everymum

everymum

Zahra

Where we talk about the parts of motherhood, we don't hear enough about.

50 minutes 46 seconds

Parenting five children while being a full-time carer for one of them, with Katie Healy Nolan

My guest this week is Katie Healy Nolan, whose life is chaotic but filled with gratitude, as she parents her five young children, ages 8 down to just six weeks. Her eldest child, her daughter Penelope, is living with a life-limiting illness and requires 24-hour care, with Katie provides, as she says herself "with a heart and a half". Katie and her husband Dave also parent their four boys, while advocating for the care their eldest needs. Penelope's illness is extremely rare and therefore isn't straightforward when it comes to accessing the supports she needs. Katie, through all of this, remains astoundingly positive, and is an absolute hero as far as I'm concerned, as she talks about how lucky and grateful she is to be able to have her family, and how a big family was always on the cards for both herself and her husband. Having survived the terrorist attack in the Bataclan in Paris back in 2015 which killed 130 people, Katie says her perspective on life is a little bit different and is grateful to have the choice to keep going, where so many others didn't and don't. A truly uplifting episode. Enjoy it, and I'll be back with the season finale next week.

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

21 January 2025, 7:00 am
46 minutes 41 seconds

Music and motherhood, and the constant juggle, with Lisa McHugh

Joining me for this week's episode is Lisa McHugh, an award-winning singer-songwriter and one of the brightest stars in Irish country music. Beyond her music, she’s also an entrepreneur, a proud mam of two, and a voice of positivity and empowerment for women. Her two children, Milo who is two and Hallie who is just five months, are the centre of her world, but her parenting path has thrown up some real challenges for Lisa. After Hallie was born, Lisa spent ten days in hospital with her brand new daughter in the NICU, where she couldn't see Milo and couldn't cuddle her newborn as she was hooked up to a CPAP machine. Hallie's health had another challenge just recently too, and another stint in hospital was required. But through it all, Lisa remains positive, while also being honest about how hard is has been for her and her family. With her own parents in Glasgow, where Lisa was born, she says that having a break or some downtime isn't something she can remember having in recent memory. All of this, and a full-on career as a musician means that Lisa is my new inspiration! I hope you enjoy listening this week, and I'll be back with more next week.

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

14 January 2025, 7:00 am
58 minutes 33 seconds

Letting your 'old self' go after becoming a parent, with Anna Geary

My guest this week is the incredible Anna Geary, broadcaster, author and former All Ireland medal-winning camogie player. Anna is a national treasure, a wellness advocate and an inspiration to to others, and she's also a mum of one – her little boy Ronan is 16 months old and as Anna says, changed her life for the better. This episode was the definition of sitting with a cup of tea with your mam friend and just having the chats. We talked about the pressure to 'perform' for want of a better term, when it comes to parenting, we talk about comparison online and how detrimental it can be, while also being a valuable resource, and how those few minutes a day you can take for yourself are critical when it comes to being a better parent. Anna and I have a lot in common, we discovered, when it comes to our love of lists, our love of structure and our sanity hingeing on whether our child is sleeping well – and we have both found, to our dismay, that children don't come with a rulebook, and the certainly don't give two hoots about your best laid plans. It was so great to hear someone as successful and lovely as Anna say that actually, we're all just winging it. Enjoy this episode, and I'll be back soon with more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 December 2024, 7:00 am
53 minutes 36 seconds

Teaching, influencing and parenting: Juggling three jobs, with Rachel Ivie

My guest this week is Rachel Ivie, someone I'm certain lots of you will follow online for her style and outfit ideas. Rachel is a fashion influencer, almost by accident, having started her outfit posts during Covid when she wasn't working at her other job as a primary school teacher. She's also a mother of two, as if there wasn't enough going on. We talk about parental leave helping to ease the pressure on parents, we talk about whether or not your child is ready for school, and about how she chose not to go down the 'parenting content' route when she had her two children, now 4 and 2. I also tried to plug her for discipline advice, given that she's a teacher and the mother of a little girl around the same age as mine – but it turns out, 3 and 4 year old little girls are beyond discipline. Which is just great news altogether for parents listening! It was a great chat, Rachel straight away acknowledged that support is the only way to cope with the 'balance' in parenting and working, and I know so many of you will get something from listening. Back next week with more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 December 2024, 7:00 am
52 minutes 18 seconds

Dispelling the myths around fostering with Deirdre McDonagh

This week, I chatted to the incredible Deirdre McDonagh, a social worker who founded Five Rivers Fostering over 22 years ago. I knew very little about fostering at the start of our conversation, so I was coming to this topic with mostly questions, and Deirdre was certainly the right person to ask. We talked about the basic types of fostering, from emergency care to longer term fostering that might result in adoption, we talked about what circumstances might arise that would cause a child to be in need of all the various types of foster care, and we talk about the amazing families who selflessly take children who are in need into their homes and give them the two things they need most: Love and safety. I personally wanted to ask Deirdre how her heart isn't endlessly broken seeing the children leave their families, for whatever number of reasons, often not really wanting to leave but having no choice for their own safety – it really is a heroic thing to do to foster a child and I hope that after listening to this episode, anyone considering it might feel empowered to start the process. Thanks for listening, I'll be back with more next week.

