Dear Mum

TRIGGER WARNING - this episode includes an honest conversation about miscarriage and pregnancy loss, in case that's a hard topic for you to hear right now. Listen with care.

"It took me about six months to really bond with them."
Dr Anita Mitra is a gynaecologist, cancer surgeon, and the voice behind Gynae Geek… and is here on Dear Mum being honest about something almost nobody admits to out loud.
Anita and I go back years, long before either of us had kids, and this conversation covers a lot: meeting her husband on labour ward mid-emergency, self-scanning herself pregnant with twins in an empty ward on a bank holiday, and the miscarriage she went through before them — including being asked, the same weekend, whether she was still able to come in for an on-call shift.
We talk honestly about not feeling the instant "rush of love" everyone promises you'll feel, the intrusive questions people ask twin parents, and why "no is a complete sentence" might be the best piece of advice we've had on this show yet.
I hope you loved this episode as much as I did - and please consider hitting SUBSCRIBE or FOLLOW wherever you get Dear Mum, as it really helps us continue to bring these conversations to mums who need them most 💛
Links
Anita Mitra:
IG - @gynaegeek
Linktree - https://linktr.ee/gynaegeek
Charlie:
IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunder
TT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunder
YT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr
💪 Bumps & Burpees:
https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpees
www.bumpsandburpees.com
Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️
Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

"Have you tried putting your baby down drowsy but awake?"

A statement SO many of us mums have been told… but why!? It’s a question the wonderful Alice Liveing has us all asking in this episode, which will make you laugh (and maybe swear a little) on Dear Mum.

Alice is a personal trainer, an old gym friend of mine from way before either of us had kids, and mum to eight-month-old Jeanie - she’s also a much loved content creator and blogger.

We talk about the reality-check of early motherhood - the four months of relentless crying, not leaving the house for weeks, and the strange identity shift of going from a packed, busy career to feeling, in her words, "like the most uninteresting person ever."

We also get honest about the mental load of feeling like you're never quite doing anything well enough - as a mum, a friend, a wife, a business owner - and why she's back in therapy to work through it.

If you want to follow Alice, the links are below - and please do hit FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE wherever you’re listening, as it helps us keep growing this show and bringing you more Dear Mum Moments 💛

Links
Alice Liveing
IG - https://www.instagram.com/aliceliveing/

YT - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAjZSBvf4ymFRw9Z9Ff9duQ
Give Me Strength App - https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/give-me-strength/id1560651240

Charlie:
IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunder
TT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunder
YT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr
💪 Bumps & Burpees:
https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpees

www.bumpsandburpees.com

Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

A gentle heads up: this episode includes an honest conversation about postpartum anxiety and depression, and briefly touches on a parent's dementia diagnosis, in case that's a hard topic for you to hear right now.

"Can you come and watch me sleep?" That's the request Lina Perez made to friends during her second postpartum — and the fact that most said no is exactly why this episode matters.

Lina is a mum of two, business owner, and founder of RestoreHer postpartum retreats. We have an honest, deeply relatable conversation about the realities of postpartum mental health, the loneliness of motherhood for high-functioning women, and what real support actually looks like.

Lina opens up about her experience of postpartum anxiety and depression with her second baby — despite having had a straightforward first postpartum — and shares how the sudden shift from running businesses and managing hundreds of tasks to being told to "just stop" triggered panic attacks, sleep paralysis, and a complete loss of identity.

She introduces her powerful concept of the "missing middle": the gap in support between a GP with five minutes and a prescription pad, and wellness circles that don't speak to a woman with a mortgage and bills to pay.

We also discuss the neuroscience of postpartum, the challenge of asking for help when you've always been the capable one, and how RestoreHer was born from desperation to create a space where mums can truly rest, heal, and connect with like-minded women.

If this episode resonates, there’s many more episodes of Dear Mum to listen or watch. And be sure to hit FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE on your chosen platform so you’re notified about new episodes every Thursday. 💛

Links
Lina / RestoreHER:
Website - https://restoreher.co.uk/

IG - https://www.instagram.com/restoreher_retreats/

Charlie:
IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunder
TT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunder
YT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr

💪 Bumps & Burpees:
https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpees

www.bumpsandburpees.com

Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

If Chaneen Saliee isn’t already on your radar, she should be, because this mum of three is a beautiful force!

Founder of breastfeeding-wear brand ‘Chic and Discreet’, Chaneen is also a content creator who just so happens to be our first guest to bring her baby, Dare, into the studio with her (fair warning: he steals the show).

We talk about the whiplash of going from free-spirited world traveller to mum of one, then two, then — after a seven-year gap — a surprise-announced third. Chaneen tandem breastfed her older daughters until they were three, and this time round she's doing things differently: setting boundaries, accepting help, and actually taking care of herself alongside the baby.

There's a beautiful thread running through the episode too… her youngest's middle name, Everest, chosen to honour her mum, who passed away before he arrived.

Honest, warm, and full of genuinely brilliant parenting hacks (all hail "lying down parenting").

Don’t forget to FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE wherever you’re listening so we can bring more amazing conversations to the mum group chat, and thank you for being here 💛

Links
Chaneen Saliee
IG - https://www.instagram.com/chaneensaliee/

Shop Chic and Discreet - https://www.chicanddiscreet.com/

Charlie:
IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunder
TT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunder
YT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr

💪 Bumps & Burpees:
https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpees
www.bumpsandburpees.com

Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussions around infertility and becoming parents through surrogacy.

"I walked into a room full of cots, and it was like a lightning bolt." That's the moment Louenna Hood describes as the turning point… the second she knew she was going to adopt.

Louenna's spent her whole career looking after other people's children, over 100 babies, a Norland nanny training, and now the app and book that's helped thousands of parents (myself included).

She chose to build her family on her own terms, no father, no partner, just her in her quest for motherhood. We talk about the trip to Ukraine that changed everything, the foster-to-adopt process, and the day Alice arrived — three days old, "dropped off by the stork."

Louenna's honest about what it's really like to parent through adoption: staying open with Alice about her story, meeting her birth parents, and why she pushes back on the idea that adopted children are simply "lucky."

This is truly a special episodes, so don’t forget to FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE wherever you’re listening so we can bring more amazing conversations to the mum group chat 💛

Links
Louenna Hood:
IG - https://www.instagram.com/nannylouenna
FB - https://www.facebook.com/nannylouenna

The app - https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/nanny-louenna/id1508344643
Website - https://louenna.com/

Charlie:
IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunder
TT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunder
YT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr

💪 Bumps & Burpees:
https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpees
www.bumpsandburpees.com

Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW