Growing Up Raising Us

In today's episode we are joined by the incredible Zoe, who shares her experience with egg freezing here in Naarm/Melbourne. Zoe shares her experience from the perspective of a single woman in her 30s living with PCOS. She talks us through the decision to undertake egg retrieval, the process itself, practicalities of the procedure and how she was feeling along the way. Zoe also discusses her experience with ovarian hyperstimulation, a complication that can occur following egg retrieval. Zoe is so open and thoughtful in this episode, and we hope you enjoy listening. You can't really know the ins and outs of an experience like this unless you've gone through it, and we're so grateful to Zoe for sharing her own journey. You can also find Zoe @orgpsych.adventures.Please note this episode cannot be considered as medical advice and only represents Zoe's views and experiences. Please know Zoe does also mention the number of eggs collected if this is a sensitive topic for you.Resources mentioned:Knocked Up podcastMonash IVF free fertility nurse on call service*We recorded this episode before the recent event involving an incorrect embryo transfer occurred in QLD, Australia. We are sending you so much love and care if this news impacts you*Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases.This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Taungurung, Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land. 

We are so excited to bring you this episode with Mikaela Ladocki. We had a beautiful chat with Mikaela all about her motherhood story. She speaks on her births and postpartum experiences with her two children, postpartum during covid, navigating breastfeeding challenges and choosing to formula feed, navigating the return to work after parental leave, showing up authentically on social media, and how she prioritises herself in motherhood even when it's hard.  It's a beautiful chatty episode – Mikaela is a joy to listen to and shares the ins and outs, ups and downs of her story. We hope you love listening. Please be aware towards the middle to end of this chat, we do discuss weight loss and weight loss in postpartum. Mikaela's instagram is @mikaelaladocki.Mikaela's Tik Tok is @mikaelaladocki. Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases.This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Taungurung, Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land. 

In today's snappy ep we are discussing the “7 types of rest” through the lens of motherhood. Have you heard of them?This is such an important conversation for mothers and new parents, when our most obvious form of rest (AKA sleep) goes out the window. We chat through the 7 types and how they can show up in motherhood.The 7 types of rest were identified by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, a US physician. She describes ways to incorporate rest and restoration in these 7 different aspects of our lives: physical, mental, emotional, social, sensory, creative, and spiritual. Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases.This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Taungurung, Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land. Take the 7 types of rest quiz: https://www.restquiz.com/quiz/rest-quiz-test/More information on Dr Dalton-Smith and the 7 types of rest.*when we say 133 days, we mean 133 nights - the sleep deprivation is bad but not that bad!

Today's ep is with Jane of @doingmotherhood. Jane is a mother of two and a mental health occupational therapist specialising in matrescence and the perinatal period, currently working at @themindfulbirthmovement. Jane joins us to discuss:Matrescence from an occupational therapist's POV and why it can be such a challenging time for our sense of self, confidence and functioning What a mental health perinatal occupational therapist does and how they can help mothers navigate changes in their functioning or achieve their specific goals (whether that's related to your pelvic floor, returning to work, your identity, or more)Nervous system regulation, both daily strategies to build your capacity and things to do in times of dysregulation in you or your children How understanding our values can help us to navigate transitions and shifting identities This is such an insightful episode. Jane describes how motherhood is unique because most of us are really thrown into parenthood without any real opportunity to learn or practice the skills and tasks that come with mothering. It makes sense then, that our sense of self and confidence may be rocked through the experience, and that this can have flow-on impacts to our functioning. Jane shares why this all occurs and what we can do about it. Jane offers the newly launched ‘Birth of Us' antenatal program - a program designed to help parents step into parenthood with confidence and practical knowledge. Resources, counselling and support are also available at The Mindful Birth Movement.Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases.This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Taungurung, Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land. 

Welcome to the first episode of our new segment – How Do I – a series where we unpack questions that have been on our minds – sometimes with wonderful experts, sometimes between us, your co-hosts, and often with experiences shared by you, our beautiful listeners. This series has been designed to answer your targeted questions, and leave you with practical takeaways. In our first How Do I, we are joined by a return guest, Caitlin, for a timely ep on co-regulation as we head into the Victorian school holidays! Caitlin (@unmaskednaturopath) is a naturopath, nutritionist, and mother of two boys. Caitlin and Chels chat all things co-regulation with your child – the importance of co-regulation, what it actually is and how we can support our nervous systems as parents, and co-regulate with our children. As an AuDHD mother to a son with cerebral palsy and autism, Caitlin also shares her insights on co-regulation in a neurodiverse family.Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases.This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Taungurung, Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land. 

In this week's ep, we have Part 2 of our conversation with Amy Pearson of @sunmotheramy. This chat focuses on neurodiversity - on Amy's experience raising a child who is neurodivergent and how that journey impacted her understanding and learning of her own ADHD. We chose to split this interview into two parts because Amy speaks openly and honestly on the experience of having a highly sensitive baby, and we hope this ep reaches anyone who is navigating a similar experience. From another mama with a sensitive baby who cried non-stop in a dark room, it can be an isolating and overwhelming time where your only focus is trying to improve things for this tiny person and get through each night. We see you, you're doing wonderful things, and we hope Amy's beautiful words reach you. Find part 1 of our chat with Amy here.Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases.This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Taungurung, Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land.

In today's ep we bring you a conversation with Amy Pearson, aka the brains, beauty and impact behind Sun Mother (@sunmotheramy). Amy is a mother to two, and a Brand and Marketing Strategist + Coach. She joins us on the podcast to chat all things motherhood, identity and career. She reflects on her matrescence journeys, building a business while raising a family, and some musings on motherhood now her kids are a little bit more grown. Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases.This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Taungurung, Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land. 

How did you know you were done having kids, if you ever had that feeling at all? It's something that is shaped by so many factors—practical, emotional, and unexpected. Fertility and financial pressures, not seeing eye to eye with your partner, feeling completely ‘done' or maybe not at all. We wanted to explore what really influences this decision, and we asked our listeners. The response was huge. As we've been putting this episode together, so many people have reached out—whether they're still figuring out their family plans or have already made those big decisions. It's clear this is something on a lot of minds, so we're excited to bring you today's In Your Words episode, where we hear from some incredible people who've shared their stories with us.A huge thank you to our guests who share their insights so openly in this episode:✨ Sophia: a mother of two, aged 15 and 1, a wife and a sleep consultant at @sophiasleepschool. Sophia shares her story of having her first child quite young and unexpectedly, through to her decision to have a second child over a decade later with her current husband and best friend. ✨ Amy: a mother of three, aged 8, 6.5 and 4, a wife, and a sleep consultant at @little.dreamers.nz. Amy talks about the feeling of not being done after having her second, and how that changed after her third child was born.✨ Jane: a mother of two, aged 4 and 2.5, a wife, and mental health occupational therapist working with Rebecca Black @themindfulbirthmovement. She speaks on how her own sibling dynamics as well as financial considerations have influenced her choices. You can find Jane @doingmotherhood.Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases.This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Taungurung, Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land. 

Hello hello! We are finally back for the year and so excited to be in your ears. We are back with a chatty welcome back - Chels walks us through the experience of her second daughter self-weaning (a very different experience from her first) and Em recaps how much the movie, Nightbitch, resonated with her. You can expect 3 episodes a month from us this season, with a highly requested In Your Words episode coming to you next week. Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases.This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Taungurung, Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land. 