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

26 November 2024, 7:00 am
45 minutes 59 seconds

Perception is NOT reality in parenting, with Courtney Smith

This week's guest is my lovely friend Courtney Smith. Courtney is an incredibly talented creative director and stylist, a truly beautiful person inside and out and is someone I've worked with and admired for a long time, so it was great to speak to her about being a mam. At the time of recording, she's about to have her third baby, and though we joked that she could go into labour during the record – thankfully we got through it okay. We get real about the 'balance' in motherhood, and how really it doesn't exist and how the notion of having it all is nonsense. We also talk about Courtney's three very unique pregnancies – one in Covid, one while grieving, and one while having illness in the family. Courtney is a real woman's woman, and she was really keen to mention that although perception might have you believe she has it all worked out, she still goes on Instagram, compares herself to others and wonders how THEY do it all. We're all the same really, aren't we! Thanks for listening and I'll speak to you again next week.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 November 2024, 7:00 am
49 minutes 47 seconds

Taking care of yourself first is okay, with Laura Drury

This week, I spoke to lovely Laura Drury, also known as The Glam Shamrock, about her life as a content creator and mother of three children under the age of four. Yes, three under four – the woman is a hero. We spoke about how much she leans into the chaos, embraces the challenges but always tries to do one key thing: Find time in her day to do something that's just for her. Whether that's a 15-minute makeup break or a walk to get some fresh air, making time to prioritise her own health and mental wellbeing is something she's passionate about. It's such an important thing that I think sometimes as mothers we can take for granted – parenting is tough and you taking time out to feel like yourself and to do things that fill your cup is absolutely essential. We also talked about how, if you're parenting with a partner, keeping your relationship with that person solid, with open lines of communication, is so important to not only you, but to the lives of your children. Believe me, they're more perceptive than we give them credit for! Enjoy this chat, and I'll be back next week with more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 November 2024, 7:00 am
47 minutes 10 seconds

It's okay to just be a 'good enough' parent, with Dr Malie Coyne

This week's guest is Dr Malie Coyne, a Clinical Psychologist, bestselling author and and clinical psychology lecturer. Dr Coyne's special area of interest is in children's and adolescent mental health, and helping families navigate challenges around that. During our conversation today, the word 'compassion' came up a lot – not in relation to our children, but in relation to ourselves. Sharing stories of those times I've lost my patience, or been too cross with Lydia, I articulated what I think many parents feel when under the immense pressure to be the 'perfect' parent. Dr Coyne's approach to it is that sometimes, being 'good enough' is the best thing for our children. She advocates showing yourself kindness and care first, and letting that calm trickle down to your family. It's so good to hear from someone so experienced that an approach like that is not only okay, but might even be better for us than constantly aiming for perfection. Enjoy listening, and I'll be back next week.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 November 2024, 7:00 am
47 minutes 56 seconds

Grieving your own mother while mothering, with Jennie McGinn

My guest this week is entrepreneur and mother of two, Jennie McGinn. Jennie is an entrepreneur in the truest sense of the word – she's the brains behind many very successful business endeavours, and somehow seems to keep all of the plates spinning, but something I love about her is her honesty about the very real juggle we all find ourselves doing, whether self-employed or not. She's refreshingly straightforward about the challenges of doing it all, or trying to at least, and we talk extensively about relying on our village, if we're lucky enough to have one. Jennie shares the heartbreaking story of losing her mother four years ago and the effect that had on her family and her children, and how vital those grandparent figures can be in our lives and those of our little ones. I managed to not cry during this one, but it is an emotional one, particularly for anyone who's lost a parent. Thanks for listening and I'll be back next week with more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29 October 2024, 11:00 am
58 minutes 3 seconds

How to find a balance working both in and out of the home with Tara Anderson

My guest this week was Tara Anderson, or as you might know her online – Tara Makeup. Makeup artist, model, actor, influencer and entrepreneur are all roles Tara has had in her life, but her job as mam to Gene and Jools, her 6 and 3-year-old sons, is the one we chatted most about in this episode. Tara talks candidly about her two very different experiences of pregnancy and birth, about how she's a private person in spite of being well known online, and how even for her, comparison can be the thief of joy at times. We chat about how parenting now is totally different to the parenting our own parents would've done, and how full of doubt we can be at times as to whether we're doing the right things. Tara is one of those people who you look at online and think 'how does she do it', but from talking to her I can tell that she's just like the rest of us: Doing the best for her family through the good and the bad. Thank you so much for listening today, and throughout season 14, and I'll be talking to you again soon.

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

17 September 2024, 8:45 am
1 hour 1 minute

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, women's health and conceiving with Louise O'Reilly (stylemecurvy)

My guest this week was model and blogger, the lovely Louise O'Reilly, who is someone I've known for a really long time, since the very early days of my former career in magazines and since the early days of her career as a curve model. Louise has not only modelled in magazines like Cosmopolitan, but has had a plus size fashion blog called Style Me Curvy for as long as she's been modelling, which is where some of you might know her from. There, she helps women everywhere to embrace their individuality no matter what their size. And now, at 31-weeks pregnant, she continues to do so. But Louise's journey to pregnancy wasn't straightforward, and in fact she was given a less than 2% chance of ever conceiving, even with the help of IVF, which she didn't even look into in the end. Her miracle, spontaneous pregnancy was so unlikely to happen as she has polycystic ovarian syndrome, otherwise known as PCOS. She talks about her symptoms, how she was dismissed time and time again by doctors who didn't take those symptoms seriously, and how women are often overlooked by doctors based on their weight alone. Our discussion around women's health in general was fascinating, and anyone with Endometriosis, Adenomyosis or PCOS would likely identify with what Louise went through in getting a diagnosis. It's one of those episodes where I leave knowing so much more about a topic but also with great nuggets of advice such as, as Louise says: Always trust your gut when it comes to your health. Enjoy, and I'll be back soon with more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3 September 2024, 6:00 am
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