Merci Maman: Studio Stories

Today we speak to Jess Hayes, Love Island winner and Baby loss campaigner. We speak about her journey on Love Island, to motherhood, and also on her loss of her son Teddy who was born at 20 weeks.TW: Baby loss, miscarriage. If you are struggling with any of the topics discussed in the podcast please seek professional help. Tommy's charity - https://www.tommys.org/Saying goodbye charity - https://www.instagram.com/sayinggoodbye_charity/?hl=enZoe Adelle Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/zoeadelle/?hl=enJess' Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jessicahayesx_/?hl=en 

Today (well last year) we chat to Louise Boyce, better known for her instagram and Tik Tok account, Mama Still Got It. We chat how she started Mama Still Got It, motherhood, and everything inbetween. https://www.instagram.com/mamastillgotit_/?hl=en http://mamastillgotit.com/

TW: Baby Loss, Miscarriage. Today we chat to the fabulous Bex & Laura, two amazing women on a MISSION to smash the taboo of baby loss through their podcast, IG page and online courses. We chat about their courses, their own personal stories, and more. Thank you for everything you do for the baby loss community! More information: https://www.instagram.com/the_worstgirlgang_ever/ https://www.tommys.org/

Today we speak to the lovely Georgia Jones, also known as the @TheGeorgiaEdit on instagram. Not only is she a great gal, an amazing mother to Cooper, model, and wife to Danny Jones from McFly. Today we chat all things motherhood, covid (ew!) and dealing with mental health and anxiety.

Today we have the pleasure of speaking to the delightful Cat Strawbridge on her experience of pregnancy after loss and the 'finally pregnant' community - which is the name of her podcast you should check out! Anyone who needs support after finally getting pregnant, please go to Cat's page for support https://www.instagram.com/tryingyears/

Today we chat to Kelly Knox!

Today we speak to the incredible Kreena on her whirlwind of a story to motherhood and what she has overcame. Follow Kreena - https://www.instagram.com/kreenadhiman/ Search 'The Intended Parent' podcast to listen to other surrogacy stories. https://www.instagram.com/theintendedparent/ Eve: There is so much that has happened in the last five years of your life. Do you want to tell us a bit about who you are? (1:19) Eve: Your journey to motherhood is quite a unique one, and I know this is a huge story, so just go for it! (3:27) Eve: After you got back from Vancouver, what happened then? (23:40) Eve: With being in the British Asian community, did you ever feel you received any kind of judgement of the route you went down? (29:42) Eve: After having Amaala, when did you then decided to have another baby? (33:20) Eve: When you managed to see your babies eventually, how was that for the first time? (52:39) Eve: Then when they came home, we were in lockdown it maybe did fast forward the bonding process for you guys. (55:31) Eve: What does motherhood mean to you (57:40)

Today we speak to LivsAlone on her journey to solo motherhood. https://www.instagram.com/livsalone/ Purchase Liv's book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Livs-Alone-Liv-Thorne/dp/1529344182 Eve: Tell us a bit about yourself? (1:00) Liv: When I was in my mid 30s, I was single and I decided that I wanted to have a baby via sperm donation. Eve: When was the moment for you when you decided you wanted to do this and to be a mum? (1:49) Liv: I always wanted to be a mum and it was a bit of a slow burn as you expect life to pan out like it does in books or for your parents or friends where they fall in love and have a baby. By the time I was in my mid 30s and I had been single most of my adult life it became obvious that I couldn't just sit around and wait for a cracking tinder date. It got to the point that every time someone would tell me they were pregnant my whole body would be full of sadness. Eve: What was the process for you, how does it work? (3:28) Liv: For me fertility is a lottery, and you don't know what will happen. For me, they put the sperm directly in my cervix and its directly like a smear test. Eve: Was it on the first try that you did fall pregnant? (5:05) Liv: No, it was on the 4th try that I fell pregnant. I made the decision I would try IUI 4 times and then after that try IVF. Eve: How was it being a solo mother? (5:50) Liv: It was tough, I was really ill during pregnancy. There would be some nights where I would be laying on the bathroom floor being sick crying, thinking what on earth have I done. Going to the appointments alone could feel lonely, but only because you want to share your news with people. Eve: Did you receive any negative reactions when telling people, you were pregnant and had a sperm donor? (7:20) Liv: No, I really assumed I would, but I was really luckily, and no one has ever been negative to me. Most of my followers on Instagram are women, so I think most women understand that primal urge to become a mother. Eve: How were the first few months after giving birth: (11:40) Liv: I was blindsided about how tough it would be. I thought it would be just being tired, but that was not even half of the battle. For the first few weeks your body is in pain, your in physical pain. Eve: Was it with time then that things got easier: (14:57) Liv: Kids go through stages, one day they won't sleep and the next day they won't. It's always a constant learning curve but a brilliant one. Eve: Tell me about your book that is being launched? (19:22) Liv: So, to me it's really important different routes to parenthood not just motherhood, single mothers and solo mothers but adoption, surrogacy, men adoption. All of these amazing routes to parenthood should be talked and celebrated about more. The book is about my story and I'm so privilege to do it. Eve: What does motherhood mean to you? Liv: It means everything. Now that I have made it happen it's been hard but amazing. I'm so glad it all worked out and my baby is healthy, and we are really good.

Today we speak to the amazzzzzing Natasha Hamilton, better known as her days from Atomic Kitten (fan girling internally) on her honestly on going through postnatal and prenatal depression. Thank you so much for your honesty Natasha and see links below to her IG page, and also links below if you're struggling with anything we've discussed on this podcast today. https://www.instagram.com/natashahamilton/?hl=en https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/postnatal-depression-and-perinatal-mental-health/about-maternal-mental-health-problems/ Eve: Hi Natasha, do you want to start by introducing yourself to our listeners? (0:26) Natasha: My name is Natasha Hamilton, and you may know me as being 1/3 of Atomic Kitten. I'm also a very busy mum and have 4 children, 3 who are still at home. Eve: Tell me a little bit about your life in the band days? (1:00) Natasha: Back in the day as people say life was crazy. I left home at the age of 16 and moved to London and we became one of the world's biggest girl bands, and we signed a 1.5 million record deal. Life became very busy and we were in high demand, we were travelling the world. Our schedule was so intense that we just never stopped. Although it was fun, it was exhausting at the same time. We got to do so many incredible things. Eve: Yes, I bet it was so intense at the time only being 16 and then you left 6 years later? (2:25) Natasha: Yes, I became pregnant with my eldest son Josh and I had him when I was still in the band. I only had 6 weeks maternity leave. It's crazy that I thought that would be enough time to have a baby and recover. It's not surprise that I was going to find things different. I was away so much, and it became difficult to me as I wasn't enjoying that job I used to once enjoy. I didn't know at the time I was also going through the first stages of postnatal depression, which I was hiding. I was depressed all day every day, except from when the camera was rolling. It became this big secret that I was carrying around with me. 9 months into having Josh things came to a massive head. Eve: I guess your job had almost switched from being in this famous girl band to being a mum and you probably couldn't do both? How was life after you left the band then? (5:30) Natasha: Life was difficult after leaving the band as I was craving normality so much. You quickly realise coming out of that, that life doesn't go back to normal. People would still whisper under their breath “omg that's the girl out of atomic kitten”. I was trying to build relationships with the new community I lived in. A lot of the mums were older than me, so I found it hard making friendships with mums. Everybody knew who I was, but I didn't know anyone else. There was no easy fix to everything that was going on. Eve: Now you have 4 gorgeous babies, how was your journey to motherhood with them? (6:50) Natasha: every single one of them has been totally different. With my first, I suffered with postnatal depression, but my pregnancy was wonderful. My second youngest, Harry, he was adamant to make an early arrival. At 20 weeks I went into early labour. I was suffering with a kidney infection that I couldn't get rid out and it was causing a lot of problems. I finally had him at 38 weeks. Then after I had him, I was ok, I had a little bit of postnatal depression, but nothing compared to the first time. After that I actually lost a baby, and it was really traumatic at the time. I was newly married, and I fell pregnant on my honeymoon and everything was so perfect. So, to have to deal with that, it was really hard and it sent me into quite a dark place for quite a while. Eventually, I had Alfie. That was a really stressful pregnancy from what had happened before. I was constantly worrying. When he came I thrived. Then I had Ella, which I don't know whether my body was not used to carrying a girl, but right from early conception, I was having panic attacks, horrendous anxiety. I was diagnosed with prenatal depression which I didn't know was a thing. When Ella got to 3 or 4 months old, I just wasn't coping at all. It was just a spiral and when Ella was 10 months old, I had a full-on breakdown. I had to go back to work pretty quickly after giving birth as I needed the income. Eve: How did you realise you were going though PND in the end? (11:55) Natasha: Constant worry, constant crying, not sleeping, erratic moods, not wanting to leave the house. I was treated with medication but that didn't seem to work. It led me to a path of thinking that I had been depressed for several years and how could I change this so I looked into diet, excercise and holistic therapies. Eve: You went through cognitive therapy, what is this? (13:15) Natasha: I went through a very intensive course of cognitive behavioural therapy and that was about learning to control your thoughts and living in the now. It's a lot to take in and is not for everyone and even when I was told I was going to do it, I thought it was a lot of rubbish. I think I felt like that as I wasn't confident in my own ability. It ended up being one of the most incredible experiences, it was hard but by the time I had my 18th session I was crying, with happy tears and I gained back control of my life. Eve: So, 1 in 10 people according to the statistics, suffer with postnatal depression which is actually very high. What advice would you give to people who are going through a similar situation to what you were in (16:35) Natasha: If you have just had a baby or you are pregnant and you don't feel right, speak to someone about it. The worst thing you can do is keep it inside. You only feel how you respond to your body. Speak to someone whether it's a family member or friend. Eve: When you got your mojo back, what did you get up to? (18:35) Natasha: I'm doing really well; the last 18 months have been a challenge, but I've learnt a lot about myself and to put myself out there and take it day by day. One of my biggest life tips is to do something every day that is for you before you sort the kids out. I get up half an hour or an hour before the kids and I will write journals, do a workout and just start my day in the right way. It's about finding tools that work. Eve: As a mother of 4, what does motherhood mean to you? (20:30) Natasha: Motherhood changes all the time with the different phases. Motherhood is constantly evolving, exhausting but incredibly rewarding. Eve: What is the main mantra you live your life by and why? Natasha: Fill your own up before filling anyone else's. Even if its 15 minutes before you have to get up. If you have a newborn rest or nap, have downtime when they have downtime.

