The Unplanned Podcast with Matt & Abby - TikTok Couple: Our break up & birth story w/ the Quist Family (Courtney and Alex)

Episode Date: August 6, 2025

TikTok creators Courtney and Alex (better known as The Quist Family) join Matt & Abby to share the full story behind their relationship. From dating multiple people at once to breaking up before eventually getting married. They also talk through the highs and lows of pregnancy, including Courtney's fear of being induced at 42 weeks, gaining just 8 pounds, and what life looks like now as new parents. This episode is sponsored by Audible, Magic Spoon & Zocdoc. Audible: Your first great love story is free when you sign up for a free 30-day trial at https://audible.com/unplanned Magic Spoon: Get $5 off your next order at https://magicspoon.com/UNPLANNED Zocdoc: Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to https://Zocdoc.com/UNPLANNED to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. Chapters: 00:00 - The Quist Family 01:21 - Breaking up with my future husband 03:40 - Dating multiple guys at once 12:54 - What I learned from going through a break up 17:31 - Defining our relationship 21:07 - Getting out of the friend zone 36:33 - Why I was terrified to give birth 40:12 - Getting induced at 42 weeks 47:47 - How I only gained 8 lbs while pregnant 54:05 - Being a father to a newborn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get to Toronto's main venues like Budweiser Stage and the new Roger Stadium with Go Transit. Thanks to Go Transit's special online e-ticket fairs, a $10 one-day weekend pass offers unlimited travel on any weekend day or holiday anywhere along the Go Network. And the weekday group passes offer the same weekday travel flexibility across the network, starting at $30 for two people and up to $60 for a group of five. Buy your online go pass ahead of the show at go-transit.com slash tickets. I thought when you met your person, it would be so clear to me. This is my soulmate. And we didn't have that. And so I was like, I think it's best for us to break up.

How long were you dating multiple guys at once? Okay. Was it three people at once? Or how? Okay. And on top of that, I said that I just wanted to be friends. What was it like to have your water break? Every so often, it was just like a gush.

Honestly, I could do that a million times. Your water breaking felt good. It was like the craziest most satisfying feeling. She accidentally said, I love you first. I dropped her off at her house. Bye, love you. Yeah, she just said, bye, love you. Mind. Never mind.

Today on Unplanned, we sat down with the Quist family. Courtney and Alex blew up on TikTok. They're best known for their hilarious content on marriage and parenting, but you probably didn't know they got married just nine months after they met, or that in that time, their relationship almost didn't make it. We talk about meeting on a dating app why Courtney was so afraid of giving birth and how she avoided getting induced all on today's episode. Courtney and Alex Quist, welcome to Unplanned.

Thank you. Thank you so much for having us. I feel like we have a lot of fun things to talk about. You guys are new parents. I think your relationship story is so interesting, too. You got married, I think, nine months after you met for the first time. Nine months on the dot. With things moving so fast, was there ever a moment of like, I hope this is the right decision?

Yeah. Yeah. You tell them that. We broke up for about three days because I thought when you met your person, there was going to be this moment where I was like, this is my soulmate. And we didn't have that. And so I was like, since we haven't had that, like, I think it's best for us to break up. We broke up for three days. And then in those three days, I was like, never mind, I can't picture my life without you. Sometimes I feel like you need to break up in order to realize what you didn't have. Or like, you don't know,

you don't know, you don't, yeah. How did you break up? Like, I feel like that's such a scary thing to tell someone I'm breaking up with you. Did you, did you do it in person? Did you do it over text? I actually kind of made her do it a little bit. So it had been maybe two or three weeks, and she just kept on saying, I just don't have peace. I just don't have peace about the relationship. And I don't know what it is. You're praying for peace.

And so at one point, you're just like, hey, like, I think maybe let's just give this a try for a little bit longer. But like, if the Lord doesn't give me peace, we should break up. And I'm like, well, I'm not going to walk on eggshells for two weeks just waiting for you to break up with me. And I was both crying because neither one of us actually wanted to break up. But I was like, I was like, what's the point of continuing to do this if we don't know if, I don't know. I thought you had one person.

That's what I thought for so long. And I was like, no, I was like, it would be so clear to me if you were my soulmate. And, yeah, I don't know. It only took three days for me to realize. I was like, never mind. I don't want to picture my life without you. Were you dating him with the intention of marriage? So you thought you should feel a stronger, like, aha moment than you did.

Our story is just like so complicated. Because we met on a dating app. And then we immediately hopped on a call. And then the next day we met. But before, before we even met, so that night that we hopped on a phone call, too, I couldn't sleep. I literally woke up at 1 a.m. And I just started journaling and praying. And like, I saved that journal entry.

And in there, I was like, I don't even know what this girl's last name is. Courtney Quist has a good ring to it. I was like, you know, this would be really cool if I read this on our wedding day. And he did. And he did. So, like, I had a really good feeling literally just from one phone call. Yeah. And then the next day we met, and then we just became friends.

And then it got complicated because we were like, are we, friends, are we not friends? And then he friends owned me. And then I got mad. And then he took a selfie after he friends owned me. Yeah, so I'll have that picture. He's like, I think this will be really funny to share one day. I thought the video you guys posted on TikTok was hilarious that we listened and we don't judge. Because not only were you dating him, but you were dating other guys at the same time. Okay, how long were you dating multiple guys that one? Okay, so, okay, I actually, I got roasted so hard on that video. And, okay, I just want, can we just bring us back 30 years where people would go on dates with multiple people at the exact same time and then

you become exclusive with one and so that's sort of what it was is I was going on dates with multiple people happy did that too it's all good okay but I was destroyed people were like oh my gosh she was cheating on him like you're going to get divorced all this stuff and I was like bring it back 30 years when that was a normal thing to just go on dates with normal people or you know just feel it out and so that was actually really nice because I didn't go through that like crazy hyper fixation like I wasn't obsessed with him because I was like if he doesn't text me back I have a lot you got a line up was it three people at once or how okay yeah I was just casually going on dates it wasn't like we were not invested I had never kissed any of them there's no

exclusive conversation no we were just talking yeah and then on top of that I said that I just wanted to be friends I know that's not the best place for someone to be on a dating app I had just moved to Nashville we literally met a week and a half after I moved there okay but it was during the summer when I wasn't working and so I was like how am I going to meet people both of our wives seem to have like you know dated a little bit gotten a feel for how things were I never experienced that did you ever experience taking different girls on dates I mean like if I ever did go on like another date with another gal like it was never where like I was dating someone else at the same time I guess yeah it was more or maybe not dating but just taking like did you ever take one girl out on a

date one week and then a couple weeks where it's like maybe i'll ask this girl out on oh yeah for sure okay i just yeah see like also matt we were in high school like it was like the beginning of this type of yeah yeah yeah because i i do i think that's really good like i think if you've defined the relationship and you've said oh like we are exclusive and then you're going on other dates i think that's obviously a problem there's nothing wrong with going on a date with somebody and then two weeks later going on a date with somebody else that's not that's there's nothing wrong with that i actually really like that too because we listened to like how you guys met and how you were talking about like this exact situation, like, when you were moving, you had, like, your other...

