Two Parents & A Podcast

This week on Two Parents & A Podcast, DR. BROWN IS BACK!! We start where you'd expect: toilet training (you guys know this is overtaking our brains lately). Alex gets a live check-in on Tate’s progress (verdict: she's in the "warm up phase"), and Dr. Brown drops the reframe every potty training parent needs to hear: it's the CHILD'S milestone, not the parent's.. so when they're ready, it happens in about a day (WHAT?!). Plus her honest take on pull-ups, and the nighttime potty training news that shocked us.

Then the important stuff: the measles outbreak (including the recent Austin case and what early symptoms actually look like), cold & flu season prep, which medications are appropriate at which ages, and when seasonal allergies actually start (+ her Vegas bet on the "it's just allergies" toddler.. hahaha). Plus her takes on OUR recent debates: toddler ear piercing and video games around kids, because she knows a whole lot more than us!!!

And then YOUR questions (baby then toddler): the 4 month sleep regression (she calls it a progression and we're never saying regression again), when baby moves out of your room (her answer is different than you might think!), sudden bottle refusal, the car seat hater, the toddler who eats like a bird, the "bridging" trick for meat refusers, the teeth brushing battle, and what to watch for when your climber takes a fall. WOW we learned a ton.

DISCLAIMER: This episode is for general informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult your own pediatrician or healthcare provider for questions about your child's health.

Hope everyone is having a great week :-) LOVE YOU GUYS!

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Welcome back to Two Parents & A Podcast! (The 411 with Dr. Brown!!)

00:00:39 Reintroducing Dr. Ari Brown: Austin pediatrician, AAP spokesperson & author of the 411 books

00:04:42 Toilet training should only take ONE day?!

00:14:37 The measles outbreak: what parents need to know right now

00:21:49 Cold & flu season prep (it starts earlier than you think!)

00:28:51 Revisit: toddler ear piercing

00:31:09 Revisit: video games around kids

00:35:39 Cold & flu medications: what's appropriate at what age

00:40:19 Seasonal allergies: when do they actually start?

00:44:53 Baby Q: Is the 4 month sleep regression real?

00:53:46 Baby Q: When should baby move out of our room?

00:56:29 Baby Q: Our exclusively nursed baby suddenly refuses the bottle.. help!

00:59:36 Baby Q: Our 15 week old HATES the car seat

01:02:52 Baby Q: How do you treat chemical burns from diapers?

01:04:36 Toddler Q: My 20 month old eats like a bird.. are we doing okay?

01:08:15 Toddler Q: My toddler won't eat meat (the "bridging" trick!)

01:10:04 Toddler Q: Teeth brushing is a BATTLE

01:11:12 Toddler Q: Our 22 month old is a climber.. what do we look for if she falls?

01:13:29 Where to find Dr. Brown…

01:13:45 Thank you for listening!

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About Dr. Ari Brown: Dr. Ari Brown is a board-certified pediatrician and the founder of 411 Pediatrics in Austin, TX, with 30+ years in practice. She's a Fellow and national spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, has chaired the AAP's working group on children and media (yes, the screen time people!!), and received the AAP Lifetime Achievement Award. She's the bestselling author of the 411 book series: Baby 411 (over 1 million copies sold, 11th edition out now!), Toddler 411, and Expecting 411. She trained at Baylor College of Medicine and Harvard/Boston Children's Hospital, and has been featured by the Today Show, The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Most importantly (her words): she's a mom of two (and now a grandma!!!)

Resources mentioned:
*American Academy of Pediatrics parent resources: https://www.healthychildren.org
*Car seat safety guidance: https://www.nhtsa.gov
*Measles information & current case updates: CDC (https://www.cdc.gov) and your state health department

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Books | https://www.draribrown.com/books/

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Key Words:

two parents and a podcast, alex bennett, alex fugman, harrison fugman, parenting podcast, mom podcast, dr ari brown, baby 411, toddler 411, pediatrician q&a, pediatrician advice, potty training, toilet training, measles outbreak, measles symptoms, cold and flu season, flu shot kids, kids medications, zyrtec for kids, seasonal allergies kids, 4 month sleep regression, baby sleep, bottle refusal, picky toddler, toddler wont eat, ear piercing kids, aap, mom life, family podcast
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This week on Two Parents & A Podcast, happy Monday!! (we recorded this Sunday afternoon but still HAPPY MONDAY!) We open with Harrison's freak accident: he caught a falling glass, the glass did not cooperate, and now his hand is out of commission. Alex's 10:40 PM response ("you can Uber to the stitches..") will haunt her forever hahaha. Harrison’s first thought: thank goodness this didn’t happen before HYROX… And in HYROX news that we cannot believe is real: POOP-GATE. A competitor at the Beijing race had an.. incident.. mid-race and was allowed to finish, and we have genuine rules questions (you get disqualified for dropping a GEL on the course??)