Thank you so much for joining us for our first year of Growing Up Raising Us. We wouldn't have been able to do it without your messages of support, listens, shares, words of wisdom, and contribution to our growing community. We are so grateful to you all. This year we had:  ✨Thirty-six incredible guests ✨Twenty-nine podcast eps ✨So many beautiful DMS and messages of impact ✨One billion voice-note exchanges between your co-hosts Your top episodes for this year were: Sarah's story of losing her son at one month old Triplet mums Georgia + Silje on the unfiltered realities of raising triplets Baby got VBAC: Chelsea's homebirth story  Disability and neurodiversity in parenting with Caity We're already planning for 2025 and we can't wait to be back in your ears then, but now we're taking a well-deserved Chrissy break. A very happy holiday season to you all - here's to kisses with your fam, good food and company, and no unsolicited parenting advice

We recently asked you how prepared you felt for your first postpartum experience and over 40% of you said you didn't feel prepared at all. So we wanted to bring out an episode to help change that. In this episode, we are joined by Olivia, a postpartum doula, registered nurse and founder of Back to Nourishing Mamas.  Olivia joins us to chat about why it's so important to feel supported and held in postpartum, as well as how to prepare for a warm and nourishing postpartum for all mothers - including those who have lost their babies. She shares practical advice and wisdom around four key pillars of rest, warmth, nutrition and bodywork. There's a lot of beautiful takeaways in this episode and we hope it helps anyone planning for postpartum or supporting someone through postpartum. We hear this all the time, but postpartum is forever and you deserve rest, help and care at all stages of your parenthood journey.  Please know this episode does touch on support after loss or stillbirth, between the 26 to 33 minute mark.  You can find Olivia: On instagram On her website Or Download her FREE guide on preparing for postpartum here This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land.  Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases.

We've had lots of beautiful new listeners join us recently so a warm hello to you

Welcome to our next incredible ‘In Your Words' episode, which is on the topic of positive hospital birth experiences. In Australia, over 97% of births take place in a hospital, which for some of us can be an unfamiliar or even scary place. We really wanted to put this episode together to hear our listeners' perspectives on what a positive birth means to them, and hear the meaning and beauty behind their experience birthing in a hospital supported by incredible midwives and care staff. Our hope is that this episode equips others with knowledge on what can and does happen within a hospital setting, to be able to consider what options they have and the agency they hold. We are joined by seven incredible guests in this episode and we are so honoured that they shared their stories with us. You will hear from: ✨️Steph, a wife and mother in her early 30's raising two boys and a dog. She shares how her positive hospital experience healed a traumatic first experience. (13.34 -17.40mis) ✨️Marley, a birth and postpartum doula who lives in the beautiful Adelaide hills with her husband, 3.5 year old son, Jamie and little Sophie who is 6 months old. She shares her c-section birth following a planned homebirth, after finding out her baby was breech at 38 weeks. (17.52 - 24.39 mins) ✨️Katelyn, a physiotherapist born and raised in Geelong. Katelyn is married to Luke and they have two earth-side babies: Isabella (3 years) and Rupert (1 year). She shares that she is also in the not-so-desirable angel baby club. Today, Katelyn shares her two positive caesarean births in a private hospital: an emergency and then planned caesarean. (24.46 - 30.21 mins) ✨️Emma, co-host of this podcast, a social researcher, wife and mother to one beautiful boy. She shares her long, posterior labour and assisted vaginal birth in a public hospital, but with the support of a private midwife. (30.29 - 35.52 mins) ✨️Kendra, mama to two little ones - a boy (21 months) and little girl (7 weeks). Kendra has a deep reverence for the journey of becoming a mother and works as a perinatal occupational therapist and matrescence coach. She shares her unmedicated vaginal waterbirth in a birth centre off her local public hospital. (36.01 - 41.49 mins) ✨️Molly, mum to a beautiful 4 month old baby boy named Noah. Molly is also a wife, foster mum, psych nurse, and dog mum. She shares her emergency caesarean under a private OB, as well as the incredible experience of having a student midwife. (41.59 - 47.15 mins) ✨️Shannon, who is 28 years old and lives with her fiance, Brad, and two girls, Winter who is 3 years and little Aster, who is 4 months old. Shannon shares her first traumatic experience, followed by her second birth - a positive induction and a swift unmedicated vaginal birth (47.24 - 51.32 mins) Finally, we want to acknowledge that for many parents, their hospital birth or experience was far from positive and didn't leave them with many choices or a feeling of agency. We are so sorry if this was your experience.  Join our growing community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land.

Today we have a jam-packed episode for you with the incredible Amy, an internationally certified Infant and Child Sleep Consultant, the Founder of Little Dreamers and co-founder of Beyond Sleep School, as well as a Mum of 3!  Amy joins us to chat all things family sleep and ditching social expectations around sleep, as well as her advice on a few of your own listener sleep issues. If sleep is impacting your family in this season of life, Amy is the perfect person to listen to. She is so positive, a wealth of knowledge, fully embraces the joy in this chaos, and champions parental well-being and doing what's right for your family.  Amy has kindly given you, our listeners, a discount code for sleep support at Little Dreamers (https://www.littledreamers.co.nz/). That discount code is GROWINGUP10 and gives you 10% off support offered worldwide by Amy and her team. Little Dreamers also offers a free 15 minute discovery call if you want to connect and find out more, and countless free resources and guides on their website and instagram.  Join our growing community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land. 

 today we have a lovely episode for you with the wonderful Eleni, mother to three girls including 3.5 year old twins, Cleo and Lola, and 10 month old Hazel.  Eleni joins us to share her motherhood journey, including her challenging pregnancy and planned caesarean section birth with her fraternal twin girls, as well as how she navigated the newborn days with two babies. She shares her feeding journey with the twins, covering tandem breastfeeding, triple feeding and the decision to move to formula feeding.  Eleni goes on to reflect on how she knew she was ready to have a third child, and her subsequent pregnancy and birth with Hazel. Eleni had a planned gentle caesarean section with Hazel and shares her c-section preferences that shaped this birth (around the 40 min mark of the episode). Eleni gave birth in a public hospital, where she wouldn't meet her OB until the day of delivery, and reflects on the process of researching her birth preferences, as well as her positive experience with her medical team.  For her second birth, with toddler twins running around, Eleni invested in a postpartum doula so she also touches on her decision to engage a postpartum doula and what the emotional and practical support looked like.  Eleni is warm, insightful and a beautiful storyteller. We hope you love this one. Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases. This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation.

