Sophie Walker is the host of hit podcast, Australian Birth Stories. She's also a published author, the creator of the birth class, and a mother of three boys.

It was Sophie's traumatic first birth that inspired the podcast, which at the time of the interview had over 11 million downloads, but at the time of publishing, she's up to 12 million. That's nearly half of Australia.

The expansion of her business has led to some really exciting projects such as her new book, and it's also led to her becoming the key breadwinner at home, bringing with it an extra layer of pressure.

Here, she takes us back to the start: through her varied and colourful career, how she built Australian Birth Stories to be the brand it is today, the birth that inspired it all, and what her husband is learning from being at home with the kids.

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Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod.

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which I''m lucky enough to raise my son always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

I Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Listen to Australian Birth Stories or buy the amazing new book here.

Very Luxe Face Cream means business.*

• Clinically proven to increase skin firmness by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin elasticity by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin smoothness by 15%.
• Clinically proven to strengthen the skin barrier function by over 45%.

*Based on a 12 week clinical trial of 30 participants.

Serious business.**

• Over 95% of participants said their skin felt smoother and tighter.
• Over 90% of participants said their skin felt significantly firmer.
• 100% of participants said they noticed a more even skin tone.
• 100% of participants said their skin looked more youthful.

**Based on a 12 week clinical study of 30 participants.

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

Vomiting 30 times a day while trying to run a shop. No parental leave after the birth of her son Remy. Owning a retail business in Melbourne during a pandemic. Navigating her husband’s cancer diagnosis and treatment.

And then, after falling pregnant with the baby that the doctors said would be nearly impossible to conceive without assistance, a pregnancy loss.

Navigating motherhood and career for Think Thornbury owner Maggie May Moshe has not been linear.

Here, she walks us through it all: from navigating managing the shop alongside hyperemesis in pregnancy and later a four-month-old while her husband was on tour to how they adapted during lockdowns, a cancer diagnosis and a pregnancy loss.

We laugh and we cry, and we could’ve talked for hours.

Maggie May has generously offered a 15% Think Thornbury discount code for all Ready or Not listeners. Simply use Readyornot15 at checkout.

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Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod.

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which I''m lucky enough to raise my son always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

I Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Very Luxe Face Cream means business.*

• Clinically proven to increase skin firmness by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin elasticity by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin smoothness by 15%.
• Clinically proven to strengthen the skin barrier function by over 45%.

*Based on a 12 week clinical trial of 30 participants.

Serious business.**

• Over 95% of participants said their skin felt smoother and tighter.
• Over 90% of participants said their skin felt significantly firmer.
• 100% of participants said they noticed a more even skin tone.
• 100% of participants said their skin looked more youthful.

**Based on a 12 week clinical study of 30 participants.

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

When I tell you that journalist and mother of two Melanie Dimmitt’s son has cerebral palsy, what kind of life do you imagine? Do you imagine someone that’s a bit angry at the world, do you picture their life at home to be a little sad?

If your answer is a shameful yes that you don't really want to admit to, you're not alone. Melanie would've said the same once upon a time. But, her life is actually pretty sweet.

You're about to hear her incredible story: how she found out about her son Arlo's diagnosis, the traumatic birth that came six months prior to that, how she's navigated her career as a mother of two, and all the peaks and troughs that came in between.

And trust me, there are plenty of peaks.

This is the uplifting and hopeful story of editor, broadcaster, and author of Special, Melanie Dimmitt.

I highly recommend you buy her book here. You won't be disappointed.

Content warning: this topic discusses illness, hospitals, birth trauma, and disability.

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Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod.

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which I''m lucky enough to raise my son always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

I Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Very Luxe Face Cream means business.*

• Clinically proven to increase skin firmness by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin elasticity by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin smoothness by 15%.
• Clinically proven to strengthen the skin barrier function by over 45%.

*Based on a 12 week clinical trial of 30 participants.

Serious business.**

• Over 95% of participants said their skin felt smoother and tighter.
• Over 90% of participants said their skin felt significantly firmer.
• 100% of participants said they noticed a more even skin tone.
• 100% of participants said their skin looked more youthful.

**Based on a 12 week clinical study of 30 participants.

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

Erin Phibbs is a midwife, childbirth educator, and mother of four. She has a twin sister who seemed to fall pregnant at the drop of a hat while it took her years, and she's had some very different births and maternity leave experiences.

From a traumatic first birth and an intense and lonely first postpartum, to a healing second birth and her husband taking six months of parental leave, she's experienced it all.

Here, she shares what her husband learned from becoming the primary caregiver for a period, how she navigated birth trauma as a midwife, and what transition she's found the most challenging.

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Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod.

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which I''m lucky enough to raise my son always was and always will be Aboriginal land. I Pay The Rent and you can too here.

