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Trish: Hey mama.

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Welcome to Pregnancy unpacked.

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I'm Trish, a labor nurse of 16 years, mom of seven, and your birth vesting.

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I'm gonna be walking you through not just baby bumps and fruit

sizes, but the entire identity shift that pregnancy will be for you.

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Each episode drops every Wednesday, and we're gonna unpack what's

happening in your body, what to expect, what to do, what's not.

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Even when it feels extremely weird and how to actually feel supported

emotionally and physically, you're gonna hear from me where I'm not

gonna sugarcoat it, but I'm gonna be cheering you on along the way.

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You can follow along each Wednesday because pregnancy deserves more than outdated advice.

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And Google anxiety if you're 38 weeks pregnant and

people keep asking, haven't you had that baby yet?

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This one's for you, mama.

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Hey mama.

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Welcome back to Pregnancy Unpacked where we are.

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Just breaking it down week by week.

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Fear free as you grow an actual whole human.

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I'm Trish High Risk Labor nurse of 16 years, mama of seven.

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Yes.

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Seven.

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And you are 38 weeks.

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I can't even believe it.

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How did we get here already?

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I, it feels like it's going so slow then it's going so fast.

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And then you're like, oh my gosh, how am I 38 weeks?

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So, let's talk about one of the most annoying

things you are probably dealing with right now.

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Haven't you had that baby yet?

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And I know people mean well, but goodness gracious.

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The answer is right there.

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Presented by your body.

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No, I have not had the baby yet.

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The baby is still inside of me.

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You're standing there with a big old belly.

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So let's collectively roll our eyes together because no, I haven't

had the baby yet and I really wish y'all would stop asking me that.

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So this is a hard one, and it happens to all of my students.

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It happened to me.

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But I want to just encourage you that you can just in your brain be like, no.

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And roll your eyes, or you can be vocal, whichever.

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But here's the thing, you are almost there.

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You are not early, you're not late.

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You're right on time, and you're exactly where

you are supposed to be, and your body is powerful.

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So instead of anticipating and hoping that labor will start, I want

you to do me a favor and enjoy these last few weeks of pregnancy.

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Enjoy feeling your little human moving around inside of you.

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And I know some of you guys aren't very comfy right now, but I

really want you to enjoy these last weeks as much as possible.

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So let's talk about what's actually happening with your

little baby bean, because your baby is not a bean anymore.

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Your baby is about the size of a mini watermelon, like a mini watermelon,

which is insane, 19 and a half inches long, and on average around 6.8 pounds.

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But remember.

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Normal full term babies, just like humans, if you're

walking in the mall, not everybody is one size.

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They can range anywhere from five to nine pounds,

and weight is not a predictor of success or failure.

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For your pregnancy or labor.

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I know providers start using pressure about baby's weight, but according to

acog, you don't have to be induced or have a C-section for big baby alone.

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And some of you guys might be getting some grief

about baby B and too small, which I got with Lainey.

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She was.

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Never on the charts.

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She was always below.

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So we do go into that more in our podcast episodes and our blog

posts about big babies, and we also talk about small babies some.

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But I want you to know that you need to have discussions

and ask questions when it comes to babies weight.

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Don't let anybody pressure you.

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Okay, so let's talk about your mini watermelon, because your mini

little watermelon is building up fat, and that fat is so important.

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They're also starting to shed some of the cheesy NICs.

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The longer the baby stays inside, the less vernix they have, and

that Vernix protects them from getting water logged on the inside.

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They're also developing those cute little chubby cheeks with those fat stores.

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And their brain and lungs are still maturing, which is why each and every day matters.

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So if you don't go in labor today, tell yourself, okay, my baby's brain is developing.

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Every stinking day matters.

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Most babies are also head down by now, snuggled low into your pelvis, which is why

we talked about last week that your vagina probably feels like it's falling out.

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I promise I've never met anyone in 16 years of labor and

delivery experience that their vagina actually fell out.

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So even though you feel like it, it's not.

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So let's break down Labor prep.

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The most important thing, the most important thing is get your booty up and move.

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Get up, walk.

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Do gentle stretching.

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Get on your birth ball when you're binging Love island,

get on your birth ball and do some figure eight movements.

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Get those hips moving, move around, move your body.

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You don't have to do some kind of like hit

routine, but just move your body every single day.

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Okay.

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Should I say this?

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I don't know.

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I'm gonna anyway, though.

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Motion is lotion.

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Mama, think of this as greasing the gears and remember that wonderful

hormone relaxing is relaxing your joints, so your balance may be off.

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So be careful, be smart, and think about what you're doing

because you may be a little more topsy-turvy than you normally

are, especially with that big old belly and relaxing, flowing.