They're not even boyfriends, but people you've gone on dates with helping you move. This actually reminds me of a rule my parents had for me when I grew up. I would say yes to first dates all the time because I was like, oh, I just want to like see, like, let's go get soup together or whatever. It was like really fun and lighthearted, but then I remember there was a time where I was like, okay, well, I had gone on a couple dates with like different guys and it's like coming time for homecoming. This is also like, we're obviously in high school, really low stakes.

And one of the boys was like, I'm going to ask you to homecoming. And then this other guy literally is like, I knew he was coming to my house that night to ask me to homecoming. And I was like, mom, I don't know what to say because so-and-so is going to ask me. And I, like, I'm going to say yes to him. I don't know what I should say to him. She's like, well, no one's allowed to take a reservation on you. If he was going to ask you, then he should have asked you.

Like, if you want to go with him, then say yes. If you don't want to go with him, then don't say yes. But like, don't do it because you're waiting for somebody else. Dating is supposed to be fun. Yeah. And I think that's like my, I don't know, I get out of my soapbox about dating nowadays because I have single friends now that they're like telling me about what the dating scene is like and it's like it's grim, it's scary, it's not fun. I'm like, that just makes me so sad. I wish dating could be more romantic again.

Yeah. I just got on my soapbox right there. But that was a funny story. Wait, you should tell the story about the moving situation. Oh, man. Well, it was just, I don't know. I was. This was only three days after I met you too.

That was the other thing. Yeah. I don't think people realized. I think they thought that we were dating for months. And I was also, no, it was, I was just casually, I had finally, I wanted to get married, I finally was just like, I don't care anymore. Like, I just want to go on dates. I just want to like meet people. And so, and so anytime anyone would ask me out, I'm just like, I'm just going to go. Give it a shot. Yeah. And so I met him. And then three days later, I just happened to be moving five minutes away from his apartment. Yeah, you were like 30 minutes away too. So it would have been hard to date. But yeah, you're moving five minutes down the road. I don't know. And then all these people just kept asking, oh, do you need help? And I was like, actually, I do. I'm in a whole. I'm in a whole. new city. I don't know anyone. I would absolutely love it. And so it was a little awkward to have multiple men. I actually, I didn't think about this. I did think about this at one point. I was like, what if they talked to each other? Which didn't that happen? I had no idea that you had ever

gone on a date with any of those guys. There was never a conversation of like, oh, what's up? What's your name? Oh, I'm Steve. How do you know Courtney? Oh, we've been going on dates. I think they asked and you just said social media. That's how we met. Something like that. Was the social media that you met Hinge? Yes. You met all these guys through Hinge. Honestly, at some point, I'm like, Hinge sponsor us. Like, please.

Actually, yeah, that's your love story. It's because of Hinge. Yeah. This past year, I started trying to run more and I hate running. To make it a little bit easier, I started listening to audiobooks on Audible. And it really helped me not only like make my body more physically fit, but improve my mind as well. What genre are you listening to?

Business. Business books. Okay, well, then get out of here because we're. We're here to talk about Audible Romance. Oh, okay. Yes, all the ladies know. We love a little romance. It's like everything you love and watching your favorite rom-coms, but like on the go,

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Ooh, ooh! Okay. Your first great love story is free when you sign up for a free 30-day trial at audible.com slash unplanned. What did you guys talk about on this hinge call? I don't even know. It was hours. It was hours? Yeah. It was a long time. Was it like a video call or just audio only? I think just audio. Yeah, he was in, and then I think you going dancing or something that I actually just got done like I tried salsa dancing for the first time just you know just trying to get out and do things and meet people and stuff because I didn't know anybody in Asheville and I think it's so rare when you meet someone that the conversation never dies like you could talk about anything we could talk about carpet we could talk about whatever and it's just that's kind of how

it was with Alex and I knew I was like if I do not marry this man he's at least going to be my best friend probably for the rest of my life because we could talk about anything it was the best that's really sweet that brings me back to when abby and i first met and we would have the longest conversations because we were long distance because i was like you i was like waiting for this like cinematic like moment you see in a movie and that's just not real life you know like Hollywood isn't real life but i was like i really like this person and like we can talk for hours and hours and hours and hours and so that's like kind of what made me realize you know i was thinking when you brought that up earlier how like couples will be like, oh yeah, I remember my first laid eyes on her. She was the only woman in the

room. I knew in that moment. The people I hear that from the most is usually people that have been married a really long time. Like think about the grandpaws and grandma. And I think what happens because it started to happen to me too. The longer you're married, the more you romanticize that moment because you've grown so close together that you like convince yourself that you knew in that moment and that you love them with the same intensity that you love them now. Maybe it's like not necessarily true, but you just look back on your roots so fondly that you're like, oh, yeah, in that very moment, like, you realize how special it is in hindsight. A hundred percent.

And so then it's like, yeah, and then you like kind of become soulways, but it's because you chose and you work for it. I think you're right because people, like, I've heard a lot of older couples tell that story. Like that's how my grandpa talked about my grandma. And they didn't have social media. They didn't have iPhones to, like, document all this stuff. And the people that I talk to now, like people like yourselves who are like so happy,

so in love, really happy couples. oftentimes there's like situations of the relationship like breaking up or like not knowing what's going on yeah and it's just and so I think it's like really cool for for people who are currently in that stage of like looking for their person to know hey for most people it's not going to be this like movie moment and I think that's really like that's encouraging for those people and it's dangerous to have that mindset too because if you're thinking oh like this is the one just you're just perfect the instant they see some flaws there and be like oh my gosh was I wrong is this not the not the one exactly and so realizing that it's a choice you know I love you for for

who you are flaws and all and I'm going to make the choice to love you each day like that just makes all the world and all the difference in the world that was the biggest thing for me actually was learning that love is a choice because again I thought that there was just I don't know I thought angels are going to sing or something that it was going to be like this is this is the one for you. This is the soulmate. And so when we broke up, I had a pro and con list because everybody has flaws. I thought I was going to find someone who didn't have any flaws. And then he was just going to be so perfect. I still want to know what this con list was. I'm really curious. But I wrote out like pros and cons. And it was just like, I don't know, somebody said, yeah, love is a choice. Like,

is this someone that you could choose to like live with the rest of your life? And I'm like, honestly, yes. Like, I don't know. And so I think when I chose you despite any, I don't know, just knowing that you weren't perfect and that you did have flaws and I chose you anyway I think every day I don't know I'm just like okay like I chose this person to spend with for the rest of my life so that in two years when I do start to see your flaws because we were in the honeymoon phase um despite your flaws yeah I chose you how long did the honeymoon phase last for you guys I think we're still yeah I was I was up to say I think we're still in it yeah I don't know everything's pretty good yeah because you guys met it's 2025 you guys met in the year 20 23

No, 22, and then we got married in 2023. Yeah. Wow. We expedited. We tried to do as fast as possible. That is fast because I'm like, our son, you guys met in 2022 and now you're married with the kid, like, we had a baby in 22. Like, it kind of puts into perspective.