Today we speak to Youtube and Influencer personality Lucy Carter! Lucy is well known for her youtube channel and ig which we've popped below, and today we chat all things motherhood and her experience of having each of her children, Jenson, Jesse, India and Rosabella. https://www.instagram.com/lucyjessicacarter/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBTPjAKFYoSmeTL3xE6c14A Eve: We're going to chat about a few different things today, do you want to start off by introducing yourself? Lucy: I have 4 children, and I have a YouTube channel which is Lucy Jessica Carter and then I have my Instagram which is the same. Eve: How did you and your partner Jordan meet? (1:10) Lucy: We met at my friends leaving party and she was leaving to Australia. Jordan came along with one of his friends and I had just come out of a long-term relationship. We didn't actually talk or acknowledge each other that night. He added me and on Facebook the next day and then he messaged me saying did you have a good night. It started off from a friendship and then it went from there. Eve: Aw that's so nice, and now you have 4 children together! Talk to me about your journey to motherhood? (2:45) Lucy: I'm one of those people that has always wanted to be a mum and knew I wanted a lot of children. I struggled when I finished school because all I wanted to do was to be a mum, and it wasn't the right time and then I met Jordan and it just happened. Every pregnancy just happened after that! Eve: How were your all your pregnancies and births with each of your children? (3:50) Lucy: I always knew about morning sickness as in being sick all day as my mum had it. When I was pregnant with Jenson, I felt fine for the first few weeks and then I hit 6 weeks pregnant and I felt so ill. It really took a toll on my mental health as well where you are so ill. When I was first pregnant, I was 23 and I didn't know anyone that had a baby and I really felt alone in that pregnancy. We weren't even married or living together at this point, it was very isolating especially in the first trimester. It was better in the 2nd and 3rd trimester and then I went overdue. I was then induced because I have high blood pressure. I felt really miserable as I was in hospital for a week. I had the hormone drip and everything like that, but Jenson's heart rate kept dropping and it ended up in an emergency c-section. When I got home after having Jenson, I remember putting on one born every minute and I had to turn it off as I couldn't watch anything about hospitals or childbirth. I had the baby blues after Jenson's birth which is feeling all over the place and really low. I did pick up after a few weeks and was fine. Eve: Then you went onto having Jesse, how was that pregnancy? (8:15) Lucy: That was completely different as I was a few years older and I was married, I felt very secure. I had nailed the first few years of motherhood so I knew exactly what was coming. The only thing that was different about Jesse's birth was the c-section recovery. I was expecting to bounce back, and I couldn't even sit up in bed and couldn't move. We actually had go to back into hospital as Jesse had jaundice. Eve: Then over 2 years ago you were pregnant with twins, how was that? (10:10) Lucy: Me and Jordan discussed having another baby and we kind of just went with it. I found out I was pregnant shortly after a Lanzarote trip. It was brilliant and then a few weeks later, I had a bleed, so I instantly thought I know what was happening here and thought the worst. I went into the scan and she told me I was actually pregnant with twins. Jordan was thrilled when I told him, he is so laid back and is always up for an adventure. Eve: How was your pregnancy with the twins? (12:35) Lucy: The first trimester was rough, I had severe morning sickness and I lost quite a bit of weight. In the end I was admitted to hospital, it was a bit of a rollercoaster. I kind of picked up around 17 weeks. My birth with the girls was a planned c-section and it went so smoothly. I think I was at 38 weeks. Rosabella went down to NICU straight away and India went down shortly after. They were there for 2-3 days. We came home on Christmas eve, so timing was not on my side. Eve: Did you always want to have a big family? (18:20) Lucy: I always said when I was younger I wanted 4 children. When I had my first child I thought oh this is pretty tough maybe I won't have 4 children, but here we are! Eve: When did you start your YouTube career? (19:00) Lucy: I started in January 2017. Being online has been very consistent and it has grown overtime. Last year I launched you and me and it's been quite a rollercoaster over the last few years. Especially the last year, because the whole world changed and having to consistently show up online when there is so much going on and so much uncertainty was a real challenge. Going to Weymouth recently was so lovely and I filmed it all and it made me realise why I started my channel. Eve: Are there any negatives you've found in the influencer and vlogging world? (22:22) Lucy: Like everything there will always be negative, and as I've got older I've learnt that anything and everything you do there will always be negative downsides. People online can be awful and when you are in a good place mentally, I can take it. But when you are not great and not feeling 100% about something it can be really hard to take it. That is a negative, although the positives do outweigh the negatives. Eve: Your sister Elle is also a vlogger and an influencer. Have you been sharing any top tips or advice to her? (24:00) Lucy: I definitely have but I'm also mindful of not to come across as a know it all at all. I'm sure every mum will agree that you need to let them do it their own way. I'm going to be around whenever she wants me, but equally I don't want to intrude. I recommend to other new mums to make a support group around you and make those new connections and to find someone on your level. Eve: How do you juggle your family life? (26:00) Lucy: It is a lot and since I've started house renovations and starting you and me it's just not all possible, I don't upload 3 times a week on YouTube anymore. It's up and downs and challenging at times but making sure we get quality time as a family as well. Eve: What does motherhood mean to you? (29:00) Lucy: It means everything, it sets my soul on fire. It's the forefront of every single thing I do, and I think it will be that way forever. I was going to say I love every minute but it is hard. At the end of the day I smile and they are my purpose.

Today I speak to the lovely Kate, who is known for her account overatkes on insta. Listen to find out more on why Group Strep B is so important to know about in pregnancies. https://gbss.org.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/overatkates/

Today we chat to the lovely Emma Bunning! https://www.instagram.com/thebunnyshot/?hl=en

Today we chat to Chris Edwards from @ittakes_three over on Instagram, where we discuss mental health surrounding IVF and infertility struggles. Mental health surrounding this topic from a partners perspective is not widely discussed and we talk about Chris and his partner Becca's journey over the last 4 years. To read more of Chris' journey follow him - https://www.instagram.com/ittakes_three/ Becca's IVF gift shop - https://www.etsy.com/shop/littlepineappleivf/

Today we chat to the lovely Kelsey from @being_kelsey over on instagram We chat motherhood, career, and what it's like to be in the public eye! Go follow Kelsey - https://www.instagram.com/being_kelsey/ and her business- https://www.instagram.com/k2kstars/ Eve: Today we are talking to Kelsey Parker who is @beingkesley on Instagram. We will be chatting everything motherhood. Do you want to tell us a bit about yourself and who you are? (0:30) Kelsey: I'm an insta mum and a mum of 2. Aurelia is 2 going on 22 and Bodhi is 7 months, and I am married to Tom Parker who was in the band The Wanted. Eve: That's so cool and you have done some acting in the past haven't you? (1:15) Kelsey: Yes, I trained at Italia Conti so I have danced, sung and been acting my entire life. I started when I was 2 and I have done a few bits. I was Chantelle in EastEnders and I was also in Harry Potter when I was a kid. So many people ask me about it and I say yes, I have sat in the great hall, been on the moving staircase. Eve: Wow! How old were you when you were on Harry Potter? (2:00) Kelsey: I was about 13/14 and it was honestly the best time. We would get picked up from school about 6am to get the coach and we would have the time of our lives. It was the 3rd film as well and we had known the first 2 were massive. Eve: That's so cool. How did you and Tom meet back in the day? (03:25) Kelsey: We met in a nightclub and I was 19 in London and was outside the club in London with my best friend Kelsey who I run a business with, and I said to her OMG I love that guy I need to speak to him. When we got into the club our tables were next to each other and it was actually Tom's first night out as the band. He started trying to chat me up and telling me he was in a band and I said what's your band called, and he said we haven't got a name yet. He didn't even ask for my number, he asked for my name so he could add me on Facebook. We chatted after and the rest is history as they say! Eve: Have you ever struggled being in the public eye? (5:39) Kelsey: There have been times, I'm not going to lie that have been hard. When we first got together, it was a secret for quite a long time because we didn't want to come out and put the pressure on our relationship. When we did come out, I got a lot of hate from the fans, but me being me I turned it around and I have since really got on with their fan base. I used to do workshops for the fans, so I got to know quite a few of them on a personal level. We did the wanted life on E and that was quite tough going as the things we spoke about in the show were hard and also being filmed 24/7 was hard. I have had some moments where I've been walking out of clubs drunk and my cellulite has made the papers the next day. I'm not one of those people to get down on those things though. Eve: How were your pregnancies with both of your children? (7:32) Kelsey: They were completely different pregnancies, even the way I carried them. Aurelia, I suffered really bad pre-eclampsia with and I was really poorly. Everything was so swollen, my ankles, feet, hands. I ended up being induced a week early with her. Then with Bodhi it was better to a degree, but we had some trauma towards the end. He decided to kick and break his own waters 2 weeks early. Eve: That's crazy. How were your births with both? (8:40) Kelsey: I got induced with both of them and when I got induced the birth happened really quick and in fact the doctors and nurses weren't believing me. I dilated very quickly. Bodhi was 30 minutes in labour and Aurelia was an hour. Eve: What is your parenting style with both of them? (10:55) Kelsey: It's really hard because me and her dad are both performers, so how can I expect anything less. I probably encourage her personality but then I am strict on being polite and being kind. I am kind of a free spirit mum. Eve: What's the best thing about motherhood for you? (12:23) Kelsey: Its cliché but its everything about being a mum. I have always wanted to be a mum. It is hard work being a mum but they just bring you such joy.

