working mums nz

Today we speak to Astrid who is the mother of two boys, Toby (7) and Dylan (3). Astrid works as a Project Officer, and her role is to draft emergency plans for Prison facilities.  Before starting their family Astrid had her husband Shane moved interstate which means they’ve been living away from family and have planned childcare so they can manage on their own.  As the breadwinner it made sense for Astrid to return to her role full time, and husband Shane has adapted his hours so he could become more of a stay at home dad.  Astrid talks about how communication between her and Shane has become really important as they share the load and manage the handover between her working in the day and him going to work in the evening. She’s really enjoying being a working mum, feeling successful and providing for her family.  Thank you for joining us on the podcast Astrid, it’s been a pleasure to hear and share your story! 

Today we chat with Jess who is mum to Evie (almost 4 years old) and soon to be baby number 2. Jess is a Founding Director at Money Empire along with her husband Kayne, and she also runs a dance school as a hobby business.  You can tell that Jess is super passionate about what she does and a real go-getter. Her and Kayne put the hard yards for many years building Money Empire, so when they did start a family it was at the point it could continue to run and generate income while Jess had some time at home Evie.  Jess shares her experiences running a business as a young female in an old, male dominated industry. It's taken a conscious effort to build her confidence and back herself to go out there and do it, and she found becoming a mum has really helped her in this journey.  Jess also had some challenges thrown her way as she navigated being a new mum which I’ll let Jess share, but overall Jess has a really positive mindset and I’m sure like me you’ll find her story really inspirational. Thank you for joining us Jess, and I hope you all enjoy this episode!

Today we chat with Mel who is mum to Coen (16 months) and is working at a large footwear company as a marketing coordinator.  Mel takes us through a really interesting story about her return to work after having Coen. When she was part way through her maternity leave an opportunity that she had her eyes on for years opened up, and she had to work through the decision whether to put her name forward and consider returning to work with significantly more responsibility. There were a few interesting twists along the way I’ll let Mel take you through. She also talks about some of the unexpected adjustments to being a working mum, like adjusting to being financially dependent on someone else while on mat leave, and then learning to share the parenting role when she returned to work after being a full time mum for 11 months.  Thank you for joining us on the podcast today Mel, I really enjoyed hearing your story and I bet a lot of women will be able to take something from it!

Today we chat with Sarah who is mother to Felix who is 2 and studying to be a Nurse. Sarah started her career in the jewellery industry and worked her way up into a management position while she was quite young. After some time she felt she wanted to contribute more to society and eventually left the jewellery to pursue further study, starting with naturopathy which later evolved into nursing.  About half way through her naturopathy degree Sarah fell pregnant, but unfortunately she went on to lose this pregnancy around 11/12 weeks. This was followed by a bunch of challenges thrown their way. Sarah and husband Scott went on to have a second miscarriage, and in the same year both their mums were diagnosed with terminal illnesses, who they both lost not long after. Felix was their third pregnancy, and through this time they were also trying to make the most of their final moments with their mums. Sarah shares her experiences  of feeling intense grief and intense joy at the same time, celebrating their shining light Felix while having to say goodbye to the mums of their own. Throughout this time, naturopathy didn’t feel right any more and Sarah decided to change degrees to become a nurse, returning to study when Felix was 11 months old.  As you can hear Sarah’s story is full of the highs and lows of motherhood, work, finding our purpose, and everything in between. I’m really grateful to Sarah for sharing her story, she shares an interesting perspective of being a student while growing a family and finding the joy in this time while going through some significant adversity. Thank you Sarah for joining us and sharing your story!

Today we chat with Christina who is mum to twin boys Wyatt and Wolf (4 years), and Whitley who is 10 months old. Christina is originally from the USA where she started her career as a flight attendant. About 5 years ago she moved to London with her husband where they’ve been raising their family, and Christina’s been working as an Executive Assistant to a Managing Director and large Operations team. Overall, Christina shares a really positive experience. She really enjoyed her postpartum time and her maternity leave, and found motherhood bought out a new, really natural side of her. Christina talks about how becoming a mum can almost elevate your career. While there is the inevitable time out, she’s really enjoyed exploring different dimensions of herself and experiencing another level of growth both personally and with her career. Thank you for joining us on the podcast Christina, I had so much fun chatting with you!

Today I chat with Olivia who is the mother of super cute Adelaide who is almost 11 months old. Olivia is a Support Trainer at a global software company, which means she trains customer service reps all around the world and works across multiple time zones.  I think you’ll find Olivia’s story really interesting because never really considered herself as a “career person” and had always imagined herself becoming a stay at home mum. But when she stumbled into her dream job in her 20s, she found that it completely changed her perspective about work and who she wants to be as a mum.  When Olivia had Adelaide she originally planned to take 5 months maternity leave, which gradually extended into 11 months over the COVID-19 lockdowns. As I’m sure many mums can relate to, Olivia contended with some of the pressures of breastfeeding and the guilt she’d feel about any moments away from Adelaide.  Olivia talks to us about how important work became to her during that time, and how the prospect of returning to the job that she loves helped her to navigate through a period of postpartum depression and anxiety.  At the time of the interview Olivia had only been back at work for two weeks, and the experiences she shares with us are super fresh and authentic.  I hope you enjoy hearing about Olivia’s personal experiences as much as I do. Thank you for joining us on the podcast Olivia, and thank you again for being so vulnerable and authentic in your story <3.

Today I chat with Kelly who is a mother of 2 gorgeous boys and was a hairdresser for 10 years before starting a family with her husband Sam. When Kelly fell pregnant the first time she was working in a busy salon in Auckland, working pretty full days, some late nights and had recently tried her hand in a management position.  Kelly was thinking carefully about the next stage in her career, and was considering a slower pace and the chance to fall in love with hairdressing again.  Kelly also shares some challenges of proving herself as a new staff member while juggling an early pregnancy, and building up a clientele base with a growing bump. I really love the beautiful career advice Kelly shares, encouraging other young women to go for their goals because having a baby doesn’t need to stop you from achieving the things you want. She also shares some things she did to make transitioning back to work easier the second time around.  I want to thank Kelly for joining me as the first guest on the podcast, and for being so generous in sharing her story. You may find we’re a bit awkward at the beginning as we find our feet, but we settle into it pretty quickly. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us Kelly, and I hope you all enjoy!