We are back with our third episode of Seize the Bébé on a topic that’s definitely been the most requested in my DMs and that I personally found sparked a level of desperation in me for information that I’ve never experienced before. We are talking, of course, about the elusive and emotionally charged topic of sleep and more particularly the dreaded "sleep regression" or (regressions as supposedly there are several). Even within parenthood where most topics are already a bit emotional or judgy, sleep seems especially sensitive, often because you’re usually only talking about it if you’re not getting enough, which is never anyone’s best version of themselves. So, as with all these episodes, a big disclaimer to start - this is all anecdotal and not an exhaustive fully researched guide. I have no professional experience or scientific backing, just answering your questions about what we did and there are many sleep specialists who you can turn to for actual advice. I actually found this one quite hard to write as not only there an infinite amount of variables when choosing sleep techniques, every baby and family is different (perhaps moreso in this area than any) plus even what worked for us this time might not work next time. Having said that, I didn’t care when I was in the depths of it - I still wanted to know what everyone else did just to get ideas or guidance even on where to start. So I’ll lay out what we ended up doing (which, to reassure anyone out there in the thick of it, did work wonderfully and quicker than I expected) and how we decided on that pathway, but just reminding you this area is VERY specific to you. For context, I’m talking about our experience getting through the so-called four month regression which is the first major one that gets talked about. Teddy was born two weeks early and this hit almost exactly at 4 months and two weeks - he’s punctual that boy. I'm sure we'll be back again with new and different views and answers for regressions in future! But for now, I hope even parts of this are useful!

LINKS

More info on Dr Golly's guides are here.
You can follow Dr Golly on instagram here.
More info on Baby Spa's sleep consultations here. 
You can follow Baby Spa on instgaram here.

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As promised, here is part two of what could easily snowball into an 825-part series with my dear friend Dr Matt Agnew. Even still, there is so much we didn’t get to about this fascinating human being and that’s all without really touching on the Bachelor at all. For his proper intro and bio, go back to the first episode - we pick up here right where we left off which, as it turns out, wasn’t very far into his pathYAY in the end. And there’s so much more ahead, so who knows - part 3 could still come at you in the future but in the meantime I hope you enjoy!

If this conversation raises any emotional distress for you, please reach out to someone, or call Lifeline for 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services on 13 11 14.

MATT'S BOOKS

Dr Matt's Guide to Life in Space

Is My Phone Reading my Mind? The real facts about Artificial Intelligence

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We are back with a guest episode for you and one that has been a long time coming. I’m so excited to have finally sat down with a dear friend of mine Matt Agnew who much of Australia may know as “Matt from the bachelor” but who I met outside of that context completely.

I think this was the first time I admitted I never actually watched his season (you guys know I’m a true crime girly not a reality girly) and I deliberately didn’t catch up on it because I wanted to focus on Matt NOT from the Bachie which hasn’t been as exhaustively covered everywhere else (the link to Abbie's latest ep we discus is here). With all our guests I love to show a side people know a bit less about and even more so with a friend but then the great challenge is squeezing that all in to an hour when you want to showcase every single thing you think is great about them...

WHICH obviously I didn’t manage to do so heads up that this is part one of a two parter where we set the scene around the early days of Matt’s way to yay - you really should read his LinkedIn to understand why it’s reductive to only refer to his TV stint rather than the FIVE DEGREES in hectic maths and science that he’s amassed including an actual pHd on space… plus two wonderful books, an amazing new business Pash, a stint on Sharktank… hopefully you get a dose of a Matt you might not already know but I think astrophysics, AI, dating and both of our experiences with sobriety deserve more time so you’ll hear those in part two.

Perhaps it’s fitting that a lot of part 1 was spent on what Matt calls his "salad of mental heatlh issues" about which he speaks so vulnerablty and powerfully as we move into Movember and a sharper focus on men’s health (for reference the Jess Rowe episode we mention is here). So a content warning that we do briefly touch on suicide and similar in this episode - please take care while listening and see Lifeline's number below. Otherwise this was above all a chat between firends and I hope you enjoy!

If this conversation raises any emotional distress for you, please reach out to someone, or call Lifeline for 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services on 13 11 14.

