Meaningful Motherhood

So sometimes days turn into weeks, then the weeks turn into months - and before you know it you've inadvertently taken an almost two month break from your podcast!That's where we're at folks! But before we jump back into the next round of podcast topics and interviews I thought you all deserved an explanation about where I've been over the past seven weeks. In short, I've been recalibrating to my new life as a full time working mum. It's been a process, that's for sure! So let's dive right in.

Welcoming a new baby into the world is an experience like no other. Being a new parent brings a whole gamut of emotions, responsibilities and questions. Many of which we’re completely unprepared for.But what happens when those emotions, responsibilities and questions become too much? When “unprepared” becomes “unable to cope”?When does new parent overwhelm become postnatal depression?Current statistics tell us that postnatal depression (PND) now affects one in 7 new mothers and one in 20 new fathers. But despite the increased incidence of PND in our society, there still seems to be misunderstanding about what PND actually is and how it is treated.This episode of the Meaningful Motherhood podcast covers the difference between the "baby blues", a general sensation of parental overwhelm, and a clinical diagnosis of postnatal depression.Could you have Postnatal Depression?For the past two weeks or more have you felt the following on a regular or frequent (daily) basis?Difficulty being able to laugh and see the funny side of thingsDecreased ability to look forward to enjoyable activities.Blaming yourself unnecessarily when things have gone wrongFeeling anxious or worried for without good reasonFeeling like things are frequently “getting on top of you”Difficulty sleeping or sleeping excessivelyFrequently feeling sad or miserable quite oftenFrequent bouts of cryingHaving thoughts of harming myself of others **If you, or someone you know has been exhibiting several of these symptoms frequently over a two week period or more, please advice from your doctor, midwife or community health agency.  ** If you answered yes to the final point, please seek immediate support.For anyone concerned that they, or someone they know, might be experiencing PND, the best course of action is to seek support from a health professional. Speaking to your maternal health nurse, midwife, obstetrician, or GP is generally the first step. But you can also feel confident seeking out a counsellor, mental health OT, or psychologist, which in many cases doesn’t require a referral.For further resources about PND, please visit the following websites:https://www.panda.org.au/https://www.beyondblue.org.au/http://gidgetfoundation.com.au/If you require immediate support, please contact Lifeline on 131 114

Is it better to be a "perfect parent" or a "good enough parent"?   What does being a  "good enough parent" even mean?When we lie to our children about the mistakes we make - who are we really protecting? Them, or us?And how does this all link to the latest cricketing scandal?Check out this podcast for the answers!

iPad, TV, laptop, PC, games console, smartphone.....How much screen time does your child get? Do you think that's too much? Have you observed behaviour problems in your children directly related to screen usage?The topic of screen time is always a hotly debated one, and its been a big topic of conversation on the Bloom Wellbeing Facebook page recently, so I thought this week I'd talk at length about my thoughts on screen time, what screen time rules we have in place in our household (and why) and how you as a parent can make positive changes to screen usage in your home, in a way that suits your family.Links:Meaningful Motherhood Tribe private facebook grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/100261716985427/Cosmic Kids Yogahttp://www.cosmickids.com/

"How can I help my child manage their big emotions, when I can't even manage my own emotions?"Today's podcast is all about the topic of self-regulation and how this leads to co-regulation - or a parent's ability to help support their baby or child manage their emotions, feelings and behaviours. We also talk about the impact on a child when a parent struggles with their own self-regulation, and what we can do to seek support in these instances.

In this week's episode I chat to the super-lovely Lisa Corduff, someone I'm fortunate enough to have known as both a friend and mentor. Lisa inspires modern women to take small steps towards a healthier, happier, simpler life via her online programs, membership and podcast.  She has a perfectly imperfect life and is helping women all around the world to ditch the impossible standards, be kind to themselves and live life on their terms. Find her online at www.SmallSteps.Living.comwww.facebook.com/lisacorduffwww.instagram.com/lisacorduff

