For All Mum Kind

Personal Trainer and Nutritional Coach Jacqui Twohig is a mum to Jack who has recently turned one.

Jacqui is originally from Dublin and now lives in Kerry, and we chat about how she created her own support network of friends that help her out.

I thoroughly enjoyed Jacqui’s birth story, laughing her way through early labour while watching a Tommy Tiernan DVD.

Jacqui personifies a positive mental attitude and she shares interesting insights into how we can work on our mindset. While in labour Jacqui wore a dress rather than a gown or night dress as she felt that dress was empowering.

Being a personal trainer Jacqui has great realism around mums returning or beginning a fitness routine. Jacqui’s wise words are that you should never feel like you have to, but rather you should feel that you want to.

Jacqui’s positivity is inspiring and her tips on using your mindset in labour or while experiencing lack of sleep are really helpful!

To get daily tips and great advice from Jacqui please check out her Instagram page here:

https://www.instagram.com/jacqui.twohig.coaching/

Pamela x

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/for-all-mum-kind/id1456045096?mt=2

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5q5ErY3McbYLuzC2qGfxVz

Where do I start with Dr Lisa Ní Chuinnegáin Guthrie? She is currently on the frontline in the Emergency Dept of University Hospital Galway, she’s a mum to three and a loyal Mayo supporter.

Lisa always has a smile on her face and chatting with her was like chatting to an old friend.

Lisa shares her home birth story with me, how she planned it, what her medical peers thought of the home birth and the experience itself!

Myself and Lisa shared stories of tongue ties and the impact that it can have on breastfeeding. Due to Lisa’s work commitments in emergency medicine she shares with me how she balances work and mom life.

Lisa also shared one of her top parenting tips called the three R’s, what the method is, how and when she uses it.

Lisa is a wealth of knowledge and her Instagram feed is a must follow if you have any health related questions. You can find it here:

https://www.instagram.com/dr_mammyguthrie/

Pamela x

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/for-all-mum-kind/id1456045096?mt=2

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5q5ErY3McbYLuzC2qGfxVz

Siobhan Berry aka Mummy Cooks is one of Ireland’s leading weaning experts, author of two family cook books and mum to two girls Ashleigh and Jessica.

Siobhan saw a gap in the market and created a very easy to follow weaning guide, what food to introduce your baby and how to balance feeding with weaning.

Siobhan is an advocate of letting the baby lead the way when it comes to weaning, not focusing on either baby led or spoon feed.

Siobhan provides great advice on how to avoid creating fussy eaters and introducing foods that contains allergens.

We share stories of how Grandparents love the break the rules and be the provider of sugary treats.

To read more about Siobhan plan, order her book or just look up some of her fab episodes check out her website: http://www.mummycooks.ie

Pamela x

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/for-all-mum-kind/id1456045096?mt=2

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5q5ErY3McbYLuzC2qGfxVz

Deirdre Holland Hannon is a Behaviour Specialist and a mum to two boys.

Myself and Deirdre find common ground on our fertility journeys. Dee shares with me her early diagnose of Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) , how her mum advocated for her to find answers and these answers gave her the power to make decisions early on when it came to conceiving.

Dee’s two boys Ned and Billy are quite different with Ned always in fifth gear and Billy absorbing his surroundings from people to information. It surprised Dee how much motherhood changed her in particular how much she is will to sacrifice for the boys.

As a behaviour specialist Dee and I discuss some common themes that she assists parents with such as introducing a new baby to a toddler, toilet training and more!

You can follow Deirdre on Instagram here:

https://www.instagram.com/deehollhan/

Or read more about her work on her website here:

https://deirdrehollandhannon.com

Pamela x

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/for-all-mum-kind/id1456045096?mt=2

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5q5ErY3McbYLuzC2qGfxVz

Entrepreneur Aoife McDonald owns My Cotton Drawer a sustainable online store that specialises on sustainable products for parents.

Aoife is a mum to three boys and she shares her tales of living in a male dominated house, her breastfeeding journey, tough pregnancies and school runs.

Aoife chats to me about her breastfeeding journey with her three boys, the first time feeding in public and hitting bumps in the road with tongue tie.

Three pregnancies with three boys, Aoife found each of the pregnancies tough, both physically and emotionally. Often feeling like her body has been hit by a train.

Now Aoife is balancing her time between school run pick ups and drop offs, utilising her time to the best of her ability and often running her business using an iPad in her car while waiting for the kids.

