Everything's Perfect Except...Nobody Warns You About THIS Part of Motherhood

Autumn is joined by her longtime friend Natalie, who is taking over Donald's chair for the episode. After 15 years of friendship, these two have stories. Autumn and Natalie rewind to the beginning of their 15-year friendship, when Autumn approached Natalie at the gym to tell her she could lift heavier. One conversation later, they discovered they had more in common than expected, and before long they were inseparable. Traveling, going out, and making the kind of memories that only seem possible before toddlers and early bedtimes enter the picture. Now they're both in their 40s, but they're experiencing motherhood from completely different sides. Autumn had Dom at 28 and now has a 17-year-old, while Natalie became a mom at 40 and is currently deep in toddler life. They get candid about how dramatically parenthood changes your identity, your schedule, your relationship, your energy and even something as simple as going to the grocery store. Natalie shares the realities of childbirth, postpartum recovery, having a colicky baby and the emotional weight behind deciding whether she truly wants a second child. That leads to a bigger conversation about the "one and done" stigma, finances, support systems, and whether having another child simply to provide a sibling is worth becoming a depleted parent. Autumn also reflects on wanting another child after Dom, considering fostering, entering perimenopause earlier than expected, and why life ultimately took her in another direction. Then the conversation turns to where Autumn's drive really came from. Raised by a single father in a working-class family, she started working at 14 to help pay for the dance lessons and competition expenses she wanted. Looking back, she can see how having to figure things out for herself so young helped create the relentless "find a way" mentality that followed her into entrepreneurship. And because these two can't stay serious for too long, they finish with memories of spontaneous Vegas road trips, late-night chicken fingers, sleeping with food in the bed and the now-iconic story of Natalie arriving at LAX with black beans falling out of her hair. **TIMESTAMPS** 0:00 Welcome to Everything’s Perfect — Natalie Takes Donald’s Chair 0:43 How Autumn & Natalie Met at Equinox 3:02 Why Making Real Friends in Your 40s Is So Hard 4:56 Parenthood: The Things Nobody Warns You About 7:03 Every Stage of Parenting Is Hard in a Different Way 8:03 Dom Is 17?! Teenage Dating & Heartbreak 10:09 Failed Relationships & Having Kids Later in Life 11:33 Becoming a Mom at 40: “An Atom Bomb Went Off” 12:17 Birth Trauma, Postpartum & Going Home With a Baby 14:36 Do Only Children Really Need a Sibling? 15:40 The Rise of the Proud “One & Done” Mom 17:24 Autumn on Perimenopause & Wanting Another Child 19:23 Is Another Baby Worth Becoming a Depleted Mom? 20:13 Autumn’s Childhood & Being Raised by a Single Dad 23:19 Where Autumn’s Relentless Work Ethic Came From 24:46 The Career Autumn Originally Wanted: Professional Dancer 26:07 Toddler Chaos, Pizza & Parenting in Public 27:20 The Spontaneous Vegas Trip They’ll Never Forget 29:26 Black Beans in Natalie’s Hair 😂 💌 **Phone a Friend** Have something you want Autumn and Donald to talk through? Fitness, relationships, friendships, family, career, or whatever life is throwing at you — send in your Phone A Friend. They read your submissions, respond honestly, and keep you anonymous. 📩 **everythingsperfectpodcast@gmail.com** Put **Phone a Friend** in the subject line. **Follow:** 📸 @everythingsperfectofficial 👤 @autumncalabrese  @donaldstamper 🛍 **Everything's Perfect** Follow the official podcast Instagram for new episodes, clips, merch drops, and show updates. 📸 @everythingsperfectofficial 👉 everythingsperfect.com **Autumn's NEW Good Mood Brews** Functional beverages and matchas crafted with botanicals, adaptogens, and nootropics to support energy, focus, balance, and a better mood — one can at a time. goodmoodbrews.com