Do you sometimes feel the weight of the world on your shoulders? Despair at the state of the world we're sending our children out into?Yep, me too.  And sometimes it all just gets too much. Last week was like that for me. Everything felt sucky and hard. I have to admit I have these moments more often now that I'm a mother, and I don't think I'm alone in that. So in today's episode I'm talking about how I move through this sucky feeling. Don't forget - if you're feeling this way a lot lately, and struggling to find your way out of it on your own, make sure you chat to your GP, or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Becoming a mother can be challenging at the best of times, but for Kate Comer, her early years of motherhood have seen her experience the death of her own beloved mother, a massive life threatening stroke, as well as being a FIFO wife and supporting a child with autism. Today she tells her story to the Meaningful Motherhood podcast, about how she moved through her fears of "mothering without a mother", and how travel - both with her family and flying solo, has been a huge healing factor in her life. You can find out more about Kate at the following links:https://www.rollingalongwithkids.com/https://www.facebook.com/rollingalongwithkids/https://www.instagram.com/rollingalongwithkids/

We've just finished our six week summer holidays here in South Australia, and my family were lucky enough to spend the whole holidays together, as my husband had five weeks long service leave. This was our last summer before our youngest daughter started school, so it was a beautiful opportunity for our family to spend quality time together, and mark the end of our pre-school parenting years. In today's episode I outline the five lessons I learned (some of them re-learned!) through my parenting this summer holidays.

What makes a dedicated "career Mum" decide to pull the pin on a successful business and restructure her whole life? For Carly Thompson Barry it was nothing short of a motherhood "breakdown/breakthrough". In this week's episode Carly and I chat about the pressures of being a mother while running a business, how what we think we want out of life isn't always correct, and how we both pulled ourselves up out of the mire after life dealt us soul-crushing blows.For more information on Carly you can find her here:Website:www.shenurtures.com.auFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/carlythompsonbarryofficial/https://www.facebook.com/shenurtures

It's a week of "lasts" for our family this week - the last week of school for my big girl, and the last days of kindy and childcare for my youngest.  So in this week's episode I thought I'd chat about how I'm coping this week and my top tips for managing these "Big Lasts".I hope everyone else is managing the "lasts" as best they can!

Don't be fooled by the title - this episode is in fact suitable for parents of children of all ages!In this episode I’m chatting with Jo Bainbridge of Talking Teens. Jo is a writer, speaker, and mother of three teenagers. Her website, Taking Teens was borne from her observations that so many parents fear the teen stage or feel unsupported, overwhelmed or lost. And while she agrees that the teen stage can be very challenging, Jo is on a mission to provide parents of teens with thought-provoking, practical, common-sense and caring information, with a healthy dose of laughs to boot.In this conversation we chat about:* Why so many parents are wary, or terrified even, of parenting teenagers* How effective parenting of teenagers begins in the early years of parenthood* How many of the strategies you need as a parent of a teenager and quite similar to those of younger children* Why communication is so important - and actually THE most important part of parenting * The importance for you as the parent to be in a good space to effectively work through what can be a very challenging stage.  Here's the links from this week's episode:Talking Teens website:www.talkingteens.com.auTalking Teens Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/talkingteensTalking Teens Instagram Page:https://www.instagram.com/talkingteens_joTalking Teens Pinterest:https://www.pinterest.com.au/talkingteensjob/Talking Teens Vimeo Channel:https://vimeo.com/talkingteensSmiling Mind App:https://www.smilingmind.com.au/smiling-mind-app/Cosmic Kids Yoga: http://www.cosmickids.com/

It's unsurprising that our friendships change when we become mothers. But that's no reason to lose touch with our "Non-Mum Friends", because they're still super-important, super-fun and they remind us of who we are without our kids. In this solo episode Sarah talks about what her non-Mum friends mean to her. 

How do you think it would impact your family to spend one week of every month living in another state, away from your husband and children?This is the lifestyle of this week's podcast guest, Jess Caire, who lives in Queensland with her family, but runs her business in South Australia. I first met Jess earlier this year when she interviewed me on a panel at a women's business conference.  So it was great to turn the tables in this interview and be able to ask Jess to answer the questions instead. I was super-keen to chat to Jess about her experience of living bi-coastal while raising a family, but what I found through this interview was that Jess had SO MUCH more to say about motherhood, and how her various life experiences have shaped her parenting decisions. In this episode we chat about:* how Jess flipped her life from being the wife of a FIFO husband, to being the FIFO-er herself, and how this made life exponentially better for her, her husband and her children. * her experience with postnatal depression and adrenal fatigue* why she hates the phrase "work-life balance"* the impact of social media and "comparisonitis" for mothers and the importance of letting go of perfection*  how a life-threatening accident on the Kokoda Track last year changed her view of motherhood and life in general* why slowing down and "making space" For more information on Jess, you can find her at the following links:Jess Caire website - Conversations with Jess:https://www.jesscaire.com/My "Conversation with Jess" on her blog:https://www.jesscaire.com/single-post/2017/06/15/Conversations-With-Jess-16---Sarah-HauslerJess Caire Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/jesscaire1/Marshall Conveyancing Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/marshallcg/Marshall Conveyancing Website:http://www.marshallconveyancing.com.au/

