WEBVTT - Rachel Corbett's Solo Birth Story 

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<v Speaker 1>Hi, and welcome back to Bounce Forward with me Tip Paul.

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<v Speaker 1>I'd like to acknowledge your traditional custodians of the land

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<v Speaker 1>on which I'm recording this podcast, the Warundry people of

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<v Speaker 1>the Cooler Nation. I pay my respects to elders past

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<v Speaker 1>and present. Rachel Corbett is the Head of Podcasts and

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<v Speaker 1>Digital Content at Nova Entertainment, which means, by extension, she

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<v Speaker 1>is my boss and head of the podcast Bounce Forward.

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<v Speaker 1>Rachel is also a regular panelist on the project on

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<v Speaker 1>Channel ten and you'll mostly see her on Sunday nights,

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<v Speaker 1>but she also has her own podcasting school called pod School.

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<v Speaker 2>She's also a mom to.

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<v Speaker 1>A beautiful baby girl, Olivia, which is the main reason

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<v Speaker 1>we have her on the show today. Rachel, welcome to

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<v Speaker 1>Bounce Forward. Thank you so much for being here. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>very excited to speak to you now. You have a

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<v Speaker 1>little one, Olivia, gorgeous Olivia who is turning two in March.

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<v Speaker 2>Terrible too, because I've got a two year old.

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<v Speaker 1>Is she exhibiting anything like that at the moment she

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<v Speaker 1>is starting to? For sure, she's actually quite I feel

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<v Speaker 1>very lucky because she's quite easy to kind of bring

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<v Speaker 1>back from the brink. She's not one of those kids

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<v Speaker 1>that like settles into a tantrument and is in like

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<v Speaker 1>I'm in this until like I'm over it. But I

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<v Speaker 1>do sometimes still see glimmers of that toddler thing, Like

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<v Speaker 1>she's started to drink milk out of a cup and

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<v Speaker 1>I tell her not to tip it, and the other

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<v Speaker 1>day she just said to me, don't tip it, and

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<v Speaker 1>look straight at me, and then just tipped it. And

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<v Speaker 1>I was like, yeah, you know what you do in

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<v Speaker 1>your little old piece of work, that's it.

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<v Speaker 2>That's it.

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<v Speaker 1>My daughter's toilet training at the moment, and she's decided

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<v Speaker 1>to pee standing up now, and I'm trying to get

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<v Speaker 1>her to sit down on the toilet and pee, but

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<v Speaker 1>she's like, no, I'm going to stand up and do

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<v Speaker 1>it and pee on you and the floor.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, she just doesn't to spite me. I don't know

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<v Speaker 2>what to do.

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<v Speaker 1>But anyway, I wanted to ask you, because you decided

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<v Speaker 1>to have a Libya as a single mom through IVF,

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<v Speaker 1>can you talk to me about.

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<v Speaker 2>Your decision to be a solo mum.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it's funny because I kind of always thought I

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<v Speaker 1>would be, even when I was in relationships and I

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<v Speaker 1>had one relationship that got pretty close to the marriage

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<v Speaker 1>and kids things, and we certainly thought it was going

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<v Speaker 1>to go down that path. And I remember thinking that

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<v Speaker 1>I was so on board for that path because I

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<v Speaker 1>was really, you know, I love that person.

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<v Speaker 2>But in the back of my mind, I remember.

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<v Speaker 1>Thinking to myself, this is so funny that I'm maybe

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<v Speaker 1>going to marry this person because I really thought I

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<v Speaker 1>was going to be a solo mum. And so when

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<v Speaker 1>we ended up not going forward with that relationship and

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<v Speaker 1>then I walked this path, I sort of remember thinking

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<v Speaker 1>to myself, is it just that I knew myself so

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<v Speaker 1>well that I knew I would kind of want to.

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<v Speaker 3>Do this, or did I actually will this into being?

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<v Speaker 1>Because I was saying that so much to myself internally,

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<v Speaker 1>And I'm not really sure which path that was, but

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<v Speaker 1>it has just always been something that I thought would

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<v Speaker 1>suit me.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, And did you always want to be a mom?

