Working Mumma

Changing careers after children with Meaghan J Smith

Today's guest is Meaghan J Smith. She is a life coach for women who want to make change and the host of the Money Mindful podcast and book club, both created as a space for women to learn about money and mindset.
Meaghan started out her career as a photographer, then found herself as a teacher and in the past 6 months has made the transition to life coach and podcast host. During the Meaghan shares her experience and advice in changing careers to suit her family. We then discuss how to have a money mindset and educating people on money to be good role models for their children. Lastly Meaghan gives insights into how she has overcome challenges in being a working mum.
Join the Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn.
Connect with Meaghan on Instagram @moneymindfulpodcast, Facebook or her website

Sleep tips, strategies and advice with Hala Merola

Today's guest is a holistic pediatric sleep coach, Hala Merola where we talk all things sleep for newborns, babies, and toddlers.
Please note, at the beginning of the episode the topic of depression and anxiety is raised. If this impacts you in some way, please speak to someone such as experts from Beyond Blue, COPE or Lifeline.
As you will soon discover, Hala is so passionate about helping parents with their child's sleep issues. Amazingly she also has another job on top of being a mum and wife.
At the start of the conversation, we talk about the challenges Hala has faced in becoming a mum. She shares her experience of post-natal depression, how she was forced (reluctantly) by her husband to seek help as he was witnessing the effect it was having on her and her son, and the impact PND had on their early relationship. Today, she is a big advocate on seeking help and comments on how the stigma of mental health has changed in 6.5 years.
During the discussion we talk about:
•Importance of interviewing sleep consultants prior to working with them to ensure your values align
•Look at sleep holistically, there are many factors that impact sleep
•Discuss age appropriate techniques & routines for sleep and settling
•Managing transition to childcare and change in routine - good news, the child will adapt
•Separation anxiety impacting sleep
•Sleep regressions (including the dreaded 4 month sleep regression)
•Difference between self settling and self soothing
•Managing the transition from cot to bed
•What to dress our children in
•Talk about swaddling and sleep suits
•The fourth trimester
•And so much more
As Hala says "Nothing will ever prepare you for the type of child you will have, every child is unique".
Join the Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn. If you are on parental leave, be sure to download my free 10 Step Guide to Return to Work.
Connect with Hala on Instagram @sleepsweetconsulting, Facebook or her website.

Navigating flexible work and maternity leave with employment lawyer Catherine Brooks

Today's guest is Catherine Brooks, a senior employment lawyer, Accredited Specialist in Workplace Relations and Associate-Director of the innovative New Law firm, Law Squared, a published author and mother to two young boys.
Understanding your legal rights as working mothers is an area many people are unsure about. Throughout this episode, Catherine gives great insights and simple techniques you can apply today.
During this episode of the podcast we discuss:
•Key aspects of the JobKeeper government stimulus package
•Consider what the future workplace may look like post covid-19
•Three steps to negotiating flexible work post coronavirus
•The positive effect of sharing stories of parental leave, particularly when fathers take extended leave
•Maternity leave - keeping in touch provisions
•Tips to remain engaged with your organisation whilst on maternity leave
•Discuss redundancies during maternity leave
•Scandinavian parental leave policies and how they promote flexible work and equal parental leave
Join the Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn. If you are on parental leave, be sure to download my free 10 Step Guide to Return to Work.
Connect with Catherine on Instagram @letsmakeitworkbaby or on LinkedIn.

Juggling motherhood and building a successful business with Kate Toon

Today's guest is Kate Toon, speaker, author, SEO lover, copywriter and podcast host. We recorded this podcast pre-covid-19 but all the topics are discussed as just as relevant today as they were 2 months ago.
Kate started her business when she was five months pregnant with her son. Over the past 11 years she has been able to craft her multiple businesses to align with her family needs. She has great insights, tips and expertise to share on all topics relating to the juggle.
We cover topics such as:
•Why Kate decided to start a business after a successful corporate career
•Discuss the realities of mum guilt and how she overcomes this
•How she has built the business around the hours she wants to work
•Parenting challenges, especially early on with a young child and growing a business
•The guilt of enjoying work and having a career
•Merging the worlds of parenting and work
•Concept of in-sourcing with children
•Mindset as a working mum
•Understanding your strengths
•LinkedIn tips
•Enjoying the struggle and not just the end result
I enjoyed this quote from Kate you are "Perfectly capable of being a great mum & having a great job".
Join the Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn. If you are on parental leave, be sure to download my free 10 Step Guide to Return to Work.
Connect with Kate on Instagram @katetoon and head to her website for more information.