Today we had the pleasure of speaking to the lovely Casey Batchelor on her journey to motherhood, and also her journey to Yoga Blitz. https://www.instagram.com/caseybatchelor1/ Eve: Hi Casey, thank you for joining me today. Today we will be talking about all things motherhood. Do you want to start telling me a bit about yourself? (1:00) Casey: I have 2 little girls with another little girl on the way. A lot of people know me from the love triangle I had in Celebrity Big Brother, and I now have a successful yoga blitz company. Eve: How has your pregnancy been so far (4:22) Casey: This has been the best pregnancy out of the three so far. With Florence I was horrendously sick and dry heaved from start to finish. With Sadie, it was the same again, but with this one I forget that I am pregnant sometimes. I feel fine, and that was why I was adamant I was having a boy, but I was wrong! Eve: That's lovely. Have you always imagined having a bigger family (5:07) Casey: Yes, I have done. I've got 2 brothers so there is 3 of us and its nice having a bigger family. Eve: What do you think the hardest thing about motherhood for you is? (6:45) Casey: I am still a new mum really. As much as I love to work still and be proactive, I love to be a full-time hands-on mum as well. With my work its good as a lot of it is on the phone and I can do it from home and the girls can come with me. It also hard as I can't just walk out the door to go to work and leave them at home and be able to fully focus on work because they are always with me. I guess most people are either a mum or at work but I'm juggling both at the same time. I can get mum guilt sometimes when they are at work with me. Eve: You mentioned before that Florence's labour was quite traumatic for you, could you tell me a bit more about this? (8:50) Casey: Florence's heart rate was sporadically going up and down and they didn't know what was wrong, so they needed me to have more of a rapid birth. They broke my waters but it gave me a rapid birth. I was having contraction after contraction after contraction with no break in between. They say that a contraction at its highest point is the same pain equivalent to breaking 20 bones at the same time. So its pretty painful. My body was going into shock, I was being sick all down myself and I was having fits because it was so painful. I got to about 8.5cm and I physically couldn't do it anymore. I needed an epidural, but I couldn't stay still to get it. It took them 6/7 attempts to get it in and whilst doing this they punctured my spine and I had epidural drips and brain fluid leakage down the back of my spine. They then had to cut me and give use forceps to get Florence out. For the first 4 weeks I couldn't stand properly as I had this epidural drip in. Eve: How was Sadie's birth (11:45) Casey: For Sadie's birth I chose a C-Section, and it was so much calmer. I know the recovery for a C-Section is bad as you are essentially being cut in half, but I recovered better from that. Eve: Now going onto your yoga blitz, you have had the most amazing transformation all through yoga. Being in the public eye, did you feel the pressure to go back to your pre baby weight? (12:40) Casey: I feel like being in the public eye there is always that pressure and there are some people that snap back but they are very far and in between. The majority of the people don't, and I am one of those people. I find it really important to post that you don't snap back, and I started my yoga blitz and my transformation, but I did them over time and in a healthy and steady way. It's important for women to know it takes time and your body changes after having a baby. It's taken 9 months for your belly to expand its not going to go back down after a week. I think it's important for me to promote that body image. Eve: You did get trolled after having Florence, which is disgusting. Did this spur you on? (13:58) Casey: The trolls make me laugh, they don't bother me, and it makes me laugh that they take the time to do that. You could read 100 lovely comments and 1 horrible comment but it's always the horrible ones that stay with you. You have to feel sorry for these people, and they don't mean anything. Eve: After being a new mum only 3 years ago, what is your best advice for any new mums listening at the moment? (16:40) Casey: It's going to be tough, it's amazing. I always say to people the first 2-4 months are the toughest as you are going to be very sleep deprived. Once you hit the 4 month mark, the baby starts to sleep more. Take every day as it comes. Don't feel like you need to be this amazing mum as you are amazing anyway! Being a happy mum will make your baby happy. Eve: What does motherhood mean to you? (17:59) Casey: Motherhood means to me creating a lot of magical and amazing memories and filling your house with love.

TW: Baby Loss Thank you so much to Sophie from the @the.infertile.midwife for speaking to me today on her infertility journey. Sophie is also a midwife, and she speaks openly on how this has affected her career. Go follow Sophie: https://www.instagram.com/the.infertile.midwife/ Sophie's blog: https://theinfertilemidwife.com/

See more over at - https://www.myfussyeater.com/ Eve: Today you’re going to be speaking a bit about myfussyeater which is you’re Instagram and your journey of starting pick plates. Do you want to tell us about yourself? (0:36) Ciara: Most people would have seen me on Instagram or come across one of my recipes. I am a mum of 2, my kids are 10 and 7 now. Eve: Amazing, and your known as myfussyeater over on Instagram so do you want to tell me a bit more of what you do? (1:17) Ciara: So, it’s sort of a resource of recipes for kids and families with tips of how to get kids eating better. It started with my own experience with my daughter when she hit the toddler stage, she became really fussy. I was struggling a little with advice on the internet. There is so much advice out there for the weaning stage, but I found when she hit the toddler stage there wasn’t so much. So, I decided to do it myself, and started the website and uploading recipes, talking about what I was doing. Eve: What were your daughters’ habits of eating that made you want to start this? (4:14) Ciara: I think it was more that I didn’t appreciate the work and the effort that goes into feeding a child, because we were really busy with work and she went to an amazing childminder. She went there from when she was 6 months old, so all her weaning was done with the childminder and she had 3 meals a day there, so I was quite removed from the process and felt I just picked it up at the weekends. When she was 18 months old and I was at home feeding her, 3 times a day, I didn’t appreciate the work that went into it. she wasn’t eating a large variety of food, and just wanted plain food. Eve: What are your tips for fussy eaters or the reasons why children go into that stage? (6:15) Ciara: The first tip I always say to people is relax and just take a step back. It’s something most kids go through at some stage. Try to introduce foods very slowly, they need routine and consistency in their life. Getting them involved is really good as well, getting them in the kitchen helping even if it is just making a sandwich. Try to break the routine if it’s not working, there is no point doing it over and over again. Eve: They’re great tips. I know you have another Instagram called pick plates so could you tell us about how this started? (8:56) Ciara: Pick plates came about as I realised when I was feeding my kids, they ate a lot better when the food was on divided plates. As the kids got older and they had more friends coming round, they others were the same as well. When I use to serve platters of food separately and they were nicely presented, the kids used to eat more and some of my friends would say so and so doesn’t eat this at home but has eaten it now. I could only get similar plates to the pick plates now around Christmas time and they were bad quality, so I thought why not make my own and it went from there. Eve: going back to your children, I know you have been quite open with Finn’s diagnoses of Autism. Could you tell us a bit more about this diagnoses journey? (12:42) Ciara: So, we realised quite early on there was some issues there after his 2nd birthday. We were lucky we had good support from his nursery and local GP and he was diagnosed a year later at 3 and half. It has meant for Finn that he went to a specialist school, which is amazing. He was non-verbal for a long time and now its incredible and he’s come on so much. It’s not easy for him at all and were so proud of him. Eve: What does motherhood mean to you? (17:30) Ciara: It’s amazing, it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. I’m so happy I had my children and so grateful that I was able to have them. It’s a massive part of my life.

Today we speak to Helen @thetittygritty on instagram, to speak about her experience with having breast cancer. Helen is now an amazing advocate, and founder of the Change & Check campaign, and also The C-List. https://www.instagram.com/thetittygritty/?hl=en https://www.the-c-list.com/ https://thetittygritty.com/2019/04/30/change-and-check/

TW: Baby Loss Today we speak to the wonderful Tahnee Knowles, on the journey of her babies Gus & Elvis, who sadly passed last June. Tahnee has an amazing outlook on life, and we discuss her mindful approach to grief and how she deals with the trauma she has been through. Thank you for sharing your story with me today. Tahnee's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/themindfulgriefcoach/ Her website on her hypnobirthing and pregnancy after loss courses - https://bumpandmind.com/home Do you want to start by introducing yourself? (0:43) Do you want to tell me about your journey to motherhood and starting a family? (2:45) Did you embark on hypnobirthing before Gus or after? (5:30) You had Gus, and then 2 years later did you start trying for another baby? (6:25) Your labour wasn’t normal with Elvis was it, do you want to go into a bit about that? (9:55) Can you talk about your stages of the grief in the days after and even today? (18:05) Your very open about grief on your Instagram, speaking about Elvis and your posts are so eloquently written. What do you want the world to Elvis? (22:05) Going back to your experience, how are you today? (24:40) Do you want to tell me a bit more about what you do now in your career? (27:05) How can anyone who is listening who has a friend or going though something similar support someone who is grieving? (30:55) How does mindfulness help your grieving journey? (33:30) Where can any of our listeners go to find out more about your courses and what you do? (36:35) What does motherhood mean to you? (37:30) What advice do you have for anyone grieving after baby loss (39:15)

