everymum

Kelly Donegan is my guest this week – you might know Kelly, if you're a millennial like me, from Tallafornia, a reality show she starred in 12 years ago now. If you've been following her online, you'll have seen her go from reality TV star to fitness expert to now, a mammy of one. Since her daughter Cherry arrived, Kelly's plans for motherhood haven't quite gone off as she'd hoped. We talk about the disappointment you can feel when your birth plans go the exact opposite to what you'd hoped, the challenges so many people go through when it comes to breast feeding, and what Kelly would do differently if she could go through it all again. It's such an open, honest and brave conversation, which I think is refreshing, given the tendency online to only show the 'good' and cover up the tougher times. I hope you enjoy it.

My guest this week is Ali Deasy, who is famous where she lives as the mother who is shadowed everywhere she goes by her gorgeous triplets, Bruce Ted and Lenny. Ali has been a guest on Everymum in the past, but I saw recently she spoke online about her mental health struggle when the boys were between the ages of 2 and 3 years old. I caught up with her as soon as I heard that, because often I think postnatal depression or motherhood-related depression might only be associated with the immediate aftermath of having a baby, or as something that you can be certain you've escaped if your child is older than one – that's absolutely not the case, and I chatted to Ali about how she leaned on her friends to help her through that tough patch. We also chat about the logistics of managing three four year old's (and her angel of a daughter, Georgia, who is like another mammy to the three lads), and how she only dresses them the same if she needs to be able to do a quick headcount in public. I've never smiled so much during an episode, honestly, so I hope it's the same for you. Enjoy!

Warning: This episode discusses baby loss.My guest for this episode is Jessica Bourke, otherwise known as The Fertility Detective. She's known among her followers and patients for her honest, straightforward and compassionate approach to all things fertility, and as she says online, she has nearly two decades of experience helping people to get and to stay pregnant. Before you start listening to this week's episode, I must let you know – we speak extensively and in detail about what it's like to go through various types of miscarriage – just something to be aware of if that's a subject that's sensitive to you at the moment. Jessica is a total pro and it was clear from chatting to her just how much of a vocation her job is for her. I know you'll learn so much from this one, just as I did. 

My incredible guest this week is the OG sleep coach in Ireland, the person with thousands of hours of pacing hallways and bedrooms with babies in her arms – Kelly Geoghegan. Kelly's business, Sleepy Stars, is all about helping babies with sleep. But her fascinating career has featured superyachts, helicopters and changing time zones twice in a week, all the while caring for babies that need their sleep. She chats to me about her celebrity and high net worth clients, how she approaches trying to get twins and triplets to sleep in the same room together, and so much more. We also discuss the largely unregulated sleep coaching industry, and Kelly says she would love to see more controls in place to stop parents who are desperate for help from finding it in the wrong places. Kelly is probably one of the most hands-on experienced professionals I've spoken to, she walks the walk – literally – and I even got a cheeky question to her about my own daughter... a perk of the job, maybe? Enjoy, and I'll speak to you again next week.

This week I spoke to Sarah Ockwell Smith, a parenting expert who has written 15 books on parenting over the course of her career. While we could've covered a number of topics, what I really wanted to speak to her about was the idea of gentle parenting and what it really is. Like you, I've seen Instagram memes and Tiktokers talk about gentle parenting, and most of what I saw left me more confused than enlightened. But speaking to Sarah really gave me a clear picture of what it means to be a gentle parent – and no, it doesn't involve mollycoddling your child and refusing to discipline them. I learned a huge amount during this episode, including how to deescalate a tantrum in the moment, and how best to go about stopping them before they even happen – something other parents of toddlers I'm sure could benefit from. Enjoy, and I'll be back next week with more.

Today's guest is Karen Ferguson, head of nursing and clinical services with SIMS IVF. I'll be completely honest, my knowledge of all things fertility and infertility was minimal, that is – before I spoke to Karen. We went back to basics, and discussed things like the stigma around talking about fertility struggles, what exactly is involved in an egg retrieval, common myths and misconceptions about fertility treatment, and how to be sensitive to friends or family members going through an IVF process. We also talk about the legislation recently passed which is, as we discuss, exclusionary to many people who are trying to conceive, and also how to handle workplace conversations about fertility treatment. It was great to speak to Karen and learn so much during this episode, so I hope you learn something too.

I was joined for today's episode by Kathy Milliken. Kathy is a baby, birth and post-partum expert in so many ways: She's trained as a doula, she's trained in breastfeeding counselling, she's a qualified pre- and post-natal yoga instructor, among other things. And yet, with all her experience, she told me she didn't really KNOW what motherhood would be like in practical terms until she had her children. Three children, all brought into the world very differently, taught her so much that she continues to share with other mothers now through her business, Bump, Baby and Me. She's a wealth of knowledge but is also just a warm, inclusive and understanding voice for anyone about to have their first child, about to become a parent again, or for someone who experienced trauma in pregnancy or delivery who just needs someone to talk to. I loved this chat with Kathy, I hope you do too.

This episode had me wide-eyed with my jaw on the floor, as returning guest Aisling Kearns shares the story of her home birth. Aisling's son Tommy was just four weeks old when we recorded, and slept like an angel throughout. Having spoken to a doula and read a book about childbirth as a rite of passage, Aisling decided a home birth was for her, even though it was her first pregnancy. She talks about the home set-up, who was there, how it all went and how she hopes her choice to do it (and her choice to talk about it with such amazing honesty) will inspire others to potentially consider it as an option where they might not have before. This episode is unmissable and absolutely fascinating.

This week, I was so pleased to be able to speak to online parenting sensation Payal Desai, who joined me all the way from New Jersey (albeit on a slightly glitchy Zoom call for which I blame my own dodgy broadband) where she lives with her husband and two little boys. Payal is a middle school teacher and content creator who went insanely viral with her 'dusty son' videos. For anyone who has yet to see one, she captures teachable moments with her young sons, typically about gender roles and toxic masculinity, to the tune of the 1995 RnB song, 'I've got 5 on it', while glancing back at the camera as it zooms in to her face. Just one of her videos alone has over 10M views on Tiktok – so chances are you've seen at least one. We spoke about going viral with parenting content, gender roles in the home and how there's an imbalance, and bringing up children who have empathy and understanding about the world around them. It's a great episode, I hope you enjoy.