Pursuit of Wellness - We’re Having A…(Gender Reveal!!!)

Episode Date: June 22, 2025

Ep. 190: This week, I’m sharing something really special: the gender of our baby. After keeping it quiet (and editing out so many slips!), I’m finally letting you in on how Greg and I found out—and how it felt in that moment. I also open up about some of the emotional challenges I’ve been facing, especially around body image and identity as my pregnancy progresses. There’s also a bit of travel talk, reflections on IVF, and updates on how I’m caring for my mental and physical wellness right now. If you’re pregnant, trying, or just curious, I hope this episode makes you feel seen. 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! Sponsored By: Shop non-toxic, modern cookware at Carawayhome.com/MARI10 and get 10% off your next purchase—exclusively for our listeners. Take 20% off your first purchase of CLEARSTEM’s pore-safe, anti-acne, anti-aging skincare at clearstem.com/POW. Find natural relief with Foria’s organic period care. Get 20% off your first order at foriawellness.com/POW or use code POW. Save 15% on BON CHARGE’s Red Light Face Mask at boncharge.com with code PURSUIT—your at-home skincare upgrade starts here. Start your brand or scale your side hustle with Shopify, the platform trusted by millions. Launch yours today at shopify.com/mari. Try David Protein Bars with 28g of protein, 0g sugar, and only 150 calories. Buy 4 cartons, get the 5th free at davidprotein.com/POW. Show Links: Bloom Pop is coming soon—prebiotic soda in crave-worthy flavors like Shirley Temple and strawberry cream. Bloom Greens is your daily scoop of gut health support—packed with 38 superfoods to help reduce bloat, boost energy, and aid digestion. Topics Discussed 00:08: Introduction 00:43: Recent trip to New York & dogs 8:09: 15 weeks pregnant now 8:40: Struggles with body image changes 9:58: Triggering by gym experience 12:43: Pregnancy reflections & self compassion 17:05: Preparing for trip to Europe 18:10: Getting back into weight lifting 18:40: Gender reveal! 24:05: Q&A 29:10: Baby name (Welsh) 30:13: Nursery plans & decor 32:55: Still drinking Bloom Greens during pregnancy 33:12: First trimester symptoms 36:42: Launching Bloom Pop soda on July 4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Pursuit of Wellness podcast and I'm your host, Mari Llewellyn. Hi guys, welcome back to the Pursuit of Wellness podcast. It's Mari. Today we are doing a very fun solo episode. I am going to reveal the gender of my baby in this episode, which is crazy. gender of my baby in this episode, which is crazy. I have known for probably like a month at this point, but haven't shared it. And you may have seen it already on Instagram, but I'm here to talk about it. So make sure you wait for later in the episode

because I have a few updates and then I'll share how Greg and I found out the gender of our babies. So I just got back from New York. I was there, oh gosh, I think I was there for like 10 days. It was a while. We went to the North Fork of Long Island with both the dogs to see Greg's parents. It was so fun.

We got a cute little Airbnb on the beach. We had Lulu, we had Arnold. They went swimming, they went on the beach. Austin is really, really hot this time of year, like 100 degrees plus. So the dogs, it's like better weather for them on the East coast and they just had the best time. Lulu did this last summer.

She stays with her grandparents because she's almost 11 now. She's getting older and she doesn't love travel. So in the summer in Austin, it's too hot for her and we feel bad making her travel around too much because she's just such a homebody. So we actually leave her with Greg's parents and she also grew up going to their house. So it's kind of the perfect setup for her.

She didn't love the travel there, but she was so happy once we got to Long Island and she's there now with their Black Lab Tessa having the best time. So we were on the North For fork for a couple of days. It was good. I definitely would say the travel took it out of me a little bit more. Like I, I think the biggest thing for me is like eating, which sounds weird, but if I don't have some kind of snack or something to nibble on at least every couple hours, I start really not feeling good.