Today we speak to Katy Huyerman from @Slumbertots on Instagram, to speak about all her top tips and also your questions on all things sleep. Katy is a certified baby and child sleep consultant. For more info, visit her insta - https://www.instagram.com/slumbertots/ And her website - https://www.slumbertots.com/ Eve: Today we are talking to Katy from Slumber Tots from Instagram who is a certified baby and child sleep consultant. As well as sharing her top tips today she will be answering your questions we asked over on our Instagram last week. Katy: I run Slumber Tots and I work with children from newborn up to 5 years old and help families to get more sleep. I am also a mum of two, Kian is 7 and Lily is 5 and I became a sleep consultant following my struggles with sleep deprivation when Kian was a baby. Eve: So, you mentioned you’re a sleep consultant, how do become one and the journey of it? (0:55) Katy: For a lot of people, it begins with their own sleep struggles and this was definitely the case for me. When Kian was born, he was quite a disturbed sleeper and things didn’t improve when he got older. I found myself not being the mum I wanted to be due to sleep deprivation, so I was exhausted all the time and I didn’t really know where to start and what to do to improve things. My sister recommended a sleep consultant and so we contacted her and after 3 nights Kian slept the night through for the first time in 8 months. That taught me that sleep isn’t something we should endure just because we are parents. So, because it was so life changing for us in 2016, I decided to train as a consultant myself. Since then, I have worked with nearly 500 families. Eve: That’s amazing, what were you doing before you were a sleep consultant (2:25) Katy: I was a bank manager and then I was a civil servant so I worked in central government. Eve: Oh, wow so it was quite a big career change for you then! How common are sleep problems and what are the main causes of babies or toddlers not sleeping? (2:35) Katy: The main reasons for babies and toddlers not sleeping are usually down to a handful of reasons, which are the structure to their daytime. You need to get the balance of a daytime sleep and also awake time. The right sleep environment and also how they are falling asleep, which can be one of the tricker elements to change. Babies sleep cycles are only around 45 minutes and when they come to the end of this sleep cycle they will wake up. If they used something external to get them to sleep such as rocking, feeding or a dummy, and it’s not there when they come to the end of that cycle, they will struggle to get to sleep and this is when they cry. Some babies may be able to sleep through several sleep cycles or some may wake up after everyone, it varies baby to baby. Eve: What would you say your top 3 tips are for an easy night’s sleep? (04:15) Katy: One of the simplest things you can do is using light and dark to your advantage, so going outside during the day in natural light is good for adults and babies, this can help to regulate your circadian rhythm. This will help you sleep better at night. Equally, with darkness, this helps to build melatonin at bedtime. This is a sleepy hormone. So, if you take your baby into a dim light room this can help them get ready for sleep. Also introducing a nice wind down routine whether that’s for naps or bedtime which can help your baby know what’s coming next. The same steps in the same order every day can help. Eve: I guess this varies on age from newborn to toddler? (05:50) Katy: As babies and children get older, newborns can manage 45 minutes to an hour awake. Then toddlers can manager 5-6 hours if they are still having a nap. Eve: That’s some really great top tips thank you. We asked our audience some questions, so I will read these out now. Our first one is – when do you cut out white noise, I’ve got a 19-month-old and we have it on naps and night time. (6:30) Katy: White noise can be really useful for newborns. It’s the noise of a static on the radio and background noise. It mimics the sound of the womb. The key thing if you are using it is to use it for the duration of the nap or at night, so it is consistent part of the sleep environment. It can be a good time to cut it out when your toddler stops napping as at night there is less noise, and you wouldn’t need it as much. It is a case of gradually turning it down every few days so they get less used to it Eve: Our next question is how you manage two kids sleeping in the same bedroom. She has a newborn and a 3-year-old. (08:00) Katy: If you can have both children sleeping well before they move into the same room this can help so they don’t disturb each other. If you have a newborn I would try to keep them in your room, it is quite common that they will need a feed overnight. The recommendation is to keep a newborn in your room until they are 6 months old. Eve: Our next question is how do you get a baby to settle in their cot and not on you? (08:48) Katy: Having a nice dark room for your baby for naptime and bedtime, putting them down when it is the right time, having a nice wind down routine to queue sleep. Having a sleep sac can also help. Practicing it and putting the baby down into the cot will let them know what will happen next. Eve: The next question is my 15-month-old is transitioning to 1 nap and is really struggling and is overtired (10:25) Katy: This is common with nap transitions and it will take 4-6 weeks to fully adjust to 1 nap. I would recommend moving bedtime a bit earlier so you avoid baby coming overtired and this can help in the short term. You could also try take them out in the car or the buggy for a quick 20-30-minute nap to take the edge off to keep them going through to naptime. Eve: The next question is my daughter is 26 months old and stopped sleeping through the night, although she has slept for 12 hours plus since she was 7 weeks old. I am now 36 weeks pregnant, will this stop or will it get worse. (11:57) Katy: Often sleep disturbances can be caused from sleep development. Around this age It can be linked to language development. If you can stay consistent with what you were doing before it should calm down in a week or two. I would try not to try anything new. You might also need to try increase wake time or cap their nap. When siblings come along it can be up and down but if its developmental it should calm down. Eve: Do you find that when doing sleep consultancy, many kids have disrupted sleep when siblings come along? (13:30) Katy: It can be the case as its dealing with change so it’s something different. There can be disturbances with naptime and bedtime. The baby crying can also affect the baby’s sleep. Eve: The final scenario we have is he keeps waking at 5:30am with no need of food. What are your tips? (14:20) Katy: There can be a few factors with early wakeups, with spring summer now, I would try make the room completely dark, so they don’t respond to light. I would also look at where the bedtime is, maybe moving it a bit earlier as early wakeups can be due to overtiredness. It can be a bit of trial and error. Eve: Thank you so much for answering all of those questions. I think that will be really useful to people listening. What is your main mantra you live your life by and why? (16:30) Katy: From my work I’ve learnt not to compare myself other people and other parents. Its really a work in progress but hard when you’re especially a new parent and you compare yourselves.

Today we have the pleasure of speaking to Rosie Wicks, the face of our Collection Précieuse, our first ever recycled gold collection. Follow Rosie: https://www.instagram.com/rosiewicks1/?hl=en Shop the collection: https://www.mercimamanboutique.com/ Eve: Thanks so much for joining us Rosie, we are so excited to announce that you are the new face to our Solid Gold Collection which is launching tomorrow! What’s your favourite piece from the collection and what did you have engraved on it? Rosie: The piece I have chosen is the Intertwined necklace because I have the gold plated version which I wear all the time, but I thought it would be nice to have the Solid Gold version as its’ just very special and I will keep it forever. I have Indie and Marley, my children’s names engraved on the bigger circle and Joe on the smaller one. Eve: That’s lovely! Do you want to introduce yourself to our audience? (0:56) Rosie: I’m a mother of two, Indie who is 2 and half and Marley who is 1. I’m a former model so it was nice to be back on set with Merci Maman. I’m pretty much a stay-at-home mum with my two babies and you may know me as the wife of Joe Wicks! Eve: Yes, a lot of us know you from your modelling days and being married to Joe. How did you guys meet? (01:28) Rosie: We actually met at a rave! My friend was married to his friend who was a DJ and met at the rave, which is a good story to tell our kids! We were just friends for ages, and we met up and actually decided to become a couple, we went full force and travelled the world together, got married and had babies! Eve: Wow I did not know that! Now you have your two children Indie and Marley, how was your pregnancy with them both? (2:00) Rosie: I’m one of those people who loved being pregnant, I did find it really exhausting but I was luckily enough to never suffer from any sickness. I would say my first pregnancy was very different as you are obsessed with it and its all you think about all the time, always on the app seeing what size your baby is! Then with my second pregnancy, I felt like it flew by. I didn’t think about it that much as a I was so distracted looking after my first baby. I loved being pregnant though and wearing tight tops to show off my bump! Eve: Aw nice! Being in the public eye, did you feel any pressure becoming a mother with social media nowadays? (03:18) Rosie: There are great things about social media, but it makes you feel judged and people compare themselves a lot. I don’t personally post that much on social media, but I feel like if I did, then I would feel a lot more pressure. I feel like with motherhood and parenting people can be a lot more judgemental and opinionated. I think you have to be careful with what you say. I’m one of those people who looks at social media lot more than posts. I go through phases and sometimes forget it exists! I now unfollow people that don’t make me feel good as I think Instagram should be for inspiring you, not making you feel unhappy. Eve: Yeah, we have had people on the podcast before saying Instagram can be a place where you make lifelong friends, but it can also be a place where it makes you feel crap. How would you describe your parenting style? (05:05) Rosie: I think I’m a laidback parent but I’m the strict one out of us both. The kids know not to ask me for something and to ask dad and that he will give in and I won’t. I try to make sure that if I say no to something, that I stick to it because they learn so quickly that you’re going to give in. It’s hard to stick to it as it is so easy to give in to them. Eve: What have been the highs and lows of motherhood for you? (06:10) Rosie: I feel like being a parent every single day is constant ups and downs. I feel like just getting out the house is very stressful but then 15 minutes later were in the park and everyone is happy and then 10 minutes later its stress again! I try to see the highs in normal everyday things as I know when I’m older that is what I’ll look back on and miss, like bath time, bedtime and reading books, things like that. The hardest thing and the biggest low are the sleep deprivation. When I had my babies, I feel like in the morning you have this adrenaline and you just get up for the day and your fine. Then when they are 6 months old it gets a lot harder and your body can’t cope with it anymore. Eve: Our yearlong campaign this year is called My Motherhood and it celebrates all kinds of motherhood. Who do you look up to in life and what does Motherhood mean to you? (08:05) Rosie: Motherhood to me is all I’ve ever wanted. I still find it so fascinating that we created human beings and we are raising them to be adults one day. I look up to my friends and other mums I know and my mum! I am always admiring other mums and learning more every day on how they parent. Eve: Is how you were brought up, similar to how you parent now? (09:15) Rosie: I’m actually very different to my mum, we’re best friends and I see her practically every day, but I think our mothering styles are different. I’m quite laid back and I’ll let the kids do things and my mum will be like why are you letting them do things, that’s so dangerous! I do say things to the kids though and think omg I am turning into my mum, so we probably are a bit similar. Eve: What’s the best advice you can give to new mothers? (10:15) Rosie: Mine is to always accept help and I think you should ask for help when you need it. I’m really lucky to have both of our parents nearby so can accept help when we need it as you do need a break. The other thing is to not go crazy reading forums especially when you’re feeding your baby in the middle of the night. Eve: You and Joe are very fit parents, after having kids did feel any pressure to “snap back into shape”? (12:03) Rosie: I recently tried to do a pull up as I thought I could never do one, and I actually surprise myself I could do about 4. I realised it because I’m always carrying a heavy toddler in my arms! I think there is always pressure to “snap back”, especially when you see pictures all of these LA mums and you do feel the pressure. Realistically, you have just grown an entire human being in your body and given birth, it takes time. I’m quite luckily enough to have my mum’s genes where I did quite quickly get my old body back. The most important thing is to just not compare, and everyone is different. Eve: Yes definitely. I think the first thing you need to think about is becoming a mum. Last year you and Joe inspiring the nation with your daily PE lessons. Did you ever imagine it would be as big as it was? (14:45) Rosie: At that time I feel like everyone had a good mentality about it and we thought in a couple of months it would be back to normal. I never in a million years thought it would go on for as long as it did or be as big as it is. I’m really proud of Joe, he works so hard and no matter how he felt he got up and did it in the morning. Eve: You must have inspired so many people, it was hitting headlines all the time the views kept going up. So many parents must be so grateful for you out there for doing it. Rosie: Yes, and I think a lot of adults appreciated it as it gave them some routine and encouraged people to get out of bed. It was a good way to start your day off. Eve: My personal favourite bit was when Joe let one rip! (16:40) Rosie: I knew you were going to say that, It’s so gross! I don’t think it would have been so funny if it wasn’t the way he did it. the velocity at the end when he is so desperate to get it out. Eve: How did you feel when you saw it over all the papers? (17:10) Rosie: The funny thing is I never look at any newspapers or anything so I wouldn’t have known, but I know Joe is so embarrassed when he farts in front of me anyway. He sent me the link and said he was mortified, and I don’t think he released how big it was going to get so he thought he just had to own it. Its more embarrassing to pretend it doesn’t happen. Its mostly kids doing PE with Joe, so they all probably thought it was hilarious. Eve: What are you looking forward to when the world goes back to normal? (18:30) Rosie: I’m looking forward to so much, I’ve already booked 4 dinners for when we are allowed out. The main thing I’m looking forward to is travelling. I’m just excited to take the children to different countries. I feel sorry for Marley as his entertainment every day is going for walks, we haven’t been able to go to any baby classes or soft play. Eve: Where is the first place you plan to go on holiday to? (20:00) Rosie: I’m too scared to book anything yet and I’m going to wait to see what were allowed to do. I think in the summer it’s nice to go to Europe, but one of my favourite places we went to when Indie was a few months old was Costa Rica, so I would love to go back there. We have house in Santa Monica in the US so I’m really looking forward to going back there as well. Eve: What is the main mantra you live your life by and why? (21:05) Rosie: Work hard, have fun and be nice. It’s so simple but so true. Eve: You have been fabulous, thanks so much for coming on!