Hello beautiful listeners, today we are chatting all things body image. We grew up in the noughties which was, quite frankly, a shit storm of body shaming, narrow media representation, and unchecked messaging that weight and image somehow related to our value. We reflect on the early experiences that influenced our body image and how we think about our bodies, the impossible social expectations and narratives we're all existing within, and how our body image ebbed and flowed in pregnancy and postpartum.  We also hear from you, our incredible listeners, as you share how body image and the social commentary around bodies has impacted you, plus the sage advice you'd give to your younger selves. We say this in the ep - but we have so much hope for our children's generation being raised by incredible people like you.  TLDR: stop fricken commenting on our bodies and let us exist. Some of the resources mentioned in this episode: Podcast episode: Ditching “bounce back” and embracing body neutrality with Matilda & Liv on Growing Up Raising Us (then known at Definitely Baby)  Podcast episode: Body image - why do we hate our bodies? on Ladies, We Need To Talk! By Yumi Stynes If anything has come up for you in this episode, please know immediate and longer term support is available to you: ⁠Butterfly Foundation⁠: National Helpline 1800 33 4673 NURSE-ON-CALL: 1800 022 222 ⁠PANDA⁠ ⁠The Perinatal Loss Centre⁠ ⁠Gidget Foundation⁠  ⁠Beyond Blue⁠ Your GP This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases.

In this episode, we're joined by Joelleen Winduss Paye (she/her), an IBCLC holistic lactation consultant, midwife, naturopath, educator and mother. Joelleen joined us on the podcast to share her journey into motherhood, and how her professional work as a midwife of 13+ years and holistic lactation consult has informed her own decisions around pregnancy, birth and postpartum care.  Joelleen shares with us her two births - the birth and loss of her daughter at 16 weeks, followed by the birth of her son, Mali. Joellen reflects on how she prepared for and navigated pregnancy after loss, her reasons and desire to birth at home, and the birth story of Mali on a stormy night in late December. She talks us through the unexpected hospital transfer and NICU stay that followed his birth, her breastfeeding initiation and experience as a lactation consultant, and reflects on the first few months of life with Mali earthside.  It was such an honour to speak with Joelleen, she has a beautiful way with words and weaves her professional tips, strategies and guidance into her personal story. You can connect with Joelleen here.  Some of the resources mentioned in this episode: Gabrielle of G.Lorri Labour Bodywork Rhea Dempsey - Birth with Confidence Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases. This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation.

In today's episode, we are joined by the incredible Victoria Prince of Prince Dressed - a fashion stylist here in Melbourne / Naarm. Victoria actually interviewed us for a change!  She took us through her styling questionnaire and we learnt SO much about our own personal style and our style inspiration. Victoria went through current style trends with us, shared so many tips on making your wardrobe work better for you, and really inspired us to have a bit more fun with our dressing.  This is such a fun, light-hearted episode and we hope you love it as much as we loved recording it. Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases. This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation.

In today's beautiful episode we are joined by Lilly Lowrey (she/her) @softcentre, a full spectrum birth and postpartum doula who lives on Bunurong Country in the South-Eastern region of Melbourne with her wife Bec (she/her), and their daughter, Minna.  Lilly joins us to share her experience into motherhood and reflects on the first months of her daughter's life earthside. She shares her journey conceiving, birthing and raising beautiful Minna, as well as her two miscarriages or early births that she experienced prior to Minna's birth. Lilly describes her and Bec's journey with reciprocal IVF as a queer family, her experience birthing Minna at home surrounded by love, and how she came to know that birth work was where she belongs.  Lilly is so generous with her beautiful story, and we are so grateful she took the time to speak  with us. She shares her story with love and openness and an important reminder to lean into joy. Lilly's website. Lilly's instagram. Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land. 

Hello beautiful listeners, today we have an episode very close to Emma's heart - a father's day interview with Em's own dad, Michael.  ✨️✨️ This felt a bit selfish to record and put out there, to have this incredible memory and recording forever of speaking with my dad of his experience becoming a father and raising me, alongside my mum.  Much of what I try to emulate in my parenting is from how he raised me - his calmness; his unwavering, unconditional love; his love of learning and self growth; his care and focus on family. He took a few years off work when I was little to look after me (to be a ‘house father' as he calls it!) which was fairly uncommon at the time. He joins us to chat about this experience, his reflections and memories as a father, and how it's been watching me become a parent. I really hope you enjoy this episode - and thank you, deeply, for supporting this podcast and enabling episodes like this to happen. We hope you had a wonderful day celebrating the fathers and father figures in your life. This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land.  Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases.

Hello beautiful listeners, today Chels and Em are chatting about all things weaning from breastfeeding. At the start of this episode, we are joined by the incredible Joelleen Winduss Paye - an IBCLC holistic lactation consultant (+ midwife, naturopath and educator) who shares her expert insights on the hormonal shifts and emotions that may accompany weaning.  Chels and Em go on to discuss their own experiences weaning their toddlers, including their decisions to wean, what the experience was like for them both, and some of the unexpected things that came up - like breastfeeding aversion. Em weaned over a year ago, so she touches on the post weaning experience, while Chels shares her experience weaning more recently.  We really hope this resource offers support and information for anyone out there who is thinking about weaning, going through the process, or has just weaned. For both of us, it was such an emotional transition and adjustment period that isn't really spoken about. For however long you breastfeed, if you choose to or want to, whatever your feeding journey looks like - you are doing amazing and we are sending you love.  This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation.

Welcome to our next incredible ‘In Your Words' episode, which is on the topic of co-parenting. In Your Words is a newer segment in which we hear directly from multiple parents about their experiences. Prompted by a beautiful listener, we dedicated this episode to all things co-parenting and were blown away by the wisdom and generosity of the guests who shared their experiences with us, and who you'll hear from today.  We asked our four guests to share their own experience with co-parenting, thinking about what it looks like for themselves and their families, and any take-aways or lessons they had to share. This is a really positive episode and we hope you love listening to the insights and stories of our guests as much as we did. You will hear from: ✨️Naomi (she/her) a mama of 4 children and a special education teacher in the US. She describes her family as a  fun loving, full of laughter, on the go, beautiful, non traditional/coparenting family of 6. ✨️Ariadna (she/her), a mother who lives, most of the time, with her 2 daughters. She works at a university and co-parents with her ex-partner.  ✨️Sarah (she/her) a mother to 2 children who runs her own photography business around being a mum. She co-parents with her ex-husband and is originally from New Zealand. ✨️Emily (she/her) who is joined by her current partner, Matt (he/him). Together they shared what co-parenting looks like for their family. Em is mother to her son who she co-parents with her ex-husband.  We are so grateful to everyone who reached out about this episode, and our incredible guests who joined us and shared a bit of their lives with us. It's a real honour to us to be able to collate these stories and bring them to you.  This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land.  Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases.

Hello beautiful listeners, today we have a really important episode for you all about perinatal mental health in new parents and families. We are joined by the incredible Frances Bilbao, a clinical psychologist, founder of Mums Matters Psychology, and mother of three.  Frances joins us to discuss: The statistics around new parents' mental health in Australia What experiences or changes may be expected or common in the perinatal period The signs and symptoms of perinatal anxiety and depression Intrusive thoughts, and just how common they are What extra support is available, and where you can find it We are so grateful to Frances for taking the time to sit down with us and share her expertise and insights. The perinatal period can be a very vulnerable time point in our lives, and include experiences that are often left unspoken. Frances created Mums Matter Psychology to provide affordable and accessible support for all women in the perinatal period, and help them to experience meaning and fulfilment in motherhood. They have more information, including resources and webinars, on their website. You can also find them on instagram at @mumsmatterpsychology. Please know this episode discusses the topic of perinatal mental health in detail, including intrusive thoughts and what these thoughts may include. This episode mentions maternal suicide and infant death at the 3-6 minute mark (regarding statistics) and around the 58 minute mark (regarding resources). Please skip these sections if you need to, or leave this episode for another time.  If anything has come up for you in this episode, please know immediate and longer term support is available to you: PANDA The Perinatal Loss Centre Gidget Foundation  Beyond Blue Your GP This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more. 