So when we landed, I was like, I immediately needed a snack and Greg got me like a string cheese from Starbucks or something. And I just noticed I was like really, really, really tired that first day and took me a couple days to kind of get back on routine. We then drove to New York City, which was really fun. I feel like I've been a little bit cooped up or like feeling kind of stir crazy in Austin, just because I've been stuck here for a while now. Just with IVF and the transfer,

I wasn't really able to travel and then I didn't really want to travel my first trimester, so I've been here for a while. So it felt really good to go to New York and have an exciting time and see people and go for dinner. And it was just different pace than I'm used to. I took a lot of naps. Like one thing about Arnold, he's the sweetest little boy, but he wakes up at like 5 a.m. So he was waking up at 5 a.m. in the hotel room. Greg was getting up and letting me go back to sleep. But I definitely

needed naps throughout the day. We took him to Central Park. We met with my dad, my dad's wife, Alexandra. We had lunch with them. I saw my mom. I saw a friend in New York who also went through IVF. It was really special. And then we drove back out to Long Island and went to Sag Harbor. And just to be transparent, part of the reason we did Sag Harbor in the Hamptons instead of going back to the North Fork is we were considering, and this is something we've thought about for a long time, we've always thought about getting a place out on the East Coast because that's where my family is,

where Greg's family is, especially with having a baby and with how hot Texas is. We've always considered having a property somewhere else that's a bit cooler and we were just kind of testing it out and we toured some houses and looked around and it was a cool experience. Like it was fun to see houses and you know, it's something that I could see us doing one day. I don't think we're a hundred percent ready yet to do that.

It's quite the schlep to get out to the East coast. It's like a four hour flight. And then depending on where you land, it's a two and a half hour drive to even get out there. It's definitely more of an oasis for people who live in New York City. You know, it's an escape, you're on the ocean. It's more suburban, but it just, I don't know. It felt like maybe a bit too similar to the suburb we live in in Austin.

So anyway, just things we're thinking about. You guys know by now my absolute favorite non-toxic cookware is caraway. And did you know that the average American spends over $3,000 a year on dining out? I personally think cooking at home is so fun, so intimate, and caraway makes it so easy and so worth the investment for you and your family. Having gorgeous cookware on my stove has really encouraged me to cook more at home, and especially being pregnant now. I prefer staying in, I like eating early on my own terms and making food that I'm really craving that night.

Greg and I really enjoy using our Carraway cookware. It also gives me peace of mind knowing we are not exposing ourselves to harmful chemicals on microplastics, which is very important to us. We use their wood cutting boards, knowing there's zero plastic involved. And the bakeware makes making homemade muffins and fun pancakes and things so much easier without the hassle.

They also have amazing food storage that keeps food fresh for long with less food waste. Buying cheap pans does come with a cost. Carraway has premium cookware made of high quality materials. There are no PFAs, PFOAs or PTFEs, lead, cadmium and other harmful chemicals. These things leak into our food when we're cooking and it's so important to avoid. If you have been eyeing their internet famous 12 piece cookware set, now is the perfect time to buy. You can shop Caraway risk-free, enjoy fast, free shipping, easy returns and a 30-day trial. Plus, if you visit carawayhome.com slash Mari10, you can take an additional 10% off your next purchase.

This deal is exclusive for our listeners, so visit carawayhome.com slash Mari10, or use code MARI10 at checkout. Caraway non-toxic cookware made modern. You guys know I absolutely love clear stem. I've been using it for a long time now. And I personally love it because it is the first clinically effective skincare wellness routine formulated with zero pore clogging ingredients ever. So if you've ever dealt with breakouts like me, I had acne for 10 years, you know that typical acne products dry and damage the skin, while traditional anti-aging products can

clog your pores. I love that ClearStem combines the two and it's an all-in-one approach addressing both acne and aging without compromising your holistic health. I personally love the cleanser. I use the Gentle Cleanser. I also love the body lotion and I use the gentle cleanser. I also love the body lotion and I use the Lips and Cutes balm on my lips every single day.

I love the founders. It was founded in 2017 by two women, Danielle and Kaylee, who both struggled with debilitating acne. And as someone who's been through acne, I tend to only trust people who have also had acne when it comes to my skin. So I feel really good about that. They offer a comprehensive skincare wellness system focusing on clinically effective topical

products and they also focus on inner wellness at the same time. They have a revolutionary acne lab test so you can get individualized support from a nutritional therapy practitioner to analyze your blood work, identify your underlying acne triggers, and implement personalized lifestyle-centric solutions to clear your skin from within. Discover the clear stem difference and experience clear, healthy skin for life. Go to clearestem.com slash pow for 20% off your first order.

