Ready or Not

Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not. It’s our bite-sized, tip-based podcast, and it’s coming to your ears every Thursday. TToday, Loz talks about how to manage the mental load of Christmas. How to divide and conquer gift shopping, delegating tasks to your partner, kids and family and setting boundaries around what Christmas traditions work for you. ---Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now, for $29 each or $69 for the trio:Breastfeeding and Returning to WorkChildcare 101Postpartum and Return to Work PlanningYou can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod---Thanks for listening to Ask Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.podThis podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

There's a famous saying that you might've heard: that old habits die hard, and when it comes to the roles that we expect women to play, we haven't made much progress. This is particularly true when it comes to motherhood. So natural at motherhood women are, we say, that society makes it out as though not having children is the choice. Why don't you have kids? They ask those women without children. Why did you choose to have children? They rarely - if ever - ask those that are mothers.And for a long time now, I've wanted to interview a woman without children. I wanted to know, what does the juggle look like when there's aging parents and siblings and nephews and nieces and self care and a demanding job? What forms does mothering take for someone that's not a mother in the technical term?Cue Helen Lyon - the founder of Qiara Probiotics - the product that helps over 40,000 mums each year. While Helen has not had children of her own, she is entrenched in the work of motherhood on both a personal and professional level. Her family is everything, her work is all encompassing, so how, does she do it all? And how do mothers and non-mothers better support one another?Here, we talk the many shades that mothering can take, what the juggle looks like when you're a sister, daughter, auntie, friend and business owner, and the business advice that's made Qiara into the brand it is today.--Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now, for $29 each or $69 for the trio:Breastfeeding and Returning to WorkChildcare 101Postpartum and Return to Work Planning---Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.podThis podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Welcome back to another episode of Witching Hour, the show where two cousins and mums of two banter all things making work, work alongside motherhood. There's a bit going on at the top of this episode. Ray is being mean to Posie, Posie's finally PROPERLY talking a bottle, Loz actually does watch some movies and shares her favourites, and then, we finally get to the day's discussion points.Today on the show:What is a gentle parent anyway? On parenting labels and why I hate them.'Quiet vacationing' is the latest workplace trend that sees Gen Zs tapping out.And a poll on all things productivity in making work, work as mums.Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now, for $29 each or $69 for the trio:Breastfeeding and Returning to WorkChildcare 101Postpartum and Return to Work PlanningYou can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod---Thanks for listening to Witching Hour! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.podThis podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not. It’s our bite-sized, tip-based podcast, and it’s coming to your ears every Thursday. Today, Loz answers a listener question about how to assert yourself: how to do it in a workplace environment, when to do it and different ways you can get your point across without all the fluff (and thinking you're seeming like a pain in the butt!).---Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now, for $29 each or $69 for the trio:Breastfeeding and Returning to WorkChildcare 101Postpartum and Return to Work PlanningYou can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod---Thanks for listening to Ask Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.podThis podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

When Minna Dubin wrote about mum rage for The New York Times, her words went viral.In opening the article, she writes: 'the rage lives in my hands, rolls down my fingers clenching to fists. I want to hurt someone. I am tears and fury and violence. I want to scream and rip open pillows, toss chairs and punch walls. I want to see my destruction — feathers floating, overturned furniture, ragged holes in drywall.'Even recording this, I'm nervous to admit that I resonated with this so deeply that it nearly moved me to tears. It feels somewhat unsafe to confess that motherhood can drive me to a type of fury I've never known until now. But, that's the entire point. Was she nervous about putting her name to something that many would describe as volatile, negative...even violent, yes? But, she did it anyway, and when she did, the stories came pouring in.Here, we talk the universality of mum rage, the shame attached to it, how she's made work, work as a mother of two, and why we all need to take our mum rage out to tea.---THIS WEEK'S PARTNER This episode of Ready or Not is brought to you by us, Ready or Not! This week, we've released our Ready or Not Go To Guides. We've created three beautiful, practical and comprehensive guides in consultation with the experts in their fields, starting with Breastfeeding and Returning to Work, Postpartum and Return to Work Planning and Childcare 101.Shop the Go To Guides here: readyornot.au---Thanks for listening to Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod---This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Welcome back to another episode of Witching Hour, the show where two cousins and mums of two banter all things making work, work alongside motherhood.Today on the show:Five ways workplaces are failing new mothers - and how we can flip the narrative.Plus, because Lu is still in holiday mode, we're talking travelling, camping, caravanning and road tripping with kids.Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now, for $29 each or $69 for the trio:Breastfeeding and Returning to WorkChildcare 101Postpartum and Return to Work PlanningYou can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod---Thanks for listening to Witching Hour! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.podThis podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

