Co-founder of The LGBT Mummies Tribe, Laura-Rose Thorogood and her wife, always knew they wanted children, but there were so many questions! ‘What are our options? Do we want to carry a child? Who carries? How? How much does it cost? Where can we do it? How do we choose a donor?’ Finding the answers to their endless questions wasn’t straight forward as they thought…

In this episode of The Regular Parent Podcast, I chat with Laura-Rose about her journey to Motherhood and her amazing support platform The LGBT Mummies Tribe which she set up with her wife, to support others wanting answers to the questions they had when wanting to start a family.

The platform started off as a small Instagram page and has now flourished into a full blown business that provides ‘meet’ events, support groups and information for LGBT parents, with members reaching out all over the world!

Laura-Rose and I chat about her everyday family life as an incredibly busy mum, together with all the amazing work she and her wife do for the LGBT community including; speaking with important bodies such as NHS Improvement England & Health Education England, The Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, Royal College of Midwives, APPG, and Miscarriage Association & Fertility Network UK, regarding areas of policy change, education and training and offering answers, support and so much more.

You can listen to the episode online below, or on itunes. Please do leave a review or share if you love this episode and others as it makes the podcast more visible.

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While I dislike the term ‘fussy eater’ it’s a hugely common issue that takes up around 40% of the parenting emails sent to me each week. Having worked with children and families for over 27 years, I have come to realise that fussy eating is something that many, if not all children, go through during childhood.

When it comes to the fussy eater, I find parents deal with it in one of two ways:

1. The ‘Eat this or eat nothing’ approach: Demand they eat all on their plate or get nothing else until the next meal.
2. The ‘give up and give in’ technique: Try to coax their child into eating something new – then give up and give their child their favourite food or treat.

In this episode I talk all things fussy eating. I also talk about food anxieties together with my tips for coping and keeping your cool! I share of honest tips and techniques that actually work to create much more relaxed, fun and stress-free mealtimes. 

You can listen to the episode online or on iTunes. Please do leave a review or stars and share this and other episodes if you like them!

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Whatever the reasonings for being a single parent, it can be quite overwhelming at times. Raising a family as a solo parent is an incredibly rewarding job – but one that’s often challenging and emotionally draining too.

In this Episode I chat with Sarah, a single parent to her little girl who shares with us a very personal journey on how she manages to parent with often debilitating health conditions.

We chat all things blogging (Sarah is one of the original ‘old school’ bloggers from back when blogging was a completely different thing to what it is today) and how she’s found a new love – ART! Which she’s pretty damn good at! We also chat about how important it is to find your ‘tribe’ as a parent as these are the people who ‘get you’ and will lift and support you when you needed it most.

As a qualified parenting professional Sarah shares her invaluable parenting advice that is so worth listening to – she has such a reassuring tone and wants parents to enjoy these years rather than worrying and wasting time comparing themselves to others. Sarah was a delight to chat to, and know you’ll just love listening to this episode!

Listen online below or on itunes and please do leave a review and share if you love this or any of the other episodes in the series.

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If you want to know all about surrogacy – this episode is a must listen. Mark is incredibly open, honest and offers a true insight into all the decision making and planning that goes into choosing a surrogate.

In this episode I chat to Mark who blogs and vlogs his adventures over at as a dad with his husband and their little girl over on ‘Now That’s Just Gay!’ We chat all things Disney, (Mark is a proper hardcore Disney fan!) We also talk parenting, equality, homophobia, and talking to kids about inclusivity.

Mark also shares very openly and honestly, how he became a father for the first time using surrogacy and a wonderful, supportive surrogate and how he now spends his days as a stay-at-home dad to his little girl who is almost 2.

This was recorded at the start of lockdown when my internet failed and I had to ‘hotspot’ from my phone, so please do forgive the sound quality!

If you enjoy the episode – please do share, leave a review on itunes and subscribe.

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For many kids – it’ll be SIX MONTHS since they last stepped inside school, so it’s going to be a little strange and worrying for many. In this episode of The Regular Parent, I share my back to school tips for parents, along with the thoughts and feelings of other parents on returning to school after lockdown.

