Motherhood, Seasons of Life and Changing Plant Passions

Did you know that Becca from Becca De La Plants and I delivered our babies 24 hours and 3 minutes apart?! We didn't plan that. We've been friends for almost 10 years now, and the first time we hung out, she was planning her wedding. Since then, we've gotten married, moved, built businesses, and now she's had her second baby, and I've had my first! For some reason, we keep landing in the same season of life at the same time. So I asked her to come talk with me about it. About two hard pregnancies, about the identity shift nobody warns you about properly, and about what plants have been quietly teaching us the whole time. Come join our conversation!

In this episode, we learn:

• [02:14] Meet Becca De La Plants
• [06:53] The TikTok comment that flagged her cholestasis!
• [08:22] Where social media saves you, and where it wrecks you
• [10:22] Running my business from bed through a sick first trimester
• [11:43] What prenatal depression took from Becca’s toddler's first years
• [13:41] The beliefs we absorb about how pregnancy is supposed to feel
• [14:51] Joey Santore’s Concrete Botany
• [15:55] Espoma Organic
• [17:57] Why I wouldn't let myself attach to this pregnancy after two losses
• [20:42] How one Five Guys order sent me to the ER with gallstones
• [24:22] How a hard pregnancy made the newborn phase feel blissful!
• [25:53] Becca's HG lifting the day she delivered and finally being able to eat
• [28:47] Why snap-back culture makes no sense when you barely gained weight
• [29:49] The identity shift of becoming a mom!
• [35:46] How thinking in seasons gives you permission to be fully present
• [37:37] Is "don't lose yourself" actually good advice?
• [38:21] My HOT take: why you should have your kids later
• [42:01] What slow-germinating seeds taught me about timing
• [42:59] What it's like being last to have a kid when you've always gone first
• [46:19] Second-baby calm vs. logging every single diaper in the app
• [47:53] Sibling age gaps, and watching your own sister dynamic play out in your kids
• [49:49] Childcare, pumping, and holding the next year with an open hand
• [51:50] Why first-time moms should be allowed to be weird (the mammal side of postpartum)
• [54:18] Do I let Growing Joy expand beyond plants?
• [57:22] Why evolving your content is the only way to keep it honest
• [58:50] A six-month check-in with Becca!

Mentioned in our conversation:

• Growing Joy 240: How to Move with Houseplants with Becca De La Plants, Ep 240
• Huckleberry App: Baby Tracker & Sleep Experts
• Understanding Natural Light
• Green Up Your Workspace

For all of my and Becca's motherhood hot takes,

check out the full show notes and blog!

Follow Becca:

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Thank you to our episode sponsors:

Quarto: Concrete Botany by Joey Santore

Grab your copy of Concrete Botany at quarto.com, wherever books are sold or through your local bookstore.

Espoma Organic

Visit espoma.com to find your local Espoma dealer or check my Amazon storefront.

Follow Maria and Growing Joy:

Order my book: Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants) by Maria Failla, Illustrated by Samantha Leung

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