This episode of Ready or Not is sponsored by Her Werk, an Australian website where you can rate and review your current or previous employer on metrics such as pay opportunities for development, flexibility, parental leave, support, culture, and diversity. Find out at herwerk.com.au

Very Luxe Face Cream means business.*

• Clinically proven to increase skin firmness by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin elasticity by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin smoothness by 15%.
• Clinically proven to strengthen the skin barrier function by over 45%.

*Based on a 12 week clinical trial of 30 participants.

Serious business.**

• Over 95% of participants said their skin felt smoother and tighter.
• Over 90% of participants said their skin felt significantly firmer.
• 100% of participants said they noticed a more even skin tone.
• 100% of participants said their skin looked more youthful.

**Based on a 12 week clinical study of 30 participants.

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

Alexandra Collier is a writer, mother, and the author of Inconceivable: a newly released memoir about her journey into solo parenthood.

In a former life, she lived in a light-filled Brooklyn brownstone in New York with the man she loved. But when she woke up to a ravenous hunger to have a baby that her partner didn't share, her life took a sharp turn.

She found herself back home in Melbourne at 37, single, heartbroken and living with her parents. Her reproductive timeline was rapidly outpacing her romantic life, and after a period of dating like it was a sport, she began to explore a controversial option: conceiving a baby with donor sperm.

Here, she shares this journey. From Brooklyn to Melbourne. From shacked up to single. From maiden to mother.

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Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.

You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod.

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which I''m lucky enough to raise my son always was and always will be Aboriginal land. I Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Very Luxe Face Cream means business.*

• Clinically proven to increase skin firmness by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin elasticity by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin smoothness by 15%.
• Clinically proven to strengthen the skin barrier function by over 45%.

*Based on a 12 week clinical trial of 30 participants.

Serious business.**

• Over 95% of participants said their skin felt smoother and tighter.
• Over 90% of participants said their skin felt significantly firmer.
• 100% of participants said they noticed a more even skin tone.
• 100% of participants said their skin looked more youthful.

**Based on a 12 week clinical study of 30 participants.

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

Justine Cullen is the editor in chief of InStyle. If, like me, you’ve been a devoted consumer of Australian magazines some time over the past three decades, there’s a good chance you’ve pored over some of her stories, for the likes of Girlfriend, Marie Claire, Dolly, Shop Til You Drop, and Elle.

Her formative magazine years were during those heady days of long lunches, fabulous parties, and luxurious travel, and she’s seen it all; the move to digital, the closure of countless iconic titles, and the ever shrinking budgets.

If you think Justine’s professional life sounds colourful, her personal life makes her story kaleidoscopic.

Four sons, three dads and bouts of single parenting all while navigating big jobs, international fashion shows, and becoming a published author.

Her youngest is four, her oldest is 18, and her life is full.

Here, she takes us back to the start – from falling pregnant at 27 and thinking her career was over, to putting Chilli Healer on the cover of a magazine - and all of the ebbs and flows that came in between.

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Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod.

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which I''m lucky enough to raise my son always was and always will be Aboriginal land. I Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Very Luxe Face Cream means business.*

• Clinically proven to increase skin firmness by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin elasticity by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin smoothness by 15%.
• Clinically proven to strengthen the skin barrier function by over 45%.

*Based on a 12 week clinical trial of 30 participants.

Serious business.**

• Over 95% of participants said their skin felt smoother and tighter.
• Over 90% of participants said their skin felt significantly firmer.
• 100% of participants said they noticed a more even skin tone.
• 100% of participants said their skin looked more youthful.

**Based on a 12 week clinical study of 30 participants.

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

We planned to release a special episode with InStyle editor Justine Cullen today, but daycare sickness had other plans. From gastro under two weeks ago, to fresh colds for my son and I this week, we are a bit behind and this low production episode is the best we can do for this Tuesday's release.

My favourite part of this episode is a tip from a very good friend of mine. It's made my day much more enjoyable after the guilt of cancelling two meetings and developing a cold overnight myself, and I highly recommend listening for that hot tip to re-frame your mind and re-shift your gears if you're at home with a sick baby, instead of working.

Plus, I share a preview of the fascinating story of Justine Cullen, which is coming to your ears next Tuesday.

I feel really lucky to be able to send my son to daycare, and I want to acknowledge that not everyone - as Anna Commons discusses in Episode 16 of Ready or Not - has this privilege.

While we absolutely deserve to talk about how challenging it is, this mindset gives me some perspective. So as with the first edition of daycare diaries, in this episode, I've tried to deliver the facts without the complaints.

---

Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review.

You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod.

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which I''m lucky enough to raise my son always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

I Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Very Luxe Face Cream means business.*

• Clinically proven to increase skin firmness by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin elasticity by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin smoothness by 15%.
• Clinically proven to strengthen the skin barrier function by over 45%.