MATT'S BOOKS:

Dr Matt's Guide to Life in Space

Is My Phone Reading my Mind? The real facts about Artificial Intelligence

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Welcome to our second episode of Seize the Bébé, thank you all so much for the lovely feedback on our debut episode with Gen covering the juggle - I’m so glad it was as reassuring for you guys as it was for me. We’re going back to back just for this week - firstly, because I’ve owed you answers on travelling with a baby since Italy which is now MONTHS ago and, secondly, because we’re freshly back from more travel with Teddy to Sydney then are going overseas again tomorrow so it seemed timely.

For those of you who aren’t interested in the parenthood content, we’ll be back next week with a regular interview episode and those will then keep dropping fortnightly. For today though, I thought the easiest way to set this one out was to give you the top twenty tips I’ve found useful travelling with Teddy so far.

I must add a disclaimer quickly for this segment that my inner A type is so tempted to try and make this a neutral and comprehensive layout of the entire landscape on each topic, but the juggle episode will tell you there's simply not enough time. These episodes are simply me answering your questions from my personal anecdotal experiences based on yes, a lot of research, but also our personal choices, the fact that I often was recommended something by a friend and didn’t bother trying anything else, Teddy’s age at the time, etc.

So I’m sure I’ll miss many other great options or tips on these subjects, but just keep in mind every baby and family is different (and my own answers will probably differ in future chapters of our life). For context, our biggest trip was with Teddy at four months before solids or crawling so of course that’s relevant too.

LINKS

The IG post where I shared some of the items we took (pre Italy) is here.
The shopping list of the items I've mentioned is here.
If you'd like my packing list, send me a DM!

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As promised, welcome to the very first episode of our new motherhood segment - Seize the Bébé (I know, I couldn't help myself). This all came about when I realised I'd been screenshotting my own TED Talk length answers about adjusting to mum life on socials to hundreds of different people wanting to make sure I answer as thoroughly as possible and felt those fuller answers needed somewhere better to live… plus I wanted to signal more clearly to those who aren’t as interested in this content what’s heavily parent related and what isn’t.

The most hotly asked questions so far have been around sleep, breastfeeding and the juggle as a working Mum, but I’m starting with the latter because it’s particularly timely for two reasons. Firstly, I personally feel my management of the juggle has taken a very steep dive over the past few weeks so it’s very close to home right now. And secondly - one of the mum role models I turn to often and incidentally, my manager, Genevieve Day, who is a huge part of how I maintain any kind of juggle, just released her new book CALLED The Juggle featuring interviews with some of our very own past guests on the topic so a conversation on this topic was meant to be.

One thing I've really had to grapple with is letting go of perfectionism at work now there’s less time to play with, so sadly you don’t get the nice new intro I was hoping to organise to accompany the new segment because you’d be waiting all year for these episodes otherwise. I also feel like I got so distracted by Gen’s wisdom that we kind of venture into sleep and feeding anyway and I’m not sure I delinate clearly enough how Nic and I juggle working with parenting but hopefully you can gather most of it amidst what was otherwise such a cathartic and validating conversation.

I hope you guys enjoy and please let me know your thoughts on the segment! Next up will likely be sleep and travelling with a baby…. Stay tuned!

GET THE JUGGLE HERE.

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Every now and then I get a particular guest in my head and can’t rest until I’ve tried everything in my power to reach them because their story is so extraordinary. In this case, there are literally only a handful of people in HISTORY on this particular pathYAY so to be able to sit down with not an astronaut... and not only one of less than 100 female astronauts in the world... but the first EVER AUSTRALIAN astronaut is literally a dream.

I am so honoured to have Katherine Bennell-Pegg in your ears this week (who has just a few days ago earned an honorary doctorate, so should really be DOCTOR Katherine Bennell-Pegg) who qualified as the first Astronaut under the Australian flag in April this year and first Australian female astronaut under any flag. She is an incredibly impressive woman and an absolute ICON for women in STEMM with two masters degrees across four international countries, positions with Airbus and NASA before becoming director of Space Technology at the Australian Space Agency where she remains today.

I don’t know how but she has also generously makes time to speak about her career around the country and so excitingly, with us, as well as being a Mum to two girls Clara and Hazel. The I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!

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Yayberhood, you asked for more guests, and we've got two of the very, very best in today's episode. 

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've likely already heard of sisters Bianca and Bridgett Roccisano, who recently celebrated the rebrand of their eponymous label with an insane collection shot in Paris. These girls know how to make waves and are behind two multi-million dollar businesses including the World’s First and Original Breast Lift tape, globally recognised as Booby Tape.

