Episodes
It’s estimated that around 1 in 3 families in the UK are a blended family, which means more of us than ever are becoming stepparents. Why then, is there still such a stigma attached to stepmothers in particular? And where is the support for them?These are questions Cilla Appeaning asked when she met her now husband and became a stepmum to his two children. And so she founded the Stepmums Club, a platform to provide support to the growing number of stepmums and to reject that harmful ‘wicked stepmother’ stereotype.She and Gi discuss the challenges that come with living in a blended family, a...
This week, Eastender’s actor James Bye and his wonderful wife Victoria join Giovanna to talk about the chaos (and fun) that comes with raising their four boys!They share with Gi some of the difficulties they’ve faced on their parenting journey, including secondary infertility, endometriosis, and birth trauma. Plus, we hear some hilarious stories on traveling with four children, laminated birth plans, and cheese and pickle sandwiches! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Motherkind Founder Zoe Blaskey joins Giovanna this week. Zoe is a transformational coach and is all about making mums feel less alone and more resilient, empowered, and fulfilled. What’s not to love?She and Gi discuss some of the quick and simple self-care tools we can use to help us become our most confident selves in motherhood. She also opens up about her own parenting journey, and how the word ‘matresence’ has helped her navigate the physical, emotional and spiritual changes that happen after having a baby - and beyond! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this episode of Happy Mum Happy Baby, Giovanna catches up with Youtuber Jim Chapman and his model wife Sarah, who welcomed their second child last year.They tell Gi about Sarah’s experience with hyperemesis gravidarum and reflect on the births of their children, including an intense moment when Sarah’s waters were broken manually. Plus we delve into the trials and tribulations of negotiating with toddlers! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this episode of Parenting SOS, Gi welcomes the founder of My Bump Pay, Tobi Asare. Tobi was inspired to create a platform to help give women the confidence to achieve their career goals amidst the barriers that can hold back working mothers. Her book,The Blend: How to Successfully Manage a Career and a Family, is all about overcoming the challenges that come with working motherhood.Tobi and Gi had so much to talk about, from negotiating maternity leave to returning to work with confidence. Plus Tobi answers your questions on how to thrive as a working parent. Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...
In this episode of Happy Mum Happy Baby, Giovanna sits down with Stacey Heale, a writer, campaigner, and the author of ‘Now is Not the Time for Flowers’, a candid exploration of grief written by Stacey following the death of her husband Greg.Stacey tells Gi about the day Greg was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer and how they navigated the realities of parenting their two daughters through his terminal illness. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Anna Williamson has many strings to her bow. She’s an author, presenter, podcaster, life coach, counsellor, and mental health campaigner. She is also mum to two children and our guest on this week’s episode!Anna opens up to Gi about her perinatal and postnatal anxiety, the lessons she learned from her difficult first birth, and the importance of postnatal care.Trigger warning: this episode contains discussions around subjects including traumatic birth and postnatal depression. If you feel this may be a difficult listen, please choose another episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f...
We have a 4-time Olympic medalist in the Happy Mum Happy Baby studio this week! Becky Adlington is Britain's most successful female Olympic swimmer, having won two gold medals at the Beijing 2008 olympics when she was just 19, and then two bronze in London 2012.Becky tells Gi that becoming a mum has brought out her softer side, plus shares the story of meeting her husband on a dating app. She also opens up about the devastating loss of her baby daughter after she suffered a late-stage miscarriage.Trigger warning: this episode contains discussions around subjects including miscarriage and ba...
Giovanna’s guest this week is Youtube royalty Tanya Burr! One of the UK’s first influencers back in 2009, Tanya’s makeup tutorials and fashion vlogs have gained her millions of followers over the years. Now a mum to baby Sage and back on Youtube after a 5 year break, there was lots to catch up on!Tanya tells Gi all about her motherhood journey so far, including the sickness she experienced during pregnancy, plus the decision behind her return to making long-form content. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this month’s Parenting SOS, Giovanna sits down with Kirstie Beaven, Founder and Editor in Chief of Sonshine, a quarterly magazine all about raising boys in a more equal world.Kirstie felt like the messaging around being a ‘boy mum’ was always one dimensional - it was all about stinky socks, dirty houses and muddy football boots! And so she was inspired to create a space that spoke about the many other aspects of motherhood, and provide resources that could help us as parents talk to our boys about gender equality.Kirstie and Gi discuss the importance of encouraging emotional intelligence...
It’s something a little bit different on this week’s show. Giovanna’s guest is the bestselling author Emma Gannon, who is child-free by choice. Emma opens up to Gi about her personal decision not to have children and the importance of finding supportive child-free friendships. They also talk about how choosing not to have kids doesn’t mean having to grow apart from your friends who do, plus the societal pressure put on women to experience motherhood. You can read more from Emma over on The Hyphen Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Gi continues her conversation with Louise Thompson...This week Giovanna is joined by former Made in Chelsea star, author and businesswoman, Louise Thompson.Louise’s life changed when she suffered severe complications during the birth of her son Leo, which left her in Intensive Care. Since then she has suffered with PTSD and continued health problems, resulting in recently being fitted with a stoma bag.This is the second part of Louise’s candid conversation with Gi where she describes the impact her experiences have had on her mental health whilst also coming to terms with the challenges of ...