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<v Speaker 2>Did you always know that? Because I didn't. I didn't.

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<v Speaker 1>I wasn't like sold on the idea, especially when I

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<v Speaker 1>was like training people on tally and stuff like that,

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<v Speaker 1>I thought, no, I don't think it's for me. I

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<v Speaker 1>didn't have pets, I didn't have anything, and I changed

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<v Speaker 1>my tune.

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<v Speaker 2>But you always wanted to be a mom?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 2>Always? I just ever since I was young.

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<v Speaker 1>I can remember, you know, Christmases weren't a fantastic time

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<v Speaker 1>for me post like you know, divorce here. I was

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<v Speaker 1>a kid of divorce, and I just remember even back

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<v Speaker 1>then thinking, when I have my own family, I'm going

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<v Speaker 1>to make this a really special time. And so it

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<v Speaker 1>was just always kind of sat with me that I

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<v Speaker 1>do want to be a mum. I always felt like

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<v Speaker 1>I think I would be good at this. But then

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<v Speaker 1>I didn't have Olivia until I was forty two, and

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<v Speaker 1>until I got to that point, I was not ready.

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<v Speaker 1>And I was actually thinking to myself, you know, when

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<v Speaker 1>I'm getting thirty nine, forty forty one, I'm like, am

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<v Speaker 1>I ever going to clock into this kind of mode

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<v Speaker 1>of like, Okay, I'm ready to step forward because I

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<v Speaker 1>know fundamentally I want to be a mum, but I

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<v Speaker 1>just can't get myself into the mode to actually do it.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think when you're doing it by yourself, that

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<v Speaker 1>is a much bigger decision, right because you're not looking

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<v Speaker 1>at somebody else going you know what will work it out?

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<v Speaker 1>You're thinking, Okay, well, I got to finance everything, I

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<v Speaker 1>got to look after this kid on my own. So

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<v Speaker 1>it's a lot of mental preparation. But I was really

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<v Speaker 1>surprised that it took me that long to actually get

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<v Speaker 1>to the point where I was like, Okay, I'm going

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<v Speaker 1>to do this because I had known for so long

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<v Speaker 1>that it was something I wanted to do. And once

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<v Speaker 1>you got there, what was the reaction like from your

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<v Speaker 1>friends and family that you're going to do this solo?

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<v Speaker 3>Friends were so this is so on brand for you.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, probably the least surprising thing.

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<v Speaker 2>We've ever heard, that you're going to have a baby.

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<v Speaker 1>On your own, because it's just exactly the kind of

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<v Speaker 1>thing that you would do. So everybody in my life

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<v Speaker 1>that knew me was very supportive because it was so unsurprising.

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<v Speaker 1>But I think other people outside that you kind of

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<v Speaker 1>met and you tell this too, there is still a

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<v Speaker 1>bit of a.

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<v Speaker 2>Reaction that.

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<v Speaker 1>It feels when somebody says to you, oh, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>you're having a baby, and they'll ask you a question

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<v Speaker 1>like who's the father or you know, have you guys

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<v Speaker 1>been thinking about this for a long time and you so,

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<v Speaker 1>actually I did it by myself. Often you'll get this

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<v Speaker 1>response from someone where they look like, oh god, I

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<v Speaker 1>shouldn't have asked that, like oh, you know, like they

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<v Speaker 1>feel like it's something you're embarrassed to talk about, and

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<v Speaker 1>so I would feel like I would always have to

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<v Speaker 1>preempt before I talk to people about it, Like, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>fine with this.

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<v Speaker 2>It was my decision.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm a solo mum, because a lot of times people

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<v Speaker 1>assume it's a path that you took because you couldn't.

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<v Speaker 1>You tried the other path and it didn't work for you,

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<v Speaker 1>and now you're just stuck with the consolation prize, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>And that just was never my approach. Yeah, and can

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<v Speaker 1>you talk to me a little bit about the IVF

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<v Speaker 1>process and what was that like for you personally?

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<v Speaker 2>It was?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean I kind of I kind of enjoyed it

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<v Speaker 1>from a control freak perspective.

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<v Speaker 2>I've never heard that before.

