Advertise on podcast: Dear Mum

Content Note: This episode includes an honest conversation about OCD, intrusive thoughts and anxiety in pregnancy. Take care when listening 💛 Dear Mum… it’s the last episode of Series 2 - and it’s with the gorgeous soul that is Steph Elswood. After whispering to me at a friend’s wedding that she was pregnant, and I’ve wanted her on this podcast ever since. We go back to the early days of Instagram, and she’s now mum to 18-month-old Elsie and the founder of Studio Glide Pilates. We talk about severe sickness in her pregnancy, the 25 packets of salt and vinegar crisps in her hen do suitcase, and living with OCD through pregnancy, including the intrusive thoughts she didn’t know were a thing - but how NHS therapy helped. It’s funny, honest and very reassuring, and - I know I always say it butttt… her Post-it for the mums might be my favourite yet. I can’t quite believe that’s a wrap on Series 2. Thank you for listening, for sharing these episodes, and for sending them to the mum who needed to hear them. Keep doing just that - and hopefully we’ll be back for Series 3 very soon 🎙️ Links Follow Steph: IG - www.instagram.com/stephelswood TT - www.tiktok.com/@steph_elswoodYT - https://www.youtube.com/@StephElswood Charlie: IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunderYT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr 💪 Bumps & Burpees:https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpeeswww.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

A gentle heads up: this episode includes an honest conversation about a traumatic birth and time in intensive care with a newborn, in case that's a hard topic for you to hear right now. Dr Emily Jackman spends her days reassuring worried patients that their child's rash is probably fine…at 3am with her own kids? She's just as lost as the rest of us. Emily's mum to Madden and Romy, and this one's a proper mum chat. A traumatic first birth that ended in two weeks in intensive care with her newborn, and the single session of rewind therapy that finally helped her process it months later. The shock of going from one child to two, and the overstimulation nobody properly warns you about. Losing her sense of style so completely she calls it her "beige era", and finding her way back to it through colour analysis and a lot of supermarket shopping. She happens to be a GP too, which gives her a brilliant, honest angle on the gap between knowing the medicine and surviving your own 3am panic, …but this episode is about the mum bit, not the doctor bit. Enjoy! And don’t forget to share with a mum who may need this, and hit FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE wherever you get your podcasts 💛 Links Follow Emily IG - https://www.instagram.com/emily.jackman_/ TT - https://www.tiktok.com/@emilyjackman_ Charlie: IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunder TT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunder YT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr 💪 Bumps & Burpees: https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpees www.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

“The first thing she said to me was, can you pick me up now?" That's Giorgina Falcone on meeting her daughter Summer-Rae after her C-section. She had to tell her no… not for six weeks. Giorgina and I only met recently and talked for hours, so she had to come on. She's mum to Summer-Rae and Dylan, and this one is the full mum chat. Two emergency C-sections, including two days of labour before Dylan, how she was living with her sister, Giovanna, who she called her live-in midwife when she gave birth, and the NCT group that left her feeling worse - before the friendships that came later. We also talk about mourning the life you had (not the person you were), the loneliness nobody warns you about, and perimenopause hitting so hard she couldn't remember her kids' names. And along the way she tells me how her pregnancy underwear brand, MuthaProject, was born, and why we ALL need underwear like this! I hope you love this episode of Dear Mum. We’re hoping to start production for Season 3 super soon, but can’t do it without your support - so please hit FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE wherever you’re listening or watching 💛 Links Follow Giorge: https://www.instagram.com/giorgina_falconeThe Mutha Project: https://www.instagram.com/themuthaproject/https://themuthaproject.com/GET 20% off when you enter 'DEARMUM' at the checkout until Midnight on October 1st to celebrate Charlie: IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunderYT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr 💪 Bumps & Burpees:https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpeeswww.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

"You're too young to be going through perimenopause." That's what Kelly Taylor was told the first time she asked for help — so the second time, she didn't ask. She walked in and said, "I have perimenopause. I want HRT." Kelly's the comedy creator behind those painfully accurate class WhatsApp sketches (if you know, you know), and mum to two very different girls. We talk about the early days of motherhood she spent "really, really good at masking", including the moment she broke down on a work Zoom call and had to shut it off entirely, and the years-long fight to get properly diagnosed with perimenopause (despite family history stacked against her). We also get into "question your no": her simple, genuinely brilliant parenting reframe for catching yourself before an automatic "no," and why mum brain deserves way more credit than it gets. Kelly had me REALLY laughing - and I hope this makes you feel both entertained and seen. Don’t forget to FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE wherever you’re listening or watching. It really helps us create this podcast for the mums who need it Links Kelly Taylor:https://www.instagram.com/thisiskellytaylor Charlie:IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunderYT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr 💪 Bumps & Burpees:https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpeeswww.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

