Dear Mum

Charlie Barker
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  • Parenting
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Dear Mum is the funny, honest, zero-judgement podcast that feels like the mums’ group chat that’s always open - for 3am feeds, school runs, and everything in between. Hosted by Charlie Barker (mum of three, business owner), it’s real chats, stories you couldn’t make up, deep-breath moments, and practical little wins - from newborn nights to exam weeks, nap traps to parenting with your partner. Not perfect... just your go-to mum chat - in your ears and on your screen. https://linktr.ee/dearmumpodcast

  1. 2d ago

    Dear Mum, it's Louenna Hood: I Chose a Path of Solo Parenthood, Through Adoption

    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/nannylouennaFB - https://www.facebook.com/nannylouennaThe app - https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/nanny-louenna/id1508344643Website - https://louenna.com/ Charlie: IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunderYT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr 💪 Bumps & Burpees:https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpeeswww.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

  2. Aug 6

    Dear Mum, it's Charlie Watson: "You're Not Going to Be Able to Have Kids"

    Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussions around infertility and becoming parents through surrogacy. "You're not going to be able to have kids." That's what Charlie Watson was told at 16, and it's the starting point for one of the most powerful conversations we've had on this show. Charlie's a dietitian, a marathon runner, and mum to Bertie and Woody — both born via the same surrogate in the US, after Charlie was diagnosed with MRKH, a condition that meant her uterus never fully developed. We talk about keeping that diagnosis in a box for over a decade, the surrogacy process itself (which is nothing like most of us imagine), and what it actually felt like to become a mum in a way she never expected to. We also get properly honest about the stuff nobody admits: finding it harder to bond with her second than her first, the guilt that followed, and why "I'm not juggling it well" might be the most relatable thing any of us can say out loud. I hope you loved this chat as much as me. Please consider sharing this to your mum group chat, and don’t forget to FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE wherever you’re listening 💛 Links: Charlie Watson on IG - https://www.instagram.com/therunnerbeans?igsh=MWl6Y3J2c21yazhvZg%3D%3D Charlie:IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunderYT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerr 💪 Bumps & Burpees:https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpeeswww.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

  3. Jul 30

    Dear Mum, it's Alice Rickard: Twins Left Me With A Body I Didn't Recognise

    Trigger Warning: This episode includes an honest conversation about postnatal anxiety and depression, as well as weight loss, in case that's a hard topic for you to hear right now.This one's for anyone who's ever felt like motherhood cracked them open and left them wondering who they even are anymore. Alice Rickard's been there (further down than most of us talk about) and she's come back out the other side.Alice and I go way back through the fitness world, she's a personal trainer, life coach, and mum to six-year-old twins Willow and Jagger. If you've seen her online, you'll know her as pure motivation — but this episode is about what it took to get there, and the reality of juggling two at the same time!!We talk about the husband ultimatum that pushed her towards motherhood despite never wanting kids, a brutal twin pregnancy with hyperemesis, and postnatal anxiety so severe she describes it as "probably the darkest place I've ever been." We get into the retreat that changed how she saw herself, and the years it took before she finally shifted her mindset — not just her actions.I hope you loved this chat as much as me. Please consider sharing this to your mum group chat, and don’t forget to FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE wherever you’re listening 💛Links:Charlie: IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunder YT -  @charliebarkerr  Alice: IG - www.instagram.com/alicerickard_Her app - www.danafit.ai 💪 Bumps & Burpees: https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpeeswww.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