Oh, yeah. He's as old as your relationship. Oh, wow. Yeah. He's a big kid. Our son is as old as your relationship. That's crazy. That's pretty crazy.

But you guys still, like, you actually feel three years later, you feel that honeymoon energy still. Yeah. I mean, it's obviously, it's a lot harder to go out on dates and stuff now that we have a kid. But, I mean, I don't know. I think the love is still just as strong as it was, right? I mean, I still love marriage. I don't know. I'm so pro-marriage. I'm like, if you guys have been dating and you love each other, I'm like, just get married, which probably isn't for everybody. But for me, I'm like, it's the past. I don't know. I'm in a season right now where all of our friends are either getting married or having babies. And I'm just like, it's the past. That's so fun. much fun. Okay, wait, I want to get the timeline straight. So you guys got married in 2022. How old were

you at the time? How old are you now? I got to do some math. I'm 29. You're 29. Yeah, I turned 29. Yeah, you turn 29 in a couple days. Okay. Wow. Am I the only one that like doesn't remember how old they are? Now, I just time at this last night. Yeah. I don't count anymore. I'm like, it doesn't matter. Yeah. You know what? We went to buy alcohol one day and the woman came up to us because we do look pretty young. And the woman came up and she was like, how old are you? And I was like, And so I completely froze. I could not remember. And it made us look so suspicious.

I was like, this woman thinks I have a fake ID, guaranteed. Okay, wait. So, yeah, you guys started dating in 2022, got married nine months later. How long did you guys date before you got engaged? Let's see, we met July 1st and then we got married, or no, we got engaged December 17th. So I don't know what that math is. I don't know either. Five months.

Something like that. Yeah, but we didn't start dating right away because, again, we'd, Because he friends owned. Okay, let's talk about that. Friends owner. Yeah, so we went on a date, but it was like really casual. And so we just started hanging out a lot, didn't put a label on it or anything. Immediately became best friends.

Like, I don't think there was a long period of time where we hung out every single day. Every single day. I wasn't, I mean, I was teaching. And so it was a summer. So I had a lot of time. I know you guys said you could like talk about anything and everything when you guys first started getting together. Was there a certain topic of conversation that was just like really fun for you guys? to talk about or was there just like something specific that really interested you both in each other

honestly we don't even have that much in common that was one thing that was like kind of stressing her out was like i feel like we have nothing in common like we could talk about everything because we have different interests so i can tell him about everything that i'm interested in and he can talk about all things sports and whatnot yeah so yeah i don't know we just talked about everything but it came to a point where we were literally hang out every single day for basically four weeks straight that we had to have find the relationship talk and a little dTR yeah i don't know i just felt conviction that like hey you're not supposed to have a girlfriend right now like you need to meet friends at this point had you guys kissed or anything no so there's nothing romantic nothing romantic not he did you want to i mean

i i was very attracted to her and like i knew that like i wanted to date her but again like i just had such a strong conviction that i was supposed to wait and so i probably pushed the boundary a little bit with the friendship because, you know, I'd flirt with her and stuff because I was interested, which is why it makes sense. She was like, okay, we need to have a talk here because you're flirting a lot. I was like, do I go out with Billy or like, are we a thing? Yeah. Yeah. And so basically she just told me, she's like, okay, like you either need to date me or you need to close that door and we're just going to be friends. But I don't leave doors cracked. Yeah. But once the door shut, like she's like, I can't.

get you out of the friend zone. She's done it before and it didn't work where you just have that mindset of looking at somebody as a friend and you couldn't get over that. And so I was terrified. Recently, I got into a big cereal kick. Something from my childhood just sparked this idea of like, what if I started eating cereal again? You had a big bowl last night at like literally 2 a.m. I ate Magic Spoon last night at 2 a.m. Recently, I have been eating the frosted cereal. It is fantastic. See, no one's really talking about that one. Yeah, that one, it's. It hits. It reminds me of my childhood.

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Amazon or in your nearest grocery store. That's magic spoon.com slash unplanned for $5 off. I wasn't going to do this whole like, I don't know, like we're. Situation ship? Yes, I wasn't going to do that. So I was like, the door is open or it's shut. It's not cracked. Which was fair.

Which was fair. I was so shocked at the fact that you guys were together for like a month and didn't even kiss once because I kissed Abby on the first date. Like were you, did you make it a rule? Like, I'm not going to kiss someone unless we're, unless we're a fifth. Unless we're officially dating. Like, was that a rule you had? Well, again, it was just my own personal conviction to where, like, hey, don't date her.

You just need to be friends. And that actually really helped me build a stronger friendship with her. And I, like, just viewing her as my best friend before any, like, yes, I found her physically attractive, but before, you know, that stuff just sort of boiling over into more than just friends. It was nice for me, too, because when you like someone and you're dating them, sometimes. like you put on this front like you need to wear makeup you need to be all ready and when he said the door was shut makeup went off the sweats came on and I was like 100% I was like okay like you are my bud and so there was no filter no nothing and so he really got to meet the true authentic Courtney which is what I wanted too that was great that is yeah oh so you when you're like you either shut

the door or it's open you shut it yeah so it was an hour long conversation it was it was a tough one But at the end, I was like, okay, well, I feel like the Lord wants me to shut it. So we're going to shut it. But if he wants to open it, he'll open it back up. And she got mad happy when I said that. I was like, when the door is shut, the door shut. That is it. And then how many days or weeks was it that you decided that you actually wanted to date?

It was probably a good maybe three, four weeks later. Or I was like. On a random day, he goes, I want you to be my girlfriend. I was like, I'm so sorry. We just went from Friend Zone. Do you want to put the girlfriend label on it? Because I'm still very like your friends. and then you date, you go on dates, and then you become boyfriend, girlfriend.

And so I remember just being so, I was like, what do you, I was like, what do you mean? What do you mean, girlfriend? And then I didn't want to put a label on it right away. Because once you put a label on a relationship, you're either getting married or you're breaking up and never talking again. And so I was really afraid to put any sort of label on it. Were you kissing yet? Was that still something that you guys had like said, we're not, like, did you kiss when

you're like, I want to be your girlfriend? Or when I want to be your boyfriend. I don't know when her first kiss was. We were hanging out in my room, and I don't know if we had put a label on it or not, but I remember I was like, when are you going to kiss me? I was very frustrated. I was like, when are you going to kiss me? Can we just do this already?

And so did you kiss her? Yeah, then we kissed. Was this kiss awkward? Was it amazing? Honestly, it's a good kiss. I don't know. It's all such a blur. Like, I don't know.