This mini series was created in partnership with Homb, the postpartum hotel where mothers are mothered. Across three episodes, together with Homb founder Larissa Leone and the Ready or Not community, we interrogate what it means to navigate motherhood and matrescence in modern Australia. While this series is brought to you by Homb, the experiences and views about my time in their care are entirely my own.Before we get into it, I want to send my love to every mother out there, from the one who’s struggling just a bit – in the very mundane way that so many mothers do and like I did, to the one who’s struggling a lot. While this series sets to open up the conversation of what the everyday mother goes through, if you think that you might be struggling more than that, there’s help available at https://www.cope.org.au/

This mini series was created in partnership with Homb, the postpartum hotel where mothers are mothered. Across three episodes, together with Homb founder Larissa Leone and the Ready or Not community, we interrogate what it means to navigate motherhood and matrescence in modern Australia. While this series is brought to you by Homb, the experiences and views about my time in their care are entirely my own.Before we get into it, I want to send my love to every mother out there, from the one who’s struggling just a bit – in the very mundane way that so many mothers do and like I did, to the one who’s struggling a lot. While this series sets to open up the conversation of what the everyday mother goes through, if you think that you might be struggling more than that, there’s help available at https://www.cope.org.au/

This mini series was created in partnership with Homb, the postpartum hotel where mothers are mothered. Across three episodes, together with Homb founder Larissa Leone and the Ready or Not community, we interrogate what it means to navigate motherhood and matrescence in modern Australia. While this series is brought to you by Homb, the experiences and views about my time in their care are entirely my own.Before we get into it, I want to send my love to every mother out there, from the one who’s struggling just a bit – in the very mundane way that so many mothers do and like I did, to the one who’s struggling a lot. While this series sets to open up the conversation of what the everyday mother goes through, if you think that you might be struggling more than that, there’s help available at https://www.cope.org.au/

Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not! It’s Ready or Not’s tip-based podcast, and it’s coming to your ears every Thursday. Today, Loz talks about how to set boundaries at work with examples, sample scripts and ways to politely and respectfully say no (even if you're a people pleaser).---Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now, for $29 each or $69 for the trio:Breastfeeding and Returning to WorkChildcare 101Postpartum and Return to Work PlanningYou can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod---Thanks for listening to Ask Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.podThis podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

When I was trying to conceive for the first time, and basically for the 10 years leading up to it, the constant question swirling around my brain was how? HOW do mothers and primary caregivers be the mum they want to be while pursuing the career of their dreams, too? I wanted to know how mums did it on a practical, granular level. Give me times, give me dates, give me formulas. And not the milk kind, but how the heck do I get my baby to take that, too?And it's not all that surprising to me now that a lot of the conversations that have come out of this podcast have focussed more on how we feel about motherhood, career, about finding the balance... but I often think about the pregnant version of me and the sort of content she was looking for, and today's episode really hits the mark. Pardon the pun.Deja Marc founder Rosie Collins is incredibly passionate about building a life by design. And while she admits that might sound a bit corny, it's far from it. She's purposeful and deliberate with every decision she makes in business and in motherhood, and our conversation had me pondering how often I really stop and think about how I approach my work and my life.Here, we talk about the toolkit she's developed that helps her navigate a successful business alongside motherhood, how she started Deja Marc (including learning to do everything in the business herself before growing her team), and how she moved from feeling scared about how she'd navigate it all, to feeling empowered.--Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now, for $29 each or $69 for the trio:Breastfeeding and Returning to WorkChildcare 101Postpartum and Return to Work Planning---Thanks for listening to Witching Hour! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.podThis podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not. It’s our bite-sized, tip-based podcast, and it’s coming to your ears every Thursday. Today, Loz is sharing her best tips on what to do if you're made redundant on maternity leave.LINKS:Listen to our episode - Resumes: Do I include my parental leave? - here.Listen to our episode - Why applying for full-time roles might be your secret hack to landing the perfect part-time role - here.CourseraLinkedIn LearningUdemy---Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now, for $29 each or $69 for the trio:Breastfeeding and Returning to WorkChildcare 101Postpartum and Return to Work PlanningYou can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod---Thanks for listening to Ask Ready or Not! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.podThis podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Like many of us, Genevieve Day grew up with the mindset that when you put in the hard work, you get rewarded. And as the founder of Day Management and Next of Kin Management, she's done just that.And so, as a successful business owner embarking on motherhood for the first time, Gen wanted to keep up appearances. She wasn't letting anyone think that a baby was going to slow her down, so she pressed on the only way she knew how: with hard work.But what Gen soon realised is that hard work doesn't always equate to success in motherhood, and not in finding the perfect balance as a working mum, either. She's candid about what she'd do differently with hindsight - from allowing herself more time immersed in the baby bubble to how she'd navigate managing her team. But more than that, she opens up about her stressful breastfeeding struggles and how she moved through these as an over achiever.Here, she talks about the first time she felt like her baby really chose her, what she's learned about navigating motherhood and career with the beauty of hindsight, and the painful chapters that she was tempted to edit out of her new book, The Juggle.--This episode of Ready or Not is brought to you by Homb, Melbourne’s first of its kind postpartum hotel where mothers are mothered. To learn more about the Homb trust – a registered charity that exists to provide financially supported stays to families in need, who don’t have the financial capacity to pay for a stay independently – and to book your stay at this special place, visit www.homb.com.au---Thanks for listening to Witching Hour! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod.This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too.