That is C-L-E-A-R-S-T-E-M.com slash pow. I definitely recommend this to you. the I definitely wanted to talk about, you know, I'm now 15 weeks pregnant and some of the things I'm encountering. I definitely had some interesting wakeups at like 3 or 4am, absolutely starving, like needed to eat in that moment or else I felt like I was going to die. So I woke up at 3 a.m. and needed a protein bar. That was an interesting thing that happened.

And I think also just noticing the body image struggles. And also I just wanna point out like, this is coming from someone who has lost a lot of weight in the past. I lost 90 pounds in 2017. So I have an interesting relationship with weight gain and weight loss, you know, and I have sort of built a business around this journey I went on. And seeing myself, like my body change so quickly has been a bit more of a challenge than I anticipated.

And it's funny because, you know, I'll see people in my comment section say, oh, but you wanted this so badly. You work so hard for so long. And I think two things can be true at the same time. I'm so grateful and I'm so happy. Like every day I can't believe this is happening to me. It's my dream. But at the same time, when I was in New York and I can't believe this is happening to me. It's my dream. But at the same time

when I was in New York and I'm like trying to get ready to go out for dinner and trying to make myself look cute, I like ran into a few times where I'm changing my outfit five times. Nothing makes me feel good. I don't know how to dress my boobs anymore. I don't know. You know, I'm in that awkward period where I don't really have a bump yet and I just kind of look bloated. How do I dress for that? So it's been interesting. I had this moment that I wanted to share on the podcast. I wrote it down in my phone. I have not been to a public gym in probably a year, since moving to Austin, because we have a gym in our basement or our garage. I just use that, right? Greg and I went to a public gym in Sag Harbor. I definitely feel very comfortable at the gym. I've been to gyms a million times. I know where everything is. I know

how to use everything. And I got to this place with my fitness where I felt really confident with my fitness ability and how I looked and whatever. I used to be someone who was incredibly insecure about how I looked and how I showed up at the gym. I know what that feels like. I walked in and I went to the dumbbell rack and I'm in front of the mirror and I look in the mirror and I was just like, holy shit, that's me before I lost weight. I immediately was back in that body where I felt like that girl at the beginning of my journey who had no idea what was going on, really insecure, unsure of myself. It was the craziest feeling. It was like being transported back to that version of myself. I think it's a difficult thing to explain to someone who maybe hasn't been

through a drastic weight loss journey, but I felt quite triggered by it, you know? And it took some like self-talk and no one's looking at you. Everything's okay, you're pregnant. Like you're not the same version of yourself you were back then. Your body's doing what it needs to. Like I logically, I know what's happening, right?

Like intellectually, I know that weight gain is a part of pregnancy. It needs to happen. Like it's healthy. It's like this weird triggering feeling of, oh my God, I know what this feels like. It's crazy. And I left the gym, I got through my workout, which was really proud of. And afterwards I was crying to Greg and I was like, it's just, I got through my workout, which I was really proud of, and afterwards I was crying to Greg, and I was like, it's just, I felt so triggered.

And I wanna be transparent about this on the show, because I know so many women probably go through this too. And I was like, am I still attractive to you? Am I, is this bad? Like, what's going on? I'm only 15 weeks, like how could this be changing so quickly? It's confusing. It is a very drastic shift, especially for someone who fitness is a big part of my life. Toxic way or not, my body is a big part of my brand in a way. It's just been this interesting

experience. I think it's actually a very good learning lesson for me. Learning to have more compassion for myself and learning to have self-love is something that I've always had a hard time with. Sorry, maybe I'm just rambling now, but being pregnant has made me a lot more introspective, I would say, and a bit more reflective on my childhood and just noticing different parenting tactics and why things are a certain way. I was like reading a journal of mine from when I was like 16 or 17 and it was so crazy reading.