Do you guys, when you look back on your relationship early on, is it a blur for you? Or is this just like postpartum? Like, am I just postpartum fog? I don't know why. I vividly remember a lot. I vividly remember it. Because also, let me just say this, we hadn't dated anybody else. So every experience we were experiencing was like the first and only.

So everything was like earth shattering. Also, we had those teenager hormones. Everything was like earth shattering, everything. I remember sitting next to Abby in the movie theater on our first date. And my heart was pumping so fast because I put my arm around her. And I was like My arm is on a girl Like you know the scene from inside out where it's like

Girl Girl yeah And he can't tell you're in a lot of picks And the guy is just like stunned that he's like next to a girl Like that was me bro Like I was just like This is so sick Like I did not know

Once he put his arm around me I was like I'm gonna put my arm on his leg And so then I was like But I thought the thought But then I had to do it And then I was like Where's the right time I was waiting for like

A right time in the movie wasn't paying attention to move y'all but my arm was like and then i like got stuck there because i was like i'm certainly not going to move now and so i remember like my hip literally got like so so hard because i was like i literally can't move at this point and so then like i remember all these like details so moodly because it was literally our first everything what was a moment like that for you guys i don't know if we had a moment but one of my favorite stories is when she accidentally said i love you first So I was waiting for him to say it. Yeah, I dropped her off at her house. Bye, love you. Yeah, she just said, bye, I love you. Never mind.

Never mind. I did not just say that. She like literally covers her mouth. Oh, I didn't mean that. I'm so sorry. Bye. It just kind of slipped out. It was true, but it slipped out.

That's so. I don't know if we like had a moment where like I was, I don't know. What about the proposal? I was very nervous about that because she was like, okay, all I want is to be surprised. But you're not going to be able to surprise me. all that I want. Because I'm a little detective. Yeah, she asked about this though. Like you guys had talked about getting married so it wasn't like he blindly just proposed on a little bit. Also, it's so embarrassing to go into ring shops and then then be like, oh, how long have you guys been

together? And we're like, five months. It was like so embarrassing. But apparently that's actually very, it's a lot more common than I thought it was. But I remember like, I was like, please don't ask me that. I really don't want to answer it. But I had no regrets. I knew I wanted to marry him. What type of ring did you pick out? Let's see it. Yeah, it's like, I don't know. Is that a solitaire? What type of cut is that?

Is that oval? Oval, yeah. Nice. Honestly, I'm not like a huge, like, so when we got married, my wedding band was just like a cheap Amazon wedding band. So like, I wanted the engagement ring to be real. But the wedding band, I was like, I don't care. And it was like a $16 ring off Amazon.

So like, whenever you're asking about the cut and stuff, I'm like, I don't even know. I just, I think this one's pretty. I love that you said that because we were in the same boat. We were on, we were bought on a budget, and I was reading a lot of books by Dave Ramsey's. So my ring, like I went, I went all out for Abbeys. It was a diamond substitute. It's a Moisanite ring. But for my wedding band, it was literally, I made it a goal to find the cheapest wedding band I could find that was like metal.

And I got a titanium black wedding band for $5 and it took like a month to ship from China. And it was $10 to ship it. No, no, it was five bucks. I think that the shipping might have been like a dollar. I thought the shipping was more. You know what? Maybe the ring was $5 and the shipping was also like five or six. But yeah.

Mine's $12 from Amazon. Let's go. Let's go. You just need to get it tattooed on your finger. I should. I probably should. Would you ever? Probably.

Yeah. Oh, for sure. For sure. A tattoo. That's kind of sick because if it ever falls off. Dude, please do that. I'll do it. Because I lost my ring.

I actually, I have multiple silicone rings because I work out. It probably hurt a lot, though. And one of the silicon ones I was surfing in Hawaii last week and it fell off in the ocean. Sorry. Okay. I got distracted. Beautiful ring, by the way. Proposal.

Were you able to surprise her? I love. I was. Yeah. So we knew we were talking about getting married and stuff. And so she got kicked out, not kicked out, but kind of her roommate was getting married. And so she had to find a new place to live. And so we were looking at a place that I could potentially move into after we got married. We went to the apartment that you were going to move into. I invited her best friend from California and her parents to come and I just organized it so that I was like, oh, hey, they need us to go in and like sign something for the lease or something along those lines. And I was like, oh, hey, we should take a picture because

we're getting our first apartment together. So like, if you want to put on makeup or something, go ahead and do that because we'll take a picture. And so just inside of the apartment that we were going to live together. I don't even remember if it was balloons or what it was, but it was just will you marry me up against the wall and a bunch of rose petals and stuff. In case you didn't know, I have ADHD. Is anybody shocked? Everyone is like, we've heard you say this. I found out officially last year by using ZocDoc. Zococ is a free app and website where you can search and compare high-quality in-network doctors and click to instantly book an appointment.

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book a top rated doctor today. That's ZOCDOC.com slash unplanned. Zock.com slash unplanned do you remember that when I first walked in because I thought I thought we were signing the lease so I'm over here with a measuring tape and I'm like okay I need to know the dimensions of each room and so I walk in and so I walk immediately so you there's a hallway as soon as you walk in and then it's like if you keep going straight there's the living room but if you make the first right it's the master so I immediately go into the master bedroom I'm measuring I'm like doing all this stuff he's probably in the living room dying oh yeah I'm about to ask this girl to marry me and she's measuring the closet.

And then I think you even told me, she's like, what are you doing? Like, measure, do you need the measuring tape? Go measure the laundry room? Because we needed a washer and dryer. He kept wanting me to go to the living room. And I was like, do you need the measuring tape or something? Like, I'm in the middle of something. Yeah.

Which I felt so bad. And then I walk out, yeah. And there's just like all of, oh, I just. If you've seen the video of it, I could watch her reaction a hundred times over. I was just like jumping for joy. I was like, oh my gosh. And then I saw a little camera. there's like a door to the to the balcony and I just see a camera there and so I thought it was

going to be my friend Diana that lives in Pittsburgh so that's who I was thinking I had no idea he flew out my best friend from California so yeah and then my parents were hiding in the laundry room no way it was really really sweet we honestly haven't even talked about the proposal a ton you have yeah we haven't no not really we even got there yet we like just started posting full length YouTube videos so yeah wait that's so cool okay so with the proposal Since you guys got engaged five months after meeting, was there any friend or family member that I was like, are you guys sure? Like, is this, is this like a good idea you just met? I was shocked that I did not get pushback.

That's what I, like, my family was all for it. They were just thankful. You want to tell them the story about when I first met your, your dad, though? Do you remember that? No, I know. So, I mean, I was obviously just, they live in, like, near Pittsburgh, up in Pennsylvania. So it was a long drive. And so I knew heading up there.

It's like, okay, this might be the only time I ever see them before I potentially propose. Yeah. But, yeah, first night we were in there. And your dad was like, what's your name against Alex? Oh, probably forget it. He did say that. He was like, oh, okay. Wow.