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<v Speaker 1>Nothing's left to chance, right, So you think a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of the time when you're having a baby with a

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<v Speaker 1>partner and you're like, is it gonna work? Did it

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<v Speaker 1>catch right? Do the bit of you of me? Are

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<v Speaker 1>they genetically going to mean that this is going to

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<v Speaker 1>go to full term? Like there's so much and there's

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<v Speaker 1>still so much chance in the IVF process, but ultimately

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<v Speaker 1>they're like getting.

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<v Speaker 3>The best sperm and the best.

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<v Speaker 1>Day, you know, and they're pulling it together and then

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<v Speaker 1>they're saying, Okay, here's the best looking embryo, so this

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<v Speaker 1>is the highest chance of this being So that whole

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<v Speaker 1>process for me, I loved it because I'm like, great, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>let's go with the best embryo and let's do that

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<v Speaker 1>and then whatever happens after that, like we've tried our best,

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<v Speaker 1>haven't we, you know. So yeah, so I really enjoyed it.

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<v Speaker 1>I liked it. And I had gone through the process

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<v Speaker 1>of freezing my eggs twice during my thirties, so I

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<v Speaker 1>had kind of done the bit before the actual implantation

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of times, so I'd done all the injections,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd done all that stuff, so I kind of had

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<v Speaker 1>time to get used to it and get through that,

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<v Speaker 1>because that can be a bit daunting the first time

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<v Speaker 1>that you do it. But yeah, so by the time

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<v Speaker 1>I did that, it was kind of my third crack

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<v Speaker 1>at that and then I, yeah, I.

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<v Speaker 2>Sort of liked it.

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<v Speaker 3>Is that weird to say, Yeah, No, it's not weird,

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<v Speaker 3>it's just.

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<v Speaker 2>Different, And I love it.

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<v Speaker 1>I think that's amazing, Like, yeah, it felt like I

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<v Speaker 1>had science on my side.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, you know, which I was really.

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<v Speaker 3>Grateful for because I didn't have anybody else.

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<v Speaker 1>And so when it came to have Olivia, what were

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<v Speaker 1>the things that you wanted to prepare for? Like, there's

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<v Speaker 1>you know, you're working, you're incredibly successful, you're working, you're juggling,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, you're doing this on your own.

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<v Speaker 2>What did you prepare? Yeah?

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<v Speaker 1>I felt like that was probably why it took me

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<v Speaker 1>so long to get to the point where I was ready.

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<v Speaker 2>And people always.

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<v Speaker 1>Say to you never really read, and I'm like, I

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<v Speaker 1>think it can be, Like I really do think you

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<v Speaker 1>can know yourself well enough to be at a point

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<v Speaker 1>where you like, I'm ready to tackle this. Can you

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<v Speaker 1>be prepared for it?

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<v Speaker 2>Nah?

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<v Speaker 3>Can you be good at it?

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe like you don't know that until you actually get

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<v Speaker 1>to it, But can you be ready in your own mind?

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<v Speaker 3>Of course you can, you know. So I wanted to click.

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<v Speaker 1>Into that mode, and those things were really important to

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<v Speaker 1>me career. For a long time, I did not feel

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<v Speaker 1>established enough in my career to take a break, and

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<v Speaker 1>it took me a long time to get to that

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<v Speaker 1>point until I felt like, Okay, I have got the

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<v Speaker 1>roots down enough that I feel like if I went

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<v Speaker 1>off for a while, I can come back and I'm

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<v Speaker 1>not going to lose my place or whatever.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that was a.

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<v Speaker 1>Big thing for me because career work, that is a

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<v Speaker 1>huge part of my identity. My sort of happiness comes

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<v Speaker 1>from feeling useful. That's what I love. I love to

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<v Speaker 1>be useful, and so that for me is about work.

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<v Speaker 1>I love to work, and so it was very important

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<v Speaker 1>to me that I felt that that was not something

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<v Speaker 1>that I would have to worry about while I was away.

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<v Speaker 2>The other thing was finances.

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<v Speaker 1>I just didn't feel comfortable financially until this point where

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<v Speaker 1>I was like, okay, I can do this by myself.