It was actually a journal I kept during an internship that I did at that time. And it was so well written and I was so self-aware at that age. There was like a part where I said, I was doing an internship at a school. And I was like, I really felt like I wasn't helpful enough today. The kids were very chaotic and I didn't know how to step in. And I could have been a lot more useful. And I was like kind of hard on myself in the journal. God, I just have so much empathy for that child because I was trying so hard and I really was trying to put my best foot forward, you know? I'm going so off on a tangent

right now, but I guess what I'm trying to say is this time in my life has made me very reflective on things and myself as a child and the way that I talk to myself and my compassion and, you know, people tell you that the body image thing can be tough when you're pregnant but you don't really realize it until you're in it. And now I'm seeing photos of myself and I'm on camera again and it's a new vibe. And I'm just trying to adjust. So I wanted to be honest about that because that's kind of my thing. I feel like I'm very transparent always with you guys and anyone listening who maybe could relate. I hope it helps. You guys have heard me talk about Foria before. Foria creates award-winning products to support

intimate experiences across every stage of life from menstruation to menopause. I know when I was menstruating before I was pregnant, they have an amazing relief collection that features life-changing, all-natural formulas designed to provide relief from menstrual symptoms and period discomfort. Whether you're looking to spice up your relationship or find all-natural period comfort, give the gift of pleasure to a friend or loved one with their unique formulas. They have their relief melts which provide internal menstrual support. They're quick and easy to insert suppositories made with cacao butter and 100 milligrams

of the highest quality CBD to relax tension and pelvic discomfort. They have so many amazing reviews, but you really just have to try it yourself. They also have Relief Salve, which is a game changer for tension and muscle soreness you get during your period. I can read all the insanely glowing reviews

from Foria's website all day, but you really just have to try the formulas for yourself to understand. Whether you're looking for period relief or something to get you in the mood and enhance pleasure, I highly, highly recommend you check out their all natural formulas. The good news is that Foria is offering a special deal

for our listeners. Get 20% off your first order by visiting foriawellness.com slash pow or use code pow at checkout. That's f-o-r-i-a wellness.com forward slash pow for 20% off your first order. You'll thank me later. One thing I've been obsessed with for my skin for a very long time is Red Light Therapy and my personal favorite brand is Bon Charge. Their mission is clear to empower individuals to live more fulfilling lives through science-backed beauty and wellness products.

I know it can be really hard to find time to look after your skin and keep up with the 10-step skincare routine, but one thing I love about the Bond Charge Red Light Face Mask is it's super easy to incorporate. You just really need 10 minutes a day, and you're on your way to clearer, firmer and more radiant skin.

You can wear it while cooking, while watching TV, making the bed, whatever it is you need to do. They make it so easy. It's lightweight, portable and contours perfectly to my face. It really helps with uneven skin tone and texture. I had acne for over 10 years and definitely have some scarring

and I've noticed such a difference with using red light therapy. BonCharge red light devices promise a non-invasive approach that utilizes specific wavelengths of red and near infrared light to penetrate the skin, offering a range of benefits that continue to garner attention from researchers and health professionals alike. BonCharge ships worldwide in rapid time with easy returns and exchanges and a one year warranty. Go to Buncharge.com and use the code PURSUIT to save 15%, that's B-O-N-C-H-A-R-G-E.com and use coupon code PURSUIT, P-U-R-S-U-I-T to save 15%.

So I'm traveling again pretty soon at the end of June. We're actually going to Europe. We're going to, I'm obsessed with the south of France guys. Every single year I feel like I go to the south of France because it's my favorite place. I grew up going to France a lot. My parents love France. It turns out I love it too. The food, the language, everything.

So we're going to go there for a few days and then we're gonna go to the Cotswolds to see my granny in England, which will be really nice. So now that I've had like a little bit of a travel experience while pregnant, I'm definitely gonna bring a ton of snacks. Like that's a definite. I wanna get an EMF blocking body suit,

which might sound ridiculous, but if you follow V's Honey, she's pregnant right now. She's very natural, holistic. She wears this EMF blocking body suit by this brand. I think it's called like Jou-Day. I forget, but they're like sold out. So I think I pre-ordered one. I'm definitely going to wear the compression socks to make sure I get up a lot on the flight because it's a long flight. So just some things I'm thinking about and making sure I'm hydrating and doing all those things in prep for that travel. So any tips you have, I would love to know guys. You know, I recently posted that I've gotten back into weightlifting and I'm really loving it. It's making me feel

very empowered and strong and you know, it's not the same goals they're used to work towards. It's not like, oh, I want a six pack or I want my shoulders to pop. It's this feeling of like, I want to have a healthy child. I want to feel good and strong for childbirth and just maintain this muscle I have. And it just makes me feel good. So those are just some of my recent updates. Now I feel like we can hop into telling you guys what gender I'm having, which feels really crazy. But I think it's a good time to tell you honestly, because I will just slip. I know myself, I'm so bad at keeping a secret. I'm so bad at lying.

