The Cyclist

In the finale episode of The Cyclist Pregnancy Miniseries, Jess and Kat sit down with Jess’s own postnatal care midwife, Cathy McCormack. With over 30 years of experience as a midwife, IBCLC lactation consultant, and infant mental health specialist (via the Fussy Baby Network), Cathy brings a deeply compassionate, real, and holistic perspective to what actually happens after baby arrives.

Together, the three of them dive into the unglamorous and unfiltered realities of the fourth trimester. Cathy breaks down the physical recovery process, from C-section scar healing and heavy bleeding to bladder trauma, bowel care, and hormone crashes. They explore the emotional transformation of matrescence, why social media rules and contact napping pressure can turn modern mothers into martyrs, and how to spot the signs when postpartum anxiety or depression start to take hold.

They also tackle the vital topic of support systems. They chat about practical ways to prepare your birthing partner, how to protect your relationship through the common dis-satisfaction of that first year, and why taking a simple "pause" can change your entire parenting journey. This candid, reassuring conversation is packed with wisdom for expectant mamas, support people, and anyone navigating life with a newborn.

This series is proudly brought to you by our headline sponsor, Pure Mama. Thoughtfully developed, genuinely clean bodycare for every stage of pregnancy and postpartum: https://www.puremama.com 

And our supporting partner The Lactation Station, easy, practical products for pregnancy, postpartum and breastfeeding: https://www.thelactationstation.co.nz

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Website: wearethecyclist.com

Hit play. And send this finale episode to your partner, family, or support crew to help them truly understand how to show up for you during postpartum recovery.

Navigating how you’re going to feed your baby is one of the most emotional, high-pressure parts of the journey into motherhood. Between endless baby show marketing claiming you need thousands of dollars in products to the intense guilt that can surround both breastfeeding and formula, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed before your baby even arrives.

In this episode of The Cyclist Pregnancy Miniseries, Jess sits down with Bec, a midwife of 18 years, IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant), holistic sleep coach, and co-founder of Nine Antenatal. Bec brings a grounded, evidence-based, and zero-judgment approach to feeding, breaking down what new parents actually need to know versus what marketing tells them they need.

Together, Jess and Bec explore the realities of those early days, stripping away the noise to focus on what truly matters. Bec explains why learning to breastfeed is a learnt skill more like learning to walk rather than second nature like breathing, and why getting a deep latch onto the soft palate is essential to avoiding trauma. They get into the game-changing benefits of learning antenatal hand expressing after 36 weeks, how colostrum acts as your baby's first vaccination to protect their gut and immunity, and what is actually happening during those intense "night two" cluster feeds to establish long-term milk supply.

They also address the vital, often-neglected conversation around formula feeding, combination feeding, and maternal mental health. Jess shares her own vulnerable experience with formula after a breast reduction, while Bec reinforces that midwives and IBCLCs are there to support informed choices without judgment. Whether you choose to exclusively breastfeed, formula feed, or find a balance in between, this episode is a warm reminder that a supported, healthy mother is always the top priority and that trusting your own instincts is the best tool you have.

This series is proudly brought to you by our headline sponsor, Pure Mama. Thoughtfully developed, genuinely clean bodycare for every stage of pregnancy and postpartum: https://www.puremama.com 

And our supporting partner The Lactation Station, easy, practical products for pregnancy, postpartum and breastfeeding: https://www.thelactationstation.co.nz

Follow and connect

Instagram: @wearethecyclist

Website: wearethecyclist.com

Hit play. And send this episode to an expectant mama who needs a gentle reminder to trust her body and her instincts.

Bringing a new human into the world triggers a huge shift in our lives, and very often, a massive shift in our finances. From navigating paid parental leave and the zero-to-three money crunch to figuring out how to set your baby up with investments from birth, financial preparation can feel overwhelming fast.

In this episode of The Cyclist Pregnancy Miniseries, Jess is joined by financial journalist, host of Making Cents, and author Frances Cook. Frances shares her journey from self-described financial hot mess to one of New Zealand's most trusted money experts, breaking down everything pregnant mamas and new parents actually need to know about money, without the jargon, judgment, or guilt.

