I am so excited about today’s episode, it’s a very special one on adoption following our anonymous Q&A. Some of you may remember I was at an event recently and was partnered with a legend named Matt Purcell from Sydney who I’d never met before and somehow we figured out we were not only both adopted and both from South Korea… but from the SAME orphanage around the very same time!
I often talk about my adoption but rarely with someone with the same unique cultural story and this was so special to realise things about how I felt that I didn’t even know myself. And to hear Matt’s perspective now that he has his own biological children blew my mind! He’s also got an amazing business and career pathYAY as well which you’ll hear all about but I’ll let you all hear it from the man himself. I hope you enjoy listening and that we answered all your questions from the anonymous Q&A but feel free to submit any more that you have. Introducing, Matt Purcell… 

FOLLOW MATT HERE

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WATCH THIRTEEN LIVES ON PRIME VIDEO

Matt Purcell // Two South Korean adoptees walk into a rage room....

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A whole month (and sixteen failed attempts) later, I finally found some time to record the follow up to our birth story episode and answer all your questions. Thank you so much to everyone who sent lovely DMs and feedback after the first episode hosted by the wonderful Sophie of Australian Birth Stories and for submitting such interesting follow up questions that give me the loveliest excuse to reflect on things in a way I probably wouldn't otherwise make time for. 
It's never lost on me what a privilege it is for this yayborhood to be so engaged and excited about each season of our life (and to be so patient with a very inconsistent schedule for releasing episodes!) I can't promise my answers are any less incoherent than they were in the last episode - the postpartum haze is still going strong - but I did my very best and can't actually believe we got through it before the little bear demanded my full attention back.
My only disclaimer is that parenthood is like no other area in life for the diversity of opinions, volume of conflicting information, intensity of judgment (both from ourselves and others) and depth of emotion. If I have one piece of advice, it's that NO advice will suit every parent or every baby so please take everything I say as the personal anecdote it is - I'm not a medical expert and am still very early in our journey, so my answers are purely from our experience so far. 
Having said that, I've tried to be as helpful as I can (amidst the rambling and tangents of this new Mum brain) and the questions are listed below so you can skip forward to what's relevant to you. There are some links where relevant too and, as always, if you have any other questions feel free to DM any time.
DELIVERY

Did you feel any warning going into labour?

Why did you choose private health vs public health? (AUBS public vs private episode)

Hospital bag recommendations (The Memo's hospital bag list and if you want my personal list just send me an email)

What did you wear post op? (the disposable undies, the pads, the nightie)

Did you go straight back to a normal diet after gestational diabetes?


C SECTION

What would you take in your hospital bag for a C section?

Were you panicky or anxious going into C section?

C section recovery – how long?

Tips for recovery?

 Incision care? Mental health?

Immediately after, how were you – could you get up?

What recovery shorts or items did you wear? (the briefs, the shorts, the compression socks)


FEEDING

How was the beginning of breastfeeding? (the silverettes, the lanolin, the compresses, the Qiara probiotics)

Are you doing mixed feeding? Bottles? Expressing? (the ladybug milk collectors)


GETTING HOME

Did you feel overwhelmed when you got home? 

Biggest challenge in the first few days?

First few weeks post-partum, how were they?

Top 3 tips for new parents in first few weeks

Most difficult part of recovery generally?

Is it worth having both the Snoo and Cocoona baby?

How is Teddy’s sleep?

How much time are you taking off?

Have you grieved your work identity vs being a Mum?

How have you made time for you as a couple?


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Our birth story part II - the Q&A

