“No matter how fiercely independent you are and how much you struggle to ask for help, when push comes to shove, you end up having to ask for help” shares Riana Davis on her motherhood lessons. Riana has been officially part of our family for around 10 years, and I am so grateful to call her my sister-in-law. Riana is married to my younger brother Shawn and together they have two young girls aged 7 and 9 who are the most incredible little humans. As far as mums go Riana is incredible and she has...
Jul 25, 2023•58 min
The Art of Trying. In this context, trying is the colloquial term used to describe the process of deliberately timing intercourse to coincide with ovulation for the purpose of creating an embryo. It implies action. I came to detest the word trying because it invoked in me a sense of hard work, futility and never quite getting there. It’s also the title of my book. Whilst my husband and I now have 4 beautiful children, it was a long journey filled with dark and light while trying to conceive at d...
Jul 20, 2023•14 min
Maddy Bento is a degree qualified nutritionist working in the body image and intuitive eating space. She was an exhausted mumma who was trying so hard to eat “perfectly” and her mental health suffered, along with her relationship with her body health and food. Maddy has since learnt about Intuitive Eating and Health At Every Size (HAES) and has not only transformed her own relationship with food and her body, but does so for other mums that have become caught up in trying so hard to be “healthy”...
May 30, 2023•59 min
“Because ultimately for them to become adults, they need to be able to learn along the way” shares Kylee Curtis on walking the line between expectations and nurturing individuality in her children. Kylee is my older sister and she has been an incredible role model to me, and as far as mum’s go, she’s pretty amazing. Kylee’s children are older than mine. She has a 14, 16 and 18 year old so we are at very different stages of our motherhood journeys, and she is joining me on the podcast to discuss ...
May 16, 2023•45 min
Do you think it’s possible to feel good during the afternoon and evening regardless of the chaos that might be happening around you? There is a lot of focus on our morning routines and I absolutely believe in starting the day with a routine that makes you feel good and gives you a high vibration to carry throughout the day. However, I don’t think we spend enough time talking about afternoon and evening energy and routine, and how we can support ourselves (especially as mothers) to create a more ...
May 02, 2023•30 min
Trigger Warning: Child Loss Megan Hillukka is a bereaved mother, with 7 children, one who died suddenly at 15 months old - her precious Aria. Because of Aria, Megan now encourages and supports grieving mothers that though the worst thing has happened to them, their life is not over. She is the creator of a space called Grieving Moms Haven, where she helps moms learn how to process and move through the emotions of grief through meditation, tapping meditation, breath work and other mindfulness pra...
Apr 18, 2023•1 hr 8 min
“It sets up an automatic kind of rule book or framework or structure that we then automatically compare ourselves to, analyse and wonder” shares Terri Williams of her Motherhood Story and being questioned around going back to work. There is a 10 year age gap between myself and my younger sister, Terri Williams. Terri got married in 2020 and had her little baby girl in 2022 who is now about to turn one so we are in quite different stages of our motherhood journeys. In this episode Terri is joinin...
Apr 04, 2023•45 min
Have you been feeling the call to connect in person? In my mind there’s really no substitute for meeting in person and after a couple of years of having no in person events, I have been feeling a really strong desire to create an event that can bring this incredible community together. This episode is dedicated to our Rise and Shine Retreat that I am co-hosting with Sunny Roberts from Wholehearted Woman. In this episode, I am talking through: Why I am hosting this retreat What it’s like to go on...
Mar 28, 2023•21 min
Mothers Group was a lifeline for me as a new Mum. It was a highlight of my week, providing sanity-saving adult connection, a reason to leave the house (even when it was hard!), valuable support and information. The bonds we formed in that Mothers Group have lasted for years. On the day of recording this episode I had visited the same Mothers Group service, in the same room, 9 years on from my own time there. I was a guest, there to discuss matrescence, identity shift, mental health, self care, a...
Mar 21, 2023•27 min
A wife, Mum of 2 boys AND high performance mindset coach who helps people create extraordinary results, CEO of a 7 figure business, and top 1% Proctor Gallagher Institute Consultant. I’m talking about the powerhouse that is Karen Brook. Karen says that she asked these questions of herself even before starting a family: “What did I want motherhood to look like for me? What did I want my story to be?” This powerful conversation is all about choosing the attitude of AND in life, not either/or. We t...