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<v Speaker 1>So you know, that meant saving money so that I

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<v Speaker 1>could get help on the other side. Because I didn't

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<v Speaker 1>have family, I didn't have anybody to rely on, so

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<v Speaker 1>I was like, I'm going to have to hire people

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<v Speaker 1>to get help on the other side. So that was

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<v Speaker 1>a really important thing too. And then just mentally for me,

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<v Speaker 1>I wanted to make sure that I felt this is

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<v Speaker 1>the right time for me, you know, because I knew

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<v Speaker 1>if I had done it at any earlier than getting

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<v Speaker 1>to that point. I didn't want the fear that oh

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<v Speaker 1>my gosh, because once it's emotion, I ain't no durnamag no,

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<v Speaker 1>that kid's coming one way other. So I wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>be excited about that and looking forward to it. And

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<v Speaker 1>so it was really about that mental preparation for me

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<v Speaker 1>to make sure that that's the way that I felt. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so let's talk about the birth. What was that experience

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<v Speaker 1>like for you?

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<v Speaker 2>Well?

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<v Speaker 3>It was again pretty good, it was.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I had I tried to go down the

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<v Speaker 1>natural Are you.

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<v Speaker 2>Allowed to say natural?

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like whenever I would say natural, nobody's natural natural? Right, Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>So I was going to I was hopeful to go

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<v Speaker 1>down that road, and I just wanted to like go

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<v Speaker 1>into labor naturally.

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<v Speaker 3>So I thought, I'll give this a try. Now I went.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, I had an obstetrician who you realize as

0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:31.640
<v Speaker 1>you get closer to the date, is really keen to

0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:33.520
<v Speaker 1>book you in the calendar, so really wants you to

0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:37.440
<v Speaker 1>a C section, yeah, because they're not really interested in

0:10:37.480 --> 0:10:40.400
<v Speaker 1>you just going into labor when it happens, you know,

0:10:40.400 --> 0:10:41.720
<v Speaker 1>because they don't want to get the call up at

0:10:41.760 --> 0:10:44.160
<v Speaker 1>three am. So I did feel quite a lot of

0:10:44.200 --> 0:10:46.920
<v Speaker 1>pressure at the end, which I really did not like,

0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:52.600
<v Speaker 1>and I couldn't really I felt like I couldn't really

0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:56.040
<v Speaker 1>assert myself because I didn't have any knowledge. This was

0:10:56.080 --> 0:10:57.840
<v Speaker 1>the first time I was doing it. I didn't know

0:10:57.960 --> 0:11:01.040
<v Speaker 1>is it okay to assert myself? Like unreasonable that I

0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:03.440
<v Speaker 1>would want to try and go into labor like naturally.

0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:07.600
<v Speaker 1>So I think that time is quite difficult, because I

0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:09.360
<v Speaker 1>do think there is a lot of pressure for women

0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:14.040
<v Speaker 1>to do that. So I tried, and I said, I

0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:17.120
<v Speaker 1>said to my obstitution, look, if if i'm please just

0:11:17.160 --> 0:11:19.120
<v Speaker 1>give me forty weeks and I'd like to go a

0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:21.360
<v Speaker 1>week past. If I'm at forty one weeks and she's

0:11:21.400 --> 0:11:23.920
<v Speaker 1>still not out, well okay, then she doesn't need to

0:11:23.960 --> 0:11:26.800
<v Speaker 1>be cooking anymore. Like she's cooked long enough, it's fine.

0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:29.080
<v Speaker 1>You can induce me. We can go that way. And

0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:31.440
<v Speaker 1>that's what ended up happening actually, And so once I

0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:33.840
<v Speaker 1>got to that point, I was probably a couple of

0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:36.080
<v Speaker 1>days out from forty one weeks, and at that stage

0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:39.080
<v Speaker 1>I was actually like, now, I think I do want

0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:40.880
<v Speaker 1>to just go in at a time that's booked, and

0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:43.360
<v Speaker 1>because I don't want my waters to break or however,

0:11:43.400 --> 0:11:45.400
<v Speaker 1>this happens in the middle of Coal's like, now you're.