Today we speak to wonderful NFM on the journey to adopting her son, the process, and also how the journey sparked her successful online business. If you're reading this - please go show some love and support on the links below! Read the blog - http://notafictionalmum.com/ Go follow NFM - https://www.instagram.com/notafictionalmum/ And finally support small biz and go shop - https://shopnotafictionalmum.com/ Eve: Today we are joined by Not A Fictional Mum who adopted her little boy at 21 months and since then has become advocate for inclusivity around adoption. Do you want to tell us a bit about yourself? (00:20) NFM: I’m Not A Fictional Mum and I created this name after having some experience being an adopted parent and people asking me who my sons real mum was and I thought I am a real mum, I’m not a fictional mum! I started a blog as I thought it would be cathartic for me and a way for me to get out my feelings in a real and raw way and that no one was going to read it. I thought I could swear as much as I wanted and be as honest as I wanted as it was just going to be that read it. 32,500 hits later in 7 months and an amazing following, I was wrong there! From doing the blog I started to blog about when going into department stores and I wrote a piece called Dear Mr Department Store, and we have these preconceptions that all mums to be have a bump or are pregnant. I was looking at pushchairs at the time and she turned to me and asked when was the mum was due and it was obviously me waiting for my little boy to come home which was heart-breaking. This was one of many experiences that I had in the retail sector. I shared my experiences again and documented when I went into stores and the conversations held and the response was phenomenal really. I was really aware that I had started something now and that I had to follow it through. I needed some money so that I could start a platform to support what im saying is wrong, so I sold my wedding dress. The dress sold within 72 hours and so I started Not A Fictional Mum the shop. Eve: So since then, your selling inclusive cards and what else? (03:25) NFM: I’ve always been aware that there are beautiful independents online that are doing adoption cards. The cards for me is more about the high street, so why don’t we have highstreets stocking just a greeting card. I’ve been campaigning really hard to get shops to recognise that this a small token that should be there. I cannot find a card in a shop without searching high and low for a card that acknowledges how my son came to us. I’ve worked with a card designer to design cards to offer to the high street but it’s not getting the attraction I want which isn’t great. The online store Thortful, I have been working with them and they have taken my designs which is massive for me and the community. The cards are a catalyst for everything else, I am predominately an infertility and adoption clothing brand. I am the first in the UK and I have been so overwhelmed with the support for it. Eve: That’s amazing, I think it’s so nice for women going through any sort of journey at the moment to see they are inclusive, and I guess it’s your own sort of club in a way. NFM: Yeah, it shouldn’t be that you have to search the deepest darkest depths of the internet to find something. All of my stuff is on the website, but I am listing other things that I feel people should know about as well, so it saves them hours searching for something. It is exactly that I have started calling it club NFM. Eve: I know I said at the start you have adopted a little boy at 21 months, so what is your journey to motherhood and when did you start your family? (06:05) NFM: Our journey started trying to conceive naturally as you do and nothing was happening so we went to our GP and we were told not to worry as it can take people up to year or a year, but we got to this point and we still weren’t getting anywhere. So, we were sent for some tests and we were told we could conceive naturally which is heart breaking and life changing. We were then offered a free cycle of fertility treatment on the NHS which we took and then I always very honestly say that we sort of fell into this world of fertility treatment. One minute you’re there explaining that it’s not happening, then their diagnosing you and then offering a kind of scientific solution to it, so we found ourselves in this world. We did multiple cycles and we spent £25,000, it was really testing physically and emotionally. We had a very sad miscarriage as one of our cycles was successful, but we sadly miscarried which is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with in my life. We found ourselves stuck really and we couldn’t get off this merry-go-round which was a very traumatic time. We had some very serious conversations around why did we even start doing this in the first place, what did we want to get from this and it was all the obvious things like we wanted to have a family but part of it was how important were the genetics. It was love we were talking about and we just wanted to love a child and nurture a child and watch them grow. We knew it was never going to be an issue to love a child that wasn’t biologically ours so that’s when we started talking about adoption. I’m writing a book at the moment and part of it is at what point to medical professionals start introducing adoption as an option of an alternative route to parenthood rather than this preconception that it is the last resort. Eve: Yeah, that’s really interesting as I guess you get thrown into a world of IVF. I’ve never thought about that angle of it which your so right about. (09:15) NFM: Yes, it is incredibly tough. I think the term IVF is thrown about so freely and we all know about IVF that it takes away the severity of it and it is a very stressful and traumatic experience to go through. There are other routes to parenthood, we had egg or sperm donor’s mentioned but at no point was adoption ever mentioned so that is something I am passionate about to have it mentioned. We took a really long time to grieve once we stopped fertility treatment, to grieve for the life we thought we were going to have. After, we started to research local authorities and adoption agencies, listening to podcasts and then we decided on the charity we wanted to do it through which was Bernados and they were brilliant. Eve: Was it an easy process for you and an easy decision to go through with adoption? (11:30) NFM: From the day you are told you can’t conceive naturally, there are no easy decisions to make. The natural way of doing things has gone so you are suddenly making decisions you never thought you would have to make and especially when you are considering something as serious as adoption. It’s the biggest decision we have ever made and will make in our lives. You are making a commitment to a child that has already experienced a level of trauma and loss and making the commitment that you will be there for them and not let them down and do the best for them. We don’t see it enough in the media or being portrayed on TV, we only see this image of someone walking out of a hospital with a newborn baby in a car seat. This needs to be looked at and changed because this isn’t how it is for everybody and it is important for our children to see this as they grow up that there are lots of different ways of becoming parents. Eve: I almost think it is portrayed negatively in the media and when you hear about adoption in films it’s almost like a really sad thing to go through which I can imagine in some ways it is. It is not spoken about in schools or anything like that either. How long did the process take for you? (14:40) NFM: It was 11 months in total, but the actual process was 6 months which is very quick actually and then we brought out son home 5 months after that. We were actually the last couple in our prep group to be matched, so we took the longest amount of time to find our son. Eve: That’s quite quick, I thought you were going to say it was a longer process. Can you recall the first time you met Nemo? (15:45) NFM: We met in a neutral place an animal farm type place with his foster parents and we had been sent videos a couple of weeks leading up. When we saw him it was just completely different to see someone in the flesh in front of you, he was on his foster carers hip and he I just remember seeing a chubby little calf with a little pair of shoes on. We just thought he was beautiful and froze actually. We let him do what he wanted to do and just watched him for ages. He was just so cheeky and full of life. It was a bittersweet time as it became apparent, he was actually very happy where he was and was happy with his foster parents. Eve: How are you guys today, how has he settled in? (17:35) NFM: He is great! Just as any parent, your life completely changes, and suddenly it takes you 2 hours to get out the door and going to the shop is a whole day’s event. I’m very honest about our journey and it has taken Nemo a long time to settle and a long time for him to believe this is forever and that we are his mummy and daddy, and we aren’t going anywhere. It’s tough, in his little life he has experienced a lot of loss. He is very settled now and is hugely affectionate boy and has settled into nursery. Nothing can beat when a child will look at you after all that and they really believe it, it’s all worth it. Eve: It’s amazing that you can give him the forever home he needs. So, you are quite an advocate for adoption an at Merci Maman we are sharing journeys of motherhood. What are the taboos? (20:15) NFM: I think there are a lot, one is It can be the same as having a biological child, that connection, how can it be the same. That all children that are adopted are unable to recover in any way from what they have experienced. There are also taboos about the adopters that we have the perception of them being these superhero’s that sweep up and rescue these children. Just also things being asked that shouldn’t be asked, I have had the most absurd things. Eve: With your inclusive shop, why did you start this? (22:35) NFM: I started it because there was nothing for me with adoption which angered me. I had worked with big retail companies before, so I knew things can be changed. I realised I was not the only person and people contacting me saying they felt the same I felt I had to use my skills to do something positive. Eve: What is your main mantra you live your life by? (24:55) NFM: My main mantra is hold on and take courage and that is something I have on an item of clothing of mine. I would have this stuck on a post it note in my notebook and would look at it whenever I was really struggling and now it has been a phrase that other women are using. Eve: Thank you so much, you have been fabulous!

