Becky Barnicoat is a cartoonist who has recently published the paperback version of her memoir ‘Cry When The Baby Cries’. It’s a cartoon depiction of new motherhood and it makes me laugh out loud. Sleep deprivation; the tricky time-consuming bedtime routine; the body after birth with deflated stomach and huge boobs; and perky youthful-looking parents pre-birth compared to the same couple with their new baby, but now looking haggard and baggy-eyed. Brilliant obsevations!

Becky started out as a journalist writing horoscopes for Bliss magazine and then junior editing at The Guardian, but drawing cartoons was always her first love and she’d get up an hour early every day to draw before work.

Becky told me about her journey to motherhood, going through fertility problems, and then how she chose to enjoy every minute of her pregnancy rather than worry all the way through it. She now has two boys age 6 and 8. 

Becky and I went to the same school and I’m pretty sure I know exactly which teachers she honed her cartoon skills on - and they very much deserved it in my opinion! 

Spinning Plates is presented by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, produced by Claire Jones and post-production by Richard Jones.

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