If you have ever considered cloth nappies and lost your way Aoife shares all she knows about choosing the right cloth nappy for you, how to wash and dry them, how to manage while out and about.

Please check out My Cotton Drawer here:

https://mycottondrawer.com

Pamela x

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/for-all-mum-kind/id1456045096?mt=2

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5q5ErY3McbYLuzC2qGfxVz

Welcome to the third series of the For All Mum Kind Podcast. For this series, with all that is going on at the moment, I am doing things a little differently. I am releasing the first six episodes of the series on one day - Mother's Day - so there is plenty of content for you to get away from the noise and enjoy a little escapism.

In the first episode I am joined by Eimear Hutchinson of The Two Darlings. Eimear is a Sligo native living in Cork. She is a stay at home mum with four, yes four, girls!

Eimear chats to me about being a mum in a busy household, the chaos of getting everyone out the door in the morning and how she finds time for herself in the middle of it all.

Four pregnancies later, four caesarean sections, Eimear is focusing now on restoring her body in particular her stomach muscles and how getting out for a run is a part of her self care routine.

As a mum of four I ask Eimear which of the phases is the hardest, as she says you can google all you want about naps and feeding habits, but when it comes to the age that you are dealing with emotions, that’s when it gets difficult.

Eimear is a joined by her gorgeous daughter Alice for this recording and I was so delighted to meet an other Alice.

To read Eimear's blog please go to:

https://thetwodarlings.com

Or follow her on Instagram here:

https://www.instagram.com/eimearhutchinson/

Pamela x

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/for-all-mum-kind/id1456045096?mt=2

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5q5ErY3McbYLuzC2qGfxVz

Series 3 of the For All Mum Kind podcast will return next Sunday 22nd March, Mother’s Day.

However, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. I have decided to release the first six episodes of the series on Sunday.

This way I hope that if anybody is feeling lonely, isolated, anxious, or all of the above, the podcasts will be there to help you get away from the noise, to take time for yourself and to remember that you are not alone.

I have great guests in this series including a doctor, PT & nutritional coach, a weaning expert, a behavioural specialist and of course more genuine chats with real mums about the ups and downs and everything in between of motherhood.

As always I hope you enjoy working your way through the episodes as much as I enjoyed recording. And thanks once again to the mums who took the time to chat with me.

Series One and Two of the podcast are available to listen now and please share the podcast with any mum or mum to be that would enjoy it.

Thanks, Pamela

For my last episode of this series I was delighted to be joined by Cliona O'Connor (formerly LeanMeanMomma) and I couldn’t have asked for a more delightful guest on which to end with. For those who don’t know Cliona, she is a multi award winning blogger, content creator and mom from Cork. To the already initiated she is an essential voice in the social media space, from her excellent family recipes to her exemplary sense of style. In person she did not disappoint. She is exactly like she is in her stories, humble, witty and we could have talked for hours mum to mum.

As a mother of four, time management is key in Cliona’s household. Exercise is essential to her for both body and mind, in fact she fully admits that she would not be able to function without it. So trying fit that in between work commitments and the day to day carnage of family life is a daily challenge.

Food plays a huge part in Cliona’s domestic and work life. From the outside looking in, it looks as if she has cracked the code as to how to get kids to eat healthily. But she is quick to point out that her own children are just as fussy as the rest of us and she is always trying to invent new ways to sneak vegetables into their diet.

We also reminisce about Cliona’s early days as a mother and her strict adherence to the text books & methods that nearly sent her potty. She had to learn the hard way just like the rest of us to let go, relax and as long as you are doing everything for your children from a place of love then you are doing the right thing. And if you see another mother in trouble don’t be afraid to lend a helping hand.

I cannot thank Cliona enough for her time and for agreeing to record her first ever podcast with me. We could have probably filled a whole episode about our shared passion for Lululemon leggings alone! To follow Cliona’s daily stories please head over to her to her instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/clionaoconnor_/

Or check out her brilliant recipes on her blog:

https://clionaoconnor.ie

This is the last episode of Series 2 of the For All Mum Kind Podcast and I would like to thank all the mums who took the time to chat with me over the past twelve weeks. I have learnt so much from each one of them and I hope you have enjoyed listening to the podcasts as much as I have enjoyed recording them. I plan to take a short break now until early 2020 and in the meantime I would really appreciate if you could continue to share the pod amongst your mum groups and beyond. And if you have the time please rate and review me on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods as it really helps with the discoverability of the pod for any new mums out there.

Finally if you wish to get in touch with me please DM me on my Instagram channel:

https://www.instagram.com/forallmumkind/

Thanks and see you in the new year!