Welcome back to another episode of Witching Hour, the show where two cousins and mums of two banter all things making work, work alongside motherhood.Today on the show:There’s a lot of talk about supporting mothers, but where’s the action? Loz is taking us through a very interesting study to prove this point.And, how to bring Homb – that’s home with a b - into to your own home. Lozzy, a listener wrote in saying she was really keen to understand how they can incorporate some of the practices of Homb into their home with an E life, so I ask the team and I’ll share what they said.Plus, just a light and quick poll today – we’ve talked a lot about the dark side of sleep deprivation, but now we’re having a laugh instead. Today, we’re sharing some of yours and our more ridiculous moments of forgetfulness and brain fog when we’ve felt totally sleep deprived.This episode of Witching Hour is brought to you by Homb, Melbourne’s first of its kind postpartum hotel where mothers are mothered. To learn more about the Homb trust – a registered charity that exists to provide financially supported stays to families in need, who don’t have the financial capacity to pay for a stay independently – and to book your stay at this special place, visit www.homb.com.au---Thanks for listening to Witching Hour! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.podThis podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Welcome back to Ask Ready or Not, formally known as Tits & Tricks! It’s Ready or Not’s new bite sized tip based episode, and the new name means that we can bring a wider range of advice to this episode, including your career conundrums and more! Today, Loz takes you through the five interview questions that may just help you land your dream job!---Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now, for $29 each or $69 for the trio: • Breastfeeding and Returning to Work • Childcare 101 • Postpartum and Return to Work Planning • You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod---Thanks for listening to Tits & Tricks! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.podThis podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

 Recently I had the distinct pleasure of working with sisters Lucy and Emma Race on The Outer Sanctum podcast. In an eight-part series, they brought back their incredible show that looks at life through the lens of sport and welcomes all people, particularly those that are non binary, women, or have always felt like the outer either in sport or in life.I was disarmed by their intelligence, their ability to break down complex topics into simple forms and discussion points. And also by their humour - they are incredibly funny, as funny as they are wise - and so as soon as I met these warm and incredible women, I knew I wanted to have them on the show.As the youngest with three older brothers, I'm fascinated by sisterhood. And so today we look at sisterhood through the lens of motherhood, working together on The Outer Sanctum podcast and Making the Call, and what it's like to move through life together from pre-motherhood up until now, where the pair's children range from tweens to adults.They've each had their own challenges in the postpartum and in real time, we get a sense of what it's like for this incredibly close pair to delve deeper into each other's trials and tribulations as new mothers.There's so much to learn in this episode, from what they went through in the early days of parenting to how they reflect on it now and what it's like to make work, work as a mother today. This is a special episode with two people that I really love.--This episode of Ready or Not is brought to you by Homb, Melbourne’s first of its kind postpartum hotel where mothers are mothered. To learn more about the Homb trust – a registered charity that exists to provide financially supported stays to families in need, who don’t have the financial capacity to pay for a stay independently – and to book your stay at this special place, visit www.homb.com.au---Thanks for listening to Witching Hour! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod.This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too.

