put the dog gates up when he's crawling because she's just not into it um

so i think i answered a lot of questions let me just make sure there's nothing new that popped up oh what are you planning for kai's first birthday we're going to do a very small like family birthday. It's going to be hungry caterpillar themed. I'm very excited about it. His actual birthday will just spend me, Greg and Kai, and do like all his favorite things. I'm really, really excited. We're going to have family fly in for it. I got him like custom caterpillar pants to wear on his birthday. I'm going to set up his toys. Yeah. I just like can't believe it. I'm probably going to cry the entire day. Will you bring experts back on the pod, miss that type of content? I think eventually yeah like i think i'm like getting back into it um we'll get there how much does caiway i would guess

26 or 27 pounds he's like very big what has surprised you most about motherhood just the way that it changes your brain and the way you perceive life in general i would say especially having a boy for me has been very like, I can't explain. I don't think I ever expected to have a boy, but like boys feel, like, as the mum, it just feels like you have the love of your life and not in a weird way, just in this way of like your best little friend. And raising a boy is really special.

And I don't know, everyone feels differently about it, but I'm really excited to help, like, foster a really kind, strong man. And I think Greg is really going to thrive in that role. I think I'm going to be the one that's, like, a little bit more, like, spoiling him and being a little bit, like, soft with him, unfortunately. Obviously, I care very deeply about, you know, building his character and we're not, we're not into, like, the super, super gentle parenting. I think you need to know when to have boundaries with your child. But yeah, it feels like boys are really just the best with your mommy, you know. But I'm sure having a girl is like a crazy experience too.

I don't know. Okay. I love you guys so much and I will see you in the next episode. Bye. Thank you for joining us on the Pursuit of Wellness Podcast. To support this show, please rate and review and share with your loved ones. If you want to be reminded of new episodes, click the subscribe button on your preferred podcast or video player. You can sign up for my newsletter to receive my favorites at marieloellen.com.

It will be linked in the show notes. This podcast is a Pursuit Network production. Love you, Power Girls and Power Boys. I will see you next time.