Absolute Parenting - The sh!t no one tells you!

Miscarriages is a talked about subject in October in the UK because from 9-15th October is baby loss awareness week. Yes, this podcast is out a little bit later than baby loss awareness week but I guess I found it hard to talk about my own miscarriage and then to edit it too. Nevertheless, here it is. Me talking about my own experience of miscarriage between daughter number 1 and daughter number 2 and how nearly 5 years on, it still haunts me.

It has been a whirlwind of a summer! I am picking up the school issue again in this second part and giving you an update about when season 3 will start.

My husband and I are having a bit of a nightmare with the school at the moment, so much so that we are moving house because of it. It might seem a bit drastic but in this episode I explain the top 10 points as to why we came to make this decision. Hopefully they can help you in future to pick the right school. As a result of the house move I am also sadly going to have to cut this season short too. All is explained in this episode.

Quite often we hear about being a working mum and how hard it is to juggle everything, but what does it mean to be a working dad? Is it different for working dads or are there similarities between the two? In this episode I have invited my husband along once again to chat about how he feels and his thoughts on being a working dad.

Weaning has been a popular topic, it is something all parents have to go through. In this episode I will be revisiting this topic with my friend Mango. She is currently going through a challenging time with her 1 year old toddler so this is very fresh in her mind. She is here to share her experiences so far.

Sleep training is a hot topic and I think it is safe to say, once you stepped into parenthood it is the thing you will probably miss the most. The lack of sleep makes parenting extra tricky. So, in this episode I have invited my friend Katie to revisit this topic with me and for her to chat and share her experiences of sleep training.

In this episode I have invited my friend Claire back onto the show to chat about motherhood guilt. This time the focus is on mental health and being working mums, since we both work. We also spoke about how motherhood guilt can sometime escalate to mental health issues. Last week was Maternal Mental Health Week and we think guilt can often consume us, especially if we let it get the better of us as parents. But how do we overcome it, that is the question. Have a listen and hear about our experiences.

Back in episode 16, I invited my friend Emily onto the show to talk about her homeschooling experience as the UK was in the third national lockdown. Moving forward to the present day, children all over the UK are now back at school. I have invited Emily back onto the show to chat about any post homeschooling worries, plus how our experience of homeschooling has impacted us differently. With my child's school not being supportive whatsoever and Emily's daughter's school being really supportive we talk about what impact that has.

In this episode I have invited my friend Mango (her nickname) to come along and chat about her experience of being a pandemic mum. From being heavily pregnant and the due date fast approaching when the pandemic was sweeping across the globe. To giving birth in lockdown then having a newborn baby and now returning to work. What new challenges do pandemic parents have to face which we may have never had to consider before?

In this episode I have invited my friend Katie to come along on the show and talk about her experience of being a new mum during the global COVID-19 pandemic. As if being a first time parent is not hard enough the pandemic is adding an extra layer of complication to parenthood no matter what stage you are at. Katie being a new mum and new to parenthood she explains how she survived along with a few funny stories. There is a break in the middle as her little one woke up part way through recording, that's parenthood for you!

This week I am joined by my husband to give this thoughts and feeling about entering fatherhood. I think it is important to have a male perspective on this life-changing event.

In this episode, I have invited a very good friend of mine Claire (who I have been friends with since the age of 12) along to the show to have a chat with me about mental health for mums. This episode is focused on mums because of course we are two mums and we want to sharing our experiences and journey with you.

Welcome back to season 2 of Absolute Parenting - The sh!t no one tells you! We are kicking off season 2 with homeschooling because currently in the UK we are back to national lockdown number 3. I have invited a fellow mummy friend Emily to have a chat with me about all the ups and downs we are currently facing.

In my final episode of this season I tackle the question, "does parenthood change you?". I will be back with Season 2 on 18th Feb 2021. I hope you all have a great Christmas.

In this episode I go over something you may find yourself feeling fairly often, parenthood guilt.

Before parenthood have you every said something stupid to a parent, and now you are parent, you regret it? I have! That is what this episode is all about.

In this episode I talk about my experience with weaning and what I've seen from other mummy friends. I hope there is something useful for everyone.

In this episode I talk about how a baby can affect your relationship with your partner and shed some light (based on my experience) on the question... can a baby save your relationship?

This one is all about babies and "sleep training" them. That's right, it is a thing. I talk about the method I used and all the ups and downs that went along with it!

I decided to continue on from last week's theme of poo and speak about potty training, AKA trying to control where the poo goes! I used something unfamiliar to most, not sure what to call it, maybe "the bucket method".

In this episode, I will be talking about all things' poo related and I share a particularly horrendous story.

Description... This episode was a bit of a last-minute addition after speaking to a friend over the weekend. She is currently pregnant, and we were "reminiscing" about breastfeeding which brought back memories that made me think I needed to continue with the breastfeeding topic for another episode. This part is all about the process, the pains, and breastfeeding vs alcohol.

This episode follows on from the previous one and covers my breastfeeding journey, part 2. This time came with very different challenges.

This episode is part one of my breastfeeding journey and I cover a variety of challenges you may face when feeding your own little one.

In this episode I go through the stage that people seem to talk very little about, the newborn stage.

In this episode, I talk about my first (induced) birth experience and everything that went with it.

This episode is about that first step into parenthood, falling pregnant. I talk about how I felt from the moment I found out, telling my husband, the 12 week scan, and the range of emotions during this time.

In this first episode I introduce what this podcast is all about and what you can expect in future episodes. Expect an honest conversation about the reality of parenthood with all its ups and downs, nothing "social media censored", just open and honest, absolute parenting with all the sh!t no one tells you.