Not Another Mummy Podcast

The seventh series of Not Another Mummy Podcast kicks off with the brilliant Hollie McNish as my guest. Hollie is an award-winning poet and writer, with books like Nobody Told Me and Plum and loads of sell-out live shows under her belt. Hollie is a mum of one and lots of her poetry is about motherhood – warts and all. Her new book, though, Slug… And Other Things I’ve Been Told To Hate is about birth, death and everything in between.

Hollie talks to me about what lockdown was like for her as a solo parent, why she worries what the other mums at school think of her poetry and how she feels about sharing some of her innermost thoughts with the world. She tells me what it was like when her poem Embarrassed went viral and we chat about why it’s so ridiculous that the culture we live in has made so many mums (us included) feel embarrassed to breastfeed in coffee shops.

You can buy Slug here and follow Hollie on Twitter and Instagram.

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can subscribe to ensure you don’t miss future episodes.  Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and blogger Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Twitter: @iamalisonperry. You can buy my book OMG It's Twins now.

Producer: Imogen Hart

Music: Epidemic Sound

Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s little that will prepare you for the moment you hear the words: “You’re having twins!” You might feel shocked, delighted, scared, horrified, amused – or a mixture of all of the above.

As a twin mum myself, I’ve got first-hand experience with the emotional rollercoaster of having two babies at once and I wanted to write a book which will guide parents from the moment they find out, through the pregnancy, birth and beyond. Excitingly, OMG It’s Twins is here and available to buy from bookshops. Filled with gorgeous illustrations by Veronica Dearly and easy to digest chapters, this is the book for anyone who is expecting, or has just welcomed, two little bundles of joy.

But of course, I don’t know it all, so when writing the book, I interviewed a whole raft of experts, from midwives, psychotherapists to nutritionists, parenting experts, as well as getting helpful anecdotes from other twin mums, and for this episode of the podcast I wanted to chat to one of those experts – Sophie Burch. Sophie is a Hypnobirthing Practitioner, a pregnancy and birth coach and author of The Beyond Birth Guide which aims to educate and empower. She’s also a twin mum! So it was brilliant to chat to Sophie about her experiences and the techniques she teaches as a pregnancy and birth coach.

Check out Sophie at The Mamma Coach, buy The Beyond Birth Guide and follow her on Instagram.

OMG It’s Twins is available to buy now on hardback or Kindle.

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can subscribe to ensure you don’t miss future episodes. Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and blogger Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Twitter: @iamalisonperry.

Music: Epidemic Sound

Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the end of the series – and a Christmas special – with the brilliant Anna Williamson as my guest, talking about how to look after our mental health at the busiest time of the year.

Anna is a TV presenter (catch her on the new series of Celebs Go Dating on Channel 4), podcaster and author. She’s also a qualified life coach and she’s done lots of work around smashing the stigma surrounding mental health issues. Her books – Breaking Mad and Breaking Mum and Dad look at her own experiences of mental health problems and gives solutions and coping methods aplenty. Her podcast Breaking Mum And Dad discusses different aspects of family life and mental health (listen to the episode I recorded with her here).

During our chat, Anna talks me through her journey with mental health – from the mental breakdown she had during her 20s when she was in a high pressured job working in kids’ TV and in a bad relationship… to suffering from severe anxiety during pregnancy and the birth of her son. She tells me how she then took control of her mental health during her second pregnancy and the birth of her daughter by requesting an elective caesarean.

Anna has loads of great advice on looking after our mental health so if things are feeling a bit hectic and overwhelming right now, this should help.

Check out Anna’s books, listen to her podcast and find out more about her life coaching.

If you enjoy this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can subscribe to ensure you don’t miss future episodes.  Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and blogger Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Twitter: @iamalisonperry. You can pre-order my book OMG It's Twins (out March 2021) now.

Music: Epidemic Sound

Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the penultimate episode of the series (next episode is a Christmas special *jingles some bells*) and my guest this week is former social worker and child development trainer Becky Goddard-Hill. Becky is the author of brilliant book Create Your Own Calm which is an activity book for pre-teens and teens to work through and learn about being emotionally resilient. And we all need a bit of resilience in 2020, am I right?