In this episode, Chels and Em are chatting about their approach to sharing their children online. We discuss our reasons behind not sharing them much online, digital identities, making intentional choices and the evolving nature of this new terrain we're all navigating.  We appreciate all parents make the best decisions for their families, and certainly are not saying we have the answers to what is a complex and new issue. We hope this episode opens up the discussion, and also sheds a little more light on how we have chosen to go about things on our own social media.  Our recommendation this week: KICPOD's Laura Henshaw's mini series: Do I want kids?  The Imperfect's episode with Fern Brady  Resources or links mentioned: Hannah Nwoko's article on The Guardian  Beyond the Bump's episode with Sarah Bolitho from Secure Foundations Under the Influence's episode The Sharenthood This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In this episode, we are joined by the incredible Caitlin (she/her), a naturopath, nutritionist and mother of two boys.  Caity's first son, Rieder, is 10 years old, has a physical disability and is autistic. We hear about Caity's story of his birth and her experience raising him and advocating for him over the years. Caity also shares the experience of her VBAC birth with her second son, Odin.  Caity herself identifies as neurodivergent (AuDHD), and she shares with us her journey to finding this out, discusses her evolving identity as a woman and mother, and talks about some of the misconceptions that exist around disability and neurodiversity. We absolutely loved this chat with Caity, she's a natural storyteller and we hope you enjoy listening to her story.  Resources on person first, values based language when speaking about people with disability Language Guide from People with Disability Australia Language Guide from the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations  We recognise it's most important to respect an individual with disability's preference on the language they wish to use about themselves.  You can find Caity's personal instagram @c.aity_ And her naturopath/nutritionist instagram @becbycaitlin This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

Hello beautiful listeners, today Chels and Em are sitting down for a catch up. It's been a while since we've had a proper chat and we have a few updates to share with you: Chelsea has moved house and we've both been navigating different childcare issues.  Grab a cuppa and come join us for this chat. This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more. Our recommendation this week: Pop Culture Parenting: podcast and website  Resources or links mentioned: Our episode with Rebecca Black Australian Government 10 year plan

Welcome to our first ‘In Your Words' episode. In Your Words is a new segment in which we hear directly from multiple parents on their experiences on a certain topic. We ask our listeners a few questions on a topic, and they send us voice notes to share with you all. Our first In Your Words is on the topic of homebirth.  Today, June 6th, is International Homebirth Day. In bringing you this episode, we want to honour women and birthing people's decision to birth at home as well as the supportive, dedicated, and knowledgeable homebirth midwives out there supporting them through the transformative experience that is labour and birth. We also want to bring awareness to and normalise homebirth as a safe and wonderful option for birthing people. In this episode, we asked our 9 incredible guests two questions: why did you choose to birth at home and what does homebirth mean to you?  Thank you to our guests in this episode, listed in order of appearance: Lilly (she/her), a full spectrum doula @softcentre, website: soft-centre.com.au  Aimee (she/her), doula + birth photographer @lifelaidbarephotos, co-host of @homebirthstoriesaustralia Emilie (she/her), birth + postpartum doula @edenbirths Libby(she/her), mother to a 4 month old Elsie (she/her), host of @birthingathome_apodcast, website: birthingathome.com.au + organiser of Homebirth Victoria Network (Australia) @homebirthvictorianetwork Emily (she/her), leader of her local International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) chapter, creator of ourcesareanscars.org, + mother of two Laura (she/her), a doula @heldinbirthwithlaura + co-host of @homebirthstoriesaustralia Emma (she/her), co-host of @babybrainpodcast + mother of two Sophie (she/her), mother of two  We are so grateful for all of these women for sharing their insights and experiences on this topic. We're so proud of this episode and hope that you enjoy it. If you think this episode will resonate with someone in your life, please share it with them.  Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases. We acknowledge that sovereignty of the lands on which this podcast was recorded was never ceded and pay our respects to the original storytellers of this land. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more. 

Today, we have an episode that deeply impacted both of us. Please know this episode is about child and infant loss. It's a powerful episode and we think so important to share, but please only listen if you feel able. Today, we're joined by Sarah (she/her), an incredible mother to three children. Two of her children are with her earthside, but Sarah's first beautiful son devastatingly passed away just one month after he was born. We will let Sarah introduce her beautiful son to you. Sarah joins us on the podcast to share his story, as well as her own experience navigating his birth, life and death. She discusses how her grief has evolved over the years (and how the saying ‘it gets easier with time' isn't totally true) plus the family traditions she uses to honour her son and his memory; social stigmas associated with infant loss and grief; and what she did and didn't find helpful in the days, weeks and months after her son's death.  We were truly so honoured that Sarah joined us to share her and her son's stories. Grief is a normal, devastating part of our lives and it is often left unspoken. We hope this episode helps in a small way for anyone navigating loss, or perhaps for anyone supporting someone who is grieving.  Resources for parents or loved ones experiencing child or infant loss: Red Nose Grief and Loss - they have a 24/7 Support Line PANDA The Perinatal Loss Centre The Pink Elephants Support Network Statistics mentioned from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases. This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more. 

In this episode, we have a co-host catch up with Chels and Em all about losing, gaining and redefining our identity in motherhood.  We walk you through a research article Em has found on the topic of identity in motherhood (think concepts like: ‘fractured identity' and ‘expansion of self'), and we also go through your listener poll responses sharing your own experience coming ‘back' to yourself in motherhood. As always, we share our recommendations for the week and any wins/in the bins.  It's a great, informative chat if we say so ourselves, and we hope you enjoy the listen x Things mentioned in this ep: Tom's Maternity Pads One Day on Netflix Linden Cook Jewellery Join our community on instagram ⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases. This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In this episode, we bring you a discussion with the incredible Rebecca Black from @themindfulbirthmovement. Rebecca is a psychologist, hypnobirthing practitioner, founder of the Mindful Birth Movement and, most importantly, mum of three. This episode is hard hitting and covers so many incredible discussions, including: Matrescence: what it is and why it's such a unique transformation The socio-cultural context in which we mother within, and why it's setting us up to fail The perfect mother myth  What thriving in motherhood means to her How we can truly support, value and honour ourselves, to ultimately redefine our mothering experience  The work that Rebecca, her colleagues and others in this space do is truly changing the narrative for mothers and we think it's fitting to release this ep prior to Mother's Day this weekend. We really hope you enjoy this episode and get a lot out of it - our wish is for you to feel valued on Mother's Day and every day xx People and resources mentioned in this ep: Rebecca Black's instagram: @themindfulbirthmovement⁠ Website: The Mindful Birth Movement Dr Sophie Brock  Fair Play Cards Join our community on instagram ⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases. This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more. 