Today we speak to Nicole Robinson from @goodlucknic over on Instagram to speak about her IVF journey over the years. https://www.instagram.com/goodlucknic/ https://www.youtube.com/c/GoodLuckNic/videos

Today we speak to Alice Wadey from @Alice.In.Type.Wonderland on her experience of living and dealing with Type 1 Diabetes. https://www.instagram.com/alice.in.type.wonderland/ Eve: Today we are speaking to Alice about Type 1 Diabetes. Do you want to start telling us about yourself? (0.30) Alice: I have been a Type 1 diabetic since I was about 11. I have been married for 6 years now and live in a little village in West Sussex. I have two daughters, Matilda who is 2 and Florence who is 3 months old, a lockdown baby! Eve: How did you find out you had diabetes? (1:15) Alice: I’m type 1 diabetes, which is more common whilst in childhood and a young age. There are 3 main types of diabetes that people have heard of, but there are so many others. When I was diagnosed, I was very lucky, I was very sporty, but my mum picked up on the symptoms and did a home test kit on me to test my blood sugars. The diagnoses happen very quickly, I went to the doctors and hospital the next day. A lot of symptoms are weight loss, tiredness, vision blurring. I was a sporty 11-year-old and was always losing weight and being tired. Eve: What are the three main types of diabetes you mentioned? (4:00) Alice: The differences are mainly how it comes around. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease where your body attacks yourself and you require insulin. There is no cure. Type 2 is more common in adults. It’s more of a lifestyle thing. This is where your body doesn’t use insulin correctly. Then there is gestational diabetes which is what a lot of pregnant women get during their pregnancy. For the majority it is temporary and when the baby is born the diabetes goes. There is also Lada diabetes, which is a form of type 1. It can take 3 or 4 years for the symptoms of this type to appear. There is Neonatal diabetes as well which is from birth. This can come and go, or it can stay. Eve: Wow, I honestly didn’t know there was so many types! How does your type 1 diabetes impact your life day to day? (6:35) Alice: In every way possible. I think deep down its really best to embrace your diabetes. When I was younger, I was really unwell with my diabetes. I had an appendix and any form of an infection if you have diabetes is not good, and so I was in intensive care for a bit. Things like stress, illness, exercise can change your levels without you doing anything to them. Food is really big thing when being diabetic, you have to carb count. You have to work out your ratios of insulin and over how many hours this is. It can be very overwhelming. I’m very positive about my diabetes and I’m proud to be diabetic. It made me grow up at a young age and become independent. Eve: You said you ignored it in your teenage years, what do you mean by this? (10:15) Alice: Most diabetics should test their blood sugars 8-10 a day and inject every meal. I never just used to inject, I would eat chocolate. My mum used to ask my how my diabetes was, and I would say they are fine, well knowing that I hadn’t checked in about 2 or 3 days. There was a result of being like this and I became very very unwell. Eve: So now you look after your diabetes very well, but how do you stay positive every day? (11:30) Alice: I think one of the things that helped me was the advance in technology. Having a flash glucose monitor was really useful. Just looking at my phone to see what my sugars are doing on a graph and not having to prick my finger all the time makes it a lot easier. I’m on an insulin pump and it’s just a disc that sticks to the skin. All I have to do is just type in how much insulin I need at mealtimes. Eve: You now have 2 children, and you have been open with your fertility struggles. Could you tell us more about this? (14:20) Alice: At the time, I kept it to myself and it’s not till after that I shared things about this. We tried to conceive for about 4 years after getting married. With my health and other issues there was this debate whether I had polycystic ovaries or endometriosis. There were these background issues and not falling pregnant and miscarriages. I spoke to my GP and she said she thought there could be some issues. She referred me to a specialist to get things checked over. To this day I think we could have been stuck in the system if we hadn’t been referred so quickly. She was invested in me and my health. We had what is known as unknown fertility struggles, they didn’t know what was wrong. After several months to nearly a year we were sent down to a fertility clinic where they said hormone treatments might help. We went through IVF and had 2 failed rounds. We decided we would have one last try and we couldn’t afford to not go through the NHS as that can get very pricey. We knew we had 17 weddings coming up, so we took a break. Then the next month we found out we were pregnant with Matilda! It was a very difficult pregnancy, for at least the first 20 weeks I was worried whenever I went to the toilet there would be blood. Any tweak or pain I thought the worst. We always talk about Matilda as our miracle baby. Eve: That’s so great! What about Florence? (18:20) Alice: Florence was natural. We got to thinking about having a second child and thought we may have to go down the IVF route. We thought about trying and then fell pregnant within 2-3 months. We were both shocked! I’m so happy to have both of my girls now. Eve: How was your pregnancy and birth with both of them? (19:00) Alice: Let’s just put it this way, I have a very good relationship with my diabetes nurse and after Florence they both said, don’t do this again to us! Both were very high-risk pregnancies, and both needed a lot of monitoring. They were very touch and go the whole way through. Matilda’s birth was deemed trauma and there are open cases with the hospital about ways it was managed. And a very emotional pandemic birth with Florence. I’m really lucky I have two healthy girls at the end of it. Eve: Did your pregnancy impact your pregnancy other than it being monitored all the time and high risk? (20:35) Alice: All diabetes is deemed into a high-risk category. You need a lot more appointment and higher up people. I had a team of 6 medical professionals around me supporting me. You have the maximum number of scans. My appointments were 3 or 4 hours long. With Matilda’s pregnancy my body took a battering, but she was born perfectly at 35 weeks. Her birth was really difficult, both mine and her stats kept dropping. There were lots of complications and ended up being a forceps delivery. She stopped breathing and needed to be resuscitated. She was taken straight up to the special baby unit. We had Christmas that year in the special baby unit, the hospital made it very special. She came on very quickly and we were only in hospital for about a week with her. We came home on new year’s at 10pm. Eve: How did you recover mentally from all the trauma? (26:20) Alice: I didn’t it in all honestly. I swept it up under the carpet and kind of forgot about it for a while. The hospital did their own investigations, but I didn’t that. I was happy, I had my daughter. I put it all down to my diabetes nurse, she is so supportive and positive. It all came flooding back when I gave birth to Florence. She was a planned C- Section at 37 weeks. I remembered the sounds, noises and the smells of how it was before. I thought at the time that I wasn’t over this. Eve: What’s your main mantra you live by and why? (30:00) Alice: It’s going to sound a bit negative but, prepare for the worst as anything else can be a positive. Eve: Thanks so much for coming on, it’s been so informative and eye opening.