Together, Jess and Frances unpack the turning point where money changes from a panicky stressor into a powerful tool for life. Frances explains why time and money are best buddies, offering practical ways to keep your KiwiSaver and future investments ticking over while taking time out of the workforce so you don't fall behind. They get into the real talk on how to start joint money conversations with your partner by uncovering your core money values, and how to navigate the financial identity shifts that come with expanding your family.

They also tackle the practical realities of parenting finances right here in New Zealand. Frances breaks down how to set up investment accounts like Sharesies for your kids, using small contributions to teach them long-term financial literacy rather than just handing over a cash nest egg. From surviving NZ’s notoriously crunchy zero-to-three year period with minimal government support to calling out "guilt trip marketing," this conversation is packed with actionable advice, including why Facebook Marketplace and secondhand clothes are the ultimate hacks to save your money and your mental load.

This series is proudly brought to you by our headline sponsor, Pure Mama. Thoughtfully developed, genuinely clean bodycare for every stage of pregnancy and postpartum: https://www.puremama.com 

And our supporting partner The Lactation Station, easy, practical products for pregnancy, postpartum and breastfeeding: https://www.thelactationstation.co.nz

Follow and connect

Instagram: @wearethecyclist

Website: wearethecyclist.com

Hit play. And send this episode to your partner or support crew so you can get on the same page before baby arrives.

Nobody prepares you for what pregnancy and birth does to your sex life. Jo Robertson is here to change that.

In this episode of The Cyclist's pregnancy miniseries, Kat and Jess sit down with Jo Robertson, sex therapist, relationship counsellor, TEDx speaker, and one of New Zealand's most trusted voices on sexual wellbeing, for a conversation that is honest, warm, practical, and long overdue. Jo holds a Master of Science in Sex Therapy from Sydney University and has spent over 15 years working in sexual health through therapy, education, and research. She also has three boys and knows firsthand what she's talking about.

The conversation starts where most pregnancy sex conversations don't. At the beginning. Jo walks through how desire and intimacy typically shift across the three trimesters, why the first trimester often brings a complete loss of libido that has nothing to do with how you feel about your partner, and why the second trimester can feel like a different story entirely. She also addresses the elephant in the room: the fear many couples carry about whether sex during pregnancy is safe, what the actual evidence says, and what the very limited genuine contraindications are.

They get into the body image conversation that sits underneath all of this, the way a changing body can create distance between a woman and her own sexuality, the pressure to feel sexy when you feel nothing of the sort, and why Jo is clear that desire doesn't have to be spontaneous to be real. She introduces the concept of responsive desire, the idea that for many women, arousal follows engagement rather than preceding it, and why understanding this reframes the entire conversation about low libido during pregnancy and postpartum.

Then there's the fourth trimester. Jo is honest about what postpartum intimacy actually looks like for most couples, the physical healing, the hormonal landscape of breastfeeding and its effect on lubrication and desire, the way a newborn collapses the boundaries between your body as a sexual being and your body as a feeding and caregiving one. She talks about the mental load, the touched-out feeling that makes physical connection feel like one more demand rather than a refuge, and why the six-week clearance from a GP is not the whole picture.

Jo also speaks to partners, what the experience of watching a birth can do to someone's relationship with their partner's body, how to hold desire with care rather than pressure, and why the season analogy is one of the most useful frameworks she gives couples in her practice. Winter always becomes spring. But you have to let winter be winter first.

This is the conversation to have before the baby arrives, with your partner beside you if possible.

This series is proudly brought to you by our headline sponsor, Pure Mama. Thoughtfully developed, genuinely clean bodycare for every stage of pregnancy and postpartum: https://www.puremama.com 
 
And our supporting partner: The Sleep Store, your one stop shop for safe sleep solutions and parenting essentials, from pregnancy through to toddler years and beyond: https://www.thesleepstore.co.nz/ 

Follow and connect

Instagram: @wearethecyclist

Website: wearethecyclist.com

Hit play. And maybe share this one with your partner too.

Welcome to The Cyclist Pregnancy Miniseries! While there is no shortage of medical advice out there when you're expecting, Jess and Kat wanted to create a dedicated six-part series that digs into the real, unfiltered conversations pregnant mamas are actually having behind closed doors. And all six episodes are available to binge right now.