But like, he's awesome. We have a great relationship. And like, I don't think he figured that it was going to end in a marriage in like six months. But it did. Yeah. I mean, how many dads really do think that, oh, boys coming here, they're going to get married like six months from now. How soon did you meet her parents after everything?

Was it around Thanksgiving that we went up there maybe? I think it was like a week after Thanksgiving before. Were we dating at that point? We had to have been. I wouldn't have gotten up there if we weren't dating. So I think it was, yeah, it was probably about a month before I proposed. Wait, I have a question for you. Are you an oldest child?

The youngest. Youngest. Okay, you have like oldest child energy, though, I would say. Because it's like you knew what you wanted. You're like going to find a way to. I think that that should be more normalized. You being able to set your own dating standard, your own standard for relationships, while still encouraging them to take the lead, which I feel like what you did.

You're like, this is what I want. If this isn't something that you're okay with or capable of, then it's just not a good fit. And I feel like that takes so much confidence, especially as a female, to like set that standard. And I feel like a lot of people could learn from that. I don't know. Or like also just like be inspired by your confidence and like interdating with that same type of attitude where you're like, hey, I'm allowed to, like, set my standard and, like, anyone that falls short of that, it's like, it's not a good fit. Because I feel like a lot of

girls feel like, okay, this person showed interest in me. I need to just, like, see where this goes. And it's like, there's something to that, but then there's also, you're allowed to have, like, a high standard for yourself and to, like, not feel naggy or pushy or, like, annoying for that. And I admire you a lot for that. Thanks. And I just wasn't trying to waste any time either because i was what 25 26 and i also know we want a huge family or at least i've always wanted a really big family you agree on that but i was like okay like i started doing math in my head and i was like okay like i kind of got to get married soon if i want to have nine kids i'm just joking i don't actually she did always say i want nine kids i knew it partially knew we slowly just keep dropping it and then

it was six and then it was five and then um the lebrant family has five and like they literally need an entire van because you think, like, you have to travel with five kids, two parents, but then what if your kids have friends that they also want to come? So they basically drive a school bus. And so I was like, maybe not five, so maybe four. I think four is probably where we're going to end up being. Did that number lower after you had your first? I don't know.

I'm not sure. I always knew that like you wanted a lot, but I was also like, I feel like once we get into the ringer, you know, get into the ring a little bit. I'll probably go down, but we'll see. I cannot believe that I had a kid. Like, I just, in my brain, I'm just like not there. Like, I know that she's here and I love her. And I'm just like, I don't know.

I like forget. Do you remember your pregnancies and like, is it still so surreal to be like, oh my gosh, like I had kids? That feeling that you're talking about what I remember feeling that the most when I had just had my first son and I was in the hospital and they kept calling me mama. I was like, it honestly, I don't even, I can't relate to this. now but it icked me out like I was like uh like that does not that's not me I'm not mom like don't like please speak to my mother she's mom like I felt really uncomfortable with all the nurses

and doctors being like hey mama and I was like I just remember that panic it sent through me and then even them calling him dad I was like stop no no it's not that it's not us it can't be and then it started to settle in so much more it definitely took some time though it's like It's all I ever wanted, but all of a sudden being given that name, I think you're like the gravity of the responsibility just kind of smacks you in the face. You're like, oh, okay, wait a minute, wait a minute, but I still want my mom. Was that weird for you guys when you first became parents to have the title, mom, dad? It did not hit me that we were even having a kid until they told me that I needed to push.

Like the whole time, I think I was so afraid because people only talk about the negative, you know, the negative side of birth and all of the things that could go wrong. so I was straight up in survival mode I only was like okay I was like I don't know I was going to therapy I was like doing all this stuff because I was so afraid of it and then you're so afraid of giving birth yeah like giving birth and so I was just focused on the birth part and like I was like okay I was like I just have to get through it and then they told me to push and they were like we can see her hair like I don't know sorry if that's a little too graphic oh no but they were saying that kind of stuff and I was like oh my gosh like in five minutes I'm going to be a mom and so I started crying because it's

did not. I only took five minutes. Well, um, it just, it just, it all happened so fast. I think I only pushed for 30 minutes. So yeah, it was just the craziest experience. And so I had a very short window to be like, oh my gosh, like I'm about to be a mom. So maybe that's why it still hasn't really hit me. Because she's seven months right now. And we have to start thinking, all right, like, do we want two under two? Like, when do we start? Because like, obviously that's a nine or ten month process. And I'm like, I can't believe I just did it once. And now I'm supposed to do it again. Having a baby, was that the initial plan? Like, did you guys get pregnant by surprise? Was it all completely planned out? So I was just so afraid. Like, that's like such a huge part of my story,

that I was so scared. But we knew that we wanted a kid, but I didn't want the responsibility of the timeline and everything. So we sort of just started to not use for caution. And then I just got pregnant but like right away no way yeah yeah so like we didn't like we talked about it obviously but we weren't like okay let's start trying to have a kid it was just like oh if it happens it happens we honestly like she was just because she was so nervous about just like honestly i would rather like it be sort of a surprise because then it's not in our hands like it's we know that it's god's will for it to happen and it just sort of takes some of the pressure off like we weren't the ones that did this type of thing you're fearful of pregnancy birth or all of it mostly birth um so

my mom had a really bad experience with me like she almost died they had like a priest come in give her her last rights and then my grandma also almost died um so with my mom they did a C-section and they cut open I might tell the story wrong but from my understanding they cut open an artery and forgot they sewed her up but they didn't sew that up oh my mom has O negative blood which is the rare blood um and so she was bleeding like internally and they didn't know and so like there's like so much that happened with my birth. And so like my entire life, I've heard that story. And then my grandma, she hemorrhaged, I think, or something.

And again, was bleeding internally and they didn't catch it right away. And so both my grandma and my mom had these near death experiences where my grandma says that she can see, she remembers very vividly that when she was, you know, on the hospital bed, she saw herself, what was it? She was at the edge of the bed looking at herself on the table because she had lost so much blood. And so, like, that was, like, her near-death experience. And then my mom said that she was getting really hazy and all of a sudden she starts seeing all of these clouds above her head. So that is the story that I've heard about birth, my entire life. So for me, I'm like,

am I going to die? Like, the birth was so scary. That's all I heard. So as soon as I found out I was pregnant, I called a clinic because I was crying. I was like, I just found out I'm pregnant because there's no turning back. Like, you, like, you're in this. Like, you're giving birth. And so I called a clinic. And luckily, They set me up with counseling to, like, kind of get over some of this fear. I started working with a pelvic floor therapist, like to really prep and just make sure that, I don't know, you can only control so much because a lot of birth is just all about surrendering. Yeah. But I wanted to make sure that what I did have control over, I did everything correctly.