How to homeschool during coronavirus with Tiffany, Inspire.Learn.Teach

This week's podcast is a recording of an Instagram Live with Tiffany from Inspire.Learn.Teach at the start of April. We took questions during the chat so you will hear us making a shout out to people and answering those questions.
It was a great conversation with Tiffany, that I wanted to ensure that if you missed the Instagram Live, you were still able to hear all the gems of wisdom Tiffany spoke about on all things relating to homeschooling. I caught up with friends on zoom last Friday night and they told me they watched the Instagram Live and felt more assured and confident about homeschooling after hearing Tiffany. I hope you are able to feel the same after listening to this episode.
We cover many topics including:
•Meeting the emotional needs of your children
•Reminding ourselves that as parents we were our childs first teacher
•Setting up learning at home
•How to prioritise what to teach (do the hard stuff first!)
•How to teach a subject you have no idea about
•Structuring the day
•The importance of play
•Managing different aged children and meeting their education needs
•The need to remove expectations on yourself
•Discuss the school of life
I know there is a lot going on in your world, so please mumma, take a moment, take a deep breath in and exhale. You are not expected to be a teacher, remove all expectations of yourself. Focus on you and your family first.
Join the Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn. If you are on parental leave, be sure to download my free 10 Step Guide to Return to Work.
Connect with Tiffany on Instagram @inspire.learn.teach.

How to improve your confidence, strengths and mindset with Emma McQueen

I hope this episode finds you safe and healthy. In this episode, I chat with business coach Emma McQueen talking about improving your confidence, knowing your strengths and managing your mindset. Emma describes herself a little bit like "Pollyanna" because she likes to see the good in every situation and this is evident during our conversation.
Emma has been working from home for 3 years and during this episode provides great insights and experiences both from the perspective as her role as a business coach and personal stories as a mother of 3 girls.
In this episode we talk about:
•Improving your self confidence as a working mum and return to work after parental leave
•How to determine your strengths
•Knowing your strengths and working on these is like lipstick, you need to keep on reapplying
•Working from home & being productive with kids in this "new normal"
•Importance of having a routine & communication
•How mindset is important working from home
•Focusing on what you can control during Covid-19
•Discussing our new normal and how this may change the workforce in the future
During the episode when we are talking about adjusting to working from home, Emma mentions "if we would not do it in the office, would we do it at home" which is a handy mindset to have.
Links mentioned in this episode
•Free strengths finder - https://www.viacharacter.org/survey/account/register
•Emma McQueen "Work from Home Schedule"
Join the Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow Working Mumma on LinkedIn. If you are on parental leave, be sure to download my free 10 Step Guide to Return to Work.
Connect with Emma on Instagram @emmarmcqueen and head to her website for more information. Be sure to get yourself a copy of her new book "Go-Getter".

How to stay fit and healthy as a working mum with personal trainer Laura Martin

Looking for ways to stay fit and healthy during COVID-19 then this episode is for you.
With so many aspects of our lives feeling like they are out of our control, it is important to then focus on the items that we can. One aspect we can control is our fitness, our health, and our well-being. The good news is that we can still exercise, in our own home AND we don't need gym equipment to do this as today's guest Laura Martin explains.
A key takeaway from our discussion is 'focusing on what you can control'. Even though many of us are now living a large proportion of our day at home, it is still possible and very important to remain active. This has benefits for your physical as well as mental health.
Often in times of stress, we use food as a comfort. Laura gives tips on healthy eating and a one-day meal plan to help you and your family.
We talk about strategies to help you manage your mindset which is so important in times like we are living. This is also where exercise plays a big part as well.
Stay healthy and active in mind & body Mumma - if we all work together we can get through this.
Join the Working Mumma Community, connect with me on Instagram @workingmummacommunity or follow on LinkedIn
Connect with Laura on Instagram @thefitmamalifestyle and head to her website for more information on her programs.