In today's episode, we are back with Olivia (she/her) as she shares her two birth stories. Olivia (@physio.therapeutic.yoga) is a women's health physio, yoga and pilates instructor, and was on the podcast last week chatting all things pelvic floor.  Olivia is also a mum to two beautiful boys and she shares her journey bringing them both earthside. Olivia's first birth was a planned homebirth, supported by private midwives. At 41+3 weeks she ended up transferring to hospital and had a caesarean section under general anaesthetic, meaning she was asleep for the birth of her son and woke up separated from him in recovery. Olivia speaks openly about how heartbreaking this was for her and discusses the process of coming to terms with her birth going so differently to how she hoped and prepared for. She goes on to describe her second birth, a vaginal birth after caesarean (VBAC) which she had in hospital with a private obstetrician. Olivia speaks so beautifully about how she holds space for her two different births, and we feel so honoured that she chose to share her birth stories with us. We hope her stories make you feel less alone if you have faced similar circumstances.  If this episode brings anything up for you and you would like some extra support, we have listed some resources below:  PANDA - an organisation that supports the mental health of parents and families. They have a free national hotline available Australia wide (Mon-Sat): 1300 726 306 Gidget Foundation - a not-for-profit organisation that supports the emotional wellbeing of Australian new parents.  Beyond Blue - mental health support and information for all Australians  This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you: click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more. 

In today's episode, we are speaking with Olivia (she/her), a women's health physio, yoga and pilates instructor, and mum to two from Naarm/Melbourne.  Olivia chats with us all things pelvic floor in pregnancy, immediate postpartum and beyond. Olivia is trained in internal pelvic floor release and explains what pelvic floor release involves, why it can have such a positive impact on birth preparation and recovery, and when to consider seeing a women's health physio for internal release or other support. Olivia also answers some of your listener questions, covering prolapse, return to exercise and how different birth modes (caesar, vaginal, assisted) can impact your recovery. We loved chatting with Olivia, we learnt so much from her and I think this discussion really reinforced to us the importance and significance of healing after birth. Olivia offers physio appointments via telehealth and in person in Naarm, and you can find out more through her instagram @physio.therapeutic.yoga  This episode is available now wherever you get your podcasts. This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more. 

In this week's episode, Chels and Em sit down and chat about their collective postpartum experiences. This conversation is sparked by Chels leaving her fourth trimester and she reflects honestly on the first three months of her second postpartum, as well as the transition to two children. Em throws back to her own postpartum experience three years ago. We also unpack your listener postpartum experiences, chatting all things sleep, feeding, postpartum body image and more. To join our community on instagram @growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠⁠ to see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases. This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In this week's episode, we're joined by Keshia (she/her) and Ariel (she/her). Keshia and Ariel are mothers and business women, and have recently founded @from__day__one - a drop-in space and community for new mothers in Naarm/Melbourne.  Keshia and Ariel share their breadth of experience and wisdom from their six collective postpartum experiences. Ariel shares insights from birthing overseas in America, and they both draw from the unique time that was giving birth during the pandemic.  Keshia and Ariel reflect on their lives and sense of self prior to becoming mothers, and how their early corporate careers and postpartum experiences influenced their desire to create a business and change the postpartum space for good. They touch on the values and aspirations behind From Day One, and the value of collective knowledge, continuity of care and sense of community for new mothers. We absolutely loved our chat with Ariel and Keshia, it was so validating and clear to see the passion and research that has gone into @from__day__one.  From Day One opened in early 2024, so be sure to check out their instagram or website for more info.  This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation.  Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

This week is Multiple Birth Awareness Week (March 17 - 22) - a week to spotlight parents of multiple babies (twins or higher order multiples) and bring awareness to their unique parenthood experience. Hosted by @ausmultiplebirthassociation, this year's theme is ‘Multiples unfiltered. Tell your story. Find your community.'  We are thrilled to be releasing today's episode during Multiple Birth Awareness Week. Today, we are joined by the incredible, warm and thoughtful Georgia and Silje, two mothers who connected through their experiences of becoming triplet mums.  Georgia (she/her) is a lawyer and mother to three triplet boys - Finn, Jude and Marlo. Silje (she/her) is a lawyer, director of the Australian Multiple Birth Association and mother to an older son, Mads, as well as triplet toddlers - Teddy, Eric and Ada. Silje and Georgia share their story unfiltered, and walk us through the experience of caring for triplets in a society that offers little extra support. Parents of multiples are more likely to experience postnatal anxiety or depression than parents of singletons, and only 11% of parents of multiples feel adequately supported by the programs and policies in place to support them. In Australia, parents of multiples do not receive additional paid parental leave, premature baby leave or appropriate government allowances to assist them with the enormous undertaking of raising multiple babies. We hope this episode raises more awareness into the needs of parents with multiples, and helps advocate for change. To join our growing community, see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases, follow us on instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠⁠.⁠ This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation, the Wadawurrung people of Wadawurrung Country and the Ngambri peoples of the Ngunnawal/Ngunawal region. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In today's episode, Chelsea (she/her and co-host of the poddy) shares her incredible homebirth after caesarean (HBAC) story. Chelsea had an unplanned caesarean-section in hospital for her first birth and after 2+ years of preparation and research, had a beautiful, healing second birth at home, surrounded by her beautiful birth team. Chelsea shares the preparation for her second birth in the previous episode.  In this episode, Chelsea reflects on the days preceding her second birth, sharing how her labour progressed, her pain management strategies and distraction techniques, and her transition into active labour. She goes on to share the beautiful birth of her second baby, born into the water at home, surrounded by the love and safety of her birth team.  Chels also reflects on the language around VBAC/HBAC, and shares her thoughts around the idea of ‘achieving' a VBAC or having a ‘successful' VBAC.  Some wonderful people and resources that Chelsea mentions in this episode: Doula Bree Stafford: ⁠instagram⁠ ⁠MAMA - Midwives and Mothers Australia⁠ ⁠The Australian VBAC Stories Podcast VBAC series on the podcast - ⁠first episode Dr Hazel Keedle It was a real honour to hear Chelsea's birth story and learn more about her journey over the past few years. We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it ❤️ To join our growing community, see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases, follow us on instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast⁠.⁠ This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In today's episode, Chelsea (she/her and co-host of the poddy) gives us insights into her journey towards VBAC - vaginal birth after caesarean. Chelsea reflects on her first birth which involved a long labour, posterior baby, last minute midwife change and ultimately ended in an unplanned caesarean-section in hospital. Chels shares that she immediately knew she wanted a different experience for any subsequent pregnancies and births, and so began her journey towards VBAC.  In this episode, Chelsea shares her learnings and tips around homebirth and vaginal birth after a caesarean. She discusses: Her path to homebirth and the decision to have a homebirth Preparing for homebirth, including finding a birth support team, unpacking any prior births, working through apprehensions around birth, and creating an emotionally and physically safe birthing space Language around birth and discussing birth choices with loved ones Practical tips and strategies that Chelsea found to be helpful  We are SO excited to share this episode! Chelsea's passion and knowledge around birth and birth choices comes through in her story, and we hope there are take-aways for all our listeners in this ep - regardless of your birth preferences and choices. All births are beautiful births and we are honoured to share different ways of approaching birth.  Some wonderful people and resources that Chelsea mentions in this episode: Rachel Reed's instagram Melanie the Midwife's episode  B - Core and Floor Restore  Physio Laura's Pregnancy Posse Gabriel Lorri Labour Bodywork VBAC series on the podcast - first episode Rowie Cooke's HBAC episode Doula Bree Stafford's instagram MAMA - Midwives and Mothers Australia The Australian VBAC Stories Podcast To join our growing community, see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases, follow us on instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast.⁠ This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