Then the home front: a toilet learning follow up (yes, we are absolutely pranking the neighbors with the official terminology), and the sweetest new phase: Tate is starting to APPRECIATE things 🥹 We asked her what she wanted to do and she thought about it and said gymnastics.. watching her actually love something is a whole new level of this. Plus the burnt orange feedback is IN (we hear you, we live here, the kids were born here!!), and Saturday's blueprint: 10 AM breakfast, two families over, games on in the background. Which sparked the debate: is non-breakfast food for breakfast genius or psycho?! (Jules eats sweet potato and chicken at 8 AM. Harrison thinks there are seven breakfast foods and that's that.) Then Alex shares the weaning brain fog nobody warned her about.. when you genuinely cannot remember if you showered, you're not losing it, it's hormones!!!

And Harrison's corner: Pokemon cards have reportedly outpaced the S&P 500 over 20 years?! Harrison breaks down why that’s not exactly accurate (and why we shouldn’t all be rushing out to by Jigglypuff cards lol) Plus an AI update: the rival CEOs all publicly agreed to pace development.. which never happens, and might tell you something.

Then a bit of self improvement: stretching doesn't prevent injuries?! (A 26,000-person analysis says strength training is what actually cuts injury risk.. everything our gym teachers told us is on trial.) The compliment vs. critique rule we're adopting: no mom needs unsolicited advice, every mom needs unsolicited acknowledgment. And do you say "I'm sorry" too much? Our friend's challenge: replace it with THIS, and watch what happens.

We close with the 'Martha' review (the Martha Stewart / Snoop origin story!! spoilers, but like.. this happened 20 years ago lol) and why we're recommitting to date night.

Hope everyone has a great week :-) LOVE YOU GUYS!

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Welcome back to Two Parents & A Podcast!

00:01:35 Harrison's freak accident

00:05:37 POOP-GATE at the Beijing HYROX

00:09:49 Toilet learning follow up…

00:12:38 When your toddler starts APPRECIATING things 🥹

00:17:14 Our kids in burnt orange: the feedback is IN

00:22:57 Non-breakfast food for breakfast: genius or psycho?!

00:28:20 Weaning brain fog

00:29:35 How do Pokemon cards compare to the S&P 500?!

00:38:53 AI CEOs say they need to slow the pace of development

00:43:08 Stretching doesn't prevent injuries?!

00:46:28 Compliment vs. critique: what every mom ACTUALLY needs

00:49:46 Do you say "I'm sorry" too much? (say THIS instead)

00:52:16 ‘Martha’ Review (w/ spoilers but like this happened 20 yrs ago lol)

00:57:28 Why we're recommitting to date night

00:59:03 LOVE YOU GUYS!

#twoparentsandapod

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Sources:

*HYROX athlete competes amid diarrhea emergency: NY Post — https://x.com/nypost/status/2099484377960816892?s=20

*Pokemon cards as investments: CNBC — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/25/pokmon-card-winner-scaramucci-says-collectibles-are-asset-class.html

*The stretching study: British Journal of Sports Medicine (Lauersen et al.) — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24100287/

*Dario Amodei's essay — https://darioamodei.com/post/policy-on-the-ai-exponential

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Thank you to our sponsors this week:

*ZipRecruiter: Post jobs for free at https://www.ZipRecruiter.com/ALEX

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Listen to the pod on YouTube/Spotify/Apple:

https://www.youtube.com/@twoparentsandapod

https://open.spotify.com/show/7BxuZnHmNzOX9MdnzyU4bD?si=5e715ebaf9014fac

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-parents-a-podcast/id1737442386

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Follow Two Parents & A Podcast:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/twoparentsandapod

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Follow Alex Fugman:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/alexfugman

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@justalexfugman

Follow Harrison Fugman:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/harrisonfugman

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@harrisonfugman
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This week on Two Parents & A Podcast.. we open today by acknowledging September 11th, 25 years later. We take a minute to remember, share where we were, and say what matters most: we will never forget.

