Growing

It’s all about confidence baby? Or something like that. This week we fall (read: tumble) down the rabbit hole of postpartum body image and a significant loss in confidence. In truth a loss in some ways, of ourselves. We are simultaneously ready to be swallowed whole by motherhood but don’t want to be spat out on the other side and not recognise our beautiful selves. 

Identity shifts in motherhood are huge and honestly kind of cataclysmic in their own right so we try and tease out our thoughts on it all and who we are between milky mumming 24/7. 

Recipes & Recommendations

Lilly is recommending a Mexican version of the viral Hot Honey Beef⁠

Plus this episode The Imperfects – Confidence⁠ that inspired today’s chat. She’s also obsessed with the Kmart Spot Cleaner⁠ paired with Vax Platinum Professional Cleaning Solution⁠ for bringing couches and feeding chairs back to life.

Beth is happily living cruise control version of the Marley Spoon life and shares her simple cradle cap treatment using QV Dermacare , QV Baby Gentle Wash and a soft baby comb like this one.

If today’s conversation resonated with you, we’d absolutely love to hear from you. 

Come and join the conversation over on Instagram at @growingthepodcast⁠ and tell us: what’s one small thing you’re doing this week to slowly rebuild your confidence?

This week on Growing, we’re deep in the reality of winter with little kids. Beth shares the scary experience of RSV sweeping through the family, the emotional rollercoaster of navigating ED with sick babies, and why trusting your instincts as a parent matters.

Lil is navigating the less glamorous combination of postpartum and PMS, reflecting on just how much women carry, while celebrating the beautiful relief of watching Franklin settle into his happy little self.

We also chat about the unexpected magic of slowing down. Sometimes the best play doesn’t come from another activity it comes from boredom, imagination and letting kids create their own little worlds.

This weeks R&R: 

Beth is loving Couples Therapy on SBS, open-ended toys and a hearty meatball soup. Lil is recommending Ottolenghi’s Chicken Marbella⁠ and the L’Occitane Almond Shower Oil⁠ (or the more budget-friendly MCo Beauty Smoothing Almond Oil Body Wash⁠) for a little everyday luxury.

Glimmer girls - we know you get it and god we’re grateful. 

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@lillian.beth

This week on Growing, Beth has unfortunately had the house guest nobody asked for… mastitis. We chat about just how hard breastfeeding can be, and why getting the right support matters. Beth has also shared some fantastic evidence-based mastitis resources on her Instagram, plus gives our Glimmer Girlies a tiny sneak peek at a very exciting secret she can’t wait to share.

Meanwhile, the Dummy Fairy has officially worked her magic at Lil’s house. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to cure Lil’s husband of the dreaded man flu. Some things are simply beyond even fairy-level powers.

Beth has your Sunday breakfast sorted with fluffy pancakes and a lip gloss that’s giving peak Y2K nostalgia. Lil is loving the children’s books Fairy Beach, Fairy Forest and honourable mention to Here Come the Cousins, plus a batch of homemade muesli bars that make the perfect nourishing postpartum snack.

As always, thank you for being here, Glimmer Girlies. We adore you. 🤍

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Hosts: @birthwithbeth_ & @lillian.beth

This week on Growing we’re wondering where our inner girls have disappeared to. We chat about the all-consuming season of motherhood, how many layers of our former selves feel quietly tucked away, and the strange mix of missing the freedom of “before” while knowing, we wouldn’t trade where we are now for the world. 

Beth gets wonderfully practical, taking us through exactly how she manages to get a toddler and two tiny babies out of the house. 

Meanwhile Lil’s postpartum fatigue has finally caught up with her and the very real tension of desperately wanting to soak up every moment while also needing five uninterrupted minutes. 

This week Lil is recommending a comforting chicken pot pie recipe, while Beth loved reading The Heir Apparent. Lil wants to shout out Namastudio’s sentimental name prints⁠, and the Babybee Luna Pram⁠ — bought second-hand and absolutely obsessed.

As always Glimmer Girlies, thank you for spending a little part of your week with us. We hope this episode reminds you that even if parts of yourself feel a little dormant right now, they’re still there — and so are we. 🤍

This week on Growing we’re (as usual) deep in the beautiful chaos of motherhood. Lil is currently negotiating with the dummy fairy and wondering if, while she’s collecting dummies, she could kindly also toilet train a toddler at the same time? Her glimmer this week is Walk & Talk officially returning - so if you’re a Brisbane mama needing coffee, sunshine and company, slide into Lil’s DMs. 

Meanwhile Beth is firmly in the trenches navigating the intense reality of breastfeeding two babies. Amongst the chaos comes a beautiful full circle moment with the twins and a reminder that sometimes the very best things in life look nothing like ‘the plan’

Beth is recommending a breastfeeding cover from Promised The Label for distracted babies and feeding on the go, while Lil has been hooked by Silver Elite — a dystopian read with just enough lust to successfully drag her off her phone, which frankly feels like personal growth.

Recipe wise Beth has whipped up a meatball recipe for us, while Lil is loving a breakfast crumble moment — think apple crumble energy, but throw in some nuts, seeds and yoghurt so it feels vaguely nourishing.

And a huge thank you to our sponsor Sound Slam⁠ — an incredible Aussie-made learning tool helping little ones build the early literacy skills that support school readiness through fun, play-based learning. Big fans over here.

As always Glimmer Girlies — thank you for being here, we’re so glad you are 🤍 

Join us on Instagram @growingthepodcast @birthwithbeth and @lillian.beth and if you haven’t already left us a 5 star review wherever you listen we would be so grateful. 

This week on Growing we’re discussing a fairly groundbreaking revelation: motherhood is amazing and also, very hard. Possibly the biggest slice of humble pie either of us have ever consumed. One universal truth remains - men could absolutely never.