0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:47.080
<v Speaker 2>Just getting scarket or something.

0:11:47.200 --> 0:11:48.440
<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:49.920
<v Speaker 2>It just felt so uncertain.

0:11:50.040 --> 0:11:52.400
<v Speaker 1>So they I did have to get induced and then

0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:55.160
<v Speaker 1>I you know, went through the process, I like, you know,

0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:56.840
<v Speaker 1>doing the contractions and things.

0:11:56.600 --> 0:11:59.960
<v Speaker 3>And god, I was I've got a massive pain threshold.

0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:02.280
<v Speaker 1>And so I thought to myself, I know this isn't

0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:04.080
<v Speaker 1>going to be easy, but I can deal with a

0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:06.000
<v Speaker 1>lot of pain, so I will, you know, I think

0:12:06.000 --> 0:12:07.800
<v Speaker 1>I'll be able to grin it, like grit through it

0:12:07.840 --> 0:12:13.520
<v Speaker 1>for a bit. I mean, in what world it is

0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:14.880
<v Speaker 1>so bad?

0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:16.199
<v Speaker 2>It's so bad.

0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:17.480
<v Speaker 3>It's so bad.

0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:20.600
<v Speaker 1>And I was kind of probably two hours in and

0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:23.760
<v Speaker 1>I've got this photo of me on the bloody bouncy ball,

0:12:23.800 --> 0:12:25.240
<v Speaker 1>you know, where a giving you out. I'm like, what

0:12:25.400 --> 0:12:28.400
<v Speaker 1>is this doing nothing but making me look like an idiot?

0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:30.400
<v Speaker 1>This is not holding me at all. And the nurse

0:12:30.440 --> 0:12:31.520
<v Speaker 1>said to me, you know, are you going to get

0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:33.400
<v Speaker 1>an epidural? I said yes, And she's like, okay, well

0:12:33.440 --> 0:12:34.040
<v Speaker 1>do you want it now?

0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:34.760
<v Speaker 2>Do you want it later?

0:12:34.800 --> 0:12:36.520
<v Speaker 1>And I was like, oh well, I'll just you know,

0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:38.200
<v Speaker 1>push through until I feel bad. She's like, how are

0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:40.880
<v Speaker 1>you feeling right now? I'm like pretty bad. She's like, well,

0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:42.920
<v Speaker 1>is there any point in waiting. I was like not really, like,

0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:46.680
<v Speaker 1>let's do it. And from that point on, I mean,

0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:48.440
<v Speaker 1>I just had the best time.

0:12:48.800 --> 0:12:50.520
<v Speaker 2>Me and my best mate were in the room.

0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:52.920
<v Speaker 1>I couldn't feel a thing. I kept saying the doctors,

0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:55.520
<v Speaker 1>am I doing anything? And They're like, yeah, your body's

0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:57.680
<v Speaker 1>running a marathon right now. I was like, I'm watching

0:12:57.720 --> 0:13:03.000
<v Speaker 1>maths and eating takeout, like yeah, it's just nuts. I

0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:06.400
<v Speaker 1>loved it so that that was really important for me,

0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:08.960
<v Speaker 1>purely because I knew I was on my own on

0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:11.480
<v Speaker 1>the other side, and I wanted to get as much

0:13:11.559 --> 0:13:13.559
<v Speaker 1>rest for my body as I want to be a

0:13:13.920 --> 0:13:17.120
<v Speaker 1>cat could exactly, and I didn't want to push through

0:13:17.160 --> 0:13:19.760
<v Speaker 1>and be brought you know, pushing, pushing, pushing, and then

0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:21.240
<v Speaker 1>next thing you know, I've got to get up and

0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:22.800
<v Speaker 1>I've got no one to hand this kid off to.

0:13:22.920 --> 0:13:24.560
<v Speaker 1>I was just like, I want to be as rested

0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:27.000
<v Speaker 1>as I possibly can, because I know I'm going to

0:13:27.000 --> 0:13:28.680
<v Speaker 1>be exhausted to be here with on the other side.

0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:30.280
<v Speaker 2>So I was really really glad about that.