It’s a lovely book that they can either do on their own, or you can sit with them and chat through the activities.

Becky chats to me about why it’s important to focus on our kids’ emotional wellbeing, we talk about how this just wasn’t stuff we discussed when we were growing up, and she gives loads of tips on how to help our kids manage anxiety, stress and just everyday life!

Buy Becky’s book Create Your Own Calm and check out her other books here. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, check out her blog Emotionally Healthy Kids and listen to her podcast of the same name.

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can subscribe to ensure you don’t miss future episodes.  Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and blogger Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Twitter: @iamalisonperry. You can pre-order my book OMG It's Twins (out March 2021) now.

Music: Epidemic Sound

Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sinéad Burke is an advocate, teacher, and a British Vogue Contributing Editor. She also happens to be a little person at three and a half feet tall. Born with the genetic disorder achondroplasia, Sinéad was in primary school when she first advocated for change and requested a different style of desk which she could access easily. Since then, Sinéad has gone on to become a leading disability advocate in the world of fashion and design.

Her book – Break The Mould - offers a heartfelt and inspiring guide to young readers on believing in themselves and finding comfort and pride in their own skin. From the power of being different and discovering self-love, to inspiring children to use their voices to be an ally and show friendship to others, Sinéad helps readers break the mould and find their place in the world.

It's a fantastic book for kids and teens to work through, and Sinéad chats to me about what inspired her to talk directly to young people about embracing their differences.

Buy Break The Mould here and follow Sinead on Instagram and Twitter.

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can subscribe to ensure you don’t miss future episodes. Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and blogger Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Twitter: @iamalisonperry. You can pre-order my book OMG It's Twins (out March 2021) now.

Music: Epidemic Sound

Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What’s your skincare routine like? As I confess to my guest on this episode, mine used to be shamefully bad but I’ve seen the error of my ways and I’ve recently started looking after my skin properly. Thankfully, Caroline Hirons isn’t here to judge us – but she is here to help. Her book Skincare is a number one bestseller and only the second ever Fashion/Beauty title to get to number one, since Trinny and Susannah's What Not To Wear 18 years ago. In it, she tells us everything we need to know about skincare and it’s her no nonsense approach which has had people reading her blog and watching her YouTube channel in their droves for the past ten years.

Caroline chats to me about how she juggles this huge business empire with being a mum to four kids and grandmother of one. We also talk about the best way for busy mums to build skincare into their day and we chat about the links between skincare and mental health. Caroline offers up her advice for perimenopausal and menopausal women as well as giving tips for parents of hormonal teens.

Skincare The Ultimate No Nonsense Guide is out now and the Skincare pink edition is available from Oct 29th. You can follow Caroline on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube and check out her blog here.

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can subscribe to ensure you don’t miss future episodes.  Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and blogger Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Twitter: @iamalisonperry. You can pre-order my book OMG It's Twins (out March 2021) now.

Music: Epidemic Sound

Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you’re watching TV with your kids, do you take notice of how many people on the screen are Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, LGBT, working class or disabled? Often we’re so grateful for the ten minutes of quiet, to drink a cup of tea, we’re more likely to zone out of what’s on the screen.

But my guests on this episode – children’s digital media expert Olivia Dickinson and Lyndsay Gardner, mum of two in a same sex family – say it’s more important than ever that we sit up and pay attention. A 2019 report by Hopster found that top preschool TV shows poorly represented disability, LGBT, the working class and had high rates of gender stereotyping, pushing Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic characters into the background.

Olivia chats to me about why it’s so important that all kids see themselves represented on TV programmes and Lyndsay explains her worries that her daughters don’t see any LGBT families in the shows they watch. We discuss why representation is still a problem and what we, as parents, can do to balance things off.

This episode is brought to you in association with Hopster - a preschool kids learning and entertainment app. For a monthly fee of £4.99, subscribers can access a diverse range of kids' learning & entertainment shows, stimulating games, classic nursery rhymes, fun music and a variety of books. There’s no ads and everything is hand-curated so your kids won’t come across anything unsuitable. You can get a free 7-day trial – just download the app from the Apple app store or Google Play.

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can subscribe to ensure you don’t miss future episodes.  Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and blogger Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Twitter: @iamalisonperry. You can pre-order my book OMG It's Twins (out March 2021) now.

Music: Epidemic Sound

Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re still not talking about the menopause enough. It’s something I didn’t know much about until recently (after all, it happens to older women, right?) but when, at 41, I started having perimenopausal symptoms I started to read up on it. And with approximately 13 million women in the UK going through menopause and life expectancy for women increasing, we all need to be educated about our options to optimise our future health. 

So it’s brilliant to have my guest today – Meg Mathews – on the podcast. As an advocate for the menopause, in 2018 she founded MegsMenopause.com - a platform dedicated to breaking the stigma around the menopause and supporting and informing women. Meg holds menopause roadshows and high-profile talks around the country and launched a range of intimate products in 2019 and the MegsMenopause app creating a global community helping women navigate their menopause on the go. Meg’s book The New Hot is a no-holds-barred guide to menopause, full of Meg’s personal insights as well as the latest information, case histories and advice from a wide range of menopause and lifestyle experts.

On this episode, Meg talks about her own experience of menopause, why she’s a huge fan of HRT, how to approach the conversation with your GP and much more. It’s worth a listen whether you’re going through the menopause already or not.

You can buy The New Hot now, check out MegsMenopause and follow her on Instagram.

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can subscribe to ensure you don’t miss future episodes.  Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and blogger Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Twitter: @iamalisonperry. You can pre-order my book OMG It's Twins (out March 2021) now.

Music: Epidemic Sound

Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if I could wave a magic wand and fix all of your work/home life balance problems? While I can’t promise that this podcast episode will do that, my guest Christine Armstrong does reveal what she believes to be the solution to our work/parenting problems.

Christine is a mum of three and the author of The Mother Of All Jobs, a book which explores all of the angles of that common issue – making work work when you’ve got children. We cover a lot during our chat… Christine shares her own experience of discovering that it’s quite tricky to do it all when you become a mum and she talks about some of the people she interviewed for her book and shares their pearls of wisdom.

We chat about how the work place just isn’t designed for women and ways that couples can fairly divide up domestic duties so that it doesn’t all land on one person.

This episode is packed full of Christine’s clever observations and findings!

You can find Christine online at her website, Twitter and Instagram. And you can buy her book The Mother Of All Jobs here.

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can subscribe to ensure you don’t miss future episodes.  Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and blogger Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Twitter: @iamalisonperry. You can pre-order my book OMG It's Twins (out March 2021) now.

Music: Epidemic Sound

Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Waking up one morning and discovering you’ve lost your sight is something that many of us just couldn’t even imagine, but to trauma doctor Amit Patel, it was his reality and spelled the end of his medical career. Back in 2013, newly married Amit lost his sight due to a rare eye condition, keratoconus. After hitting rock bottom and being unable to leave the house for three months, Amit started to rebuild his life, with the help of his wife Seema and his guide dog, Kika.

Amit talks to me about the incredible bond he developed with Kika, a bond which helped him gain confidence and be able to function day to day. We also talk about Amit and Seema deciding to start a family and how fatherhood has pushed him to be even more independent – taking his children out, with Kika’s help, on his own and even flying solo to New York with his three-year-old son.

You can follow Amit on Twitter (and you can follow Kika too) and buy his book Kika & Me.

If you enjoyed this episode then please leave a rating or review - and you can subscribe to ensure you don’t miss future episodes. Thank you!

Not Another Mummy Podcast is brought to you by me, journalist and blogger Alison Perry. I'm a mum of three and I love interviewing people about parenthood on the podcast. You can check out my other episodes and you can come chat to me on Instagram: @iamalisonperry or on Twitter: @iamalisonperry. You can pre-order my book OMG It's Twins (out March 2021) now.

Music: Epidemic Sound

Artwork: Eleanor Bowmer

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/notanothermummy.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.