There's no good way to transition into the rest of the episode, so here we are. Lots of stuff today, but we start with a major question: when do you have to start dressing your age?? Like, can a dad of two be walking around in trendy fits.. or is it time for a collared shirt? (Harrison is at a genuine crossroads.) Then a potty training follow up: apparently what we're doing isn't potty training at all lol. The internet has informed us we are TOILET LEARNING. Great that there's a name for it!! But our vibe remains the same: no pressure, dance parties when it works, and we will not be looking into this further hahaha… And a Tate's birthday update!! Thank you all for letting us know we cannot do a Pink Pony Club party for a two year old… Instead: a party with LOTS of pink (and ponies) but there will be NO clubs.

Now let's get into what's going on in the world (that we're interested in.. guys, that's why we talk about this stuff): the headline that was everywhere this week, could AI ACTUALLY k*ll us all?! We break down what actually happened behind it and whether there's any merit (plus how we’re thinking of this as parents). Then the new iPhone's most underrated feature: two phones, ONE number?! Football is officially back (and kicked off in AUSTRALIA, where the two teams ran two totally different travel strategies.. one of them, we'd argue, chose toilet learning), the Clay Matthews ad campaign that fooled the entire internet first (genius or too far?), and HYROX got acquired!!

Finally, a big topic of interest: youth sports. Two things: the fastest growing youth sport in America is being funded in a genuinely smart way (follow the money on this one), and the question every parent eventually faces: how long should kids stick with a sport they try? Like if Tate signs up for flag football and hates it.. does she have to finish the session?

LOVE YOU GUYS!

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Welcome back to Two Parents & A Podcast!

00:00:17 When should parents start "dressing their age"?!

00:09:28 Remembering 9/11, 25 years later

00:14:13 Toilet learning vs. potty training

00:19:29 Tate is turning TWO!! (the party is ON.. and there's a pony)

00:27:25 Could AI ACTUALLY k*ll us all?!

00:39:39 The new iPhone's most underrated feature (two phones, one number?!)

00:46:25 Do you actually know your favorite song's lyrics?!

00:48:26 Caddy update: she's going to the shop.. for a while

00:50:15 Football is BACK (and kicked off in Australia?!)

00:56:58 Clay Matthews ad: marketing genius or too far?

01:02:51 Elevator etiquette: is it rude to talk.. or rude to SHUSH?!

01:07:33 HYROX got acquired!!

01:11:41 The fastest growing youth sport in America

01:14:17 How long should kids stick with a sport they try?

01:16:40 LOVE YOU GUYS!

#twoparentsandapod

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Sources:

*The AI resignation story: CBS News - https://www.cbsnews.com/video/former-anthropic-researcher-who-said-ai-could-kill-us-all-explains-his-reasoning/

*HYROX acquisition: Athletech News — https://athletechnews.com/hyrox-acquisition-l-catterton-led-group-co-founders-wndr-infront/

*Girls flag football growth: Sports Business Journal - https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2026/09/11/sports-media-pod-the-incredible-growth-of-girls-flag-football/

*The Clay Matthews campaign: TMZ — https://www.tmz.com/2026/09/08/clay-matthews-dramatic-new-look-transformation/

*iPhone announcement: Apple Newsroom — https://www.apple.com/newsroom/

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Thank you to our sponsors this week:

*BEAM Minerals: Get 20% off your first order at https://www.beamminerals.com/TWOPARENTS with code TWOPARENTS

*3 Day Blinds: For their buy 1 get 1 50% off deal, head to https://www.3DayBlinds.com/TWOPARENTS

*Cozy Earth: Head to https://www.cozyearth.com and use my code TWOPARENTS for an exclusive 20% off on home and sleepwear!