Mar 07, 2023•1 hr
“It’s easier to be courageous for your child than it is to be courageous for yourself,” shares Jacqui Doyle, the first guest of the ME+MOTHERHOOD ‘My Motherhood Story’ series of conversations with incredible Mums. Like all mothers, Jacqui has experienced her share of ups and downs - the pure joy of the precious moments, blended with the struggle to become a parent, postnatal depression, a body forever changed since childbirth, managing her health and navigating her way through motherhood to recl...
Feb 21, 2023•56 min
Welcome back for Season 2 of ME + MOTHERHOOD! I hope 2023 is off to a great start for you and yours! This is a short and snappy episode to reconnect with you, and to get you thinking about what’s important to you this year. Instead of discussing goals, I invite you to consider three other powerful questions to shape your decisions and approach in 2023. I also reflect on what personal growth means, why it’s addictive, and share some of the growth stories that clients of mine have experienced in t...
Feb 07, 2023•15 min
2022, where did you go!? For this last episode of Season 1 of ME + MOTHERHOOD I took a little longer in order to reflect on the year that’s been. Reflection is incredibly powerful, and important, and I encourage you to do it for yourself! It reveals important information for us to respond to. For me, 2022 has been a year of self-exploration and uncovering for me what it means to heal, thrive and lean into the person I am becoming. In this episode I chat about: A wrap up of the year and what I've...
Dec 13, 2022•36 min
Right now, what do you need to give yourself permission to be, do, have or give? What do you hear whispering quietly within you, waiting and wanting you to bring to life? If you would only give yourself permission, what do you really desire? This podcast episode is a loving kick up the butt from me to give yourself permission. Don’t wait for a permission slip any longer - give it to yourself! This is your life and you only get one shot at it. In this episode, I dive into why giving yourself perm...
Nov 29, 2022•20 min
Have you ever felt like you’ve lost your spark in motherhood? What I mean by this is when you feel flat, like you’re going through the daily motions of life, lacking in meaning and purpose. It feels like there’s a bucket over your inner light and it’s barely flickering. You may feel this way when: For any number of reasons you have been forced to, or chosen to, give up, or put to the side what lights you up. You used to know what lights you up but now you don’t know if or how that fits into your...
Nov 15, 2022•23 min
There’s no instruction manual for motherhood. I sometimes wish there was but also wonder: would I read it, or toss it to the side like a set of IKEA instructions? What I’ve found to be true is that even with an abundance of information at my fingertips, there’s no escape from living through, and learning from, the lessons we are dealt on the journey of motherhood. This episode is a personal reflection on 15 of my best-of motherhood lessons so far. I probably could have shared 50 of them! These w...
Nov 02, 2022•33 min
Do you sometimes avoid making decisions? Are you unclear about how to make decisions or take action that aligns with what feels right for you in your life? This episode is a special one. It’s a recording of my recent conversation with Meg Durham from her podcast The School of Wellbeing, Episode 56. Meg has generously given me permission to share it with you on ME + MOTHERHOOD. In this heartfelt conversation, we speak about: The decision-making process What stops us from taking aligned action Why...
Oct 18, 2022•45 min
I often hear from mothers who come to me for coaching: ‘I don’t know who I am anymore.’ I totally get it because I have said and felt it too in the past! It’s no surprise we would feel this way when you consider the enormity of the transition we go through moving from woman, to woman AND mother. All mothers go through an identity shift - some with more ease and acceptance than others - and that’s okay. In this episode I cover: Understanding and accepting the transition - an introduction to matre...
Oct 04, 2022•25 min
We all know that self care is important and that we should be focusing on it. But what is self care really? And the even better question: how do you practically achieve it on a consistent basis when you’re a busy Mum juggling so much at once? In this episode I cover: Defining self care for you 3 tips on finding time for self care in your busy life The mindset you need to support self care habits How to know when you need more than self care There’s often a difference between what we ‘should’ do,...
Sep 20, 2022•26 min
Welcome to Season 1 of the ME + MOTHERHOOD podcast! This episode is all about the backstory to ME + MOTHERHOOD because, well, who doesn’t love a good backstory! In this episode, I share the what and why behind the podcast including: Who I am (Benita, your host), what I do, why and how I got here Why I’m launching ME + MOTHERHOOD The story behind the podcast name What you can expect from this show If you’re interested in my story of arriving here and finding my voice again through breakdowns, dro...
Sep 05, 2022•22 min