    Dear Mum, it's Alice Rickard: Twins Left Me With A Body I Didn't Recognise

  4. Jul 23

    Dear Mum, it's Georgia Jones: On Not Wanting a Second Baby

    (A gentle heads up: this one includes an honest chat about postnatal mental health, in case that's a hard topic for you to hear right now) Dear Mum is BACK!! and Series 2 starts here, with the most incredible mum that I know so many of you already love… It’s Georgia Jones! Georgia and I go way back - she was one of my pregnant clients before either of us knew what motherhood would actually throw at us. Now she's mum to eight-year-old Cooper, a former model married to McFly’s Danny Jones, and one of the most honest voices I know on what early motherhood really feels like once the filter comes off. We cover the school WhatsApp chaos (you'll relate, I promise), her lightning-fast 37-minute birth, and then the bit that matters most: the 18 months afterwards where she says she "wasn't in a good place mentally" and barely remembers. We talk therapy, running as a form of processing, and how she found her way back to herself. We also get into the question she's asked constantly — why she's stopped at one — and why she's done justifying it. Links: Charlie: IG - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderTT - https://www.tiktok.com/@charlielaunderYT - https://www.youtube.com/@charliebarkerrGeorgia: IG - https://www.instagram.com/thegeorgiaedit YT - https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeorgiaEdit Her Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/@MumsTheWordPod💪 Bumps & Burpees: https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpees www.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

    Dear Mum, it's Georgia Jones: On Not Wanting a Second Baby

  5. Apr 16

    Dear Mum, it's Anna Mathur: Mum overwhelm, burnout and why snapping at your kids is NOT your fault

    We’re at the end of Series 1 of Dear Mum - and I feel like I should be the one writing a post-it note for myself, because this series has genuinely changed how I think about motherhood, and this final conversation is the perfect way to close it out. Anna Mathur is a psychotherapist, author, and a refreshingly honest mum of three. You might know her from her books, her incredibly honest Instagram, or from the way she has this gift of making you feel like someone finally gets it. We'd been talking about doing this episode for months and I'm so glad we waited, because it felt like the perfect conversation to end on. We talk about overwhelm; what it actually is, why it's so physical, and why the Hot Wheels car on the radiator can genuinely feel like a threat to your nervous system. We get into burnout, the real kind, and Anna shares her own experience of grinding to a complete halt after the pandemic and what it took to rebuild. We talk about the Mary Poppins to Hulk Continuum (yes, really), why snapping at your kids is a symptom not a character flaw, and how to repair things when it goes wrong - without the but. We also talk about capacity. How we pour everything into everyone else and run on empty, and why doing something for yourself isn't selfish - it's active love for your children. This episode felt like a big exhale. I hope it does for you too. — If you've been listening to series one, thank you. Truly! I'd love to know what you've loved, what you want more of, and who you'd like to hear from in series two. Comment on whatever platform you’re watching, or drop me a message on Instagram. And also consider leaving a review; it means the world and helps more mums find the show. ❤️ New episodes every Thursday - hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss one ✨ Follow Anna Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/annamathur/Website (including her books!) - https://www.annamathur.com/start-here/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnQA0UUOeMzMNFXm920VIS0VKC2KB1efhRCa4tG1VPkgH54KTSJQvLvUVtPMg_aem_pLy0UqoLghR4rK-c2PWYHg Follow me (Charlie!) Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunderAnd get to know my business, Bumps & Burpees - https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpees and http://www.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

    Dear Mum, it's Anna Mathur: Mum overwhelm, burnout and why snapping at your kids is NOT your fault

  6. Apr 9

    Dear Mum, it's Maisie Crompton: Surprise pregnancies, sold-out bag launches and 5pm bedtimes!!

    This week's guest is proof that there is no perfect time, no perfect age, and no perfect plan... and that things can still turn out better than you ever could have imagined. Maisie Crompton is the founder of Totes For Youu, content creator, and mum to the most fiery, loving three-year-old, Elsie. We'd never met in person before this, but it felt like catching up with an old friend - which I think says everything about the kind of person Maisie is. We talk about what it was actually like finding out she was pregnant at 19, telling her boyfriend by text at 11pm, and how both sets of parents showed up in the most beautiful way. We get into running a business through pregnancy, growing a following by just bringing people along for the ride, and how she and her partner Charlie now work together full time — with very clear lanes. We also get into the parenting stuff — early bedtimes that changed everything, the comparison trap on social media, birth order (we go deep on this one), and why showing up fully in one place at a time is the goal, even if it's easier said than done. Plus Maisie's take on travelling with a baby, Australia at five months, and why she will stand by that decision forever. Pop this on for the school run, while you're packing orders, folding laundry, or any time you need someone to remind you that you're doing better than you think. 💕 New episodes every Thursday - hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss one ✨ Follow MaisieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/maisie_crompton/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maisie_crompton Check our her business Totes For YouuWebsite: https://wearetfy.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/totesforyouu/?hl=en Follow me (Charlie!)Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunder And get to know my business, Bumps & BurpeesInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpeesWebsite: http://www.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

    Dear Mum, it's Maisie Crompton: Surprise pregnancies, sold-out bag launches and 5pm bedtimes!!