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Listen to the pod on YouTube/Spotify/Apple:

https://www.youtube.com/@twoparentsandapod

https://open.spotify.com/show/7BxuZnHmNzOX9MdnzyU4bD?si=5e715ebaf9014fac

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-parents-a-podcast/id1737442386

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Follow Two Parents & A Podcast:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/twoparentsandapod

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Follow Alex Fugman:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/alexfugman

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@justalexfugman

Follow Harrison Fugman:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/harrisonfugman

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This week on Two Parents & A Podcast, happy Wednesday!! It's a big day of kid updates: we officially tripped and fell into potty training Tate.. no method, no timeline. Harrison bought a little toilet when she started getting curious, we left it there, and she started using it when it felt right for her (removing the pressure has been the whole magic!) Meanwhile Rocky is in a sleep regression (idk, we feel like we just call everything a regression??), and Alex is weaning off of breastfeeding and shares it all: the decision tree, how she's doing it, and the emotional part nobody warns you about.. All of which turns into one of our favorite convos we've had: when did you know you could trust your parental instincts?

But before all that: Harrison's big tennis night!! Alcaraz vs. Shelton raised the real question: would you stay at a sporting event until 3:33 AM?! (we can't decide)… Plus the new iPhone might be FOLDABLE?! (and as of the time that Jules is writing this, it's officially announced!!) We debate whether Apple is giving us something we didn't ask for, or something we don't know we need yet.

Then Harrison has his eyes on two new movies: we're getting a Social Network-style movie about Sam Altman ("Artificial".. we are SO in) and a Nathan Fielder documentary where he spends 34 days with Elizabeth Holmes before she reports to prison?! (WOW)

And in THINGS WE DMED EACHOTHER: are heists BACK? Someone stole $70K of PBR and Harrison workshops the marketing opportunity live (a heist experience at the Pabst Mansion.. you're welcome, PBR), college kids are throwing WELLNESS parties now (meanwhile in 2016 we were dancing on tables lol), and the Girl Scouts dropped a new cookie that is.. not for humans?! (those girls really know what they’re doing…)

Hope everyone is having a great week :-) LOVE YOU GUYS!

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Welcome back to Two Parents & A Podcast!

00:00:27 Would you stay at a sporting event til 3:33AM?!

00:04:03 What's the first sports movie you want to show your kid?!

00:06:09 The new iPhone is FOLDABLE?!

00:14:25 We tripped and fell into potty training Tate

00:20:01 Rocky's sleep regression

00:22:26 Alex is weaning off of breastfeeding

00:28:15 When did you know you could trust your parental instincts?

00:32:01 Harrison's movie updates: “Artificial” & “You Can See Everything”

00:36:54 Are heists BACK?! (…it seems like heists are back)

00:47:08 College kids are throwing wellness parties now?!

00:48:53 The new Girl Scout cookie is.. not for humans?!

00:50:44 LOVE YOU GUYS!

#twoparentsandapod

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Sources:

Artificial (Sam Altman film): The Hollywood Reporter — https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/artificial-trailer-andrew-garfield-sam-altman-1236693901/

You Can See Everything (Elizabeth Holmes doc): Variety — https://variety.com/2026/film/news/nathan-fielder-secret-elizabeth-holmes-doc-you-can-see-everything-a24-telluride-1236853584/

PBR beer heist: AP — https://www.ajc.com/news/2026/09/pabst-blue-ribbon-offers-20000-reward-to-help-find-its-missing-beer/

Girl Scouts Patch Pals announcement: Girl Scouts of the USA — https://www.girlscouts.org/en/footer/press-room/2026-press-announcements/2027-new-cookies-patch-pals-sparkables.html

iPhone announcement: Apple Newsroom — https://www.apple.com/newsroom/

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Thank you to our sponsors this week:

*Cure: Go to https://www.curehydration.com/TWOPARENTS and get 20% off your first order with promo code TWOPARENTS.

*Quince: Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to https://www.quince.com/alex for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.

*Little Spoon: Give them meals + snacks that are actually right for where kids are developmentally—balanced, intentional and made to support real growth. Go to https://www.littlespoon.com/TWOPARENTS and enter code TWOPARENTS for 30% off your first order.

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Listen to the pod on YouTube/Spotify/Apple:

https://www.youtube.com/@twoparentsandapod

https://open.spotify.com/show/7BxuZnHmNzOX9MdnzyU4bD?si=5e715ebaf9014fac

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-parents-a-podcast/id1737442386

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Follow Two Parents & A Podcast:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/twoparentsandapod

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@twoparentsandapod

Follow Alex Fugman:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/alexfugman

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@justalexfugman

Follow Harrison Fugman:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/harrisonfugman

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@harrisonfugman
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This week on Two Parents & A Podcast, happy Monday and happy Labor Day!! Confession: we cut our first-ever weekend away from both kids a night short. Zero regrets after the morning we had… Tate climbed into bed with us, said "mama hand, dada hand," and held both ❤️ (one of the many fun things she learned over a weekend with Grandma!!)