We are SO excited to bring you this week's episode - the first episode for 2024 and the first episode under the relaunched Growing Up, Raising Us pod.  Today, we officially launch the podcast makeover and share all the ins and outs - who the heck is your new co-host, why have we relaunched and what you can expect this year from Growing Up, Raising Us. It's a short, snappy episode today - we will be doing an Ask Us Anything soon if you have any burning questions. To join our growing community, see photos of our weekly guests, behind the scenes moments, and keep up to date with episode releases, follow us on instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@growingupraisinguspodcast. This podcast was recorded on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In this episode, I'm joined by Bree Stafford (she/her), a birth doula, birth photographer, and mum of three. Bree joins us to share her VBA2C/HBA2C story. Bree's three birth experiences have opened her heart to what is possible. Her first babies, two boys, whose arrivals took her on a journey through an intervention filled hospital birth, resulting in a Cesarean with her first son. The process of planning a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) with her second son, resulting in a repeat, yet empowered cesarean. With her third pregnancy with her daughter, Bree realised that everything she needed was within, not external to her, and she birthed her lovingly at home (HBA2C). Bree's birth experiences, combined with her doula training with Rhea Dempsey in 2009, enables her to support pregnant and labouring women in their journeys to motherhood. Through her work, she wishes to provide women with the information, wisdom, and power that she wishes she had leading into her first son's birth. To see photos of our weekly guests and keep up to date with episode releases, follow us on instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠@definitelybabypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The Definitely Baby theme music was written by Hagan Mathews and produced at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sleeplessfootscray⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The photo in the podcast logo was taken by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@maki.levine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. This episode was recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Australia always was and always will be the land of the First Peoples. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In this episode, I'm joined by Bree Stafford (she/her), a birth doula, birth photographer, and mum of three. She is my wonderful doula who'll be supporting my VBAC this year/early next. In this episode, Bree shares her 'Recipes for a Successful VBAC' as comprehensive tips for anyone planning for a VBAC. More about Bree: Bree's three birth experiences have opened her heart to what is possible. Her first babies, two boys, whose arrivals took her on a journey through an intervention filled hospital birth, resulting in a Cesarean with her first son. The process of planning a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) with her second son, resulting in a repeat, yet empowered cesarean. With her third pregnancy with her daughter, Bree realised that everything she needed was within, not external to her, and she birthed her lovingly at home (HBA2C). Bree's birth experiences, combined with her doula training with Rhea Dempsey in 2009, enables her to support pregnant and labouring women in their journeys to motherhood. Through her work, she wishes to provide women with the information, wisdom, and power that she wishes she had leading into her first son's birth. To see photos of our weekly guests and keep up to date with episode releases, follow us on instagram ⁠⁠⁠@definitelybabypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The Definitely Baby theme music was written by Hagan Mathews and produced at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sleeplessfootscray⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The photo in the podcast logo was taken by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@maki.levine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. This episode was recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Australia always was and always will be the land of the First Peoples. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In this episode, we're joined by Fleur (she/her), who is a mother to an almost two-year-old daughter named Prim. Fleur works runs her own business, Umi Wellbeing, as somatic health and wellness coach, predominantly for women. Fleur shares that it took over a year for her and her husband Will to conceive, which came as a surprise. Fleur conceived the week after her mother passed away, just before their initially planned start of IVF. Choosing private care under the guidance of an obstetrician, Fleur sought additional support by hiring a doula. However, due to Fleur contracting COVID-19 just before giving birth, her care transitioned to the neighbouring public hospital, and her doula was unable to attend. She discusses the impact of being COVID-positive during labour and the subsequent challenges she faced with postpartum anxiety, heightened by the recent loss of her mother. Fleur also reflects on her professional transformation, discussing how motherhood prompted a significant shift in her perspective on work. Formerly holding a high-ranking corporate HR position, she talks about the changes in her values and aspirations after becoming a mother. I loved recording this episode, and I hope you enjoy listening too.  You can find Fleur's website here. Or on instagram here. To see photos of our weekly guests and keep up to date with episode releases, follow us on instagram ⁠⁠⁠@definitelybabypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The Definitely Baby theme music was written by Hagan Mathews and produced at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sleeplessfootscray⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The photo in the podcast logo was taken by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@maki.levine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. This episode was recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Australia always was and always will be the land of the First Peoples. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In this episode, I'm joined by sisters Hannah and Em. Hannah is a mother to three children: Iris, Oaka, and Charlie. Iris and Oaka are angel babies, who Hannah very sadly lost during her pregnancies with them, before she had Charlie, who is now 20 months old. So I'd obviously like to include a trigger warning here as we do discuss Hannah's story of miscarriage and pregnancy loss at a few points throughout today's chat. I've put some resources below that I encourage you to visit if this episode brings anything up for you. Hannah's story in episode 4 touches on pregnancy and parenting after multiple pregnancy losses. She also shares her motherhood journey with Charlie: from birth, breastfeeding, sleep challenges, and relationship and friendship shifts.  Em is a mother to an almost 3-year-old son, Wilbur. In episode 5, Em shared her experience of breaking up with her partner who she'd been with since they were in high school due to his infidelity. All of this happening while Em was navigating new motherhood with a young toddler. She speaks about navigating being single for the first time since she was 16, dating as a single parent, navigating co-parenting, and her motherhood journey with Wilbur.  Sharing these things that aren't spoken about very often is so important in others feeling less alone, and I thank you for your honesty Hannah and Em.  Today's chat is such a raw and open conversation about their experience of growing up through their parents' hostile divorce, which had a massive impact on them, with both of them living alone in commission housing and having to work to get themselves through their final years of high school as a result. Following the divorce, both of their relationship's with their mother was impacted as well, and they don't have her as a part of their lives today. So they speak about how that has been in their own motherhood journeys. They also touch on how their parents' divorce has influenced their attitudes to their own parenting choices and styles, and on Em's outlook to her co-parenting relationship with her son's father. We also catch up on how parenthood has shifted for them in the 8-9 months since we recorded and how everything is going for them now. You can listen to Hannah's story in episode 4 of season 1 here. You can listen to Em's story in episode 5 of season 1 here. PANDA: ⁠https://panda.org.au/⁠ Beyond Blue: ⁠https://www.beyondblue.org.au⁠ Pink Elephants: ⁠https://www.pinkelephants.org.au/⁠ SANDS: ⁠https://www.sands.org.au/⁠ Follow our instagram ⁠⁠@definitelybabypodcast⁠⁠ for photos of weekly guests, and episode updates and releases. The Definitely Baby theme music was written by Hagan Mathews and produced at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sleeplessfootscray⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The photo in the podcast logo was taken by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@maki.levine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Wadawurrung, the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Australia always was and always will be the land of the First Peoples. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In this episode, I'm joined by Emma (she/her) and Raji (she/her), two lovely friends I've met along my motherhood journey. We dive deep into the transformations our personal friendships have undergone since becoming parents, sharing the highs and lows. From the challenges of maintaining connections to the unexpected joys of making new mum/parent friends, we explore the dynamics of parenthood and friendship. Emma lives in Naarm, Melbourne with her husband and their two year old son. Emma has shared her journey into motherhood in episode 3 of season 1, which you can go back and listen to here. Raji is also living in Melbourne, with her husband and two-and-a-half year old son. She and her family moved to Australia from the UK and Dubai almost two years ago. Chelsea is the host of the pod and lives in Melbourne with her partner Hagan and their two-year-old daughter. To see photos of our weekly guests and keep up to date with episode releases, follow us on instagram ⁠⁠@definitelybabypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The Definitely Baby theme music was written by Hagan Mathews and produced at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sleeplessfootscray⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The photo in the podcast logo was taken by ⁠⁠⁠⁠@maki.levine⁠⁠⁠⁠. This episode was recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Australia always was and always will be the land of the First Peoples. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