And I need to just tell you so that I can start saying the pronoun that I'd like to say, because we've had to edit it out a million times, because I'm so bad. Okay, so for context, we did IVF, as you guys know, and many people who do IVF pick their gender. And I always knew from the beginning, I did not want to pick the gender. I think I wanted to have this feeling of like normalcy a little bit, and I wanted to save

something to be a surprise because obviously when you do an embryo transfer, there's not much surprise involved in that. I just wanted to pick the healthiest top grade embryo and figure out what the gender was later on. So I said to the doctor, you know, we had, I think I've said now we have three embryos on ice and two of them were the same gender and one is a different gender.

And we decided to pick the top grade of the two that were the same gender, because it didn't work the first time I was going to use the next one, if that makes sense. So we did know that both genders were represented. So it could have been a girl or a boy. You know, I did the embryo transfer and I think I waited until I was 11 weeks to find out the gender. I think I wanted, originally I was gonna wait till 12, but I couldn't wait, I was too excited.

And I could honestly find out at any point because it was just a matter of calling the clinic. I didn't have to do the whole testing thing. I kinda had a feeling I knew what the baby was because based on my symptoms, based on what my acupuncturist was telling me, based on I did all the old wives tales and it all indicated that it was this one gender. I guess I'll just say like all of what I thought was indicating that it was a boy, okay? Because I was like, well, I'm not really that sick. My acupuncturist is saying my pulse is feeling like it's a boy. All the old

wives tales were saying it was a boy. I felt like in my soul, I knew it was a boy. But it was funny because my whole life, I thought that I would have a girl first. I don't know why. I think maybe because I grew up with a sister, not that that means anything. And then also that Greg's a bodybuilder and a lot of the bodybuilders have girls because they have higher testosterone. So I always just thought I would have a girl. So I was kind of like, I feel like it's a boy, but that would be really crazy. Like, that would be so insane. I've never even thought of myself as like a boy mom. So I went to the IVF clinic and it was my final checkup before I graduated from the clinic.

And I was like, I'd really like to know the gender. And they were like, okay, go wait in the waiting room. And they drew out a card for me and put it in an envelope and sealed it. And I took the card home and I had that card sitting in my bag overnight because it was raining that day. And I knew I wanted to do this outdoor bouquet thing with Greg to find out privately what our gender was. And so we had to wait.

So the next morning I'm like, Greg, we have to do it right now. I can't wait any longer. So I like laid out a picnic blanket and we had the dogs out there with us. Greg had the card and I turned away and I had a pink bouquet and a blue bouquet and for some reason it was so hard to find these bouquets guys like finding a blue bouquet was impossible and I filmed it which is now on my Instagram. I turned away and Greg opened the card and turned me around and handed me the blue bouquet. It's a boy.

And I mean, I knew in my soul that it was, but I was still so shocked. Like I was still, I couldn't believe it. And I knew I could tell Greg couldn't believe it. Like he was doing, you know, you guys know his laugh. He has the funniest dolphin laugh, but he was crying out of the corners of his eyes because I think we both just always thought it would be a girl and it was just such a crazy thought.

Oh my God, it's a little boy. This is insane. I'm so excited about it and I've really embraced it and we already have this name that we call him. I also just felt so happy for Greg because Greg doesn't have a brother and I know he's always wanted a brother. I think he has a lot of life lessons that he would love to teach his son. I just know Greg really well and I knew that having a boy would be really special for him

and for me. I feel like little boys are always obsessed with their moms, you know, in such a cute way. And I'm just so excited about it. And it was just adorable seeing Greg's reaction. I know it's very, very exciting for him. And we were just, yeah, couldn't believe it. Could not believe it.