Today we speak to the lovely Cliona Byrne on her top tips to become body positivity, and how you can project a body positive image onto your children or friends. Eve: Today we are going to be talking about body positivity, which is on-going topic, not only in motherhood but in the media for many years and it is not discussed enough. Tell us about yourself! Cliona: I work with mums who struggle with their body image and I help them like their bodies so they can raise their kids to be body confident. I do this through a program called body positive parenting. I get mums who are hiding under their baggy clothes and get them to feel confident in a bikini in family photos. Eve: What’s your journey into becoming a body positivity coach and was there a defining moment for you? Cliona: It’s hard to imagine now, but I used to really dislike my body. If you have a look at my Instagram, I have no problem in showing my cellulite or stretch marks or anything now, I’m really confident in my body. But years ago, I had a really bad relationship with myself and I don’t think I realised how bad it was. What happened was I had to have an operation on my jaw as I had a side bite. I knew for years I was going to have to have this operation as I couldn’t bite properly. I was very uncomfortable with my weight at the same time, so I thought if I lost weight and had this operation done, I thought I would look so great and my life would be sparkly and magical. The diet industry promises us that once we lose weight, life will become amazing. So, I lost a ton of weight, had the operation and I now have screws in my face because of this and I didn’t feel any different after. I suddenly had a wakeup call that this is not how I look, this is how I feel about myself. This is when I took my own journey and started to embrace who I am. In later years I decided to change what I was doing. I had been working in social media and communications, but I retrained in coaching to work with people on body image. Everyone kept coming to me with the same story. This was that when they were a child someone said to them you have a big head, or your fat or they have thick legs or whatever it might have been and how this had impacted their body image. At the same end of this I had mums telling me they didn’t want their kids to feel the same way that they felt about their body. It became clear to be that it was mums I needed to help, and they could teach their kids to be body confident themselves. That’s how I got to where I am now and what I do. Eve: it seems like such an amazing job and fulfilling as well. What are some ways our listeners can improve their body image? Cliona: This is the think I give to every client, and it’s not going to take you any time or cost you anything. I call it mirror magic. What I want everyone to do is to start smiling at your reflection. Start smiling at yourself when you look in the mirror or when you’re walking down the street and get a glimpse of yourself in the store front and when you turn on your camera and the front camera accidentally comes on and you look like a thumb! I want you to smile at yourself. There is a logic to this. When you smile, even if it is a forced smile, it releases serotonin, so you feel good. So, if you smile at yourself every time you see yourself, you will feel good and overtime you associate seeing yourself with feeling good. Eve: It’s as simple as that?! Cliona: This is so simple but will completely change your relationship with how you feel about yourself. If we treated our friend the same way we treat ourselves when we look in the mirror, no one would want to be our friend, so why are we doing it to ourselves? Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you look good and maybe even give yourself a wink! Start having a good relationship with the mirror. Eve: I think that is a really good tip for everyone to start doing! On the other hand to this, what are some ways that society can improve? Cliona: There is a lot of things out there in the world so that they can sell us something or promote something. People out there said let’s create a problem so we can sell a solution to people. The one thing we can do in society to make things better is to stop posting things on social media that can be a bit triggering. Some examples of this are spreading memes and jokes about gaining weight, posting about detox teas and even before and after pictures. Be aware of this, it’s not good for you and it’s not good for people looking at it either. Eve: Yes, I completely agree, and I think people would have been guilty of that at some point in their life. With talking about social media, we have had mums on the podcast saying they find themselves comparing themselves to other mums. What are your top tips for the mums? Cliona: There is a term I came up with that really embraces all of this and I call it sh!tspiration. If you find yourself looking at an account for mums that makes you feel bad because every time they post photos they are perfect, unfollow them. Your Instagram feed is yours, if it makes you feel bad unfollow them. Follow stuff that makes you feel good instead. Eve: I love Daisy May Cooper on Instagram. She is hilarious. If anyone is not following her, I suggest you do. She is so real and just fab! Cliona: That’s good quality stuff to look at! Step away from the bad stuff and step towards the good stuff. Eve: Why are mums so important in forming their children’s body image? Cliona: To all the mums listening, you are Beyonce even if you don’t feel like it! You are the influencer and queen of your house and your kids see you that way. As kids grow up, they start to notice more and more things, if they see you dieting and working out all the time they start to think this is normal. Social media and the magazines are secondary, what happens at home is primary. On the other side, if the mum is at home telling herself that she looks good in the mirror, feels confident wearing a bikini to the beach, the kids will start to get the message that bodies are good. If we are always looking at the flaws in others, we are going to look at the flaws in ourselves. Eve: what would you say to the mums out there that have had their kids say they are not happy with their body? Cliona: Tell them to shut up and listen! Let them get it all off their chest about who made them feel that way and you just listen. Your child’s feelings about their body are very valid so let them talk it out. Then start telling them what you like about yourself and what they like about others and themselves. Eve: What’s your main mantra you live by? Cliona: There is one thing I say to myself and I say this every day, its I’m perfectly imperfect. It’s a way for me to give myself some self-compassion, which we all could do with. I’m good enough as I am, and I deserve to be kind to myself. Eve: Yes, I think everyone needs to be a little bit kinder themselves. Thanks so much for coming on!

The final episode of the mini series! We hope you've all enjoyed listening. Today we speak to Ali Byatt on her journey to adopting her two children, and the highs and lows of this. Go check out her Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/Im.winging.it.too/ Eve: Today I’m joined by Ali Byatt from @im.winging.it.too to speak about her journey to motherhood and also her journey to adoption. Ali adopted 4 years ago and today she documents her family life over Instagram. Ali: I’m 39, the big 4 – 0 this year, hopefully out of lockdown. I became a mum in 2016 we adopted our 2 children; they were brother and sister and they came to us at the same time and it flipped our lives upside down in the most amazing way. It was also challenging at some points as well. I started my Instagram to find other families that have adopted. I think social media gets quite a bad rep but if you keep your boundaries it can be some type of therapy and a powerful thing to support you. Eve: We have actually had a few people on the podcast saying they have found friends on Instagram that they would not have found otherwise. It’s really lovely. What’s your journey to motherhood? Ali: I had a number of operations when I was younger that means that my lady parts weren’t working as they should. I put children on the back burner as I was very carer driven and worked in early years. I met my husband 11 years ago and he was 7 years younger than me and children wasn’t really on the cards. A really good friend of mine, her father passed away and we were very close with him and this shifted things into perspective. I had always thought about adoption and it would have been something I would have considered even if I could have children naturally. I have some issues with hospitals from operations in the past and I thought I could not physically put myself through the IVF process. It took us about 18 months to be approved as adopters. The second profile of the children we saw, I just knew they were for us. We only got approved for a toddler and one child, so we had to get re approved for siblings. We’ve had to learn a lot about how we parent as some children can come with a lot of trauma from spending time with their birthparents. Eve: How long did the adoption process take? Ali: We registered as adopters in February 2015 and it consist of 3 phases. The first phase is information gathering, you have a medical and then phase 2 is training. Eve: How did you find this emotionally? Ali: I buried a lot of emotions about things up until the children moved in and about 6 months after. I hadn’t realised how my infertility and my relationship with my father had both affected me. After 6 months of the children moving in I started to experience panic attacks and anxiety so I sought therapy. I made things much more difficult for myself than necessary and I also thought these children need perfection because of what they had experienced previously coming to me. The thing I’ve learnt the most I can teach them is emotion regulation and resilience. With my son if we feel like things are rising he goes and blows bubbles at the back door as we know it regulated his breathing again. I’ve learnt I need to go a lot easier on myself. From working with children and being with children, I thought I knew a lot more than I did. Eve: That’s not a bad thing to admit! Its self-learning and self-realisation. Ali: I’m quite a placid person and I’ve never met people that can wind up my buttons like my children can! We all love the bones of each other and know how to make each other happy but we also know what winds each other up. Eve: What was it like the first time you met your two children? Ali: I remember the exact moment. They were at their foster house and we had to drive a long way to meet them. We walked up the drive and my son had this big smile which I now know is actually his very scared smile. He was waving at the window and my daughter was clinging onto the foster carer. The introduction happened and then they came home with us 10 days later. Eve: How did your children take to you in those first few weeks? Ali: They did take to us really well, my son Thomas called me Mummy from the moment he met me. Tiggs wasn’t talking and walking yet and the second day she did stay with the foster carer. The first time she touched me we were playing in the sand and she touched my hand, and I was really trying hard not to cry. Eve: How are you today? Ali: Today we are ok, we miss our space. I was furloughed most of the year which was a blessing as the kids were at home, so I needed to be around. Thomas is transferring to a new special school at the moment where he will hopefully get on better as he didn’t like his previous school. I miss my friends at the moment, I’m a very sociable person, but Instagram is good at this! We’re very lucky to be honest, we live by the sea and we have found lots of walks to go on the beach and in the woods. We got a new dog in March and he’s perfect, the children both love him. Eve: What advice would you give to people starting the adoption process or have thought about it before? Ali: I would 100% recommend adoption. I would go onto Instagram and follow all the UK adoption communities. If you do decide to start the process is to take as much time for yourself as when the children come, they’re is not that much time for yourself. When going through the process you find a lot out about the children and what they have been through and you feel a lot of sympathy for them. I think it’s really important to change this into empathy. Your children need you to look after yourself so you can look after them in the best possible way. Eve: What does Motherhood mean to you? Ali: It means everything! Although parenthood is challenging its helped me improve everything about myself. Motherhood to me is realising you are worth fighting for and changing for as well as just your children. Eve: Who do you look up to in life and why? Ali: Definitely my mum. She is just amazing and is there for me no matter what. She was a single mum and has raised me and my brother really well. I don’t think I would have got through without her. She’s everyone’s mum and you can talk to her about anything! Eve: What is your main mantra you live your life by? Ali: There isn’t such a thing as a perfect mum or perfect woman, your flaws are what make you. If I hadn’t had gone through what I went through when I was a child, I wouldn’t be the mother to the children I am. If you ask yourself who’s asking yourself to be perfect, it’s probably your own mind. Eve: You have been amazing, so interesting. Thank you!