Have you heard of the mental load? Chances are, if you're a Mum, you're bearing the brunt of it - even if you've never heard that phrase before. The mental load is the name given to all those invisible mental tasks we undertake, on behalf of our families, to keep our household running like a well oiled machine. We're not talking here about mopping the floors, packing school lunches and washing load upon load of laundry each week. Rather, what we're talking about is all the stuff we keep in our head - such as remembering to sign and return excursion forms by the due date, thinking about whether you've got enough squeezie yoghurts to get through the week, and figuring out what Christmas gift to buy your children's teachers. The stuff that Mums have running around their heads 24/7. It's constant, and it's exhausting. It's also what can change our experience of motherhood from one that's fulfilling, meaningful and enjoyable, to one that is frustrating and impactful on our wellbeing. It's time for us to start offloading some of that mental load, for the sake of our own wellbeing, and that of our family. In this episode, I take you through the four steps needed to start addressing the mental load. Links from today's episode:Here's a link to the French cartoon I mentioned which started this whole discussion.https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/26/gender-wars-household-chores-comicDon't forget to find me through one of my social media channels:The Bloom Wellbeing Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/bloomwellbeingMeaningful Motherhood Facebook Group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/100261716985427/The Bloom Wellbeing Instagram page:https://www.instagram.com/bloomwellbeing/The Bloom Wellbeing website:www.bloomwellbeing.com.au

There's a lot of talk these days about the "Mental Load" that mothers take on in modern society, but unfortunately not a lot of discussion around practical strategies to lessen the impact of this issue. Which is why it was such a delight to interview Tiffany Murray for this week's podcast episode. When I first met Tiffany earlier this year at a women's business conference, I was immediately drawn to her bubbly, confident nature, and oodles of natural charm. But it was when she started talking about the "wife" she hired to support her in running the family and household that my interest was really piqued. In this interview we chat about how it was that Tiffany (who also has an actual, legal husband) came to realise that she needed her own "hired wife" to support her, and how this arrangement works for her, her family, and her business. ps: I'll also be talking about the "mental mother-load" in next week's episode, and sharing my top tips for practical and sustainable ways to manage and reduce the mental load and its impact on our wellbeing. For more information on Tiffany, you can find her here:https://www.facebook.com/TiffanyMurrayOfficial/Dressed for Sale:https://dressedforsale.com.au/https://www.facebook.com/dressedforsale/Sarah's Book Recommendation: The Wife Drought, by Annabel Crabbhttps://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-wife-drought-9780857984289

When it comes to making parenting decisions as a mother, what do we use to guide us? Do we just follow the same rules and expectations our parents had of us? Do we simply take the path of least resistance? Do we take the lead of other women in our mothers group? Do we constantly defer to our husband? Do we follow the well meaning advice of any number of parenting experts adorning the shelves of our local bookstore?None of these strategies are particularly effective for a number of reasons. But we do need something to support us in our parenting decisions, to ease the burden of the exhausting volume and weight of decisions we make on a daily basis.In today's episode I chat about the importance of understanding our personal values, as a woman and as a mother, and how we can use these values to help guide our decision making through the forest of parenting decisions we face in our daily lives.

What are your thoughts on play? Do you consider yourself a playful mother? Or is play something purely reserved for the kids in your household?Today's podcast guest, Clare Crew is an early childhood teacher, educational consultant, and owner of Thriving Children. In this episode we chat all about play, it's importance not only to children, but for parents too, and why so many mothers have lost the ability to play.To find out more about Clare, you can find her here:Thriving Children website:http://www.thrivingchildren.com.au/Thriving Children podcast:https://player.whooshkaa.com/shows/thriving-children-podcastThriving Children Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/ThriveEducationAndWellness/

Ever feel like you're not living up to your, or society's, expectations of being a "good mother"?  You're not alone. In this first episode of the Meaningful Motherhood podcast, host Sarah Hausler explains her theory of meaningful motherhood and outlines the five main reasons modern mothers doubt their parenting capabilities.