Dear Mamas

This is The Spinoff Parents Podcast, Dear Mamas, a straight-talking parenting podcast with Holly Walker and Emily Writes. Our brilliant and talented sponsors are Little Big Crate. Little Big Crate delivers gorgeous threads for your little big person, right to your front door. In this episode we discuss our experiences with anxiety, plus Emily has a best-selling book and a whole lot of speaking engagements, and Holly has some big news. We mention Holly's essay about anxiety, You Never Regret a Swim and our friend Leah McFall's column in Sunday magazine. Emily has written often about mental health, most notably this post. If you think you or someone else might be experiencing anxiety or depression, check out the resources at Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Aotearoa, or take the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. And don't be like us and wait to ask for help!  

This is The Spinoff Parents Podcast, Dear Mamas, a straight-talking parenting podcast with Holly Walker and Emily Writes. Our brilliant and talented sponsors are Little Big Crate. Little Big Crate delivers gorgeous threads for your little big person, right to your front door. In this episode we discuss parenting through disability and chronic illness - both when your child is unwell, and when one of the parents is. We are joined by Tessa Prebble of The One in a Million Baby blog and podcast who shares her story, and that of her daughter Eva. If you haven't already, go and subscribe to her podcast right now. This episode includes discussion of the loss of a child, so please take care when listening if you need to. For a transcript of this episode please click here.

This is The Spinoff Parents Podcast, Dear Mamas, a straight-talking parenting podcast with Holly Walker and Emily Writes. Our brilliant and talented sponsors are Little Big Crate. Little Big Crate delivers gorgeous threads for your little big person, right to your front door. In this episode we discuss the physical fallout of pregnancy, birth, and parenting. What has it done to our bodies? Will our vaginas ever be the same again? And what about our minds? We're joined by blogger and fellow over-sharer Jessica Hammond for some real honest talk about bodies and feelings.

This is Dear Mamas, a straight-talking parenting podcast with Holly Walker and Emily Writes. We are very excited to announce that we are now officially part of The Spinoff family of podcasts. Check out the very excellent parenting section (edited by Emily). We are also excited to announce that the podcast now has a sponsor - Little Big Crate. Little Big Crate delivers gorgeous threads for your little big person, right to your front door. In this episode we explore the myriad of bewildering ECE options available for our children. Between us, we've just about tried them all, and we share our experiences good and bad. We're joined by an experienced ECE teacher, Jo, who also shares her own experiences and answers all our questions and sets us at ease about our insecurities.

This is Dear Mamas, a straight-talking parenting podcast with Holly Walker and Emily Writes. In this episode we explore how to know when you've had your last child. Holly is agonising over whether to have a second, Emily is pretty sure she's done at two, but you never know... so we ask our friend Andrea (@MsBeeton) who has twelve (yes twelve!) children, why she kept having kids and how she knew she was finally done. In the process, she breaks every stereotype we thought we had about people with large families, graciously endures our wide-eyed questioning, and we hold hands and agree it's different for everyone and we're all doing just fine.

This is Dear Mamas, a straight-talking parenting podcast with Holly Walker and Emily Writes. In this Mother's Day special we tackle one of the classic parenting topics: sleep! We don't have an expert guest, because we're just not ready to hear any more sleep advice! Instead we talk frankly about our own experiences with kids who don't sleep, and offer our own gentle suggestions (never advice!) about how to support mums who are in this situation. Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing, sleep-deprived mothers, step-mothers, caregivers, grandparents, dads and beautiful children out there. Hope you get some rest today. xxx

  This is Dear Mamas, a straight-talking parenting podcast with Holly Walker and Emily Writes. This month we talk to nutritionist Saya Hashimoto of The Kid's Fed Up about dealing with fussy eaters. Saya is AWESOME and she calmly and generously answers all our terrified questions, like CAN OUR CHILDREN SURVIVE ON CUCUMBER ALONE? If, like us, you've ever worried about what you kid is eating, but you don't want any bullshit or judgement about it, this is the episode for you.  

This is Dear Mamas, a straight-talking parenting podcast with Holly Walker and Emily Writes. Each month, we catch up over coffee or wine to celebrate, commiserate, laugh, and maybe even cry about the highs and lows of life with small people. In this episode we welcome our first guest, Katie Bruce. Katie is the director of JustSpeak, mum to a three-year old boy, and volunteers with Mothers Network and Emily's charity Ballet is for Everyone. The three of us discuss self care - what it means for each of us, how hard it is to do, and how to make sure it doesn't just become one more thing to feel guilty about.

This is Dear Mamas, a straight-talking parenting podcast with Holly Walker and Emily Writes. Each month, we catch up over coffee or wine to celebrate, commiserate, laugh, and maybe even cry about the highs and lows of life with small people. In this, our pilot episode, we catch up over a glass or two of pinot gris and have a wide-ranging conversation covering sleep, weaning, working, and everything in between.