The constant questioning of am I doing enough? Am I doing this right? and the vulnerability that creeps in when comparison enters the chat. Beth reflects on life with the twins and how, with a little hindsight, some parts of this season have felt heavy. It’s a lot… but gosh golly, it’s worth it.

Meanwhile Lil would like to formally acknowledge that she misses the era of spontaneous vinos with girlfriends. And can we all agree we are somehow simultaneously under and overstimulated at once? How is that possible. Science, explain.

Beth has a bliss ball recipe to tackle the breastfeeding munchies and is currently loving the surprisingly elite shhhhhh setting on ErgoPouch Drift Away White Noise Machine⁠ — highly recommend giving it a whirl. Lil is recommending house slippers, ignoring the state of your floors, and stocking the freezer with these Shredded Mexican Beef Burritos⁠ because future you deserves support.

A little love this week for Sound Slam a brilliant Aussie-created, play-based learning tool. Grounded in the science of reading, it helps little ones develop phonological awareness through connection, play and learning that genuinely feels fun (which frankly is the dream). Perfect for families wanting to build confidence before those school years arrive.

As always, thank you Glimmer Girlies. Motherhood can feel enormous, beautiful, relentless and deeply humbling all at once — we see you, and we’re so glad you’re here 🤍

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@birthwithbeth_

@lillian.beth

This week Beth is feeling the full speed rush of motherhood as her eldest seems to be growing at an offensively fast pace, leaving us asking: how exactly are we meant to slow down when life feels permanently set to x2 speed? Which naturally spirals us into the chaos of online life — community and connection on one hand, complete over-accessibility on the other. Are we over-checking in? Is it chronic or cute? Hard to say. And yes, before anyone tells us to touch grass… we know. We bought the brick, we’re just not emotionally ready to unpack it yet.

Meanwhile Lil has absolutely unravelled after her toddler both taking a tumble and getting a haircut in the same week. Too much change. Too much growth. Frankly the fragile postpartum heart was not built for tiny curls hitting the salon floor. Take my eyesight, sure. But not my baby’s curls.

If things are feeling heavy, please reach out to your GP, maternal child health nurse or The Gidget Foundation Australia⁠.

This week we’re recommending two elite zucchini slices — RecipeTin Eats Zucchini Slice⁠ and Krumbled Foods Cheesy Zucchini Slice⁠  and for the love of God, cook ya bloody bacon.

Lil is loving Milk & Bloom Lactation Cookies⁠, Beth is recommending Dr Siggie⁠ for all things parenting, and when the stars align, she’s  squeezing in an episode of The Day of the Jackal.

As always, thank you Glimmer Girlies. Wherever this episode finds you — we’re so glad you’re here. 

Follow us! @growingthepodcast

 We’re back in your ears answering your questions and sharing where we’re currently at in our postpartum hazy daze.

This week we’re chatting about the elusive topic of sleep and what that looks like in our households right now, do our kids have the same name?! Our skincare favourites, how we met, midwifery and career pathway changes, and how we’re navigating postpartum fashion.

Kel King's Postpartum Dressing Episode⁠

Lil’s Skincare Roster

• La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5+⁠

• Aeon Liquid Magic 

• Avocado Zinc 

• Drunk Elephant Bronzing Drops⁠

We are so grateful you’re here - sending you a little glimmer of love for wherever you’re at.

This week we're checking in from the beautiful chaos of postpartum life, where our husbands have returned to work and we’re all getting into the swing of a new normal. 

We chat about the strange season of having tiny babies while trying to re-enter the world, the nuance of feeling grateful and overwhelmed at the exact same time.

Beth shares her current struggle with beauty maintenance in a season where time is a luxury commodity. Hair appointments? Brows? Skincare routines? Who is she and where exactly is she supposed to find the time?

As always, there are recommendations.

Beth brings a surprisingly effective source of toddler entertainment in the form of John Deere videos on YouTube, while Lil introduces us to the glorious Italian concept of the "Umarell" — retired men who spend their days observing construction sites with their hands clasped behind their backs, generously offering advice to the workers.

A lunch box friendly Raspberry Oat Muffin available here

And because no episode would be complete without a sweet treat, Lil is recommending the Loco Love Pistachio chocolate, which may or may not be getting her through the breastfeeding sweetie snack attack. 

If you're in a season that feels messy, relentless, beautiful, exhausting, or all of the above, consider this your reminder that you're not alone. We're right there with you. 

Beth has climbed the mountain that is mastitis and is happily - finally - on the other side. She shares the feeding plan she’s landed on for her twinnies, what’s feeling sustainable for her family, and a very gorgeous reframe around postpartum bodies and what they’re actually made for. We’re doing our very best to put down the negative self-talk, one tender little reframe at a time.

Meanwhile, Lilly has survived her first week with her husband back at work and it was mostly magical… with, of course, several moments of complete madness. The logistics have logistics, the toddler activities need activity cherries on top, and Beth comes through with some genuinely brilliant mum tips for making the day work for you.

Once again, the women are the best. Thank you for being here - we simply adore you. Also if you haven’t yet watched Off Campus, well what are you waiting for dolly?

Recommendations & Recipes

Lil’s Recipe:An easy throw-together biscuit recipe perfect for little helping hands and those “we need an activity immediately” afternoons. Toddler Biscuit Recipe

Lil’s Recommendation:

• Spotify audiobooks for kids - an unexpected little parenting gem

• La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 a gentle little skin saviour for dry, irritated, postpartum-everything skin

Beth’s Recommendation:

Prime Minister - the Jacinda Ardern documentary

Because we promised Lil’s mum: Australian Breastfeeding Association Mastitis Resource