Throughout this series, Jess and Kat are joined by an incredible lineup of experts and trusted voices who have lived it, studied it, and spent their careers supporting women through the transition into parenthood. Together, they unpack the body identity shifts when you don't recognise yourself in the mirror with pelvic health physio Caitlin Fris (The Body You Don't Recognise), the evolution of intimacy and partnership with sex therapist Jo Robertson (The Relationship Shift), and the realities of career boundaries and returning to work with Pure Mama founder Lara Henderson (The Work Juggle Is Real).

The series also tackles the financial realities of raising a baby in New Zealand with financial journalist Frances Cook (The Real Cost of a Baby), breastfeeding preparation, colostrum, and ditching formula guilt with midwife Bec from Nine Antenatal (The Feeding Truth), and physical and emotional recovery in the fourth trimester with 30-year midwife Cathy McCormack (The Fourth Trimester, Honestly). 

Whether you're pregnant with your first, navigating baby number two, or looking for a way to get your partner on the same page, this miniseries was created to make you feel seen, heard, and supported. Listen all at once or take it week by week, share it with your antenatal group, and maybe passively-aggressively send an episode or two to your support crew along the way.

Follow and connect

Instagram: @wearethecyclist

Website: wearethecyclist.com

Hit play. And send this series to a fellow mama or your partner to start the conversations that matter most.

Can I be honest with you for a second? Today’s episode was supposed to be recorded in the studio, but after a 7:00 AM incident involving a brushing-my-teeth-multitask, a 6-year-old mirror, and a trip to the A&E, Jess is coming to you straight from her bed, down to four functional toes, almost 32 weeks pregnant, and keeping it completely real.

In this cosy solo catch-up, Jess opens up about navigating pregnancy, toddlerhood, and preparing for baby number two as an amputee living with chronic health conditions. She shares the story behind her rotationplasty surgery, what it’s actually like getting around at night post-C-section on one leg, and the unexpected micro-moments that hit hard, like not being able to sit cross-legged with Marla at music class or crouch down to eye level during a toddler tantrum.

From the quiet grief of wishing to experience motherhood in an abled body to the visceral joy of raising a little human, this episode is an honest, warm reflection on capacity, support systems, and the unbelievable human ability to adapt. Whether you live with a disability, manage chronic illness, or just need to hear another mum admit how messy and gorgeous it all is, hit play and settle in.

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Website: wearethecyclist.com

Hit play. And send this to a mum who needs a gentle reminder of how adaptable she really is.Thank you Chief for sponsoring this episode! They are products Jess is using daily and are so delish while having fab clean ingredients. Go check out wearechief.com 

She had brain surgery. And then she built a condom brand.

In this episode, Jess sits down with Ema Beard, teacher, mum of three, and founder of Cleoh, the New Zealand-born sexual wellness brand putting women at the centre of a category that has largely ignored them for decades. This is one of those conversations that starts in one place and ends somewhere completely unexpected. And is all the better for it.

Ema's path to founding Cleoh began in 2023, during her recovery from brain surgery. She wasn't looking to start a business. She was focused on healing and getting back to her family. And then, scrolling through her phone during a quiet moment, a condom ad appeared. And it felt outdated, tone-deaf, and designed entirely without women in mind. She couldn't stop thinking about it. And Cleoh was born. 

She opens up honestly about what recovery from brain surgery actually looked like, the cognitive changes, the fatigue, the identity shift of going from a high-functioning teacher and mum to someone relearning how to be in her own body. And how that experience gave her a clarity about what she wanted to do with her time and energy that she'd never had before.

They go deep into the conversation that Cleoh is trying to normalise. Sexual health as a women's health issue, not just a contraception issue. Ema shares why she became passionate about women understanding their own bodies, the connection between sexual health and overall wellbeing, and why the shame and stigma that still surrounds this category is actively harming women's health outcomes. She talks about what it felt like to walk into a pharmacy and buy condoms before Cleoh existed, and why the experience of purchasing protection should feel as considered and dignified as anything else in a woman's wellness routine.

