Don't Get Lippy

Want some ideas on how to broach the subject of bullying with your young person? Here are my few suggestions to get the ball rolling! Jen X @dontgetlippyuk

Oh hi, only another month has passed since I last uploaded.. whoops! This episode follows on from my one in December 2021, so make sure you give that a listen too if you haven't done already! We know there is only one wrong way to talk to your child about their cleft.. and that is by not doing it at all! The way you can talk to them about it? Lots of ways! I have covered some ideas and things to consider on your journey as a parent and caregiver and I hope they help! Jen XX @dontgetlippyuk

A couple of months ago I did a few polls on my Instagram and asked followers to answer questions around talking to your child/young person about their cleft. I asked parents and caregivers to answer certain questions and cleft affected individuals to answer others. The answers gave me some interesting insight from both sides and confirmed my thinking that there is only one wrong way to go about talking to your young person... This is one episode of a few that I will be doing around talking to your child/young person about their cleft, leading on to bullying and how to support them if that occurs. I hope you find this information useful and as ever would love any feedback! You can find more of me and my wonderful son here: @dontgetlippyuk

I wanted to follow up on the last episode with a freebie for people who are cleft affected. Backstory: I approached a friend of mine who is a hypnotherapist, I explained to her the concept of Don't Get Lippy and what my aims were to support and empower the Cleft Community. I asked if she would be able to create something for me and after sharing some experiences with her, she created three hypnotherapy scripts - meditation soundtracks if the idea of hypnotherapy is too out there! - and today I'm sharing with you the 'Self Worth' soundtrack. This soundtrack will help you build up your own self-worth and self-esteem, by using your creative mind to shift your position away from the more negative view you may have of yourself to a more objective one seen from those around you, who see you differently. This meditation/visualisation utilises various therapeutic ideas to help you create change for yourself. This sound tracks require your full attention and require you to begin to relax so do not listen whilst driving or operating machinery. I encourage you to embrace this as part of your self-care routine or as part of your proactive preparation. This recording has been made by Zetta Thomelin from Headtogether. Zetta teaches meditation and hypnotherapy and runs a private practice that utilises NLP and hypnotherapy to empower people to change. She is a Director of UKCHO, Chair of BAThH and author of The Healing Metaphor (https://www.headtogether.net). We hope you enjoy! Jen X @dontgetlippyuk Ko-fi.com/dontgetlippyglobal

If you're cleft affected and being bullied or concerned about bullying, these are my recommendations and actions you could take. I hope this episode helps someone! Jen X @dontgetlippyuk

Two episodes in one day? You lucky devil! This episode is a look at my personal experiences of being bullied, how that affected me and how I feel bullying should be dealt with. Any feedback, reviews and shares are gratefully received. Jen XX @dontgetlippyuk

It's Anti-Bullying Week 2021. I'll be sharing more about my experiences and how I overcame them, my top tips for people being bullied and parents of cleft affected children who may encounter bullying and how and what they can do to help.

I've realised I've never introduced my own story on my podcast, so here is a 30 min rambler episode talking about my home life, education and work life - all of which has shaped who and how I am today. If you have time to rate or review the podcast, I would be so grateful! Do you have a subject you want me to cover or chat about? Let me know! Want to be on the podcast? Get in touch! Jen X @dontgetlippyuk

Join myself and Haley as we talk through her journey with her beautiful daughter, Cerys, in New Zealand! We talk about thoughts and feelings after diagnosis, Cerys' hearing journey and what is next for her!Resources mentioned: QLD Mouth Music: https://www.childrens.health.qld.gov.au/service-speech-pathology-my-mouth-music/Miccio Cards:  http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/pdf/miccio4s.pdfPlease note: Use links at your discretion.  Don't Get Lippy does not own the rights to the links above and takes no responsibility once you have clicked through.

I was lucky enough to speak with Geri, a Mum of three who shared her story of her youngest child being born with a cleft lip and palate.  Geri spoke about the diagnosis, how she dealt with explaining to her older children why Arthur would need surgery and gives her advice on those early days.  You can learn more about Geri & The Botten Bunch on Instagram @the.botten.bunch.

I sat down and chatted with Miss Iva (Founder and CEO of Real Sophisticated Joy) after she released her E-Book 'Bully Who?'.  A great resource for people who are being bullied, may have been the bully and parents of children that could fall either side of the coin.  Find the E-book at: https://realsophisticatedjoy.com/product/e-bookSee more of Iva: https://www.instagram.com/realsophisticatedjoy/

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of getting to know Susannah Schaefer (President & CEO of Smile Train), the work she has done with Smile Train, what Smile Train as a global charity is aiming for and a couple of stories of cleft patients she has met during her time with the charity.As much as we are on our own journey here, my family and I support our cleft community in the developing world and are keen to learn more about how we can help.  You can see more of what Smile Train do by visiting the website: www.smiletrain.org (/uk) and following their Instagram (@smiletrain/@smiletrainuk).I would love to hear your feedback about this episode!