0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:32.440
<v Speaker 1>And then you know, we waited, waited, waite, and it

0:13:32.480 --> 0:13:35.040
<v Speaker 1>was about twelve hours on the drip she wasn't coming

0:13:35.080 --> 0:13:36.200
<v Speaker 1>any further down the pipe.

0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:38.040
<v Speaker 2>It was kind of nine point thirty at night.

0:13:38.440 --> 0:13:40.240
<v Speaker 1>They were like, we can keep you going to see

0:13:40.240 --> 0:13:43.559
<v Speaker 1>if you're dilated anymore, because I hadn't really dilated very much.

0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:44.880
<v Speaker 2>And I was like, what are we waiting for.

0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:46.640
<v Speaker 1>Let's just get this kid out, you know, like if

0:13:46.640 --> 0:13:48.880
<v Speaker 1>she's not coming down by herself, she's happy as Larry

0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:49.200
<v Speaker 1>in there.

0:13:49.400 --> 0:13:51.120
<v Speaker 2>So then I ended up getting a C section and

0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:53.240
<v Speaker 2>out she popped. Wow.

0:13:53.640 --> 0:13:57.640
<v Speaker 1>And so I'm really interested on this podcast talking about

0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:02.240
<v Speaker 1>the juggle because you know, everyone looks at someone else

0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:04.840
<v Speaker 1>and thinks, oh, they've got it so easy. They're managing

0:14:05.080 --> 0:14:08.679
<v Speaker 1>you know, mum life and work and everything and Instagram.

0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:11.240
<v Speaker 1>It's just so all the highlights and glimmers and none

0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:14.000
<v Speaker 1>of the triggers. And so I wanted to talk to

0:14:14.000 --> 0:14:16.960
<v Speaker 1>you about the juggle and how you cope with work

0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:18.439
<v Speaker 1>and mumlife.

0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:22.040
<v Speaker 2>Like how does it work for you? Yeah, I mean

0:14:22.320 --> 0:14:23.880
<v Speaker 2>it is hard.

0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:29.520
<v Speaker 1>I am traditionally a person who puts too much on

0:14:29.560 --> 0:14:32.120
<v Speaker 1>their plate anyway, so I'm not one of those people

0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:34.160
<v Speaker 1>who sits on the couch all the time. And now

0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:35.800
<v Speaker 1>I'm like, oh my god, I had so much time

0:14:35.960 --> 0:14:37.200
<v Speaker 1>to myself before, what am I doing.

0:14:37.200 --> 0:14:38.800
<v Speaker 2>I'm like, this was kind of like a version of

0:14:38.840 --> 0:14:39.520
<v Speaker 2>my life before.

0:14:39.560 --> 0:14:41.760
<v Speaker 1>I've always been too busy, you know, because I like

0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:43.880
<v Speaker 1>to do a lot of stuff. So I guess in

0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:46.480
<v Speaker 1>some ways that did prepare me. I'm good at juggling

0:14:46.520 --> 0:14:50.440
<v Speaker 1>lots of things, but it is I think it's probably

0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:56.320
<v Speaker 1>the relentlessness of the parenting side is quite difficult. So

0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:58.840
<v Speaker 1>I went back to work at four months. I was

0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:01.720
<v Speaker 1>ready read to go back at that point, like that

0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:04.480
<v Speaker 1>wasn't too early for me, but also financially, you know,

0:15:04.800 --> 0:15:07.400
<v Speaker 1>I couldn't stay much longer than that, so that was

0:15:08.080 --> 0:15:08.440
<v Speaker 1>a thing.

0:15:08.480 --> 0:15:10.440
<v Speaker 2>But I was very happy to go back.

0:15:11.600 --> 0:15:13.960
<v Speaker 1>But then I've I've always had like I had Nanni's

0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:18.160
<v Speaker 1>in the early days, which is just so expensive. Oh

0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:20.320
<v Speaker 1>you know, and when you say you've got a nanny,

0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:23.280
<v Speaker 1>people are like, oh, isn't somebody doing well for themselves?