Cleoh condoms are free from parabens, casein, fragrances, and unnecessary chemicals. Ingredients that most women have never thought to question but that matter enormously when it comes to vaginal health. Ema explains what those ingredients actually do to the body, why the standard options on pharmacy shelves weren't designed with women's physiology in mind, and what she looks for in a product she'd actually feel good about using. 

This is a conversation about courage, clarity, women's health, and a brand that is quietly changing the way New Zealand women think about protection.

Thank you Chief for sponsoring this episode! They are products Jess is using daily and are so delish while having fab clean ingredients. Go check out wearechief.com

Follow and connect

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Website: wearethecyclist.com

Hit play. And maybe add Cleoh to cart while you listen.

Third trimester. Elective C-section booked. Gender still a secret. And Jess is feeling, genuinely, pretty good.

In this episode, Jess and Kat sit down for a warm and wide-ranging third trimester catch-up. The kind of chat that covers everything from birth plans and baby names to maternity leave, panic disorder progress, and the electric nursing chair that is going to change Jess's life.

Jess opens up about landing on an elective C-section this time around and the thinking behind it. Not because she's against vaginal birth, but because the unknowns of what a vaginal birth would mean for her body, with her leg reconstructed through her pelvis, made the risk not worth taking. She reflects on genuinely loving her emergency C-section with Marla and the beautiful spontaneous labour that came before it, and the quiet grief of knowing she'll skip that part this time. She also shares the surreal feeling of knowing roughly when her baby will be born, somewhere around 38 to 39 weeks, and what it's like to approach the end of a pregnancy on a timeline.

Jess shares the baby names she loves but isn’t using. The actual names are decided. Both girl and boy options. And Jess is not telling.

She also shares what's helping this pregnancy feel manageable: maternity bras that don't trigger her panic disorder, Hydro Babe on rotation, panty liners as a non-negotiable, the pregnancy pillow she's been sleeping with for three years, and lymphatic massage starting now for the swelling she's noticing in her feet and legs for the first time. Night sweats, brain fog, and a toddler who has finally started kissing the bump also all get a mention.

Jess talks about what her maternity leave will look like as a self-employed mum of two. And she reflects honestly on working too soon after Marla and the sadness of what she feels she missed, balanced against the reality that Cadence wouldn't be where it is without that early commitment.

And then there's the panic disorder update. It's a good one. From being unable to leave her house or drive, ordering sour lollies to get through panic attacks, to sitting at 85% better and knowing that when a hard day comes, it usually passes within a couple of days now. Jess is clear-eyed about what two years of resisting medication cost her, and honest about what she'd tell herself if she could go back. The medication helped. A healthy mum is what matters most.

This one is cosy, honest, and very exciting.

Want to try Go Mama? Shop here! https://gomamamaternity.co.nz

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Website: wearethecyclist.com

Hit play. Baby is almost here!

This episode contains open discussion about bulimia, disordered eating, body image, pregnancy loss, postpartum haemorrhage, and health anxiety. Please take care if any of these are sensitive topics for you.

Jess sits down with Meg Mansell, beloved New Zealand radio personality from The Edge, mother of two, and as it turns out, Jess's new best friend, for one of the most wide-ranging, raw, and genuinely hilarious conversations The Cyclist has had. They were meant to talk about birth. They talked about everything.

Meg opens up about growing up as a dancer, deeply aware of her body from a very young age, watching the way the world responded to her beautiful mother, feeling the pressure to look the same way, and realising quickly that she hadn't inherited her mum's body. What followed were years of hyperawareness, comparison, and eventually bulimia from around 15 or 16. She speaks honestly about what it's like to carry 36 years of that conditioning while trying to raise daughters differently, telling Daisy her tummy is her favourite part of herself because it made her and her sister, while sitting quietly with the word fraud flashing in her own head.

Then there's Miller's pregnancy, a story that barely exists in the public conversation around pregnancy because it sits in that rare and terrifying 1%. At 14 weeks, Meg woke up covered in blood. She drove herself to hospital alone at 1am while Guy stayed home with Daisy. Blood tests came back showing a dramatic drop in hCG. She and Guy sat in hospital for eight hours grieving a baby they were told they'd lost, making quiet decisions about whether they'd even try again, before a scan revealed a heartbeat. The results had been mixed up with her previous pregnancy. What followed was daily bleeding until 23 weeks, repeated hospital admissions, and a day-by-day pregnancy that somehow made it to 37 weeks.