This usual Wednesday 10 minute tips episode is a little longer than the usual ten minutes as there was so much to say and share! Huge thanks to Michael and Charlie In Australia (who are currently back in lockdown) and Emma, Jane, Jen, Richard, John, Betsy and Oscar in the UK, for sharing their thoughts and feelings in this episode.

You can listen below or on iTunes to this ‘back to school tips’ episode. Please do leave a review and share if you love this episode and others in the series. 

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Lockdown has left most of us all feeling a little sluggish and a little fragile mentally. PT and fitness professional, Sean Dawson joins, me for a chat on all things fitness and exercise and how it can make us feel brilliant not just physically – but mentally too. We chat exercise during pregnancy, post natal exercise (Sean has specific training and qualifications in this area) and he shares his thoughts on how busy mums and dads can fit exercise around their daily lives.

This is certainly not a ‘bikini body’ or ‘snap back into your pre-birth body’ style podcast. There’s no quick fix tips – but instead, lots of sound, sensible and easy-to-follow advice, on how you can enjoy moving more as a family. From daily walks to fun games to get the kids moving more and sleeping better. Sean shares his qualified advice for those wanting to know more about sensible solutions to improving physical and mental health.

Sean has a wealth of experience and qualifications including:

    •    Bachelor of Science in Sport (Health & Fitness) with Honours from University of Bath
    •    BTEC National Diploma in Sports & Exercise Science
    •    YMCA Level 3 Award in Adapting Exercise for Ante Natal and Post Natal Clients
    •    CYQ Level 3 Certificate in Personal Training
    •    CYQ Level 3 Certificate in Nutrition & Weight Management
    •    CYQ Level 3 Certificate in Client Lifestyle and Fitness Assessment
    •    Level 2 Certificate in Fitness Instructing
    •    Level 2 Certificate in Exercise & Fitness Knowledge
    •    Level 2 Award in Instructing Kettlebells
    •    Qualified Keiser M3 Indoor Cycling Instructor

You can listen to the podcast online below, or on itunes.

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Argh – I’m sorry, I didn’t want to talk about going back to school just yet, but I know many will be starting back soon and wanted to share my ‘back-to-school sleep tips’ with you before the week before starting school was upon us so you can prepare! 

The holidays, and before that – LOCKDOWN totally changed the routine and like so many other parents – I’m right there now, everything out of wack and am conscious we need get back to normality. 

It’s been easy to forget the routine since March, but did you know it really is the magic key to a good night’s sleep?

With the school days approaching, it’s a good idea at least one week before, to get your little loves back into better bedtime hours, so they are refreshed and ready for the early starts that school brings.

My super easy tips are available to listen to online below or on iTunes. No waffling on, no ridiculous ideas or stressful suggestions… Just simple solutions for super sleep for school!

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In this episode I chat with solo dad Michael Ray, who shares a glimpse into his life as a single dad with his little girl. Michael took the time to chat to me all the way over in Melbourne Australia!

At 51, Michael Ray was thrust into life as a solo parent. He regularly campaigns for equality and change after an incident (which created quite the media frenzy,) left his daughter and him really upset. The experience opened his eyes to outdated gender expectations and led him to become a vocal advocate for equality and change.  

Michael’s passion to parenting and advice to dads is incredibly inspiring and made me really think about how although we have come such a long way when it comes to equality, we still have so far to go.

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Hello lovely faces! Welcome back another episode of The Regular Parent Podcast!

In this episode I chat with the lovely Emma Shilton from the blog Mrs Shilts who opens up about her struggle with infertility, offers hope to others going through the same journey and shares her thoughts on parenting two young boys with her husband Greg.

Emma’s brilliant blog and platforms are hugely popular, with over 27k combined followers on social media! She shares her experiences of weight loss, infertility and parenthood with her followers and in this episode of The Regular Parent, offers an insight to how she started her blog and now she manages to now have her hobby as her full time job!

You can listen to this episode below or on itunes and if you love it – please do leave a review or subscribe for more episodes!

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Hello lovely faces! Welcome back to The Regular Parent Podcast!

In this 10 minute tips episode I’m talking all things tantrums! I share an insight into why they happen, how to avoid them and when they do happen (which they inevitably will at some point,) how to cope and keep your cool!

You can listen here or on itunes!

If you enjoyed these tips – follow me over on the socials below for daily tips and ideas that make parenting a little more chilled!

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