Content Warning: this episode includes conversation around a serious postpartum health scare (sepsis). Please listen with care. "You can't let me die tonight." That's what Aimee Vivian said to nurses four weeks after having her daughter — the night she genuinely didn't know if she'd make it through sepsis. Aimee's a Capital Radio presenter, mum to 14-month-old Charlie, and one of the most refreshingly honest guests we've had on this show. We talk about her whirlwind route into radio, going back to work at four months postpartum out of financial necessity as a self-employed presenter, and the sepsis diagnosis that nearly took her life — and completely changed how she sees herself. We also cover the stuff that makes this show what it is: judgment between mums, the pressure to be a "cool mum" online, and why she's started buying twenty pairs of jeans just to find the one that actually fits (and returning the rest). Thank you SO much for being here - don't forget to follow or subscribe wherever you're listening to support the pod! 💛 Links: Aimee: @aimeevivian Charlie: IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunder TT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunder YT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr 💪 Bumps & Burpees: https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpees www.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

TRIGGER WARNING - this episode includes an honest conversation about miscarriage and pregnancy loss, in case that's a hard topic for you to hear right now. Listen with care. "It took me about six months to really bond with them." Dr Anita Mitra is a gynaecologist, cancer surgeon, and the voice behind Gynae Geek… and is here on Dear Mum being honest about something almost nobody admits to out loud. Anita and I go back years, long before either of us had kids, and this conversation covers a lot: meeting her husband on labour ward mid-emergency, self-scanning herself pregnant with twins in an empty ward on a bank holiday, and the miscarriage she went through before them — including being asked, the same weekend, whether she was still able to come in for an on-call shift. We talk honestly about not feeling the instant "rush of love" everyone promises you'll feel, the intrusive questions people ask twin parents, and why "no is a complete sentence" might be the best piece of advice we've had on this show yet. I hope you loved this episode as much as I did - and please consider hitting SUBSCRIBE or FOLLOW wherever you get Dear Mum, as it really helps us continue to bring these conversations to mums who need them most 💛 Links Anita Mitra:IG - @gynaegeekLinktree - https://linktr.ee/gynaegeek Charlie:IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunderYT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr 💪 Bumps & Burpees:https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpeeswww.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

"Have you tried putting your baby down drowsy but awake?" A statement SO many of us mums have been told… but why!? It’s a question the wonderful Alice Liveing has us all asking in this episode, which will make you laugh (and maybe swear a little) on Dear Mum. Alice is a personal trainer, an old gym friend of mine from way before either of us had kids, and mum to eight-month-old Jeanie - she’s also a much loved content creator and blogger. We talk about the reality-check of early motherhood - the four months of relentless crying, not leaving the house for weeks, and the strange identity shift of going from a packed, busy career to feeling, in her words, "like the most uninteresting person ever." We also get honest about the mental load of feeling like you're never quite doing anything well enough - as a mum, a friend, a wife, a business owner - and why she's back in therapy to work through it. If you want to follow Alice, the links are below - and please do hit FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE wherever you’re listening, as it helps us keep growing this show and bringing you more Dear Mum Moments 💛 Links Alice Liveing IG - https://www.instagram.com/aliceliveing/YT - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAjZSBvf4ymFRw9Z9Ff9duQGive Me Strength App - https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/give-me-strength/id1560651240 Charlie: IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunderYT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr💪 Bumps & Burpees: https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpeeswww.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

A gentle heads up: this episode includes an honest conversation about postpartum anxiety and depression, and briefly touches on a parent's dementia diagnosis, in case that's a hard topic for you to hear right now. "Can you come and watch me sleep?" That's the request Lina Perez made to friends during her second postpartum — and the fact that most said no is exactly why this episode matters. Lina is a mum of two, business owner, and founder of RestoreHer postpartum retreats. We have an honest, deeply relatable conversation about the realities of postpartum mental health, the loneliness of motherhood for high-functioning women, and what real support actually looks like. Lina opens up about her experience of postpartum anxiety and depression with her second baby — despite having had a straightforward first postpartum — and shares how the sudden shift from running businesses and managing hundreds of tasks to being told to "just stop" triggered panic attacks, sleep paralysis, and a complete loss of identity. She introduces her powerful concept of the "missing middle": the gap in support between a GP with five minutes and a prescription pad, and wellness circles that don't speak to a woman with a mortgage and bills to pay. We also discuss the neuroscience of postpartum, the challenge of asking for help when you've always been the capable one, and how RestoreHer was born from desperation to create a space where mums can truly rest, heal, and connect with like-minded women. If this episode resonates, there’s many more episodes of Dear Mum to listen or watch. And be sure to hit FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE on your chosen platform so you’re notified about new episodes every Thursday. 💛 Links Lina / RestoreHER: Website - https://restoreher.co.uk/IG - https://www.instagram.com/restoreher_retreats/ Charlie: IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunderYT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr 💪 Bumps & Burpees: https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpeeswww.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