0:15:24.480 --> 0:15:27.960
<v Speaker 1>My income is not matching my expenses, mate, especially if

0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:32.040
<v Speaker 1>you've got nanny agencies, And oh my totally, it's so expensive.

0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:33.600
<v Speaker 3>So I've just needed a lot of help.

0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:37.480
<v Speaker 1>And I think where I've found it hard and where

0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:40.000
<v Speaker 1>I've kind of for me in the future is something

0:15:40.000 --> 0:15:42.760
<v Speaker 1>that I'm going to try and look into is that

0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:45.560
<v Speaker 1>at the moment, the only break I have from parenting

0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:47.880
<v Speaker 1>is to go to work. So the only time I

0:15:48.000 --> 0:15:50.080
<v Speaker 1>take to hand my kids to somebody else is to

0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:53.360
<v Speaker 1>go and do another job. And I'm conscious that that's

0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:57.360
<v Speaker 1>not sustainable, Like I can't get to a point where

0:15:57.520 --> 0:16:00.800
<v Speaker 1>I'm only handing my child away if I'm going to

0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:03.440
<v Speaker 1>like do something else for somebody else. Like, there's got

0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:04.840
<v Speaker 1>to be a point at which I have a day

0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:06.760
<v Speaker 1>where I'm like, you know what, I'm just going to

0:16:06.760 --> 0:16:09.200
<v Speaker 1>have a me day. So at the moment, I don't

0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:11.280
<v Speaker 1>have any of that in my week, and that is

0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:16.080
<v Speaker 1>I can see and feel, not a sustainable thing for me.

0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:19.160
<v Speaker 2>So that's something that I am really mindful of.

0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:22.240
<v Speaker 1>But honestly, like actually going and doing work for me

0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:23.880
<v Speaker 1>is a break. Yeah.

0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:28.240
<v Speaker 2>I love going to work. I love it. I love it.

0:16:28.240 --> 0:16:29.080
<v Speaker 2>It is so much easy.

0:16:29.160 --> 0:16:31.920
<v Speaker 1>I have so much respect for people who stay at

0:16:31.960 --> 0:16:34.160
<v Speaker 1>home parent. I don't know how you do it. I

0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:37.320
<v Speaker 1>do not know how you do it. I would absolutely.

0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:37.880
<v Speaker 2>Lose my mind.

0:16:38.440 --> 0:16:41.480
<v Speaker 1>I would just not be a good parent because you

0:16:41.640 --> 0:16:44.320
<v Speaker 1>hit that threshold at which you're like, I actually can't

0:16:44.360 --> 0:16:47.360
<v Speaker 1>handle this anymore. And when you have nowhere to tap out,

0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:48.920
<v Speaker 1>and like, you know, I can't kind of get to

0:16:48.920 --> 0:16:50.800
<v Speaker 1>five o'clock and somebody comes home and is like, can

0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:52.120
<v Speaker 1>you take the baby because I just need to go

0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:54.360
<v Speaker 1>for a walk around the block. So for me, that

0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:57.000
<v Speaker 1>tap out is going and talking to adults, doing things

0:16:57.000 --> 0:16:58.960
<v Speaker 1>and using my brain and that kind of stuff. So

0:16:59.080 --> 0:17:01.400
<v Speaker 1>that is really important for me. So sometimes it doesn't

0:17:01.400 --> 0:17:03.200
<v Speaker 1>feel like a juggle because it does feel like a break.

0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:06.919
<v Speaker 2>Parenting is hard. It's so hard.

0:17:08.920 --> 0:17:10.760
<v Speaker 1>So I'm just going to leave the chat there with

0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:14.879
<v Speaker 1>Rachel and come back with part two next time. Thanks

0:17:14.920 --> 0:17:17.440
<v Speaker 1>so much for listening to Bounce Forward. I love having

0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:22.040
<v Speaker 1>your company, So dm me on Instagram at tiphole underscore

0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:24.320
<v Speaker 1>XO and let me know what topics you'd love me

0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:27.000
<v Speaker 1>to cover. Don't forget to rate and review me on

0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:28.720
<v Speaker 1>your podcast out Speak soon.

0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:29.800
<v Speaker 2>Happy Days,