Pamela x

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/for-all-mum-kind/id1456045096?mt=2

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5q5ErY3McbYLuzC2qGfxVz

Life coach Sarah Doyle is a self employed new mum of one. In her Empowered Women Workshops she has coached hundreds of women to achieve happiness, health, success and confidence. But when it came to her own matrescence she freely admits to finding motherhood both physically and emotionally challenging.

After her first pregnancy sadly ended in miscarriage Sarah was naturally a very anxious expectant mother. Sarah employed a doula to help her throughout her labour and this coupled with adherence to the hypnobirthing technique enabled Sarah to have a vaginal birth to a beautiful 11.5lb baby boy Billy. Yes, you read that correctly. 11.5lb.

After a week at home Sarah and her partner felt that Billy wasn’t behaving as normal. As a precaution they took him into Temple Street but nothing could have prepared them for what happened next. Billy started to have an apnea episode and before Sarah could even register what was happening nurses where performing CPR poor Billy right in front of her. This is quite possibly one of the most harrowing stories I’ve heard on the podcast and it will have you all looking for the nearest paediatric CPR classes in your area.

Sarah is a breastfeeding advocate and still loves to feed Billy to this day. But she, like so many others, struggled with the lack of freedom and “relentless nature”of the two hour feeding cycles. She also found the judgment and criticism that can exist around breastfeeding vs bottle feeding a bitter and unnecessary pill to swallow.

I also talk to Sarah about returning to work and her postpartum body. In both of these areas I found Sarah’s honesty and insight to be enlightening. She does not profess to have all (or any) of the answers but she does bestow the virtues of being kind to yourself, taking things slowly and leaning into both the good and the bad. I think we can all take something from that.

To read more about Sarah’s work, find out about her next workshops or to buy her 12 week ‘How To Be Your Best Friend’ Journal please check out her website:

http://www.thebetterlifeproject.ie

Or to see more from her daily life you can also find her on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/sarah_thebetterlifeproject/

Thanks as always for listening and for your messages and questions about the podcast. As always I am available to message on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/forallmumkind/

Please keep spreading the word of the podcast to anyone you think may enjoy it or it may help. And if you have the time please rate and review me on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. Thanks!

Pamela x

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/for-all-mum-kind/id1456045096?mt=2

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5q5ErY3McbYLuzC2qGfxVz

Denise Phillips is a mum to Beth and stepmum to Ellie, an award winning hair stylist and she has recently launched her own range of hair styling tools. She shot into the public conscious a few years ago when she bravely and candidly went on record to talk about her infertility. As someone who went through my own fertility story I was delighted when Denise agreed to be on the podcast and share her experiences of going through IVF as well as finally becoming a mum.

At the age of 25 Denise had never had a regular period and after many years of tests and being prodded and poked she was finally diagnosed as infertile. At that stage she didn’t even know if IVF would work for her. Several rounds of IUI and IVF later and Denise was still no closer to being pregnant. This put a massive strain on her financially, emotionally, physically and almost caused her to split with her partner. Then on her 30th birthday she finally got the news she so desired - she was pregnant.

By this stage Denise was a “fertility expert” and she explains on the podcast the difference in the treatments that are available. We also discuss how far Ireland is lacking behind in fertility compared to the rest of Europe. Did you know that it is only Ireland and Lithuania who do not class infertility as a disease and thus offer no financial assistance? We also talk about why women who have IVF are four times more likely to suffer with post natal depression.

Denise’s honesty and openness is so refreshing. She has no qualms in crashing through the stigma that surrounds fertility. Although she admits that “nobody wants to share their failures” she realises the importance of opening up this conversation so that anybody else out there who is struggling with their own fertility will know that they are not alone. And for this I thank you Denise.

To follow her and her daughter Beth’s story further please check out her Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/milliondollarbaby_ivf/

A quick note on the recording quality of this podcast: I met Denise at her salon in Newbridge on quite possibly the rainiest morning on record and you can hear the rain hammering away in the background. So if you hear a faint - and sometimes not so faint - hiss don’t worry, your earphones are not broken!

Thanks as always for listening and if you want to talk further about any of the topics on this podcast please feel free to message me on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/forallmumkind/

If you are enjoying the series please share it with your friends, especially any soon to be new mums or those who may be struggling with their own experience. And if you have the time please rate and review me on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. Thanks!

Pamela x

Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/for-all-mum-kind/id1456045096?mt=2

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5q5ErY3McbYLuzC2qGfxVz