As for the trip: our official US Open review is in, and it's hands down the BEST sporting event in the world for a casual sports fan. There’s a whole tennis village!! Free Junior matches you can walk right up to, restaurants, shops.. and yes, we got the $100 chicken nugget box. Six pieces. SIX. The nuggets themselves? Phenomenal. The count? Unforgivable.

Before NYC, Harrison did his HYROX.. and all four of the dads CRUSHED it. For any dads listening, Harrison officially recommends doing one: 1) it takes way less time to train for than a marathon, and 2) they do a great job of making you feel like a professional athlete (which, as it turns out, is all any man has ever wanted). We also compare spectating notes: HYROX lets you get right next to the sled pushes vs. marathon makes you do a scavenger hunt across a city for one wave hahaha

And of course, it's not a trip without some travel drama: we witnessed the most LAWLESS airport line of our lives at JFK & (we have thoughts on line-cutting etiquette).

Before all of that.. we took a ROBOTAXI to recording today!! Austin is officially market one, and we came prepared: the full experience review, price myth-busting, and the big debate Harrison's timeline can't stop fighting about: what happens to Uber when the robotaxi has its own app?

Onto the parenting topic: kids ear piercing, part two. Some pediatricians pierce ears IN OFFICE?! Plus the case for piercing parlors over the mall gun (Jules has the cartilage story), and where we've officially landed for Tate.

And the fun corner: Alex reviews Earle Meets World and explains the entire family tree (you need a whiteboard), football season is officially here (which is why we can't commit to DWTS.. yet), and the craziest dish we have EVER been served at a restaurant. The photo says it all (Jules had to debate censoring it lol)

Hope everyone has a great week :-) LOVE YOU GUYS!

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Welcome back to Two Parents & A Podcast!

00:00:27 We took a ROBOTAXI to recording!! (our full review + the Uber debate)

00:17:09 Coming home to your kids after a trip

00:19:19 The most LAWLESS airport line we've ever seen

00:31:21 The US Open is the BEST sporting event for casual fans

00:38:19 The $100 chicken nugget box review

00:42:20 Competing in HYROX as a regular dad

00:48:35 HYROX vs. marathon spectating

00:50:35 Kids ear piercing follow up: pediatricians do it?!

00:52:59 Earle Meets World review

01:02:32 Football season is HERE (and therefor we can’t get into DWTS)

01:03:44 The craziest dish we've ever been served (the photo says it all)

01:05:40 LOVE YOU GUYS!

#twoparentsandapod

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Thank you to our sponsors this week:

*Yoto: Head to https://www.yotoplay.com and use my code TWOPARENTS to save 10% off all eligible items.

*Veracity: For up to 65% off your order, head to https:www.VeracityHealth.co and use code TWOPARENTS.

*Bobbie: If you want to feed with confidence too, head to https://www.hibobbie.com for the formula trusted by 1M+ parents.

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Listen to the pod on YouTube/Spotify/Apple:

https://www.youtube.com/@twoparentsandapod

https://open.spotify.com/show/7BxuZnHmNzOX9MdnzyU4bD?si=5e715ebaf9014fac

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-parents-a-podcast/id1737442386

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Follow Two Parents & A Podcast:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/twoparentsandapod

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@twoparentsandapod

Follow Alex Fugman:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/alexfugman

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@justalexfugman

Follow Harrison Fugman:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/harrisonfugman

TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@harrisonfugman

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Key Words:

two parents and a podcast, two parents and a pod, alex bennett, alex fugman, harrison fugman, parenting podcast, mom podcast, dad podcast, robotaxi, self driving cars, us open, us open review, us open food, $100 chicken nuggets, honey deuce, hyrox, hyrox training, hyrox dads, hyrox vs marathon, kids ear piercing, pediatrician ear piercing, when to pierce ears, piercing parlor vs gun, alex earle, earle meets world, leaving kids for weekend, first trip away from kids, airport etiquette, line cutting, football season, mom life, family podcast
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