So we're having a boy. Um, I think a lot of you, I don't know, I saw guesses on both sides, to be honest. I like did a little private gender reveal with my close friends and it's been really special to know, you know, and now I'm like starting the nursery and I have like all the blue things figured out. So really, really cool, really special. So I appreciate you guys being patient to find out.

I am now gonna answer some questions from a little Q&A that I posted. I stopped getting my nails done, dip in UV gel when I got pregnant. What do you get? I miss them. So I actually don't do anything. I do Russian manicures,

which I only get like every six weeks because they last so long and they don't use acetone. They just buff everything off. So it doesn't have that chemicals. They do use the UV light, which maybe I should look into that a little bit more honestly, but I know everyone has different opinions on the nails.

I've heard that Russian manicures are kind of the more natural safer route. So let me look into that and figure that out. But I know everyone has a different approach. So I personally feel like getting my nails done every six weeks or so and not using the acetone is okay. But I do need to do some more research. Summer is approaching and it is the perfect time to start that side hustle you've been dreaming about. With Shopify, you can easily set up your online store and start selling your products in no time.

The beauty of entrepreneurship is that you don't have to dive in headfirst right away. They have easy to use tools and an app that you can manage your business on the go and sell anywhere. That is how I started my business. When I was selling my $5 PDF workout guides, Shopify was the first place I went and we fully scaled my business from there to where it is now, which is absolutely insane. Shopify has been there for us every step of the way.

It's a powerful set of tools that helps you start and manage your business, whether online or in person. It's designed to make life easier for entrepreneurs from beginners to big brands by providing tools that simplify selling. You can easily sell on social media, manage your operations, and even collaborate with other brands. It's an all-in-one hub for managing and growing your business, whether you're selling online or in person, with how shopping works now and how prevalent social media is, Shopify is such an easy tool to link to and get your followers to go buy your products.

Personal growth starts with stepping outside of your comfort zone and Shopify is here to help. Head to Shopify.com slash Mari and see how easy it is to go get started. I know many of us are focused on getting in all of our protein. It's so important to hit every single day, especially as women. And finding high protein snacks can be a challenge, especially when you're traveling on the go. And David protein bars are made exactly for those moments.

I personally am still really focused on protein as I'm pregnant. David now has eight flavors with this recent edition of cinnamon roll and red velvet. I personally love the red velvet. I have them stocked in my pantry. It's the least calories for the most protein that you will ever find in a bar. Check out the macros.

They have more protein and fewer calories will help you increase muscle and decrease body fat. Most protein bars are packed with sugar and excess calories. David bars are different. They have 28 grams of protein and only 150 calories and zero grams of sugar. Helps you hit your daily protein and avoid the junk. This snack is ideal for people looking to increase protein,

cut sugar and manage calorie intake. It comes in iconic gold packaging. You've probably seen it. It's available online and at retailers. Perfect for throwing in your bag for a quick satisfying snack. You've probably seen it. It's available online and at retailers. Perfect for throwing in your bag for a quick satisfying snack. You can also put it in the fridge if you like it cold. Available in multiple delicious flavors, all worth trying. They're endorsed by fitness enthusiast professionals

like Andrew Huberman. Helps with muscle maintenance, recovery, and overall health. That's why I always have David Protein bars with me. David is giving any listeners an exclusive offer by four cartons and get the fifth free at davidprotein.com slash pow. That's davidprotein.com slash pow to get your fifth carton free.

Humans aren't perfect, but David is. How do you deal with anxiety around pregnancy, friends, life, personal stuff? I have moments honestly, like sometimes I get these little reminders of how bad my anxiety can really be. I definitely deal with, I have some sort of like OCD tendencies with like locking onto thoughts or like spiraling about things that are actually not happening. I love therapy. I do therapy every single week

and I find it to be really helpful. I really like getting off my phone. I think reading helps me a lot. I really wanna get back into journaling, honestly. I think I could be a lot better with my anxiety management. I mean, this isn't a horrible method, but I'll like call people that I love and give me good advice and I'll like call people that I love and

give me good advice and I'll like get their advice on it or, you know, make sure I'm around people that I love just to kind of distract myself. And honestly, my number one person I go to for advice is Greg. He is just such a rock for me and he has like a really clear view on things. It's tough for me. I'm not great with my anxiety. I have to be honest. Have you decided on the baby's name? Congrats. So we have a name that Greg and I have both loved

