Episode Details

In this episode of The Motherwhelm, I sit down with Mel, a mother of five and occupational therapist with more than 20 years of experience, to talk about the ever-changing nature of motherhood, postpartum anxiety, and learning to trust yourself as a parent.

With children ranging in age from five to eighteen, Mel has experienced motherhood across many different stages of life. She reflects on the expectations she carried into becoming a mother, the difficulties she encountered with breastfeeding, and the significant anxiety she experienced after welcoming her second child, just fourteen months after her first.

We talk about the importance of recognising when you need support, letting go of comparisons, and finding approaches to parenting that work for your own family rather than trying to meet everyone else's expectations.

This conversation is a reminder that there is no single right way to mother, that asking for help is something to be proud of, and that sometimes the most important thing we can offer ourselves is a little more time, kindness and grace.

Resources mentioned:

motherscape.com.au

Instagram: @motherscape_

Sandwich by Catherine Newman 

The Treasure House by Amy Matthews

Julia Jones's Newborn Mothers postpartum doula training 

Topics discussed: raising five children, large families, the transition to motherhood, expectations versus reality, breastfeeding difficulties, combination feeding, postpartum anxiety, seeking mental health support, parenting children close in age, maternal identity, motherhood and career, occupational therapy in maternal health, Motherscape, postpartum preparation, self-compassion, maternal guilt, comparison, learning to let go, parenting children at different developmental stages, the mental load, bodily autonomy, the end of the baby years, children growing up, personal wellbeing, reading and finding time for yourself.