In her early 20s, Maxene was asked if she was planning on having kids soon, and actually passed over for roles because of the assumption that she would be. (Let's remember this is a completely illegal and highly inappropriate question to ask anyone!)

When she became a mum, she was let go during her trial period because her child kept getting sick. Then, pregnant with her second, she asked for flexibility and was initially denied.

Maxene and I reflect on the disappointment and injustice of it all and how that series of events led her to restart her business and go all in as a self-employed working parent.

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Follow Maxene on IG: @maxenelondoncreative

Visit Maxene's website to learn more about her work: www.maxenelondoncreative.co.nz

After a beautiful year off with her first baby, Tamara was expecting more of the same second time around. But at 37 weeks pregnant with Zach, she found a lump in her breast and within days had a breast cancer diagnosis. Chemo started when Zach was two weeks old.

Tamara Milne is a radiographer, a mum of three boys and the co-founder of Check Your Bits, a brand born from one of the most confronting years of her life.

In this episode we talk about the reality of parenting a newborn and a toddler while going through cancer treatment, the grief of a maternity leave that looked nothing like the first, and the "mum guilt" that still lingers.

We also get into what it's really like returning to work with chemo brain on top of the standard mum fog and going from the senior your team leaned on to the one who suddenly can't find the words.

Tamara's perspective on self-advocacy, knowing your normal, and finding purpose on the other side of something really hard is the kind of conversation that stays with you long after you've finished listening.

I really hope this one reaches NZ women far and wide, as a reminder to check your breasts and get to know what's normal for you. And if you want to grab Tamara's Check Your Bits body wash, head to checkyourbits.co.nz and use code PODLOVE for 15% off your order.

Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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Can you be a present mum, a career woman and a founder all at once? Not perfectly. But Sasha McLeod is figuring it out in real time, and she's honest about every (messy) part of it.

In this episode, I chat with Sasha, Dose Buddy founder and mum of two, about:

• Balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship
• The journey of launching DoseBuddy
• Work flexibility and support for mums
• How Sasha's own upbringing shaped the kind of mum she wants to be

Sasha also runs digital marketing at Sea Digital in Wellington, so she's not romanticising the juggle. She's living it. She brings the kind of clear-eyed perspective that comes from doing all of it at once and choosing what to say no to.

• Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or watch the full episode on YouTube.

• Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and follow @haveitall.podcast on Instagram.

If you love the show, a rating or review genuinely means everything!

Most conversations about “having it all” skip over the reality of what it actually takes.

In this episode, I’m joined by Charlotte, founder of Rose Studio – a boutique design studio based in Auckland, New Zealand helping bold, passionate business owners to bring their vision to life with strategic and intentional design.

Charlotte built her business while raising three young kids, including a high-needs autistic child, navigating life across countries, and spending long stretches solo parenting when her husband was overseas for his professional football career.

We talk about what it really looked like behind the scenes – from waking at 4am to carve out quiet time for work, to rebuilding her confidence as a mum returning to the workforce.

We cover:

• The reality of solo parenting and navigating motherhood without your usual support systems
• How Charlotte built her business around her life (not the other way around)
• The confidence shift that came from studying again as a mum
• What motherhood has taught her about leadership, resilience and capacity
• The challenges of raising a high-needs child alongside career ambition
• Why “having it all” looks different for every woman — and why that matters

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NEW episodes every second week.

What happens when motherhood, identity, and a creative spark collide? In this episode, I sit down with Zazi Henderson — speech and language therapist, mum of two, and the creator behind Zazi Plays, the parenting community loved by thousands across Aotearoa.

Zazi shares the beautiful chaos of raising young children while running a business, but also the deeply human moments behind it all — like the realisation that so many parents struggle with something as simple as play. As she says in the episode:

“It is just really hard. We no longer know how to play and it feels really clunky and strange. We’re adults now — it doesn’t come naturally to us. So you’re not alone in finding it hard. I don’t just find it easy.”

We talk about the emotional weight of returning to work as a first-time mum — the inadequacy she felt at the time, and the compassion she now has for her younger self. She reflects on how much more confident she wishes she’d been, and how common those feelings truly are.

Zazi also opens up about her business turning five years old, and what it’s taken behind the scenes: the partnership, the family dynamics, and the moments of guilt when choosing her own wellbeing. She shares how she started to carve out time for herself — even if that meant missing dinner for a gym class — and how she reframed exercise as something that teaches her kids what self-care looks like.

If you love Zazi Plays, or you're navigating parenting, identity, business, or mental health right now, this conversation will feel like a deep breath out.

What happens when the return-to-work plan changes?