On this episode, I spoke with Cecelia from @cleftglow.  A cleft affected Mother of three, who's first born son was also born with a cleft lip and palate.  We talk about her travels, how she met her husband, what it was like growing up and how she empowers her son to be confident in his own skin.  Cecelia's energy and how she views the cleft condition is so encouraging.  I really hope you love this chat! 

A mother of two, originally from the Philippines and founder of Huro Kids, Audrey tells me her Cleft journey with her son, Roman.  We talk about ignoring health professional's calls, about the first person she thought of at diagnosis and giving back to the Cleft community with Huro Kids. Found out more about Huro Kids via the website & Audrey's Instagram. 

On this episode, I spoke with Iva Ballou from @realsophisticatedjoy, a cleft affected confidence coach who talks about her experience of bullying, the pivotal moment that helped changed her mindset and how her faith has been a constant through her journey.  I hope you enjoy! Iva's website:  www.realsophisticatedjoy.com

Alyssa is a gorgeous Mum to two wonderful boys, Jack & Jett.  She is our 2 in 1400 Mum, as both boys were born with clefts - although with varying severities and completely different outcomes.  This was such an interesting chat, including Mother's intuition to days that she didn't expect to happen.  TRIGGER WARNING:  Please listen at your discretion - Medical complications & difficult situations discussed during this episode. You can follow Alyssa on Instagram: @alyssammessick.

I had the opportunity to speak to Matilda to talk about her life after being born with a unilateral cleft lip and palate.  She went from being a 'hating the world' kind of girl to a successful hairdresser and make up artist.  Her attitude is one to learn from.

I had the pleasure of chatting this week with Julia who is based in the USA!  We spoke about her concerns of telling family about her son's cleft diagnosis, the ups and downs of her pregnancy and finding surgeons in LA!

I had wonderful evening chatting with this gorgeous husband and wife duo in Ireland about their situation.  James was born with a unilateral cleft lip and palate and they are currently pregnant with their second baby who has also been diagnosed with a cleft.We talk about their outlook on the cleft condition, Adam Bighill, signs and burgers!  Unfortunately, reception was a little off so please bear with the audio, not to mention my lack of editing knowledge and a quick Irish accent! I would love to hear what you thought about this episode, please let me know! If you want to know more about Don't Get Lippy, please visit my website or follow our journey on Instagram!

In this episode I talk to Felicity, Mama to Zac, who talks about his cleft diagnosis at 20 weeks, the anticipation around feeding and how she found telling her family about their news. Please bear with the reception on this podcast! From the UK to Jersey we had a bit of trouble throughout the chat but I hope it doesn't pull away from the important story!This podcast is based around the Cleft Lip and Palate condition, for more information on Don't Get Lippy, please visit the website or find us on Instagram!

Feeding Will was a massive learning curve for us.  The level of stress is not something I would like to revisit but I think it's important to reflect on that time.  I decided to sit down and just talk through some of the bits I remember from those early days.  On second listen, this chat seemed quite negative and that's because it was so stressful for us. I feel like it is important to acknowledge that there are SO many successful feeding stories out there and this was just our journey.I hope my perspective on this subject help others to feel that they are not alone if they are having issues and also helps others and medical professionals understand what things can be like for feeding a baby with a cleft.Some of these things I haven't thought about since those early days and I couldn't help but get teary at the end!I hope you enjoy.Jen@dontgetlippyuk

In this episode, I give my own interpretation of what a Cleft Lip and Palate is! 

Welcome to the Don't Get Lippy Podcast! My name is Jen.  I was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate.  My son, Will, was also born with the same condition in 2018.  In early 2019 I created Don't Get Lippy, a business to inform and educate, support and empower those who are affected by the condition. In this episode, I chat with Clare, a retired Forensic Psychiatrist (who prefers not to be linked) to find about the type of cleft she was born with, where life has taken her and she offers up some advice to others.Check us out at www.dontgetlippy.co.uk for more information or @dontgetlippyuk on Instagram.

Welcome to the Don't Get Lippy Podcast! My name is Jen.  I was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate.  My son, Will, was also born with the same condition in 2018.  In early 2019 I created Don't Get Lippy, a business to inform and educate, support and empower those who are affected by the condition. In this episode, I chat with Nathan Abbott (@freestyle4smile) to find about the type of cleft he was born with, how other people have affected his life and how he hasnow  channelled his energy into helping others with the condition. Check us out at www.dontgetlippy.co.uk for more information or @dontgetlippyuk on Instagram.