Miller's birth was its own story entirely. An induced labour, a 30-minute window from five centimetres to birth with no epidural after the anaesthetist couldn't reach her in time, a postpartum haemorrhage of 2.1 litres, emergency surgery, and, in a moment Meg still can't fully explain, convincing the nurses not to tell Guy she was okay so she could roll in and surprise him herself. She has apologised profusely.

They also get into health anxiety, something both Meg and Jess share deeply and personally. Meg describes the particular brand that keeps her awake at night: the constant, exhausting fear that she will miss something and her children will die. The 1am checks. The spiral from a cough to meningococcal. The dog with a bump the vet said was a bug bite that turned out to be cancer. The way being right once makes it impossible to ever believe you might be wrong.

And then Hashimoto's, the autoimmune thyroid condition Meg was eventually diagnosed with after months of blaming herself for her own exhaustion, bone aches, and weight changes. A female doctor who pushed for bloods. A 9am phone call the next morning asking her to come in. Antibodies hundreds of times above normal range.

Want to try Go Mama? Shop here! https://gomamamaternity.co.nz

Follow and connect

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Website: wearethecyclist.com

Hit play. And maybe clear your afternoon.

CW: This episode contains open discussion about disordered eating, body image, and diet culture. Please take care if these are sensitive topics for you.

In this episode, Jess sits down with Renee Diment, New Zealand nutritionist, REPs-registered personal trainer, NZ Personal Trainer of the Year 2024, and founder of Beyond the Body,  for one of the most grounding, refreshing, and genuinely practical conversations The Cyclist has had about food, movement, and what it actually means to look after yourself as a woman.

Renee opens up about her own story, a 10-year-old on a beach in Perth, looking down at her body and comparing it to the girls in Total Girl magazine. The friend with anorexia at dance class. The restricting that started at 11 or 12. The gym before school at 14. And how 13 years of working with women eventually taught her that fat loss was always just the surface-level goal, and what women actually needed was far deeper than that.

Her business is called Beyond the Body for a reason. She shares how her coaching evolved from helping women lose weight to helping women discover who they actually are. Their values, their why, their relationship with themselves. And how the biggest wins her clients have had weren't about the scales at all.

From there, this episode becomes one of the most practical nutrition conversations The Cyclist has had. Jess asks all the questions she's been holding for years, from someone who knows a lot about nutrition but has spent years lost in the noise of it all. Renee walks through the four phases of the menstrual cycle and how understanding them gives women better body autonomy, not as a reason to stop doing things but as a guide for listening in. She explains the 10-minute rule for those days when you genuinely don't know whether your body needs rest or a push.

On nutrition, Renee introduces the add-in approach: forget elimination diets, forget what you're cutting out, just start adding. Protein, fats, fibre, carbohydrates on every plate. She makes a case for carbohydrates that will make a lot of women exhale, pushes back on the protein obsession dominating social media right now, and makes the case that fibre is actually the thing most women are deficient in and nobody is talking about it enough.

She talks about the fuck-it mode that follows restriction, why sharing a pizza with friends is genuinely better for your health than ordering the salad, and why your body is not broken, it just needs the right support and understanding.

And then there's strength training. Renee is passionate about this in a way that is completely unrelated to aesthetics. Building muscle protects your bones. It helps your body metabolise food. It combats stress and supports your nervous system. A 70-year-old client who broke her pelvis in a car accident recovered in months because of her training. That's the real reason to lift weights. Not Greece, not a bikini, but your 90-year-old self.

She wraps by saying that you do not need to shrink yourself to fit into a box someone else created. You are enough as you are. And when you truly allow yourself to believe that, everything else becomes possible.

Renee is coming back for a gut health and nervous system episode, because they ran out of time and there was still so much to cover. If you want that episode, let them know in the comments.

Find Renee at reneediment.com

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Instagram: @wearethecyclist

Website: wearethecyclist.com

Hit play. And maybe eat something while you listen.