This week Giovanna is joined by former Made in Chelsea star, author and businesswoman, Louise Thompson.Louise’s life changed when she suffered severe complications during the birth of her son Leo, which left her in Intensive Care. Since then she has suffered with PTSD and continued health problems, resulting in recently being fitted with a stoma bag.This is the first part of Louise’s candid conversation with Gi where she describes the impact her experiences have had on her mental health whilst also coming to terms with the challenges of motherhood.Trigger Warning: This episode contains disc...
Today on Happy Mum Happy Baby, Gi is joined by TV presenter, relationship expert, entrepreneur, father and husband, Paul C Brunson. Paul is well known for his work on shows such as Celebs Go Dating and MAFS and on this week's episode, Gi has the absolute pleasure of hearing about Paul's own relationship with his wife Jill and their two sons, Liam and Kingston. They discuss moving children abroad, homeschooling, raising boys and much more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this month's Parenting SOS, Gi is joined by leading Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist, Emma Pomroy. Learning to communicate and express yourself isn’t something that comes naturally to all children. and Emma is passionate about enabling parents and families with the tools to make all children confident and competent communicators. As always on Parenting SOS, we'll be answering our communities' questions with this month's focus on language and speech development. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Its strictly babies this week as Giovanna is joined by everyone's favourite dancers, Janette Manrara & Aljaž Škorjanec. Janette and Aljaz discuss life with their baby girl, Lyra, Janette's journey back to the dancefloor post caesarean section and Aljaz's role as a hands on super dad! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, Giovanna is joined by TV and Radio presenter Jenni Falconer. Jenni is host of 'Runpod' and came into the studio days after completing the London Marathon! They discuss Jenni's beautiful relationship with her daughter, Ella as well as remembering Jenni's journey back to running post birth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week, Gi's guest is the inspirational and award winning author, poet and mother, Jessica Urlichs. Jessica Urlichs is a bestselling author ("From One Mother To Another" and writes about the "beautiful messy" of motherhood and life. Jessica and Gi discuss her approach to writing and life with her 3 young children. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We love it when guests bring their baby onto the show, and this week, Audrey from The Receipts podcast is in the studio with her baby girl! Audrey discusses not enjoying pregnancy, always wanting to be a mum and perceptions of Motherhood. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On this month's episode of Parenting SOS, Gi is joined by Eve Squires and Gemma Fryer, founders of Calm and Bright Sleep Support and authors of 'Love To Sleep'. Eve and Gemma are THE Sleep Support Specialists and are here to answer all of your sleep related conundrums! Eve & Gem talk about why sleep training has such a bad rep, the impact of sleep deprivation on our mental and physical health and what we can do about it. They deep dive into our community’s questions, covering topics from night wakes to night feeds, the dynamics of siblings sharing rooms and much more! Hosted on Acast. See a...
This week Giovanna is joined by mum of 3, multi award winning content creator, Sunday Times Best Selling Author and model, Louise Boyce aka Mama Still Got It.Its a truly wonderful conversation about the joys of birth and Motherhood with possibly the best Letter on Motherhood we've ever heard!'Mama Still Got it!’ by Louise Boyce is out in paperback, £9.99, published by Harper Collinswww.waterstones.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hollie McNish is a poet and author who came to prominence with her poetry and parenting memoir 'Nobody Told Me'. Her unique style paints a beautiful and heartwarming chronicle on a life as a new parent in modern Britain. Gi and Hollie discuss pregnancy birth and reading as well as touring with Little One! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Wellness and pregnancy, when those urges come what should you be eating? Gi's guest this week is the creator of Deliciously Ella and mother of two, Ella Mills. We discuss pregnancy diets, home births and hear a true love story! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How much do you know about Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and it's connection to fertility? Are you believing some of the myths out there surrounding the condition? On this month's Parenting SOS episode, Gi meets the nutritionist Lauren Johnson Reynolds, aka @LondonWellnessCoach. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
No one said being a parent was easy, but are we as honest as we could be? Blogger Victoria Emes is someone who isn't afraid to say it like it is. Gi speaks to Victoria about the realities of her parenthood journey - including grief, going sober and of course, lots of poo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Festival lovers, this one's for you. This week Gi meets the co-founder of Camp Bestival, Josie da Bank. We cover camping tips, how to create a festival feel at home and the challenges of raising four boys at different ages. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week Gi finds out all about her future niece! Actress and author Carrie Hope Fletcher - aka Gi’s sister-in-law - discusses her pregnancy journey and how she feels about becoming a first time mum. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What is the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit? And what can you expect if your baby is taken in? On this month's Parenting SOS, Gi meets the clinical psychologist Dr Frankie Harrison, to drill down on the facts of NICU and what parents can do to make this experience less scary. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Gi speaks to the actress Mia McKenna-Bruce - star of the new coming-of-age film How To Have Sex - on mum guilt, episiotomies and rocking the red carpet pregnant. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We're back with a brand new season! And what better way to kick it off than hearing from Britain's favourite dancing queen Oti Mabuse, who has just become a first time mum. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.