If Chaneen Saliee isn’t already on your radar, she should be, because this mum of three is a beautiful force! Founder of breastfeeding-wear brand ‘Chic and Discreet’, Chaneen is also a content creator who just so happens to be our first guest to bring her baby, Dare, into the studio with her (fair warning: he steals the show). We talk about the whiplash of going from free-spirited world traveller to mum of one, then two, then — after a seven-year gap — a surprise-announced third. Chaneen tandem breastfed her older daughters until they were three, and this time round she's doing things differently: setting boundaries, accepting help, and actually taking care of herself alongside the baby. There's a beautiful thread running through the episode too… her youngest's middle name, Everest, chosen to honour her mum, who passed away before he arrived. Honest, warm, and full of genuinely brilliant parenting hacks (all hail "lying down parenting"). Don’t forget to FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE wherever you’re listening so we can bring more amazing conversations to the mum group chat, and thank you for being here 💛 Links Chaneen Saliee IG - https://www.instagram.com/chaneensaliee/Shop Chic and Discreet - https://www.chicanddiscreet.com/ Charlie: IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunderYT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr 💪 Bumps & Burpees:https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpeeswww.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussions around infertility and becoming parents through surrogacy. "I walked into a room full of cots, and it was like a lightning bolt." That's the moment Louenna Hood describes as the turning point… the second she knew she was going to adopt. Louenna's spent her whole career looking after other people's children, over 100 babies, a Norland nanny training, and now the app and book that's helped thousands of parents (myself included). She chose to build her family on her own terms, no father, no partner, just her in her quest for motherhood. We talk about the trip to Ukraine that changed everything, the foster-to-adopt process, and the day Alice arrived — three days old, "dropped off by the stork." Louenna's honest about what it's really like to parent through adoption: staying open with Alice about her story, meeting her birth parents, and why she pushes back on the idea that adopted children are simply "lucky." This is truly a special episodes, so don’t forget to FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE wherever you’re listening so we can bring more amazing conversations to the mum group chat 💛 Links Louenna Hood: IG - https://www.instagram.com/nannylouennaFB - https://www.facebook.com/nannylouennaThe app - https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/nanny-louenna/id1508344643Website - https://louenna.com/ Charlie: IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunderYT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr 💪 Bumps & Burpees:https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpeeswww.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussions around infertility and becoming parents through surrogacy. "You're not going to be able to have kids." That's what Charlie Watson was told at 16, and it's the starting point for one of the most powerful conversations we've had on this show. Charlie's a dietitian, a marathon runner, and mum to Bertie and Woody — both born via the same surrogate in the US, after Charlie was diagnosed with MRKH, a condition that meant her uterus never fully developed. We talk about keeping that diagnosis in a box for over a decade, the surrogacy process itself (which is nothing like most of us imagine), and what it actually felt like to become a mum in a way she never expected to. We also get properly honest about the stuff nobody admits: finding it harder to bond with her second than her first, the guilt that followed, and why "I'm not juggling it well" might be the most relatable thing any of us can say out loud. I hope you loved this chat as much as me. Please consider sharing this to your mum group chat, and don’t forget to FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE wherever you’re listening 💛 Links: Charlie Watson on IG - https://www.instagram.com/therunnerbeans?igsh=MWl6Y3J2c21yazhvZg%3D%3D Charlie:IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunderYT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr 💪 Bumps & Burpees:https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpeeswww.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

Trigger Warning: This episode includes an honest conversation about postnatal anxiety and depression, as well as weight loss, in case that's a hard topic for you to hear right now.This one's for anyone who's ever felt like motherhood cracked them open and left them wondering who they even are anymore. Alice Rickard's been there (further down than most of us talk about) and she's come back out the other side.Alice and I go way back through the fitness world, she's a personal trainer, life coach, and mum to six-year-old twins Willow and Jagger. If you've seen her online, you'll know her as pure motivation — but this episode is about what it took to get there, and the reality of juggling two at the same time!!We talk about the husband ultimatum that pushed her towards motherhood despite never wanting kids, a brutal twin pregnancy with hyperemesis, and postnatal anxiety so severe she describes it as "probably the darkest place I've ever been." We get into the retreat that changed how she saw herself, and the years it took before she finally shifted her mindset — not just her actions.I hope you loved this chat as much as me. Please consider sharing this to your mum group chat, and don’t forget to FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE wherever you’re listening 💛Links:Charlie: IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunder YT -  @charliebarkerr  Alice: IG - www.instagram.com/alicerickard_Her app - www.danafit.ai 💪 Bumps & Burpees: https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpeeswww.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