Like, they helped with the fear around it. And so by the end of it, I was actually kind of ready, but I was still obviously scared because you don't know. Like, you can get to the end of your birth and the baby could flip and they could say, oh, you. you need a C-section, but I did not prepare for a C-section. But you had a really good experience. I had an amazing experience. Like, it exceeded my expectations. Yeah, and you, like, even just above you wanting to have your own really good experience

with pregnancy, you also wanted to do it because you knew that you had a platform and just so many of the stories out there are so negative with giving birth. Yeah, I feel like, and I understand everyone wants to share their bad experiences. Like, that's okay, because that's valid. It's real. That stuff does happen. but I do wish that more people shared the positive ones. Like, I had the best experience ever.

Our doctor was incredible. I thought I was going to have to be induced, but I didn't. I went into natural labor, like spontaneous labor. All of the nurses were so sweet and so kind. I got the epidural on time. I didn't feel a thing. Yeah, very minor tearing. Great.

Like, everything was just so amazing. And I'm like, I wish more girls would hear that side of birth. Okay, yeah. Talk to me about that because I noticed you shared that your water broke. We never experienced that. Abby was induced with our first because our baby was measuring very big. What was it like to have your water break? It was the craziest thing. So my, so she was almost 42 weeks. So I went almost 42 weeks. Wow. And so I felt a lot of pressure to be induced and I did not, because that's where you hear a lot of the

complications sometimes where you go in to be induced, but your body wasn't exactly ready to have that baby yet. so the induction doesn't quite work. I don't know. Everyone has a different experience. But a part of my fear, I was like, I do not want to be induced at all. And so we scheduled an induction because our doctor recommended it. This is the day before we're supposed to go and get induced. And I'm on the phone with my doula.

I was like, I don't, like, what happens if we just like don't show up? Like, what do they do? Yeah. I don't know. But I also didn't want to go beyond 42 weeks because obviously there's risks with that. And so I actually call one of my friends who's a labor and deliver. nurse and I'm talking to her and all of a sudden it felt like I peed myself like it was I was like oh my gosh because I'm standing in the bathroom like on the phone like I was like pacing because I'm just

nervous and it was the craziest experience um and so I didn't want to sit on the toilet because I was like if I go on the toilet I'm going to convince myself that I did just pee and so I just stand up and just every so often it was just like a gush of water it's the craziest honestly I could do that a million times again it was like the craziest most satisfying feeling that's crazy It felt good to like your, we were water breaking felt good. It was just the weirdest sensation. And so I'm also on the phone with the labor and delivery nurse. And I was like, I was like, I think my water dress broke.

And I was like, either that or I just peed myself. And so she's like, she's over here like, yes, girl, your body's exactly. You're having this baby. And she's like cheering me on. And so at least I didn't have to do it alone. Was she pretty big then for being 42 weeks? No. Her head was actually.

So I pushed while at seven centimeters, which isn't normal. Yeah. Her head was just tiny. And so it was actually such a weird experience because we had all of these nurses coming in because no one had ever seen anything like this. How did they know that you were ready to push at seven then? Because her. So basically they kept doing the cervical checks and they came in and they said, you're only seven centimeters, but you're ready. Like her head is out of. Yeah. Like she's had a tiny head. Yeah. Just a very small head. It was the, it was just. I've never heard that. never did the nurses so they were really confused they were like oh we don't we don't know what to do and they just like kept on going out of the room and back in they're like we've never seen this before you never got to a 10 never no and so they said I was at seven but they could stretch me to be a yeah I was out of seven but they could stretch me to be a 10 and they were like we've never seen this

before and so yeah just people just kept coming in and out of the room like just try to push see what happens yeah so they called the doctor and the doctor was like I don't because the doctor doesn't want to come in if you're not ready to push. Yeah. And so the doctor, they call her. We had to wait probably, what, like another hour or something for the doctor to come in? And the doctor looks and was like, yeah, I think you're ready. I think you're going to do it.

That is wild. Yeah. It was the craziest thing. And then we also used the mirror whenever I was pushing. No way. I recommend. Did you feel anything? I felt a lot of pressure.

I was so afraid of tearing too. That was the other thing. So I was like, I don't know. I shouldn't say this. I was so afraid of ripping up. And so I was just like, I was like, protect the area. Protect the area. And I was just so afraid.

But, yeah, I mean, it all just worked out great. I had that mirror there. So I was actually able to watch her come out, which is that's crazy. It was the craziest experience, especially because she had a full head of hair. And so, like, you could just see the baby's head. Oh, my gosh. Well, we have totally different birth experiences. I really amvious of your experience.

Well, because you had a C-section for both, right? Just for my second. Okay. yeah but um it wasn't it didn't look like that let's just say that our baby got stuck so it was a little scary but don't she's had a positive but yeah yeah everyone have positive yeah i love when i hear that story too though because it's like even like so many things the scary stories are like sensationalized in a way i don't know but they're also real so yeah they should be told but it's good to always be positive having babies like it should be always just like ultimately i always make sure we end

our board story by saying that like ultimately like this was the price and I would pay it in double every single time over but yeah you were asking how yeah Alex what was your experience when Courtney's water broke I thought it was kind of gross well I had to clean it up there was water everywhere and then I was like leave it it's a souvenir yeah so luckily we did have a dula so like I didn't have to do a lot of the heavy lifting as far as making decisions you know and so our dula was sort of walking us through you know, when to go into the hospital. I went and picked up a couple subway sandwiches for both when her water broke. And I don't know, it just sort of stayed by her side and eventually just made the call to go.

But, I mean, I was, I was ready to go. I was sick of waiting. I'm sure you were more than me, but. I'm sure by the time that fourth baby comes, you're going to have like 30 minutes notice and you're just going to have to go. If that is how your first went. Well, we lived 45 minutes away from the hospital, though. So we did have to plan it out a little bit. And from the moment my water broke to the time she came out was only 16.

hours, which is pretty fast for a first time. So I'm like, the second one, I'm kind of scared. I'm like, is it going to speed up with every kid? Because I heard it does, yeah. Sometimes, I don't know. Our neighbor, her fourth was like her longest. And is it true? But he was also a huge baby. Is it true that you listened to rap music while you were pushing? Well, just anything that I could, it was like rap or musicals. Like, oh, yeah, I had the greatest showman on like the whole time. Well, and we had, maybe you could tell this story. You were very, frustrated. Yeah, because, okay. So she made, like, she's been pushing for a long time to get on Spotify and stuff like that. So we added her and she just like didn't really know how to use it. And so I was

telling her like, yeah, get your labor and delivery playlist ready. Well, she put maybe 10 songs in there and she only liked about five of them. So she kept on getting mad at me for not having music. Because she's just in so much pain with the contractions. And I'm just like, I don't know what you want me to do. So I'm like trying to find different music and stuff that she might like and half of it. You're just like, no, this is what I want. I want it to be fast-paced. I want it to be like a musical. I needed to know the words.

Like whatever it was, I was like, I need to know the words because in that way it like distracted me. But like the songs that I had on there were like very slow worship music. And I was like, this is terrible. You didn't know what you, like how are you supposed to know what you're going to want in that moment though? You thought that maybe worship music would do well, but you hated that. You need fast-paced music. You need to pretend like you were in a concert. You need to completely just forget about the world.

And now you are officially the main character of The Greatest Showman. What's the song? Like, what's the song that you were like, yes, this is what I needed. You listened to what's the musical? A week away was like the biggest thing. That and then is it, man, I can't even think of it. The one with the president. Hamilton?

Yeah. Oh, yeah. There was a lot of Hamilton. A rap from Hamilton. Yeah. There was so much Hamilton. Like, I think, yeah, I think I sang the end. entire thing. Any high school musical in there? I actually don't think so. No, maybe a couple, but

there wasn't. There should have been next time. Describe the feeling of holding your baby for the first time. Oh my gosh, I was crying like crazy because I had 30 minutes to realize, oh my gosh, I am now a mom. And I was like, oh my gosh, I was like, we have her for the rest of our lives. I was like, there's no going back now. But it was, it was so crazy. I think I just remember, I couldn't see her face. So they put her on your chest. but so like I'm looking down and all I'm seeing is her head so like the entire time that she I don't know like while I was pushing I never saw her face

I only saw her hair and then when they put her on my chest the same thing it was like I just kept seeing her hair so there's a video out there of when they first put her on my chest I just kept saying I was like I can't see her face I can't see her face and finally a nurse like picked her up so I could actually like look at her I was like oh my gosh she's the cutest little thing she was born right before Christmas so she was our little Christmas baby wait a minute this is jog my memory in your YouTube video

You said you gained eight pounds when you were pregnant? Okay, so a lot of people are really, really confused about that. That really confused me, actually. Okay, so what I meant was I gained, like, after six or eight weeks of the pregnancy, like after I had already given birth, I had kept on eight pounds. I think a lot of people thought that I meant, like, during the, because I don't count, like 30 pounds that you have isn't even your weight. Like, you're not putting that weight on.

That's the baby, you know? Like, the baby weighs, like, what? eight pounds and then there's amniotic fluid and then your boobs are growing eight pounds after eight weeks uh oh so are you talking like the first trimester i don't know and you're you said you gained eight pounds and you're pregnant and then you lost five i was like wait a minute women like gain like 50 60 pounds i was like 45 i think okay so i i guess i just maybe i track it differently so i remember my first trimester i was so sick that i was eating around the clock and so within eight weeks i had already gained like eight pounds or something like that so i went to the doctor

because I was like, hey, because the only way to cure my nausea was to eat. So I was eating around the clock. So I'd gained so much weight so fast that the doctor was like, we're going to get you on Zophran. And then the rest of my pregnancy, that's just, that's not even my weight. That's your boobs are growing, amniotic fluid, your baby's growing. And so I don't know how much I actually gained at the end, like when I was at 42 weeks. I don't know what I was then.

But I just know, yeah, about six to eight weeks after, I was still eight pounds up. And then as the time went on, I was like, okay. And now I'm somehow, oh my goodness, yeah, I'm now, I think seven pounds lighter than I was when I first got pregnant. So I'm like, I don't know what's going on for my weight. But I think I just tracked it differently. People were very confused. They thought by the end, like at 42 weeks that I had only gained eight pounds.

And I was like, oh, no, no, no. I was like, how is this baby weight? I just don't consider it my weight. Like, I didn't gain 40 pounds. I mean, that's the way you should look at it. Yeah. And so, but a lot of people do track it that way. So yeah, there was a lot of comments, actually, that I think.

I probably should have addressed that. Alex, you've said before that during the birth, you felt very hopeless and helpless. And I feel like a lot of guys can relate to that. What did that helplessness feel like while Courtney is literally giving birth to your child? Yeah, well, I mean, I think most guys, you have that masculine urge to protect and watch over your wife. And so there's nothing that I can do for her that's really going to make her feel better or take any of that pain away. And on top of that, we had a doula who was a lot better at things. I was. And so, I mean, I was always by her side trying to be a calming presence in the room. But at the end of

the day, I knew that I couldn't do anything for her besides just give her some of that moral support and encouragement. And I mean, it's just hard to see the person that you love the most in the world suffer to a certain degree. Yeah, those contractions are no joke, but the epidural is amazing. For sure. Yeah. One of my biggest jobs was just during the epidural and stuff, just trying to keep her calm and stuff, even though the Dula was doing the same thing. Because I know that needle was a little bit scary. Oh, I was so scared of the epidural. But again, amazing. We had a, we had this old lady named Rhonda, and she was the cutest little thing. And she was the one who gave me my epidural. And she's like, honey, I've been doing this for 50 years. Yeah. Okay. You're just crying. Now, where's Ronda at?

I need Ronda. And then Rhonda came. I know we've talked a lot about birth and your love story, but now you guys are parents. What has that life change been like? It's a transition. That's for sure. Well, because I've never, like, I am, I don't know, I feel like I've worked freelance for so long that I'm not used to a lot of structure. And so the fact that with a baby, there's so much structure. There's so much timing out, like when she needs to eat, when she needs to sleep. So it sort of wrecked my world a little bit because this is just like all so new to me and I'm still just, I feel like by the second kid, I'm going to be a pro. I'm going to get it. But first kid, yeah, I struggled a bit.

But it's so fun. It's like the best. Yeah. I mean, you couldn't ask for a better daughter. I mean, she's amazing. But yeah, I mean, it's just a transition. We're both working at home. And so throwing a kid into the mix, it's just different and trying to balance that all

out. And I mean, it's such a blessing that we both get to stay home and spend a ton of time with her and stuff. I've also never had a desire to be a stay-at-home dad. And so just like, you know, trying to balance that work and watching a kid, sometimes that's a little bit harder. But it's such a blessing. I had to spend so much more time with my daughter than the average.

dad does. Yeah. Do you kind of feel like you feel like you say at home dad? Like that must be sometimes. Yeah. Sometimes. But like she does some things that I cannot do, especially with editing. And so she needs to work sometimes. And so sometimes I need to watch our daughter. And again, it's a blessing. It's super fun. But also I want to get work done. Yeah. I don't think people realize that sometimes content creation is a full time job. And so also being a mom is a full time job or being a dad. And so, yeah, we're trying to, I can't say that we're experts by any means. Like, we're still trying to figure out, like, how do we balance both working, but then also being with our kids. So we basically just like, we keep taking turns where it's like, hey, I have to work.

