"Nothing good ever happens after 2am" - Wise words of Ted Mosby.

To be honest, recording is weighing very heavy on us as we approach the final 2 episode with the original Skirts Up hosts, Samantha and Melissa. This week just wasn't it for us. Plus the pollen is pollinating and Samantha sounds like a dying frog.

With that being said, this is a flash from the past. Our SECOND episode over, "Adulting and Making friends after 30." Fun fact, this ranks #5 in the top 5 fan favorites. So for those who are new to the show, welcome! This is where is all began.

1. Checkout more episode from the past at Skirts Up
2. Samantha's holistic mental health practice is OPEN and she is hosting a live event in a couple of weeks for those diagnosed with a functional neurological disorder. Learn more at Sweet Soul Wellness.

Samantha and Melissa open by choosing pure positivity over discussing “fails,” linking their improved mood after recording to laughter releasing endorphins, as mentioned in their prior episode with Kathy.

They introduce doula Suzzie Vehrs, who supports families through birth planning, labor, advocacy, and postpartum care that includes rest, emotional processing, chores, and meals, and she explains how American culture often discourages asking for help compared with other cultures.

Samantha shares her birth history, including a 28-hour labor complicated by shoulder dystocia, fever/infection concerns, placenta issues, and postpartum PTSD, while Suzzie explains how fever can escalate risks and defines retained placenta in a way Samantha can understand for the first in 10 years. She continues on explaining the difference between doulas versus midwives/OBs.

Suzzie shares her own story of going from medicalized birth of her own to a home birth, her doula work, her certification, and why she addresses taboo postpartum topics like pain, libido changes, and returning to intimacy through referrals (therapy, pelvic floor PT).

Not only is Suzzie here to talk about the importance of assisting the mother through birth and post partum but helping the partner become educated about the workload of newborn care and feeding. We got it all in this one.

1. Learn how to make sure you have the BEST birthing experience with Suzzie Vehrs by visiting her page, SheBirthsBravely
2. Follow Skirts Up on social media!
3. Visit Samantha’s new mental health business, Sweet Soul Wellness

So much love today! Samantha shares updates about her pets, including a new 3-year-old sulcata tortoise named Tag and Linus the unusually calm and giant “dream puppy.”

Melissa gets a hair fixed by stylist, Caroline, at Salon Pure in Flowery Branch after a big hair dye mistake. (You must see the before and after. GOLD) Melissa was unable to make the recording for this episode so Samantha drops hits about what's to come. Come to find out it sparks a fun core memory between Melissa and her brothers growing up! Laughter Yoga!

Cathy Nesbitt from Canada, a worm advocate and laughter ambassador, joins the show, explaining how Toronto’s 2002 landfill closure motivated her to promote indoor vermicomposting for people in condos and small spaces. Kathy describes worm-bin setups (stacked trays or totes), how aerobic composting avoids odor, how worms and microbes process scraps and paper into nutrient-rich “black gold,” and how classrooms can use worm bins as hands-on science projects.

She also explains laughter yoga—started in 1995 by an Indian medical doctor—as laughter and deep breathing for health and stress relief, discusses online laughter clubs begun during COVID, and invites listeners to her free Tuesday 9:30 a.m. ET Zoom club at kathysclub.com.

1. Work with Cathy for you Laughter Yoga needs