What happens when your carefully crafted birth plan collides with medical reality—and your family's overwhelming enthusiasm? This episode explores the gap between Hollywood's dramatic 10-minute labor scenes and the actual days-long delivery process, while navigating the beautiful chaos of well-meaning relatives who can't contain their excitement.
Matthew, Mandy, and Pete tackle the complexities of modern childbirth: How do you balance trusting medical professionals while still advocating for your preferences? What's it really like compared to what we see in movies? And how do you manage family support that becomes more overwhelming than helpful?
In This Episode:
Matthew reflects on the performative pressure to be the "perfect supportive partner" and introduces the "circles of care" model—where support flows inward while emotional processing happens with people further from the center. Pete shares how his performance anxiety vanished the moment actual labor began.
The conversation also covers the medicalization of childbirth and political pressures around birth choices, post-birth food cravings you dream about for months, coordination tools like MealTrain for postpartum support, traveling with babies while managing family expectations, and the realities of C-sections versus natural birth.
Plus, the hosts address a listener question about managing an 18-year-old camp counselor's inappropriate texts to a 14-year-old camper.
Whether you're weeks away from delivery or years from considering kids, this episode captures the beautiful chaos of preparing for parenthood. Sometimes the best-laid birth plans are just the starting point for the real adventure.
What is Once and Future Parent?
Three parents. Three generations. One endlessly humbling journey.
Welcome to Once and Future Parent, where the parenting timeline gets the roundtable it deserves. Join hosts Matthew Fox (brand new parent), Mandy Kaplan (mom to a high-schooler), and Pete Wright (father of mostly-launched grown kids) as they gather to compare notes from three different stages of family life.
From the sleepless nights of preparing for a newborn, through the chaos of early adolescence, to the bittersweet art of letting go, each episode tackles the lessons, laughs, and late-night Googling that come with parenting at any age. Expect a mix of heartfelt honesty, media-fueled nostalgia, and just enough intergenerational snark to keep it relatable.
We’ll talk about everything from screen-time philosophies and failed movie nights, to the last bedtime story and the awkward magic of being parented by your own kid. Whether you’re building a nursery or texting your college student emojis you don’t fully understand, you’ll find real talk, hard-won wisdom, and a reminder that none of us are in this alone.