There's been branded private jets, Forbes lists, thousands of stockists in over 40 countries around the world, and even a copycat situation with one Kim Kardashian but what you might not know is how the two got their start and how it shaped them as women and business moguls today. From the stricter upbringing they had from their immigrant family growing up in regional Victoria, to hustling customers into restaurants with garlic bread, and thinking that $13 an hour that they made in their first business was an absolute killing, Bianca and Bridgett are not to be underestimated. 

There are so many surprises, even more pearls of wisdom - this episode is an absolute banger.

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I am SO excited to have another guest for you this week and a very special one that’s been in the making for a long time. If you were anywhere near the Paris Olympics this year, it was impossible to miss the incredible Fox sisters whose medal tally as a duo rivalled some of the top performing COUNTRIES in the games! 

And while you’ll all remember our episode with 2024 flag bearer and Aussie golden girl Jess Fox after Tokyo a few years ago, this year was all about her younger sister Noémie Fox’s Olympic debut which saw her not only beat Jess in her kayak cross event but become the first ever gold medallist in this new event after years of a technicality squashing her Olympic dream. Having met Noémie back then when the Olympics still wasn’t on the cards, it made my life to see her time to shine in Paris and I am SO grateful to have caught up with her while it’s still fresh in her mind - I mentioned we tried to record while she was actually in the village, but it worked out far better that we got to catch up a afterwards as things turned out.

There are so many beautiful facets to this story - a whole family of Olympians and their French connection, the long wait in the wings and the complexity of patience, Noémie’s entire career outside of the sport as a corporate girlie, and what I feel shines through the most - the INCREDIBLE power of mindset and choosing a narrative for yourself. If you haven’t already been, I hope you are as impacted by her humility and good sense as I am! 

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We are back with another incredible guest whose brand you will likely know and love but whose backstory you may know less about. If you follow me on socials, especially as we just came back from a trip, you’ll know we are BIG fans of July Luggage with their unique polycarbonate hard shell, silent move 360 spinner wheels and quality so high they come with a lifetime warranty…. But do you know the fellow Melbournian co founder and the quite unexpected way he ended up, as he humbly puts it, selling suitcases on the Internet?

Athan Didaskalou started off, of all places, in a charcoal chicken shop stopping off in co-working, coffee sales and even considering shellac nail kits before July was born in 2018. And despite the enormous success you’ll have seen July experience in the past few years growing into a multimillion dollar company, he has equally lived through losing 95% of sales when travel came to a halt but survived (and thrived) to tell the tale so this is a fascinating one. Other fun facts - Athan met his business partner in a cafe who previously founded Brosa Furniture and is married to the CEO of the incredible Rationale Skincare, so there is SO much to unpack in this one and my sleep deprived mum brain missed half of what I wanted to ask. But we cover so much interesting ground and I hope you enjoy as much as I did. 

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Check out July here

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We are so lucky to have had so many wonderful Olympians on the podcast over the years, so to celebrate Olympic fever during Paris 2024 we are throwing it back to some of our favourites who are competing again this year. Olympians aren't allowed to do audio or video interviews from within the Olympic village, so we sadly had to postpone a few follow ups to these that we had locked in. But one thing we love about the podcast is being able to reflect on how far we've come and having a record of how we felt a moment in time. So I hope you enjoy looking back as much as we did!

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While I was up in Sydney, I was lucky enough to spend time with Madison de Rozario, three-time Paralympian who is heading off for her fourth in Tokyo this year. Madi made her Paralympic debut in wheelchair racing at just 14 years old at the Beijing 2008 games taking home three silver medals since then as well as a string of other accolades and achievements. She is an incredible role model and advocate for the visibility of the disabled community, reshaping our perception of disability and truly going after your dreams.

As you’ll hear, she is delightfully bubbly, humble and articulate and it’s no surprise to me that she was named the 2020 Barbie Australian Shero (that’s she-hero) as part of Barbie’s Global Role Model campaign inspiring women the world over with a one of a kind doll. As one of my favourite childhood brands, I’ve loved learning how Barbie is inspiring the limitless potential of every girl introducing different body types, hair, skin and everything in between and as you’ll see in the episode image, Madi’s doll comes complete with her racing chair. Madi’s excitement and drive is infectious and I hope you enjoy hearing her story!

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+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.