In this episode, I sit down with Charlotte — paediatric ICU nurse and founder of And Breathe First Aid. When we first recorded together, she was preparing to return to Starship after maternity leave. Six months later, everything looks different. Charlotte made the decision to extend her leave and pour her energy into growing her first aid education business.

We talk about how becoming a parent reshapes your perspective on work, why mums who work from home or run their own businesses often face judgement for using childcare, and the messy, honest juggle of raising young children while keeping a business afloat.

Charlotte shares how her nursing lens has shifted since becoming a mum, the emotional weight of caring for families in crisis, and why parental advocacy in healthcare matters more than ever.

In this episode of Have It All, I sit down with Arti – mum of two, Nutritionist, and Senior Talent Acquisition Consultant – to talk about the juggle of working two jobs during school hours, raising a young family, and navigating big life transitions along the way.

Before motherhood, Arti was in a high-pressure recruitment role, working across nine retirement villages and managing a busy team. But becoming a mother shifted everything – from fertility struggles and the grief of losing her dad during her first maternity leave, to making the tough decision to step back in her career for the sake of balance.

We talk about what it’s really like to cram a full-time workload into school-hour days, the motherhood penalty she’s seen play out in her years as a recruiter, and the confidence gap many women experience when returning to work after having kids. Arti shares the realities of imposter syndrome while building her own business, the importance of negotiating terms upfront (because if you don’t ask, you don’t get), and why support systems – from family to girlfriends who “get it” – make all the difference.

This is such an honest conversation about the trade-offs, the sacrifices, and the strength it takes to build a career while raising a family. And it’s also a reminder that “having it all” doesn’t look the same for every woman, or every season of life.

Make sure to follow Have It All to keep up to date with new fortnightly episodes. And give this episode a like… if you like!

LINKS

• Follow Have It All on IG @haveitall.podcast
• Follow Arti on IG @nourishmemama.nz or visit her website https://www.nourishmemama.nz/

Mum guilt. We all feel it — but what if it’s not actually guilt at all?

This week I’m joined by Francie, a mindset coach for mums and mum of two, to dig into the invisible load of motherhood, the “perfect mother” myth, and the subconscious patterns that sit underneath what we call guilt. Spoiler: many of us are really carrying shame or grief.

We talk about:
✨ Why the invisible load of motherhood is so exhausting — and often goes unseen

✨ How the “perfect mum” myth sets us up to fail

✨ The self-abandoning patterns that lead to burnout and resentment

✨ Why emotional regulation is essential for both mothers and kids

✨ Generational shifts in parenting (and why our mums’ experience still lingers in us)

✨ Practical tools to manage the cognitive load and release pressure

✨ Why asking for help is a strength, not a weakness

Francie’s perspective is both practical and compassionate — reminding us that taking care of ourselves isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re failing, constantly battling that inner critic, or weighed down by mum guilt, this conversation will give you new language, fresh perspective, and real tools to lighten the load.

Make sure to follow Have It All to keep up to date with fortnightly episodes. And give this episode a like...if you like!

LINKS

My guest this week is Julia – a freelance creative director, copywriter, and mum of four.

Julia and I dive into what happens when women try to build a career in an industry that was never designed with mothers in mind. From being a burnt-out agency copywriter, to navigating the confusion of returning from maternity leave, Julia shares honestly about what it feels like to step off the “ladder” and rethink ambition on her own terms.

We talk about:

• The lack of support for women returning to advertising after having kids

• Why part-time work still feels like career suicide

• The quiet exodus of mothers from creative departments

• What sparked the Mums in Ads campaign

• The emotional toll of juggling four kids with freelance life – and the moments of perspective that come with it. As Julia put it: “I’ll see something with my kids and think, I remember this. You forget that what you’re experiencing in the moment, they’re on the other side of you experiencing it in the moment.”

• And the question we always circle back to: can women really have it all?

Julia puts into words what so many of us feel but rarely say. Let me know what parts of this episode stood out for you.

Sargam's story is unlike any I’ve heard on Have It All so far. What was meant to be a six-week trip to India in early 2020 turned into an eight-month stay when COVID-19 changed the world overnight. Suddenly, she found herself navigating early motherhood, distance from home, and the uncertainty of a global pandemic all at once.

In this conversation, Sargam shares what that time looked like: the mental health challenges of being far from her support system, the small daily practices of gratitude that kept her grounded, and how that season reshaped her perspective on work, family, and ambition.

What stands out most is the way Sargam talks about ambition.

For her, being ambitious doesn’t have to mean climbing the corporate ladder or chasing the next big role. Instead, it’s about creating a life that works for both her and her family, supported by workplaces that truly value parents.

We also talk about what supportive systems at work can look like, how communication around parenting needs can shift culture, and why the conversation about the “motherhood penalty” urgently needs to evolve.

Thanks for listening! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.

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