  7. Apr 2

    Dear Mum, it's Neema Sempebwa: Perimenopause, motherhood and advocating for yourself

    Nobody warned us about perimenopause. Not really. We heard about menopause - hot flushes, older women, “something to worry about later”… But perimenopause? The feeling that you are fundamentally breaking apart, that the person showing up for your kids every day isn't really you anymore… and all of it arriving while you're also knee deep in the baby years?! It's a whole other world. This week I'm joined by my friend of many years, Neema Sempebwa — personal trainer, mum of two, and someone I used to work alongside doing towel duty at a gym in Chelsea about 12 years ago. By 43, Neema knew something wasn't right. What followed was a battle to be taken seriously, two dismissals, a misdiagnosis, and the offer of antidepressants before anyone would even say the word perimenopause. We talk about what perimenopause actually is, why it can start up to 10 years before menopause, why South Asian and Black women are often affected earlier, and what's actually helping Neema now — from HRT to movement, morning routines, and handpan music (trust me on this one). This is a conversation every mum needs to hear - whether you're in the thick of the baby years or starting to wonder if something feels a bit off. ❤️ New episodes every Thursday - hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss one ✨ Follow NeemaInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/neemasempebwa/ Follow me (Charlie!)Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunder And get to know my business, Bumps & Burpees - https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpees and http://www.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

  8. Mar 26

    Dear Mum, it's Clare Bourne: Honest truths about pelvic floor, diastasis and getting back to exercise

    Pelvic floor… It comes up at every antenatal class, every postnatal check, every mum WhatsApp group. And most of us are still just crossing our legs and hoping nobody brings it up!! This week, I'm joined by Clare Bourne - pelvic health physiotherapist, author of Strong Foundations, mum of two (soon to be three!), and one of my oldest friends. We met nine years ago when I was training her, and now she's the one educating me. So we sat down for what was genuinely one of the most useful conversations I've had on this podcast. We talk pelvic floor - properly. Not the scary version, not the "just do your Kegels" version, but the honest, empowering, myth-busting version. Clare breaks down what's actually happening to your body in pregnancy and postpartum, why fear is the number one thing she sees in her clinic, and why common doesn't mean normal — and it doesn't mean permanent either We also get into diastasis recti — what it actually is, why you absolutely cannot prevent it, and why loading your core is often the answer, not the enemy. Pop this on for the school run, while you're doing those squeezes you keep forgetting about, or any time you need someone to tell you that your body is not broken - it just needs a bit of attention. New episodes every Thursday - hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss one ✨ Follow Clare Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/clarebournephysio Website - https://www.clare-bourne.com/ Follow me (Charlie!) Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/charlielaunder And get to know my business, Bumps & Burpees - https://www.instagram.com/bumpsandburpees and http://www.bumpsandburpees.com Produced by Bear Lane Productions 🎙️ Music licensed via PremiumBeat - 4WJJ2ROAVKXSJCGW

    Dear Mum, it's Clare Bourne: Honest truths about pelvic floor, diastasis and getting back to exercise
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About

Dear Mum is the funny, honest, zero-judgement podcast that feels like the mums’ group chat that’s always open - for 3am feeds, school runs, and everything in between. Hosted by Charlie Barker (mum of three, business owner), it’s real chats, stories you couldn’t make up, deep-breath moments, and practical little wins - from newborn nights to exam weeks, nap traps to parenting with your partner. Not perfect... just your go-to mum chat - in your ears and on your screen. https://linktr.ee/dearmumpodcast

Information

  • Creator
    Charlie Barker
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Charlie Barker
  • Show Website
    Dear Mum