A fathers experience of parental leave, tales from the other side - Blake Woodward

We often hear what it is like for mothers on parental leave and managing career and parenthood, but rarely do we hear from the father. In this episode we do just that!
I chat with Blake Woodward, a management consultant and father of two who works part time, 4 days a week. He is passionate about encouraging and enabling working parents to play an active role in their children's lives.
When he became a dad in 2016, Blake found a lack of information and support specific to dads who want to be involved fathers. This led him to create www.suittiestroller.com.
In this episode we hear about:
•Honest experience and feelings in what it is like becoming a dad
•Blake's experience in taking 9 months parental leave
•Advice for fathers looking to take extended parental leave
•The conversation on how he & his wife decided who was going to take parental leave
•How Blake's work culture and leaders support fathers to take parental leave and it is now the "norm"
•Tips & advice on flexible work
•Changing society norms, perceptions and narrative that mum is not the only carer, but both parents
•We discuss what organisations should consider to support future workforce needs
•And so much more
Hope you enjoy this episode and be sure to share it with your fellow working parents managing the juggle of career and parenthood.
Links relating to this episode
https://www.suittiestroller.com/
http://instagram.com/suittiestroller
https://www.facebook.com/Suittiestroller-2173719636020863/
https://twitter.com/suittiestroller
Working Mumma
https://www.facebook.com/groups/workingmumma/
https://www.facebook.com/WorkingMummaAU/
https://www.instagram.com/workingmumma_au/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/working-mumma/
https://www.workingmumma.com.au/10-step-guide-to-return-to-work

Discover your why to help with mum guilt

With the theme of this year's International Women's Day, EachForEqual meaning that each person can make a change and create a world where genders are equal. This leads me to today's focus for the podcast and that is discovering your why to help you overcome mum guilt. A topic that we all experience.
#EachforEqual, mum guilt is something that is currently not equal and we still have a long way to go. As mothers, we have competing but important priorities in our lives - often the two biggest are work and family.
Knowing your why is an important first step in figuring out how to achieve the goals that excite you and create a life you enjoy living (versus merely surviving!).
Mum guilt is a term that is regularly used and I think we all live with it. But as someone recently said to me, you integrate this into your life. You don't necessarily get over it, you learn to live with it. I also believe that knowing why you are working and have this understood can help with overcoming the guilt as you know the purpose for why you are doing what you do.
Re-framing the thinking beyond the money, into the social, physical and mental well-being may also change your outlook and hopefully with that, overcome some of the mum guilt we all carry. I'm not suggesting it will remove the mum's guilt altogether. Understanding your why of why you work, helps reduce second-guessing yourself and feeling guilty by working. It is perfectly fine to want to work if you want to do so. Like many aspects of parenting, every mother's why is different. What is important, is that you can define this. Know your why for the key priorities in your life. To help you are getting the balance that you want for you and your family.

Creating financial freedom for your family - Keryn Batsilas, financial planner

Wanting to become financially fit to help you and your family? This podcast will help you with financial planner, Keryn Batsilas from Your Life and Money Matters.
Keryn talks about her experiences in life as a working mother with two children, starting her own business as a financial planner and great tips to help you have financial freedom. We chat about how her perceptions of parenthood changed with the birth of her first child, how she transitioned from working to parental leave and returning to work, and then onto starting her own business when she was 5 months pregnant with her second child.
Keryn giving great tips and suggestions for working parents to allow you to be 'financially fit', cover topics such as budgeting, planning, and budgeting for a family, parental leave and subsequent children, the importance of communication with your partner and advantages of managing your money wisely.
Links relating to this episode
Connect with Keryn Batsilas, Your Life and Money Matters
Website
Instagram
Facebook
Connect with Working Mumma
Facebook group - Working Mumma Community
Facebook Page
Instagram
LinkedIn
Free resource - 10 Step guide to Return to Work
Podcast disclaimer: Keryn Batsilas, Financial Adviser from your Life and Money Matters, is an Authorised Representative of Avalon financial services. Anything Keryn talks about is of a general nature and not to be used as personal advice.