*Based on a 12 week clinical trial of 30 participants.

Serious business.**

• Over 95% of participants said their skin felt smoother and tighter.
• Over 90% of participants said their skin felt significantly firmer.
• 100% of participants said they noticed a more even skin tone.
• 100% of participants said their skin looked more youthful.

**Based on a 12 week clinical study of 30 participants.

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

Max Jahufer is the founder of creative agency, Future Studio. He’s also a proud trans father who will make his film debut in an upcoming comedy drama about a trans woman returning home for Christmas, and all the tension, secrets and lies that come with it.

Having always felt like the different kid, Max is open about the extra layer of what it means to bring up a child in a family that is perceived as different, and as the first dad on this show, I learn what it’s like returning to work just two weeks after your baby is born.

Here, we talk navigating work and parenting as the secondary caregiver, moving the family up to Queensland to be part of the film, and the importance of being surrounded by people with open minds.

---

Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod.

Follow Max and Paris's journey here.

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which I''m lucky enough to raise my son always was and always will be Aboriginal land. I Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Very Luxe Face Cream means business.*

• Clinically proven to increase skin firmness by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin elasticity by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin smoothness by 15%.
• Clinically proven to strengthen the skin barrier function by over 45%.

*Based on a 12 week clinical trial of 30 participants.

Serious business.**

• Over 95% of participants said their skin felt smoother and tighter.
• Over 90% of participants said their skin felt significantly firmer.
• 100% of participants said they noticed a more even skin tone.
• 100% of participants said their skin looked more youthful.

**Based on a 12 week clinical study of 30 participants.

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

[Warning: I swore in this episode] A bonus episode looking at the first month of daycare. I slapped this together very quickly, so expect absolutely no production brilliance or good advice, because I am figuring out the whole daycare thing as I go. This is simply how the first month or so of daycare played out for us so you can feel a little less alone or a little more prepared.

Spoiler alert: daycare sickness really is a thing.

I feel really lucky to be able to send my son to daycare, and I want to acknowledge that not everyone - as Anna Commons discusses in Episode 16 of Ready or Not - has this privilege. While we absolutely deserve to talk about how challenging it is, this mindset gives me some perspective. So, in this episode, I've tried to deliver the facts without the complaints.

---

Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod.

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which I''m lucky enough to raise my son always was and always will be Aboriginal land. I Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Very Luxe Face Cream means business.*

• Clinically proven to increase skin firmness by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin elasticity by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin smoothness by 15%.
• Clinically proven to strengthen the skin barrier function by over 45%.

*Based on a 12 week clinical trial of 30 participants.

Serious business.**

• Over 95% of participants said their skin felt smoother and tighter.
• Over 90% of participants said their skin felt significantly firmer.
• 100% of participants said they noticed a more even skin tone.
• 100% of participants said their skin looked more youthful.

**Based on a 12 week clinical study of 30 participants.

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

Anna Commons is the founder of The Autism Collective and mother of two delightful boys, Jackson, who has nonverbal autism, and Hunter. Her life has been one of incredible experiences and serious growth.

Her career began in marketing, then somewhere in the middle she waited tables, and now, she's a motherhood mentor and coach who also works with families navigating the NDIS.

In this episode, Anna shares her journey, from Jackson's diagnosis to what autism means in his day-to-day life. And we also talk about the importance of charging what you’re worth, why over giving leads to resentment and how she created work that feeds her passions as well as her family.

If you're a parent who has received a fresh diagnosis and is looking for comfort, I think you'll find it in this episode. Anna accounts the facts of Jackson's diagnosis and what this means day to day in a really pragmatic way here, so if you're needing to protect yourself from emotional content at the moment, know that this really isn't it (in my opinion). There were no tears shed and I left this chat feeling empowered and hopeful.

I know firsthand that it can be hard when someone you love receives a seemingly "scary" diagnosis, and both Anna and I are open to a chat in our DMs on Instagram. And the very last thing Anna says in this chat is true: you won't always feel this way and you're not alone.

---

Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod.

You can find Anna on Instagram here.

This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which I''m lucky enough to raise my son always was and always will be Aboriginal land. I Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Very Luxe Face Cream means business.*

• Clinically proven to increase skin firmness by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin elasticity by 39%.
• Clinically proven to increase skin smoothness by 15%.
• Clinically proven to strengthen the skin barrier function by over 45%.

*Based on a 12 week clinical trial of 30 participants.

Serious business.**

• Over 95% of participants said their skin felt smoother and tighter.
• Over 90% of participants said their skin felt significantly firmer.
• 100% of participants said they noticed a more even skin tone.
• 100% of participants said their skin looked more youthful.

**Based on a 12 week clinical study of 30 participants.

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