Today we speak to the wonderful Beth Sandland, from @bethsandland. In this podcast, we openly discuss Beth's experience of pregnancy after loss (TW), and the stigma around this. We also chat about her feelings and thoughts, coping mechanisms around this, and where she is today. Beth's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bethsandland/ Zoe's Book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pregnancy-After-Loss-day-day-ebook/dp/B08572VWXF Eve: Today were speaking to Beth from @bethsandland about her journey of motherhood in particular her experience of two miscarriages. Do you want to start by introducing yourself? Beth: I'm 25 and I live in south London with my husband. We got married in October and we had a tiny pandemic wedding. I am a lifestyle Blogger and pre pandemic I did travel blogging. We spent all of 2019 abroad which took us to lots of places and it was incredible. We spent a lot of time in Australia and really fell in love with it. We also went to Sri Lanka which I didn’t know much about this before and now I should be on some kind of commission for the tourists. If anyone asks where to travel, I always say there as it suits any traveller! Eve: I actually went to Sri Lanka in 2019 as well, it was incredible! The people are so friendly and happy to help, I would love to go back. As a brand this year and our campaign we are really trying to cover all journeys of motherhood. What’s your journey to motherhood? Beth: I first found out I was pregnant in November 2019, it was unplanned and felt like a blessing, it was perfect timing. We had just returned home from that 12-month trip. You had been on this whirlwind time and you’re back home doing the dishes and putting the bins out. Being pregnant was our next adventure! I then had a missed miscarriage which was diagnosed at a scan and it was a complete shock. I knew about miscarriages from the internet but like most people, I never thought it would happen to me. It shook my world going to the scan and someone saying there is going to be no baby. I didn’t know how to process this, and the grief was very real. There is still a lot of stigma attached to it and people think why has this happened to me, I’m the only one to have experienced this. If you asked your friends and they were really honest, you would find this is something a lot of women go through. Eve: The statistics do say 1 in 4 women will experience this in their lifetime, which is huge. Beth: We really battled with the loss and this happening twice. We had made room in our hearts to extend our family and then it’s all gone again. There is very much a stigma and a lot people say things which they think are well meaning that are fundamentally unhelpful. It’s the at least’s, the at least you weren’t further at along, at least your young and it makes you wonder whether there was a baby and whether you can grieve. There is a lot of seeking validation to see people that had gone through it and now working. No matter what anyone says when you find out your pregnant, you start planning and having a date in the diary for 9 months’ time. It completely changed our priorities and we needed a few months to recover emotionally. I had the D&C surgery to ‘manage’ the miscarriage. The pandemic took away all my coping mechanisms. I was just starting to work and going out socialising with my friends. We weren’t sure what impact the virus would have on pregnancy. We started trying again in the summer and I fell pregnant again quickly, but this ended up in an early bleed. This was a very different feeling to the first time around. I was much more preoccupied whether there was anything wrong with me. Eve: Did you find it any easier to cope with because you had been there already? Beth: Maybe, it wasn’t as much as a shock and not nearly as traumatic as the first miscarriage which was further along. It was very upsetting, but I could cope with it more. We decided to have a break after having a more negative tests and we got married and we were focusing on planning a pandemic wedding. We took the pressure off and the universe had very different plans as I’m now 7 months pregnant. I sought therapy after the first miscarriage. One of the things I told the therapist was that I worried pregnancy would never be a surprise again and would always be planned and tracking cycles. It’s the trying to conceive that no one talks about. It was so lovely in the summer to find out I was pregnant again; I remind myself each day that I’m a day closer to meeting our baby. Eve: As you said miscarriage is a very tough subject for people. As suffering 2 miscarriages yourself, has this changed your outlook on life? Beth: It changed my outlook and my priorities. We’re not in control you can only plan so much. When people ask the where do you see yourself in 5 question, you can influence things, but you can’t plan out your life. Eve: When I was younger, I used to say I’m going to get married at x age and have a baby at x age and when you get older there are different factors and your life changes a lot. You are an amazing advocate for support over on Instagram and are very open speaking about your experiences. How did it affect you and also your partner as well? Beth: Seeking therapy was good for me since I was grieving deeply. It took time for me to think it was ok that I was feeling the way I was. My husband was very open with me about it, which is very important as men sometimes get forgotten about with their feelings about a pregnancy. We really did communicate well as a team. I decided to share online after some time as it felt like the right thing to do and to reflect. It felt impossible to ignore. I would go to hit the publish button 5 days in a row as I didn’t know how this would be received. A lot of the support I have received has been online and is invaluable. I get messages from people opening up telling me they have not told anyone what they are going through. Eve: Where would you advise people to go to, if they are struggling today? Beth: The Saying Goodbye charity run by Zoe is all about baby loss, her and her charity have time for anyone. She has a few books which have been really helpful to me. Tommy’s charity is also brilliant, and I have spoken to them. There are a lot of charities out there where you can talk to them without having to pick up the phone. I think writing it down and getting it off your chest is a good thing to do. Eve: What does motherhood mean to you? Beth: My perception of motherhood has changed a lot, I’ve learned that you don’t have to have a baby in your arms to be a mum. I think there is a clear stereotype of a mum being at home with a baby. Motherhood can be in different forms its whatever you make it. I know amazing women who don’t have their children with them due to loss but they are still very much mothers. What a family looks like is not the 2.4 linear model anymore. You can be a family without children. My husband and I are already a family, I think a family is what you choose for it to be. Eve: How’s your pregnancy been so far, I know you’re getting closer now, has this been a smooth journey for you? Beth: Health wise it’s been a straightforward pregnancy with no complications. It has not been physically tiring but mentally for the first trimester I was always on high alert and super anxious. It took me a long time for me to think that this is a baby we are going to bring home with us. I break things down into milestones, so I can tick things off as we get closer. I needed to get by day by day. Where we are at now is planning the nursery and talking about names. Everyone’s journey is different, but I have found that in the scope after loss it does get easier. We have started hypnobirthing recently. I sent her an email before being really honest saying I don’t have any fears around labour, but I’m was scared I won’t bring my baby home from the hospital. Since then, we have done a couple of sessions and it has really helped improve my headspace, I feel a lot calmer. Eve: What is the main mantra you live your live by? Beth: I would say every day is a new day and take it as it comes and think this applies to all areas of life. The sun rises every day and time keeps going. It’s the one constant we can rely on. Eve: Thanks so much for being very open, I found it incredibly interesting!

Today I had the pleasure of speaking to Sally Darby, who was diagnosed with MS. Today Sally lives with her husband and two children, and I chat to her about her journey of motherhood, and what needs to change in society moving forward with people's perception of disabilities. Sally also runs a Facebook group for Disabled Mums, called 'Mums Like Us' on Facebook & Instagram.

On our first episode of the #MyMotherhood mini series, we speak to the inspiring Michelle Kennedy, founder and CEO of the popular motherhood app Peanut. We discuss her journey to motherhood, her incredible career, and why in this day & age it's so important to surround yourself with support. To Download Peanut, just search on your App store. Peanut App - https://www.instagram.com/peanut/?hl=en Michelle's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/michellekennedylon/?hl=en

Today we're speaking to Ula and Ollie from @herewegoagain.blog on Instagram. Ula & Ollie speak to me about the story of how they met, their favourite places to travel, past, present and future, their top tips for travelling with children and also all about converting their van! They're currently (post-covid) doing the #ukcountychallenge so go check them out - Insta: https://www.instagram.com/herewegoagain.blog/ Blog: https://herewegoagain.blog/

Today we're joined by Leah Black of @hallie_harlow_and_me on instagram. Leah has been through an incredible journey, and she openly speaks about her IUI treatment, IVF process and treatment and the amazing decision which led her to donating her eggs. Follow Leah - https://www.instagram.com/hallie_harlow_and_me/

Today we speak to Danni Turner from Mummy Social to speak about her experience and journey to getting her daughter Indigo's diagnosis for Autism & more. We also chat about Danni's role in Mummy Social and her decision to homeschool Indigo in Wales, UK. Thank you so much to Danni for sharing her story. To find out more on Mummy Social click here - https://www.instagram.com/mummysocial/

Today we speak to the fabulous Lucy who started the Facebook and Instagram 'Geriatric_Mums'. We chat about misconceptions of being an older mum, the definition and generally about her life! Lucy was in her 30's when she had her first two children, and pregnant at 42 when she had her third baby Rocky. To hear more about Geriatric mums or join the club -https://www.facebook.com/geriatricmum or follow Lucy over on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/geriatric_mum/?hl=en

Today we speak to Billie - https://www.instagram.com/firsttimebump/ on instagram on her experience of being a first time mum in lockdown. She shares her advice and her emotions, and also speaks about creating her e-book for little ones, full of activities! You can purchase it here - https://payhip.com/b/Hqv7

Happy New Year! Today we speak to Josie Barron, founder of @MummySocial on why it's so important to interact with her mums, especially now, and also her own personal journey. We also hear the story of her son Dex, who is currently fighting Leukemia. Follow - https://www.instagram.com/thediaryofdex/ Follow - https://www.instagram.com/mummysocial/

Today we speak to Nicola Bailey from @baileyandthebabies. Nicola has 3 children, Lucas, and then went on to have her twins Harper and Quinn, however it was only at birth Harper was discovered to have Downs Syndrome - 1 in a million chance. Today we speak about her experience and feelings and what she does today to spread awareness.

Today we have the pleasure of speaking to Mackenzie Baker from @mumma.baker on her incredible story of going from an average teenager to a teen mum in 17 hours! We chat concealed / cryptic pregnancy and the struggles and judgement she faced after.

Today we speak to Jade from @notyour_averagefamily on Instagram, about her special guardianship family. Jade's blog - https://notyouraveragefamilyblog.com/

In light of World Prematurity Day yesterday (17th November), today we speak to Emma Barker on her experience of having little Elsie at 28 weeks. To find out more on World Prematurity day, please see - https://www.bliss.org.uk/support-bliss/world-prematurity-day/what-is-world-prematurity-day

Today we speak to the lovely @Outnumbered_by_five (Selina) on her journey to her family of five, through IVF and having quadruplets. She is superwoman and we loved having her on! https://www.instagram.com/outnumbered_by_five

Today we speak to the lovely Liz Alexander from @TheMummyEditorial on her being a Better Birth ambassador. For more info on what we speak about in this podcast, read her blog at - https://www.themummyeditorial.com/

Today we speak to Lauren Hampshire from the Milky Tee Company on her experience of setting up her business to what it is today, whilst being a mum to Sophia & Sienna.

Today we speak to Tatum Palmer (@littlehpandme) to speak about her experiences of motherhood, second mum guilt, and her story of a sonographer accidentally revealing her baby's gender!

We chat with Sophie Jane Young on her experience on single parenting and how she turned her life around in just under a year...

Today we chat with Jill Ellis on her experience of going through Breast Cancer. To find out more please visit https://breastcancernow.org/get-involved/breast-cancer-awareness-month

Today we chat with @lifeofbeckie on Reflux and how this affected her son, Indigo.

Today we chat over Zoom with Catherine from Instagram @macie.mummy on equal parenthood and what this means for her.

Daisy shares her experience of a cryptic pregnancy and how her and her partner had just 2 months to prepare for parenthood.

In honour of World Sepsis Day, we speak with Beth on her experience with the condition and Roy's story. To seek support, please visit SANDS: https://www.sands.org.uk/

In honour of PCOS Awareness Month, we chat with Mia on her experience with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

Today we chat with Vicky on how her and her son are feeling with heading Back To School.