Welcome back to another episode of Witching Hour, the show where two cousins and mums of two banter all things making work, work alongside motherhood.Today on the show:Young Aussies quitting in droves over bleak new workplace trend,Your workplace discrimination stories that were sparked by a DM we received about one listener’s experience.Plus, 10 things Lu is bringing home with her from Homb.This episode of Witching Hour is brought to you by Homb, Melbourne’s first of its kind postpartum hotel where mothers are mothered. To learn more about the Homb trust – a registered charity that exists to provide financially supported stays to families in need, who don’t have the financial capacity to pay for a stay independently – and to book your stay at this special place, visit www.homb.com.au---Thanks for listening to Witching Hour! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.podThis podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Welcome back to Tits and Tricks! It’s Ready or Not’s new bite sized tip based podcast, and it’s coming to your ears every Thursday. Today, Loz talks about why you shouldn't discount applying for full time roles even if you're after part-time work or non full time hours.---Shop the Ready or Not Go To Guides now, for $29 each or $69 for the trio:Breastfeeding and Returning to WorkChildcare 101Postpartum and Return to Work PlanningYou can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.pod---Thanks for listening to Tits & Tricks! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.podThis podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Before listening, please note that today's episode discusses suicidal ideation, self harm and postnatal depression. Before you press play, please consider if this conversation feels right for you.When I emailed Emma Molloy to ask her for some more information about her journey, she reflected on some of her darkest days. And at the bottom of the email, there was a list of 10 things she's learned along the way.So instead of trying to describe who Emma is, instead, I'm going to read my favourite bits from her list (see the Insta post I refer to here).She writes: but it's not all bad. Here's a list of the lessons I've learned:Pancake batter can be cooked as a cake, if you can’t be bothered to make the pancakes.The washing is still done even if its sitting clean in the basket.I am a person not a robot. Children are not robots either.Sometimes you have to give up the idea of being perfect in order to find perfect moments. An example would be my son's last cricket game last year. My husband was away, and my son was upset because he didn’t get a chance to bat, normally I would try to get home for dinner. We stayed back I bowled until the sun went down. The smile on that kid’s face is burned into my memory forever.You are allowed to miss your old life.This is such a powerful conversation. It's the story of how one mother emerged from her darkest and loneliest moments to find the light.Here, we talk what it's like to be a defence spouse, how she overcame some of her lowest moments, and how she makes work, work today.--This episode of Ready or Not is brought to you by Homb, Melbourne’s first of its kind postpartum hotel where mothers are mothered. To learn more about the Homb trust – a registered charity that exists to provide financially supported stays to families in need, who don’t have the financial capacity to pay for a stay independently – and to book your stay at this special place, visit www.homb.com.au---Thanks for listening to Witching Hour! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.podThis podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too here.

Last week was our most listened to Witching Hour episode to date. Our DMs were full of similar stories of when a lack of sleep has led you to feel sad, helpless or anxious, and we couldn't wait to get back in your ears again today to continue the raw and honest conversations about some of those parenting moments that we're often too ashamed to talk about.Plus, Lu is back from Homb, the postpartum hotel that she couldn't stop banging on about all week on Instagram, and it's fair to say she's at least a bit less on the edge than last week. Today on the show:We need to talk about how hard relationships are post baby, Just like Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury, Rebecca Cope's relationship ended soon after having a baby.Lu shares her experience staying at the delightful postpartum hotel that is Homb, Plus, we have an update on Posie's sleep.Lastly, we share a few of the DMs you sent us since last week’s episode, all about those middle of the night sleep deprived moments of rage and the things we've regrettably said and done when we're hopelessly tired and at our wit's end. --This episode of Witching Hour is brought to you by Homb, Melbourne’s first of its kind postpartum hotel where mothers are mothered. To learn more about the Homb trust – a registered charity that exists to provide financially supported stays to families in need, who don’t have the financial capacity to pay for a stay independently – and to book your stay at this special place, visit www.homb.com.au---Thanks for listening to Witching Hour! If you liked the show, please tell your friends, subscribe or write a review. You can also find us on Instagram at readyornot.podThis podcast was recorded on the lands of the Boon Wurong people of the Kulin Nation. The land on which we're lucky enough to raise our sons and daughters always was and always will be Aboriginal land.We Pay The Rent and you can too here.