Like, can you watch Aspen or vice versa? And she changes so fast, too, that the game plan changes all the time, too, as to, you know, her needs. Like, now that she's crawling all over the place, oh, you can't really get any work done if you're watching her. She loves cords. She loves to eat them. phone chords are her favorite like even today uh Alex was like it's in her mouth it's in her mouth like you turn around for one second and she will crawl as fast as possible toward an outlet what's been the most surprising thing being a dad like it's something that you didn't expect with fatherhood

honestly it took me longer to feel like I built a connection with Aspen like it just took a lot longer I thought that you know when she was born it was just going to be instant oh my goodness This is my child. This is my daughter. Yeah. And it took a while because we talked about this a little bit off the camera, but I don't know, she wasn't very fun when she was first born. Like, I love playing with kids.

Like, I was a PE teacher. Like, I like to do things. I like to make kids laugh and stuff like that. And here's this. She was a little potato. Yeah. There's this child that just cries and just sits there. Yeah.

And so it just took a while. But now it's so much fun. She's laughing all the time. And so it just took longer than I thought. It's funny too because you had your daughter out a little bit ago and just recognizing, man, she's still so young. Like she's, correct me if I'm wrong, but she's not talking yet. Like she's not saying any words. The change that happens when they start talking and they start walking and you can actually like physically like kick a soccer ball around with them and have a conversation.

It is so cool. So I don't think like you, you saying that that the connection wasn't what you thought it would be initially. I think a lot of dads can relate to that. I can relate to that. Even just like, I remember the moment that our kids started to smile. I was like, oh my gosh. They're like, they're smiling because they don't smile when they come out of the room right away. Like it takes, I want to say it was like four or five months until I saw even a smile.

But then. That's a little long, I feel like. Maybe it was three months. I don't know. But it's just like they come, they have so much development to go through. And so when you're in that season, sometimes you think like, man, I thought it'd be. a little bit more fun. And so that's cool that you're already seeing changes and seeing her, like, grow up.

And on top of that, obviously, a baby's going to have a stronger connection to their mom. And so it's really frustrating right away when I can't get the baby to stop crying, but mom can. Yeah. And so, you know, a lot of times I can just be a little bit too performance based, you know, and be kind of hard on myself if I feel like I'm not doing a good job and whatever it may be, whether it fatherhood, marriage, work. And so it was kind of hard.

It's a hard pill to swallow when it's like, I can't get my baby to stop crying. But now just seeing like from across the room, I smile at her daughter and she's going to smile back. Like there's just no better feeling in the world. Yeah. Yeah. The best was like there was a moment where we were like, oh my goodness, like she knows us. Like she can look at us and like we could tell that she recognizes who we are.

That is a moment that I remember very vividly of just being like, oh my gosh, like she knows who we are, which is just so crazy because I'm sure for a long time. time like I don't know a couple weeks or something I'm sure it was just blurry for her like she couldn't actually see us and then there's a moment of like you're my mom and is she eating solids now is like what's that she we've tried she she does not like any food like she really yeah I don't know if it's the texture or what like the only thing is bacon like she will she will lick bacon she loves like I have photos of her just smiling with bacon that's like the only thing that's cute yeah as right now like we've tried a lot of things we've tried a lot of purees a lot of

of pouches and she'll put them in her mouth and she just doesn't like she's interested in table food she'll reach it and try to put it in her mouth but it doesn't really go down the hatch it usually all comes back out i don't think it tastes the way she thinks it's going to and yeah so she just has this like really gross out face like every time she tries anything maybe we just maybe we just need to like keep trying it over and over again and then maybe she can get used to it i don't know i know like a big topic for parents is like do you show your kid miss rachel before they're like a certain age have you guys set any like hard and fast rules she's only seven months so probably not we haven't talked about it really but we we've set her in front of a screen very very very very minimally maybe

only less than 10 times for sure like put something on the tv which is probably why she can't sit up yeah like she well if she doesn't watch a screen like she's crawling all over the place like her entertainment is the things that are around totally but honestly there's a lot of things with parenting that i had an opinion on before i had a kid and now it's just changing. And so right now I'm kind of anti-I-pad, but I think that might change. My sister said the same thing where it was a lot easier with one kid, whereas, oh, we're going to limit screen time until a certain age and all that stuff,

but then pop out a third kid and she's like, oh, sometimes you have no choice. You need to get something done. You're going to put a movie on so you can clean the house or cook dinner or whatever the case is. I totally hear that because I was so anti-screens, but now our son's about to turn two. Like, one of my favorite things to do with him will be, like, watch a movie together. Because he'll actually sit on my lap the entire time. We just cuddle. And there's no other time that he'll stay still.

Like, he's so active. I think he probably might have gotten ADHD from me. Like, this kid is just, like, so hyperactive. But he'll actually, like, chill out and just, like, sit on my lap and we'll just cuddle and watch a movie. And it's the sweetest thing. So I'm like, that, I feel like we bond so much having that, like, that contact, just, like, us holding each other. You can't just, like, put a blanket term on something and say, like, it's, It's all bad.

You can never do a movie for your kid, you know? And you probably look back and miss some of those days where, you know, your kids did just snuggle up next year or fall asleep on you. And so while it is for the dad's mostly like a lot more fun at each stage, it's just like, okay, still got to really cherish these moments because Aspen's not going to fall asleep on my arms very much longer, you know? What's the future going to look like for you guys? When do you think you might go for a second one?

Because I know you said you want a big family. Honestly, we need to figure it out, actually. Time's ticking. Like, I kind of have to do the map here and be like, okay, like, I don't have forever. Even though some people do think that they can't have kids, you know, in their late 30s. But I'm just like, I don't know. I just, time's time. Yeah, we've been taking it a day out of time.

We know that we want more kids, but we'll know when it's the right time. Honestly, maybe we won't. Maybe we'll just do exactly what we did the last time. Yeah, maybe. We're just like, okay, we're just going to try it. And we're just going to have another one. There's no rush on anything. things. Seriously. People have kids at all different types of ages. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But then it's like,

I feel like it gets harder or there's like complications. But then there's mixed information on that. Some people say that there are no complications. There's a crazy statistic. I don't quote me on this, but women that have babies after 35 live longer. There's some statistic about that. Like if they have at least one baby post the age of 35, they like have a much higher likelihood to live to like a higher age. I have to find that. Should I just look it up so I don't get like my phone? This is what we need. We need somebody off camera. Someone put the statistic in the comments because I know there's some type of statistic about like them living longer. It makes sense to me because I'm like a mom is going to do what they have to do to take care of their babies. So if you have kids later in life, you're going to live

long. I really feel like you can will yourself to live longer just so you can be there for your children. Yeah, you might feel like you have like a greater sense of purpose for longer. Totally. You know, taking care of your kids. That maternal instinct cannot be questioned. I'm not even kidding. It's strong. Well, Courtney and Alex, thank you again for coming on unplanned. Where is the best place for people to stay in touch with you guys? So we are the Quist family on almost every platform, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and then our Instagrams are separate. So mine is Courtney Quist underscore and his is Alex Quist underscore. You know, they're such a lovely couple. Thank you so much for having us on. This was so fun. Well, thank you guys.