[Content Warning: This episode discusses physical and sexual abuse] In this episode, we're joined by Maria (she/her), a mother whose life took an unexpected turn when her daughter, Josephine, was diagnosed with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, a rare chromosomal abnormality at two weeks old. Maria shares the challenges and transformations her family experienced, from the initial shock of the diagnosis to their journey towards acceptance and gratitude. Maria shares the emotional rollercoaster from the initial shock of the diagnosis to embracing the realities of special needs parenting. At 36 weeks into her pregnancy, an ultrasound revealed her baby was measuring 10 weeks behind, potentially leading to a c-section and an extended stay in the NICU. Maria believes her extensive research and use of acupressure, essential oils, curb-walking, and determination led to a complication-free, physiological, vaginal birth. Maria reflects on how, despite the initial hardships and endless appointments, she and her husband began to discover the incredible blessings Josephine brought into their lives. Their marriage grew stronger, they formed meaningful friendships, and their prayers were answered in unexpected ways. Grief transformed into profound gratitude as they got to know their little girl. Josephine's life may be different, but it is no less valuable. The experience reshaped Maria's perspective on motherhood, emphasising the power of love and the true meaning of life. Maria has also put all of the evidence and information she researched into a pregnancy and birth app, ⁠Zelie.⁠ It covers useful things to do during each trimester to prepare for birth, pregnancy exercises and stretches, the importance of nutrition - with some great smoothie and food recipes - and things like pain management and breathing techniques for labour. You can download it to iOS or Android. Content Warning: From 48 - 51 minutes, this episode contains discussions about the physical and sexual abuse experienced by children and individuals with disabilities. These discussions can be difficult to hear, so feel free to skip this episode, segment of the episode, or take breaks as needed. I encourage you to seek support (I've listed some resources below) if you find these topics distressing or they bring anything up for you: COPE (Centre of Perinatal Excellence): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cope.org.au/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Beyond Blue: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.beyondblue.org.au⁠⁠⁠ PANDA: ⁠⁠⁠https://panda.org.au/⁠⁠⁠ Lifeline: ⁠⁠https://www.lifeline.org.au/⁠ To see some photos of Maria and her family, follow us on instagram ⁠⁠@definitelybabypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The Definitely Baby theme music was written by Hagan Mathews and produced at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sleeplessfootscray⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The photo in the podcast logo was taken by ⁠⁠⁠⁠@maki.levine⁠⁠⁠⁠. This episode was partially recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Australia always was and always will be the land of the First Peoples. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In this episode, we're joined by Josi (she/her). Josi is living with her husband and her four kids aged 9, 8, 8 and 4 in Brisbane. Josi was only 23 when her first daughter was born via planned C-section due to breech presentation. Shortly after she fell pregnant again, this time with twins ! Another planned C-section was her chosen mode of birth, which turned into an emergency c-section at 36 weeks due to suddenly developing preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome.  Thinking that their family was complete, they were very surprised when baby number 4 came along and this time Josi was on a mission to avoid having to have another C-section. Her local hospital was somewhat unsupportive and she changed her antenatal care to a private midwife at 30 weeks and booked into a hospital that is over one hour drive away but is known to be more VBAC friendly.  Josi had her VBA2C, that she describes as a homebirth like hospital birth, at 41+1. They arrived at the hospital with 45 min to spare before their son was born.  Follow our instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@definitelybabypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠for photos of weekly guests and episode updates and releases. The Definitely Baby theme music was written by Hagan Mathews and produced at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sleeplessfootscray⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The photo in the podcast logo was taken by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@maki.levine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. This episode was recorded on the land of the Turrbal people and the lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Australia always was and always will be the land of the First Peoples. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In this episode, we're joined by Katelyn (she/her). Katelyn lives in Western Sydney with her husband and their two daughters. She now works as a doula and does birth after caesarean mentoring. In Katelyn's first birth, she was under the care of a private obstetrician whose philosophy about birth was at odds with her own. Despite being reasonably educated for a first time mum, she eventually agreed to an induction she didn't want out of fear and coercion which led her to an unnecessary caesarean. By the time she conceived her second daughter, she had undergone a total re-education on everything maternity care and sought out the support of a private midwife for a homebirth after caesarean. After a long and arduous labour making little progress with this baby, she eventually decided on a repeat emergency caesarean. This birth was a far more empowered and positive experience almost entirely due to the support from her private midwife and doula that meant she felt in control of what happened to her and confident to make difficult choices. Follow our instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@definitelybabypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠for photos of weekly guests and episode updates and releases. The Definitely Baby theme music was written by Hagan Mathews and produced at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sleeplessfootscray⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The photo in the podcast logo was taken by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@maki.levine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. This episode was recorded on Ngurra (Country) of the Gundungurra and Dharug Peoples and the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Australia always was and always will be the land of the First Peoples. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In this episode, we're joined by Rebecca (she/her). Rebecca lives in Melbourne with her fiancé Dwayne, two young sons (22months) and (7months) and two step daughters (13) and (11) years old.  Rebecca is a confident, outgoing secondary school teacher but unfortunately has crippling hospital anxiety after watching her Mum pass away from cancer when she was 25. After a difficult road to getting pregnant and despite desperately wanting a vaginal birth, Rebecca's first birth resulted in a C-Section due the baby being breech. Although she had a great recovery and a perfect little boy, the saying, “Once you hold that baby it won't matter how they came out” unfortunately did not ring true for Rebecca and she started to suffer severe anxiety about birth in her next pregnancy which was only seven months later.  Rebecca was obsessively focused on educating herself in order to achieve a VBAC, for personal reasons she chose the same private OB and a private midwife.  All was going well until at 37.4 Rebecca's waters broke with no labour which the OB would later described to Dwayne as one of the worst case scenarios for achieving a VBAC.  This is Rebecca's story which includes a special relationship with a private OB and why her VBAC was a wonderfully healing experience for so many reasons.  To see some photos of Rebecca and her family, follow us on instagram ⁠⁠@definitelybabypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The Definitely Baby theme music was written by Hagan Mathews and produced at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sleeplessfootscray⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The photo in the podcast logo was taken by ⁠⁠⁠⁠@maki.levine⁠⁠⁠⁠. This episode was recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Australia always was and always will be the land of the First Peoples. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In this episode, we're joined by Ashley Winning (she/her). Ashley is a Homebirth Mindset Coach & Guide, Podcaster, Speaker, and she birthed her third baby at home unassisted after two surgical births. In her first two pregnancies and births, Ashley experienced many challenges and stigmas in the hospital system due to being larger-bodied. Her first caesarean followed a 'failed' induction and her care providers pushing her for one. Ashley informed herself and planned for a VBAC with her second baby. She went into spontaneous labour, but her care providers at the hospital failed to wait for labour and birth to occur on her body's timeline and her second baby was born by caesarean. Following this birth, she had a special uterine scar, a 3L PPH, and PTSD. With her third pregnancy, Ashley wanted a homebirth but couldn't find any care providers who aligned with what she wanted, so she decided to freebirth her 4.5kg baby at home, with her husband and doula by her side. More about Ashley: Ashley believes that women are born with the strength, wisdom and courage to birth and be the mothers they want to be. She works intimately with pregnant women who plan to homebirth/freebirth by working through fear and mindset challenges, while providing emotional support so that they feel heard, seen & validated while taking the steps to intuitively birth their baby their way. You can find many freebirth & homebirth resources and support on her website: ⁠www.ashleywinning.com⁠ Or check out her Podcast ⁠The VBAC Homebirth Stories Podcast⁠. Her full birth stories can be found here: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Follow our instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@definitelybabypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠for photos of weekly guests and episode updates and releases. The Definitely Baby theme music was written by Hagan Mathews and produced at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sleeplessfootscray⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The photo in the podcast logo was taken by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@maki.levine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. I would like the acknowledge the lands on which we recorded these conversations: Yugambeh Country and Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong Country. Australia always was and always will be the land of the First Peoples. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In this episode, we're joined by Brownyn (she/her). Bronwyn is the host of @the.motherwhelm podcast and lives in the Blue Mountains with her husband and three children. Her first birth was a classic case of the cascade of intervention, from an induction due to gestational hypertension, to an emergency cesarean due to ‘failure to progress'. This experience left Bronwyn feeling humiliated and disempowered, and she suffered from postnatal anxiety during her postpartum. For her second birth, she hired a private midwife and doula for a home birth after cesarean, but when she went into preterm labour at 36 weeks right before NSW restrictions lifted in 2021, she had to present to hospital without her support team. Despite all her plans being flipped on their head, Bronwyn was able to achieve her much desired VBAC in a fast and furious labour. For her third birth, Bronwyn planned to have her 2VBAC at home with a PPM and doula. While she did get her glorious HBAC this time, it was again without her birth team because her daughter arrived with great haste and was BBA. This was by far her best birth yet! Bronwyn is also one of the hosts of @australianvbacstories and you can listen the full version of her birth stories here. Follow our instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@definitelybabypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠for photos of weekly guests and episode updates and releases. The Definitely Baby theme music was written by Hagan Mathews and produced at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sleeplessfootscray⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The photo in the podcast logo was taken by ⁠⁠⁠⁠@maki.levine⁠⁠⁠⁠. This episode was recorded on Ngurra (Country) of the Gundungurra and Dharug Peoples and the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Australia always was and always will be the land of the First Peoples. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In this episode, we're joined by Rowie Cooke (she/her). Rowie lives with her partner Jake and two children Sonny and Rua. She is a birth and postpartum doula whose passion for birth and postpartum were ignited by her own experiences of birth. You can find her on instagram ⁠@rowiecooke_doula.⁠⁠ Rowie birthed Sonny in a public hospital, and despite trying to get into a midwifery group program, she birthed through a fragmented model of care. Rowie and Jake did a calm birth course in preparation and laboured together at home, with the use of a TENS machine to relieve some of the back pain Rowie experienced due to Sonny's posterior position. Rowie arrived at hospital 7cm dilated, however soon after arrival a code green was called due to fetal distress and Sonny was born via emergency c-section. When preparing for her VBAC Rowie planned on birthing in a public hospital but knew she wanted continuity of care. She missed out on the MGP again, so invested in private midwives and a birth doula to ensure she was surrounded by a supportive birth team who knew her story and were skilled in supporting normal physiological birth. When Covid hit and the number of support people allowed in birth suites was limited to one, she changed her place of birth to a home birth. Rowie birthed Rua at home in an incredibly intense and healing birth, a triumph after months of birth preparation with her doula and midwives. A shift in perspective from trying to escape the pain, to fully embodying the experience of labour and to work with her baby were key changes for her in achieving her HBAC. She attributes the work she did with her doula and somatic therapist to prepare herself mentally for the intensity of labour and birth. To see some photos of Rowie and her family, follow us on instagram ⁠@definitelybabypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can find Rowie on instagram: ⁠@rowiecooke_doula.⁠ Or her website ⁠here.⁠ Rowie also shared her journey into Motherhood in episode 34 of Definitely Baby, which you can listen to here. The Definitely Baby theme music was written by Hagan Mathews and produced at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sleeplessfootscray⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The photo in the podcast logo was taken by ⁠⁠⁠@maki.levine⁠⁠⁠. This episode was recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong peoples of the Kulin Nation. Australia always was and always will be the land of the First Peoples. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.