since we met like 10 years ago. And we always said we would name our baby this. And I recently found a spelling of the name that's actually Welsh, which is where I'm from. My whole name is Welsh. I'm half Welsh from the country Wales and United Kingdom. So I thought that was really cool. And every time we refer to the baby, we call him this name. So I feel like it's the name, but I don't want to say any definite

because we could change our minds, you know? Did you ever find out the reason of why you needed IVF? Honestly, no. No, we didn't. I think my PCOS probably played a factor and who knows? I try not to spend too much time thinking about that because ultimately we got where we needed to get. So no, there was really no clear answer and maybe we just needed to wait a little bit longer but I personally couldn't wait anymore. Did you struggle with endometriosis?

No I did not. Do you guys have any baby room theme ideas? No theme but I love this like thick stripey wallpaper in like blue. It's very classic looking. I'm so excited about the bookshelf. I love books. I can't wait to fill a bookshelf. I'm looking. So I really want to have Alison Evans back on the podcast. She's the founder of Branch Basics and she has such great natural baby product recommendations. I feel like

that would be such a fun episode, but I'm looking at like cribs that don't have toxins in them and you guys know how I am. so I'm looking into all that. But I have ordered a few things on Etsy for the nursery that are really cute like little farm animal things so I'm excited to show you guys that. How long do you want to wait between children? I think it's really hard to say until I have the baby but I will say because of my I have the baby, but I will say because of my journey, I've just been thinking about this now for like two and a half years and I definitely could use a breather, you know, of just enjoying the baby and not overthinking things. So I feel like I'm going to want at least a year before our next.

Will you be raising your child in Austin? Do you have family and friends to help you? We will be. We definitely have great neighbors. I've also already found help in my neighborhood, which I love her so much. She's awesome. And we don't have family nearby.

So we're kind of setting up like a team. I don't want to call it a team, but like resources to help us in Austin. And I'm, I'm excited to take this on, you know, as a new challenge for myself. And I've waited so long for this that I definitely want to be very hands on. How are you feeling with the body changes restrictions on exercise? I feel like, yeah, I talked about the body changes earlier and with restrictions on exercise, I think as long as I can weight lift, I'm pretty the body changes earlier and with restrictions on exercise,

I think as long as I can weight lift, I'm pretty happy and I'm still doing my walks, you know? I think like not doing Pilates makes me sad, but it's not, I got used to it during IVF, so it wasn't too much of a shock. How's everything going with your skin? Seems to be fine. Really doesn't seem to be freaking out too much,

which is great. So sweet. Thank you for letting us in and sharing. You are so strong and brave. That's very sweet. How are you doing right now with your mental health? I feel pretty good. I would say it's up and down though. Like I'm definitely hormonal. If you listened to my episode with Olivia Adriance last week, we were talking about like irritability and sadness. Like I definitely cry more easily and just feel things on a different level but in general I feel pretty good. Are you taking your bloom greens during pregnancy? Yes I am definitely still taking my greens but everyone's

different you know like I would talk to your doctor see what they recommend but I like mixing my greens with my colostrum and having that every day. Are you making a registry we can get you a gift from? That's so sweet. You guys do not have to get me a gift. I haven't thought about that yet, honestly. How did you deal with first trimester nausea? I honestly did not have really bad nausea,

which I feel very lucky to say. I know so many people struggle really, really badly. Mine was just first thing in the morning, I felt a little bit off and then I would eat a protein bar and be fine. And I only really feel nauseous if I don't eat for a long period of time, but it really hasn't been that bad. And I've kind of been able to eat everything I can. Pregnancy pillow suggestions. Honestly, I need those because I mean, actually I do have a pregnancy pillow already from when I did my egg retrieval because I mean, actually, I do have a pregnancy pillow already from

when I did my egg retrieval because I couldn't lay flat when I had that horrible experience. So I still have that one. But if anyone has good racks, let me know. I definitely am not sleeping through the night right now. Like I wake up at least three times to pee and I'm just not, you know, it's just different. I'm not, I'm not super comfortable. When did you start acupuncture? I started acupuncture probably a month or two

