Share

cover art for Motherhood: Just How Rewarding Is It?

Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait

Motherhood: Just How Rewarding Is It?

Season 1, Ep. 5

Send us a text

In this heartfelt episode of Real Women’s Stories, host Lisa Quait dives deep into the complexities of motherhood. Balancing love and chaos, Lisa reflects on her own experiences as a mother, sharing candid moments of both frustration and joy. This week, she welcomes Emily Whalley, a sleep and feeding coach who faced her own journey with motherhood and now supports new parents navigating the challenges of caring for new-borns and infants. Together, they explore the question: Is motherhood truly rewarding? With honest conversations, uplifting perspectives and emotional insights, this episode is a must-listen for anyone grappling with the realities of parenting!

---

Welcome to Real Women’s Stories with Lisa Quait. The podcast that dives deep into the topics women are eager to explore  🎙️

From reinvention and relationships to health and happiness, we tackle the conversations that matter most with honesty, warmth, and a touch of humour.

📩 Got a topic you’d love Lisa to dive into? Know an inspiring guest or want to share your own story? Reach out to us at: TheRealStoriesPodcast@gmail.com.

You must be 18+ to connect with us. Your email may be shared during a future episode.

---
Helpful links:

Fox and The Moon
Contact Emily Whalley
The Baby Sleep Sessions with Fox & The Moon Sleep

---

Instagram: Follow Lisa

Facebook: Follow Lisa

YouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait

---

🌟 A message from Lisa:

I’ve faced many challenges in life, experiencing love and laughter, to heartache and perseverance. Each experience has shaped me, teaching resilience, growth and compassion for others.

Here’s a quick look at my journey:

- My parents divorced when I was 2.

- I won a drama school scholarship at 18, pursuing my dream of working in TV.

- I travelled solo through Southeast Asia and Australia, facing a near-death experience along the way!

- I adapted to life as a single parent after my beautiful daughter’s birth in 2006 and built a career in Commercial Real Estate.

- I reconnected with a childhood friend who had lost his first wife. In 2011 we married and became a blended family and I became a step parent to my 2 eldest children whom I love dearly.

- I helped expand my brother’s wedding business to Mallorca and began bodybuilding, competing in 2016 and 2017.

- I now work as a Director in the Flexible Office industry and am building my coaching practice and podcast.

- My next goal is to move to Spain and create a life by the sea!

💫 I’ve learned that life is full of opportunities if you just look up and reach for them.

Let me help you discover yours ❤️

Lisa x

---

Work with Lisa: Rediscover your passion and purpose. Explore more.

---

Series Producer: Aaron Nelson
PR & Marketing: Kate Williams

More episodes

View all episodes

  • 11. Why We Replay Conversations In Our Heads

    15:34||Season 11, Ep. 11
    In this episode, I explore the difference between healthy reflection and destructive overthinking - and how the stories we create in our own minds can quietly damage our confidence, relationships and sense of self.After rerecording an entire podcast episode I believed had gone terribly wrong, I realised something important: the version in my head wasn’t the reality at all.This is a powerful conversation about self-awareness, inner dialogue, confidence and learning to trust yourself again.Because sometimes the harshest judgement we face… is our own.---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait
  • 10. I Looked Confident On Married At First Sight… But I Was Struggling

    31:57||Season 11, Ep. 10
    Millions watched Leah Tyrer on Married At First Sight and saw someone calm, confident and emotionally strong.But behind the scenes, she was masking anxiety, struggling privately and slowly losing herself.In this honest conversation, Leah opens up about the emotional pressure of reality TV, feeling misunderstood in relationships, late neurodivergence diagnosis, people pleasing and the moment she realised she’d spent years protecting herself instead of truly being herself.She also reveals what viewers don’t see off camera, how filming affected her mentally, and why watching the show back completely changed the way she saw herself.This isn’t just a conversation about reality TV.It’s a conversation about identity, confidence, emotional overwhelm and what happens when you finally stop pretending you’re okay.---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait
  • 9. How To Stop Overthinking What People Think Of You

    23:55||Season 11, Ep. 9
    Do you constantly replay conversations in your head? Worry you said the wrong thing? Or feel like you’ve spent years trying not to be “too much”?In this coaching episode, I’m unpacking how the labels we’re given as children and young adults can quietly shape the way we think, behave and show up in the world for years afterwards.I share how being told I was “too outspoken” and had “a big mouth” slowly changed my confidence, my decisions and even the direction of my life - without me fully realising it at the time.We explore:How people-pleasing and self-doubt are connectedWhy so many women stop recognising themselvesA simple coaching framework to challenge negative thought patternsThis episode is designed to help you reflect on the thoughts, stories and identities you may still be carrying - and start reconnecting with who you really are underneath the overthinking. ---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait
  • 8. I Was Called “Thick and Lazy” at 7… Now I Help Shape Netflix Dramas. Here’s What My Teachers Missed

    34:49||Season 11, Ep. 8
    If you’ve ever felt underestimated, behind in life, or like your brain works differently to everybody else, this episode is for you.At school, Clinical Psychologist Dr Lucy Shoolbred was told she was “thick and lazy”.She couldn’t read properly, felt constantly underestimated, and genuinely believed she wasn’t clever enough to succeed.Years later, she’s working behind some of the biggest TV dramas in the world - including the Emmy, Golden Globe and BAFTA-winning Netflix series Adolescence.But this episode isn’t just about success.It’s about what happens when a child grows up believing the labels adults gave them.In this conversation, Lucy reveals:what it actually feels like growing up severely dyslexicthe moment she realised school had got her completely wronghow she now protects child actors filming traumatic scenesand why some of the people who struggle most in school end up seeing the world differently to everyone else.Lucy also mentions the incredible work being done by Made By Dyslexia - a charity helping people better understand dyslexic thinking and why different brains should never be underestimated.---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait
  • 7. The Real Reason So Many Women Over 40 Feel Lost