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Let's talk about your prenatal visit.

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Your prenatal visit's kind of the same as always, blood pressure, weight

belly measurement, baby's heartbeat, internal check but you're probably

being offered cervical checks or an internal check or a vaginal exam.

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Here's what I teach my students.

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You do not have to have a cervical exam unless you want to.

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If you want to, I want you to realize it can be a mind game, and I'm Type A,

so I like to know all things, but I also know that it doesn't mean anything.

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So if they check you and they're like, Hmm, nothing's happening, you're not dilated.

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That sounds negative, but it doesn't matter.

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On the flip side, they might check you and

they're like, oh my gosh, you're four centimeters.

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That also doesn't matter.

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Both flips of the coin can get into your head.

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So they say nothing's happening.

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You think something's wrong.

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They say you're four centimeters.

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You think you're about to have the baby any minute, but

honestly, it doesn't mean anything until you're in labor.

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Your cervical exam means nothing and you go, can go from zero to 10.

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In eight seconds.

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So don't let that get in your head if you do not want to have a cervical exam.

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What I tell my students, don't change into a gown.

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Just stay dressed.

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Your doctor's not gonna take the time to pressure

you if they come in and you're not changed.

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So if you don't want one, don't change.

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Okay, let's talk about group B strep.

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'cause we talked about the test.

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I have a whole podcast episode and I have blog posts all about it.

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So I'm not gonna go into detail.

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But what I will talk about is what you might be

feeling if you get it back and your positive.

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So a lot of my students and a lot of the women that I've talked with over

the course of all these years, they feel that finding out they're positive.

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Makes them feel like they're not gonna get the birth

they want, because now I'm gonna have to have an iv.

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I have to go in when they tell me.

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But the truth is that is not true.

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There are still so many choices and you can have a

beautiful unmedicated minus the antibiotics birth.

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Some countries don't even treat it.

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You still have a choice, but you need to do your due D. And decide.

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So if you're positive and you decide not to get treated, just know that

they'll probably want to keep the baby longer after delivery to watch them.

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So just weigh in your pluses and minuses and make the decision that's best for you.

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You still have a right to decide Another thing

that might happen at your 38 week appointment.

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Is your provider might start talking about membrane sweeps.

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Just remember, ask questions again.

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I have lots of information about this.

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Ask what it is, why, what's the risk, what's the benefit?

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And you're allowed to say no.

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You're allowed to say not yet.

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And you're not being difficult.

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You're just being educated.

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And prepared.

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I prefer you wait until after 40 weeks, but that's a whole nother episode.

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So some of the things we probably should talk about now at 38 weeks are some labor

signs to start watching for the most important one is regular contractions that get

stronger, get longer, and get closer together, stronger, longer, closer together.

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Real contractions declare themselves.

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So if you're still wondering.

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Don't worry about it.

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Another sign could be back pain that doesn't let up bloody show.

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Yes, that is a real thing.

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And what that means is you're starting to dilate and those blood vessels are breaking.

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And sometimes it's just your intuition because your gut matters.

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And when you've learned to listen to yourself, you

start to realize signs that maybe no one else can see.

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Your mama gut instinct is telling you it's time.

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If you're feeling unsure, always call.

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No one's gonna be annoyed.

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You can always call.

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It's okay.

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Your last week's may be the hardest mentally well.

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Depends on how sick you were in first trimester, but last week's can be hard mentally.

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You might be crying one second, rage cleaning the next.

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You might want the baby out immediately, but also feel terrified.

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Hopefully you've taken my birth classes, you don't feel that way.

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You might feel disconnected or like maybe your

partner just doesn't get what you're going through.

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And those are all the things a lot of moms feel.

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This is why if you join my classes, we do what we call our pregnancy happy

hour, where you get to hang out with me and the other moms and my doulas.

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Because we help you get grounded.

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So right now, I want you to take a nice deep

breath, take it in and blow it out and out loud.

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I want you to say, my body is powerful, my baby is waiting

to meet me, and my story is going exactly how it should.

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If you want to birth like the birth queen you are.

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Everything you need is inside of my calm labor bundle.

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We've bundled it all together over 15,000 students have used this.

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2 97. For everything.

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Go to learn dot labor nurse mama.com/calm, CA lm,

because you are gonna be a calm, confident birth queen.

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Remember this week, 38 means you are in it.

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Girl.

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This baby is coming.

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You are magical.

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You are the plan.

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Next week we're gonna talk about 39 weeks and how to set boundaries.

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I'm rooting for you.

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I'm with you.

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I adore you.

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You are doing beautifully.

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I love you.

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I'll see you next week.

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As always.

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Hit subscribe.

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Leave a review.

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And I'll see you again next week.

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Bye for now.