before my transfer because I knew acupuncture can really, really help with a successful transfer or with getting pregnant. Are you as happy as you imagined being pregnant or is it tough on you? I would say I am as happy as I imagined. Like it still feels like a dream, but like, yes, there's challenges that come with it

that you can never really anticipate. Did they put you on baby aspirin? Yes, that was one of the things they had me take to ensure a successful transfer because I think it helps with inflammation. I'm not a hundred percent sure why. Will you be nursing? I would love to, that's my goal. And I inflammation. I'm not 100% sure why. Will you be nursing? I would love to, that's my goal,

and I hope that I'm able to. Based on these boobs, I think perhaps I will be able to. When will you expose your baby to horses and riding? I mean, I don't know. I mean, obviously not for a while when they're tiny, but horses will always be a part of my life for sure, so I'm sure it will be a part of theirs. Must do's for an embryo transfer. Go check out my TikTok, I did a whole video about it.

I definitely followed like a Chinese medicine approach, keeping my feet warm, not drinking cold things, uh foot baths every night, acupuncture, eating Brazil nuts and pineapple. I did all that stuff. Did you work out during your first trimester? I did towards the end, but at the beginning I did not because my clinic did not want me to with IVF. About to start IVF in July, any recommendations of things to buy that really helped you? Maybe some people like to get numbing cream

for the injections. I found that it didn't really help me all that much, to be honest. I don't think there's anything you really need to buy. I think it's just like a mindset thing of like, you just have to be patient and kind of let go control and just be ready for the journey. Will you be posting your baby on socials? I think that's like a really big topic that is tough to think about.

I don't have a plan yet. I don't have a plan yet, I don't know. But there's definitely some really scary news coming out about that and just with AI and all those things it's really strange. So I don't know, I have some parents I follow who have a really nice approach to it where they only show the back of their head,

they don't show their face, so we'll see. Pregnancy nutrition advice, definitely just focusing on protein, fruit, nutrients, eggs, omegas, seafood, like cooked seafood. But like sometimes I just want a sandwich, you know, just like having some flexibility. Where can I buy Bloom Pop? So if you've been following my story,

I've been kind of leaking the fact that we do have a Bloom prebiotic soda, which I'm obsessed with, guys. Like I was craving it so hard yesterday. We have a Shirley Temple flavor that is out of this world. The sodas come out July 4th. They will be in Walmart exclusively, I believe. We have amazing flavors. Strawberry cream is also

really good. We have an orange flavor that's really good. You guys are gonna freak out. It's so delicious. My pregnancy I've been like obsessed with the bloom sodas. So why did you move from LA to Austin? Business, family. LA wasn't really for us. We love Austin so much except when it's really hot. That's the one time I don't love it. Currently doing IVF, did you check your basal body temperature in your aura ring or you ignored it? I kind of ignored it. I actually stopped wearing my aura ring when I did IVF because I was like, I have too much information. Like I'm getting labs done every day. I don't need to see everything. Now I'm wearing it pregnant because I like to see how much I sleep and all my steps and things,

but I didn't wear it during IVF actually. Will you have a doula? Yes, I've already got a doula who is amazing, love her. I always kind of knew I wanted one, I think for my first, but maybe not my second or third or whatever we end up doing. How did you feel getting off progesterone? So I was put on progesterone for the beginning

of my pregnancy, coming off of it, I had some serious emotional issues. Like I was very depressed. I think any big hormonal fluctuation like that can be really hard on the body, and I found myself just being super moody. So keep that in mind. But my progesterone naturally has stayed high, so that's really good.

So I think that answers a lot of your questions, guys. We are having a boy. How insane. So let me know if your guess was right or not. And I'm so, so excited about it. Just a reminder, if you are not subscribed to the show, we launch episodes every single week. You don't want to miss one, so make sure you hit that follow, subscribe button, leave a review if you enjoyed, maybe if you didn't. Love you guys so much. I'll see you in the next one. 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 favourites at marielawellen.com, it will be linked in the show notes. This podcast is a Pursuit Network production, brought to you by Michaela Phillips, Joel Contartese, Davielle Waldner, Jen Lauren and Mackenzie Meisel. You can also watch the full video of each episode on our YouTube channel at Pursuit of Wellness podcast. Love you, Power Girls and Power Boys. I will see you next time.