• BODY IMAGE, BY CLEMMIE TELFORD, EMOTIONAL, INSPIRING, LOVE & MARRIAGE, MENTAL HEALTH, MOTHER OF ALL LISTS, THOUGHT-PROVOKING

    MOAL X BUT WHY?

    As you have more than likely heard by now, I published my first book last week!! It's called BUT WHY: How to Answer tricky questions from kids and have an honest conversation with yourself. The source of the answers for BUT WHY? came from all over - the podcast, interviews with experts, conversations on Instagram but also from here on Mother of All Lists. All of the lists have taught me something, but a couple were so significant that I felt honoured to be able to include them in the final edit of the book…

  • BODY IMAGE, EMOTIONAL, MENTAL HEALTH, PREGNANCY, BIRTH & BABY'S

    BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER

    This one, by Jen Spurr really resonated with me. Having had a a very up and down relationship with my own body for most of my life, I'm now in a good place but as Jen explains, it's taken an awful lot of work to get there. Jen can't remember a time when she didn't have BDD, and she was only able to start healing when she became a mum. She just knew she didn't want to pass these feelings onto her daughters, she wanted to break the cycle. …

  • HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH, PREGNANCY, BIRTH & BABY'S, THOUGHT-PROVOKING

    THE DAY I GAVE BIRTH IN MY BATHROOM

    After the birth of my first baby, I felt completely traumatised and couldn't get the horror out of my head. So when Emily Neumann emailed about suffering birth trauma, I could absolutely identify with those feelings of utter terror, anxiety and aloneness. Emily's waters broke early and everything happened so quickly, she ended up giving birth on her toilet at home. What she went through was incredibly traumatic, and the flashbacks she's had have been unbearable…

  • EMOTIONAL, HEALTH, MOTHERHOOD

    BECOMING A MUM WHILE LOSING MINE TO ALZHEIMER’S

    There are so many questions you want to ask when having a baby and often, your mum is the first person you turn to. But, Her mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and although she is still here, her mind isn't. This cruel disease has taken away their future together, just when she needed her mum the most…

  • HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH, MOTHERHOOD

    HOW I REACHED BURNOUT

    The emotional, physical and mental exhaustion slowly crept up on Flic Taylor, as she struggled through the days, spinning all the plates. Until it was too late, and she quit her job and stayed in bed for three weeks.  It's something I'm so aware of - struggling to juggle all the balls in life is too real sometimes. They get dropped, and I feel like I'm running on empty. But how do we know when it's time to stop? Or when to ask for help?…

  • HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH

    DIAGNOSED WITH ADHD AS AN ADULT

    This is Rebecca Schiller's story about how, over three decades, she had always felt at odds with the world. She spent her life trying to fit in and to cover things up, amidst the swirling chaos of her mind. But in the end, it broke her. And then she was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 37. And finally, things began to make sense…

  • INSPIRING, WORK & MONEY

    BREAKING THE MONEY TABOO

    It's easy to bury your head in the sand when it comes to money, or switch off when someone mentions the word 'pension', and it's definitely something I've been guilty of.  But more recently, I've started to sit up and take more of an interest, and you know what? It's REALLY empowering. As Laura Dempster explains, we should be teaching basic money management in schools, and we should start talking about it and learning about it. Money is part of all of our lives.…

  • EMOTIONAL, HEALTH, MOTHERHOOD, PREGNANCY, BIRTH & BABY'S

    THE REALITY OF A NICU PARENT

    My heart was in my mouth while reading this list from Sam @the_nicu_mummy. The fear and the anxiety around your child being ill is just horrendous. For Sam, her nightmare began during pregnancy and then straight after giving birth, her baby boy was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which is somewhere you never hope to find yourself.…