In this episode, I am joined by doula Bree Stafford and Homebirth Mindset Coach & Guide Ashley Winning to discuss what they've noticed in supporting people in their homebirth after caesarean (HBAC) journeys. Guest 1: Bree Stafford Bree is a birth doula, birth photographer, and mum of three. Bree's three birth experiences have opened her heart to what is possible. Her first babies, two boys, whose arrivals took her on a journey through an intervention filled hospital birth, resulting in a Cesarean with her first son. The process of planning a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) with her second son, resulting in a repeat, yet empowered cesarean. With her third pregnancy with her daughter, Bree realised that everything she needed was within, not external to her, and she birthed her lovingly at home (HBA2C). Bree's birth experiences, combined with her doula training with Rhea Dempsey in 2009, enables her to support pregnant and labouring women in their journeys to motherhood. Through her work, she wishes to provide women with the information, wisdom, and power that she wishes she had leading into her first son's birth. Guest 2: Ashley Winning Ashley is a Homebirth Mindset Coach & Guide, Podcaster, Speaker, and she birthed her third baby at home unassisted after two surgical births. Ashley believes that women are born with the strength, wisdom and courage to birth and be the mothers they want to be. She works intimately with pregnant women who plan to homebirth/freebirth by working through fear and mindset challenges, while providing emotional support so that they feel heard, seen & validated while taking the steps to intuitively birth their baby their way. You can find many freebirth & homebirth resources and support on her website: www.ashleywinning.com Or check out her Podcast The VBAC Homebirth Stories Podcast. Follow our instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@definitelybabypodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠for photos of weekly guests and episode updates and releases. The Definitely Baby theme music was written by Hagan Mathews and produced at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@sleeplessfootscray⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The photo in the podcast logo was taken by ⁠⁠⁠⁠@maki.levine⁠⁠⁠⁠. I would like the acknowledge the lands on which we recorded these conversations: Yugambeh Country, Wadawurrung, the Gulidjan and the Gadubanud, and Wurundjeri Wilam and Boon Wurrung/Bunurong Country. Australia always was and always will be the land of the First Peoples. Every month, I Pay The Rent and so can you - click⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to learn more.