Welcome to the first episode since the arrival of our little Teddy! It’s been four very special weeks today since he rushed into the world a few weeks early - even as a tiny little newborn he just couldn’t wait to seize his yay!
So it makes sense for this first one back to cover our birth story and the postpartum journey so far, snippets of which you may have seen on socials but this is the first time I’ve articulated his actual delivery - it actually felt really weird to open my laptop again and interact with the outside world again but so lovely to look back on the past month with a bit more lucidity. We only recorded a few days ago and I already can’t really remember most of what I said in the haze of the newborn bubble (so apologies in advance for my incoherence - it’s a huge achievement if I shower these days let alone produce a sentence that makes sense) but it’s all been the most magical few weeks and I now can’t imagine our life without him. 
As Ang is away but also, as I now know, only a parent can truly understand the chaos of the first few weeks postpartum to know what questions to ask, I thought I’d bring in the big guns and we’re so lucky to have Sophie from Australian Birth Stories on the other side of the mic today hosting the interview (you may remember we interviewed her last year and she’s been a guiding light through pregnancy and birth). This will be shared on her incredible podcast too so it’s structured in her style and includes a bit of background at the start about our conception and earlier loss which you have already heard so feel free to skip through to get to the details of birth. 
I’m still technically on mat leave but Teddy’s one month anniversary and also April being Caesarean Awareness Month made it feel right to emerge momentarily for this. But again, I can already think of so many things I left out or didn’t get to between my verbal diarrhoea and rambling plus you also submitted some questions online that we didn’t get to in Teddy’s nap window so I’ll do a follow up episode next (whenever that may be). I hope it all makes sense and thank you so much for sharing in our excitement and joy in this chapter of our pathYAY.﻿

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Our birth story with Australian Birth Stories // Welcome to the world, Teddy!

Kind of weird to release this now he's already here, but this is the last episode of #yaysofourlives that we recorded while I was still pregnant just reflecting on how it felt, what we were excited about and what we hoped for the next little while. Will have to do a follow up with what ended up happening in between!!
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Last #yaysofourlives before baby YAY-vidson... except he came early!

Hello lovely yayborhood, hope you’re having a wonderful week! I think we were originally scheduled for a #yaysofourlives episode after last week’s guest (which Ang and I have actually recorded) but as that’s probably our sign off for a short break while we wait for Baby Yay-vidson to arrive, it made more sense to pop this week’s guest in first particularly as she has CARRIED us through the past few weeks. 
I’m talking, of course, about the incredible co-founder of The Memo and founder of The Blow, Phoebe Simmonds, who I have been fangirling for many years and am so excited to share with you. If you’ve been anywhere near my socials, you’ll know how heavily I’ve leaned on Phoebe and The Memo during our pregnancy and how much they’ve taken the stress and overwhelm out of preparing for a little one leaving room to fully enjoy and get excited about what’s to come.
We’ll cover, of course, how The Memo has absolutely revolutionised an industry that has traditionally and somewhat inexplicably been pretty functional and daggy, making it beautifully aesthetic, carefully curated and user friendly with lifesaving lists – it feels like the Mecca of the baby world! Which makes sense given that’s where Phoebe started off on her incredible pathway to living and breathing brand building which you’ll also hear about taking her from Mecca to LVMH around the world to Benefit Cosmetics and then her own two businesses.
The second part is then a Q&A based on yours (and my) questions about some of the biggest decisions when preparing for a new baby – Phoebe gives SUCH valuable advice I was mainly asking questions for myself haha (you might also notice a bit of a sound change – her AirPods died at the perfect interval). We will definitely be needing a follow up part 2 (if not a full series) as we just scratched the surface so stay tuned for that but in the meantime I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.

FOLLOW PHOEBE HERE
SHOP THE MEMO HERE
THE MEMO SHOPPING LISTS
FIND OUT ABOUT THE BLOW HERE

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Phoebe Simmonds // She got The Memo!

Happy International Women’s Day, one of my favourite days of the year! While of course, we deserve to be celebrated every day of the year, I always love the way this day encourages amazing conversations, displays of support for each other and even just telling someone in your close circle that you love and appreciate having them in your life. This year, it’s meant even more to me as I tippy toe right on the doorstep of motherhood - I’ve always been a raging feminist but I’ve never had more appreciation for the strength and resilience of women than experiencing pregnancy. We are fierce, powerful and even more so when we unite together so happy IWD to you all and to the allies who love and support the women in their lives.
Even though we dropped a chaotic #yaysofourlives ep just a few days ago, I’ve got a special guest for the occasion patching in from stateside! As you know, we’ve been lucky to partner with Sunpower and have had the most amazing transition to solar energy, so today we have their Chief Legal & Sustainability Officer on the show, Lindsey Wiedmann. Not only does she have a fascinating, unpredictable way to yay as you know we love from a Bachelor of Science to a postgrad in Law to project finance at a law firm before her current role, she also has fascinating insights on life as a woman in the traditionally male dominated energy sector. I’ll let her tell you the rest herself, but hope you enjoy!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SUNPOWER HERE

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Matt Purcell // Two South Korean adoptees walk into a rage room....

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