    21:39||Season 11, Ep. 7
    If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and felt unsure of the woman staring back at you, this episode will leave you reflecting on where that feeling really began.Many women over 40 reach a point where they quietly wonder… how did I end up feeling so disconnected from myself?In this deeply personal solo episode, I reflect on the comments, expectations and life experiences that slowly shaped who I became - and how, over time, I started shrinking parts of myself just to fit in, feel accepted and avoid judgment.From being labelled “too outspoken” as a child to realising how much outside noise had influenced my confidence, relationships and choices, this episode explores the hidden reasons so many women begin to feel lost in midlife.But this conversation isn’t about blame or reinventing yourself. It’s about understanding how years of conditioning, people-pleasing and self-doubt can slowly pull us away from who we truly are - and how awareness is the first step back.In this episode, we explore:Why so many women lose confidence over timeThe impact childhood comments can have on adult identityHow people-pleasing slowly changes who we are ---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait
  • 6. Why Women Sabotage Other Women and Themselves

    39:26||Season 11, Ep. 6
    If you've ever felt like you had to make yourself smaller to be accepted, this episode is for you.For years, Sophie Jane Lee looked like she had it all together.A successful career. A beautiful home. Ambition. Status. Achievement.But behind the scenes, she was battling addiction, toxic relationships, deep shame, and a painful belief that she was never truly good enough.In this powerful conversation, Lisa sits down with brand strategist, journalist and author Sophie Jane Lee to unpack the truth about internalised misogyny - and the subtle ways women are conditioned to shrink themselves, compete with one another, stay “palatable”, and abandon who they really are.Together, they explore:why so many women struggle with self-worththe hidden ways misogyny shows up between womenpeople pleasing, perfectionism and burnoutSophie also opens up about the life-changing moment that forced her to confront the truth about herself - and the journey that inspired her book, Beyond Palatable.This is an honest, challenging and deeply important conversation about identity, conditioning, confidence, and what it really means to reclaim your voice as a woman.---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait
  • 5. Why So Many of Us Women Don’t Recognise Ourselves Anymore

    21:32||Season 11, Ep. 5
    If you’ve been feeling exhausted, emotionally disconnected, overwhelmed or like life has made you smaller, this episode is for you.Somewhere along the way, I stopped recognising who I was.I became everything to everyone else - showing up, holding everything together, carrying the load, constantly rushing through life - until one day I realised how disconnected I’d become from myself.In this honest coaching episode, I talk about the quiet ways we lose our identity through overwhelm, routine and always putting other people first. I share the questions that helped me reconnect with myself, alongside a powerful realisation that changed the way I see my life:Maybe we don’t need to reinvent ourselves… maybe we just need to remember who we are again.---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait
  • 4. I Thought My Life Was Falling Apart… But It Was the Breakthrough I Needed

    30:30||Season 11, Ep. 4
    What happens when everything you thought was secure… disappears overnight?In this episode, I sit down with Lisa-Marie Elkhadraoui - founder of Design Boss Diary - to unpack the moment her world shifted completely, and how what felt like a breakdown became the breakthrough that changed everything.From losing financial security with an 18-month-old child, to rebuilding her life, identity and business from the ground up… Lisa-Marie shares the reality behind resilience - not the polished version, but what it actually looks like when you’re in it.We talk about:The identity crisis so many women experience (but rarely say out loud)The moment she didn’t recognise herself in the mirrorRebuilding from nothing - emotionally, financially and mentallyWhy success isn’t just strategy… and the internal work that changes everythingCreating safety, not just in your home, but in your life and businessToday, Lisa-Marie mentors women to build profitable, sustainable businesses through a blend of strategy and mindset - but this conversation is about how she got there, and what it really took. If you’ve ever felt like life is falling apart… this episode might help you see it differently.---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait
  • 3. Why Do We Have So Many Regrets After 40?

    17:04||Season 11, Ep. 3
    Take this 3-minute quiz to understand why you keep going round in circles in life, and get your free personalised workbook.***If you’ve ever found yourself lying awake at night, thinking about the things you haven’t done yet… this episode is for you.After a recent conversation, I couldn’t stop thinking about one powerful truth: it’s not the things we’ve done that stay with us - it’s the things we never tried.In this episode, I’m asking you one simple but uncomfortable question: What is the one thing you keep putting off?Because for so many women 40+, it’s not a lack of ability holding you back - it’s the decisions you keep delaying. The conversations you haven’t had. The changes you’ve been avoiding. The version of yourself you keep saying “one day” to.We talk about:The real reason you keep putting things offHow the barriers you feel are often the ones you’ve built yourselfA simple way to start breaking them down - one step at a timeAnd most importantly, why it’s not too late to change direction.This isn’t about huge, dramatic life changes.It’s about being honest with yourself… and finally taking that first step.Because you don’t want to look back and ask, “what if?”---Discover mid-life coaching with Lisa---Connect with LisaInstagram: Follow LisaFacebook: Follow LisaYouTube: The only place to watch every episode of Real Women's Stories with Lisa Quait