(A gentle heads up: this one includes an honest chat about postnatal mental health, in case that's a hard topic for you to hear right now) Dear Mum is BACK!! and Series 2 starts here, with the most incredible mum that I know so many of you already love… It’s Georgia Jones! Georgia and I go way back - she was one of my pregnant clients before either of us knew what motherhood would actually throw at us. Now she's mum to eight-year-old Cooper, a former model married to McFly’s Danny Jones, and one of the most honest voices I know on what early motherhood really feels like once the filter comes off. We cover the school WhatsApp chaos (you'll relate, I promise), her lightning-fast 37-minute birth, and then the bit that matters most: the 18 months afterwards where she says she "wasn't in a good place mentally" and barely remembers. We talk therapy, running as a form of processing, and how she found her way back to herself. We also get into the question she's asked constantly — why she's stopped at one — and why she's done justifying it. Links: Charlie: IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunderYT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerrGeorgia: IG - https://www.instagram.com/thegeorgiaedit YT - https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeorgiaEdit Her Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/@MumsTheWordPod💪 Bumps & Burpees: https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpees www.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

We’re at the end of Series 1 of Dear Mum - and I feel like I should be the one writing a post-it note for myself, because this series has genuinely changed how I think about motherhood, and this final conversation is the perfect way to close it out. Anna Mathur is a psychotherapist, author, and a refreshingly honest mum of three. You might know her from her books, her incredibly honest Instagram, or from the way she has this gift of making you feel like someone finally gets it. We'd been talking about doing this episode for months and I'm so glad we waited, because it felt like the perfect conversation to end on. We talk about overwhelm; what it actually is, why it's so physical, and why the Hot Wheels car on the radiator can genuinely feel like a threat to your nervous system. We get into burnout, the real kind, and Anna shares her own experience of grinding to a complete halt after the pandemic and what it took to rebuild. We talk about the Mary Poppins to Hulk Continuum (yes, really), why snapping at your kids is a symptom not a character flaw, and how to repair things when it goes wrong - without the but. We also talk about capacity. How we pour everything into everyone else and run on empty, and why doing something for yourself isn't selfish - it's active love for your children. This episode felt like a big exhale. I hope it does for you too. — If you've been listening to series one, thank you. Truly! I'd love to know what you've loved, what you want more of, and who you'd like to hear from in series two. Comment on whatever platform you’re watching, or drop me a message on Instagram. And also consider leaving a review; it means the world and helps more mums find the show. ❤️ New episodes every Thursday - hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss one ✨ Follow Anna Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/annamathur/Website (including her books!) - https://www.annamathur.com/start-here/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnQA0UUOeMzMNFXm920VIS0VKC2KB1efhRCa4tG1VPkgH54KTSJQvLvUVtPMg_aem_pLy0UqoLghR4rK-c2PWYHg Follow me (Charlie!) Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderAnd get to know my business, Bumps & Burpees - https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpees and http://www.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

This week's guest is proof that there is no perfect time, no perfect age, and no perfect plan... and that things can still turn out better than you ever could have imagined. Maisie Crompton is the founder of Totes For Youu, content creator, and mum to the most fiery, loving three-year-old, Elsie. We'd never met in person before this, but it felt like catching up with an old friend - which I think says everything about the kind of person Maisie is. We talk about what it was actually like finding out she was pregnant at 19, telling her boyfriend by text at 11pm, and how both sets of parents showed up in the most beautiful way. We get into running a business through pregnancy, growing a following by just bringing people along for the ride, and how she and her partner Charlie now work together full time — with very clear lanes. We also get into the parenting stuff — early bedtimes that changed everything, the comparison trap on social media, birth order (we go deep on this one), and why showing up fully in one place at a time is the goal, even if it's easier said than done. Plus Maisie's take on travelling with a baby, Australia at five months, and why she will stand by that decision forever. Pop this on for the school run, while you're packing orders, folding laundry, or any time you need someone to remind you that you're doing better than you think. 💕 New episodes every Thursday - hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss one ✨ Follow MaisieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisie_crompton/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maisie_crompton Check our her business Totes For YouuWebsite: https://wearetfy.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/totesforyouu/?hl=en Follow me (Charlie!)Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunder And get to know my business, Bumps & BurpeesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpeesWebsite: http://www.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW