The Netmums Podcast - 3: The rollercoaster of new motherhood: Katie Thistleton on resilience and recovery

Episode Date: November 27, 2025

In this episode of Cloud 9, the Netmums podcast miniseries brought to you by Aldi Mamia, we are joined by Katie Thistleton, Radio One presenter and CBeebies Parenting Helpline host, who shares her journey into motherhood with her baby boy, Reuben, born in March 2025. Katie opens up about the beautiful yet challenging moments of new parenthood, from the joy of those first laughs to the harsh realities of sleep deprivation and the unexpected emergency surgery she faced just weeks after giving birth. In this episode: - The highs and lows of early motherhood - Navigating the challenges of sleep deprivation - Dealing with postnatal depression and mental health - The importance of community and support networks - Embracing the new normal and redefining identity as a parent Katie's honesty and warmth provide comfort and reassurance to new parents, reminding us all that we are not alone in this journey.  There are six brilliant episodes in this special series featuring some of your favourite celebrity mums including Olivia Bowen, Lacey Turner, actress Lucy Fallon and Charlotte Dawson. Each pod delves into different aspects of early motherhood – they are all conversations that are relatable, comforting and entertaining. Enjoy!  This episode is sponsored by Aldi Mamia, the award-winning baby range loved by parents. Netmums – where real parents share the chaos and the comfort, so you know you’re not in it alone. Follow us on socials @Netmums and website:netmums.com  Proudly produced by Decibelle Creative / @decibelle_creative

Welcome to Cloud 9, the NetMum's podcast mini-series brought to you by Aldi Mammaeer. This is the podcast for those quiet, blurry hours of parenthood, when you're up feeding, rocking or scrolling at 3am. And it can feel like you're the only one awake. Cloud 9 is here to remind you that you're not alone. Every episode, we hear from a well-known mum about the beautiful and the challenging parts of those early days. because whatever you're feeling, we're right here with you. And speaking of little acts of support, new parents can get a free pack of Aldi Mammaeer newborn nappies. Check out netmums.com now.

Today I'm joined by someone whose voice and face many of you will recognise Radio 1 presenter and CBB's Parenting Helpline host Katie Thessleton, who is also a new mum to baby Rubin. Katie welcomed Rubin with her partner, Alex, in March earlier this year, and she's been refreshingly open about everything that's come with new motherhood, from baby blues and sleepless nights to that first belly laugh and the magic of watching her little one grow. But Katie's journey hasn't been without challenges. Just six weeks after giving birth, she faced emergency surgery on her ovaries, while still deep in those exhausting newborn weeks. She's here to share what she's learned about resilience, recovery and embracing her new family life.

Katie, welcome to Cloud 9 podcast. First off, congratulations on baby Rubin, who was born in March this year. Thank you very much. And you've had a lovely spring summer with a newborn, I'm guessing. Oh, yeah. I mean, what a good time to have a baby. I didn't plan it that way, but I really think we smashed it because maternity leaving the spring summer, ideal.

And the nights were just becoming lighter, the mornings were just becoming lighter and everything. Yeah. Which was, yeah, perfect. And now we're in the dark, deep. his dark cold nights coming up now with even snow around us as well. I know, although I'm quite excited for that with a baby, not that he'll care, but you know, I could get a good picture of him in it, couldn't I? So how, oh, I know, I love the sort of Christmas pudding outfits and the snow suits as well. It's a great time to dress up. So how, how has motherhood treated you

so far? How has it been, has it been everything you've expected? I know you've had also very drama's thrown in the mix as well, like, just, just like emergency surgery six weeks after having birth, that little thing. Yeah, that was dramatic. We'll go into that in a minute, but just generally speaking, your motherhood journey. Is it been what you expected or has it been better than you expected? You know, I don't think I knew what to expect. I'm from a family that I like baby Matt and my sister's got four my mom's one of nine and my family a baby mad and for years it was you know well you know when you're having a baby you know they really sort of wanting me to have a baby and

they've all made it look really easy um and i think i always like like most people sort of when you're growing up you've maybe not necessarily considered it properly yet but i always thought well i probably will have kids i mean everyone in my family has that's just what we do and from this big northern family you know where there's a hundred people in your house at any time and I've seen the pictures on Instagram or the in-laws and the grandparents it's great I love it

yeah there's a lot of us so it kind of like I have a career in the media as you do and I think people tend to start families later in that kind of career because everyone's self-employed no one could afford a house yet no one's settled down and I started sort of

was creeping up to that mid-30s age which I think is like the new age to have a baby there's so many of my friends who are having their first at like 35 because they get to the age that you may be going, oh, maybe start thinking about this if you've not already. Yeah, I was the same. I was the same. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I, yeah, and yeah, and yeah, got pregnant. And I think I was always, I always thought it was going to be hard. So I went into it thinking, this seems really hard and I was quite worried about it at time, but also really excited. And it's harder than I thought. Right. And I think sometimes I think, like my niece has just had a baby. I mean, she's only three weeks in.

and when I was, you know, I was in a bit of a bubble at that stage. In fact, she's two weeks then. She's not even three weeks in. And so time may tell, you know, she might not find it as easy as she is. Sometimes I think everyone seems to be finding it. It's so much easier than me. Everyone just seems to be like, yeah, it's great. It's great being in a moment, isn't it?

And actually, I felt like it really hit me like a ton of bricks. I think the first bit I found really hard. The berth was actually really straightforward. I had a C-section because he was breech. And so that was all really straightforward. I found that fine, really. I was quite lucky with that experience that, I know some people really struggle with the pain

afterward, don't look too bad. But I remember bringing him home the first night and he just screamed all night, wouldn't go in the crib. And nothing really prepared me for that. I honestly blame playing the Sims, Louise. Did you ever play the Sims when you're younger? Babies on the Sims, you just fed them, put them in the crib. Change them, put them in the crib.

And I think I thought babies just operated that way. I didn't realize they constantly wanted to be held and they might constantly cry. And so I really want to be holding them, should I be rocking them? Well, exactly. Should I be rocking them to sleep? Should I be feeding them to sleep? There's so many questions, isn't there?

And actually, yeah, I would say the thing that I found the hardest, if people ask me about it, the sleep, we've got quite unlucky with the sleep that he is particularly bad still now, even at nearly nine months. That's hard, of course. But the lack of autonomy, I think I've found harder than I thought. Like, I always be needed. Never just having a day where you can just rot on the slow. from watch TV because someone needs you and then actually more than anything I think the thing I found really difficult is that what you just referred to there the constant am I doing it right should they be doing this all the information out there all the stuff on social media all the

chat from people that you know people in your family your friends are constantly thinking am I doing the right thing doing to do this so I found it harder than I thought and I recently said that's my colleague Jamie Lang who's about to have a baby and he keeps reminding me out that he keeps going remember when you told me it's harder than you thought and I keep going no no I'm so Sorry, it's all so amazing. You love it. It's amazing. It's great.

Because I don't want to scare any one. I used to hate it when I was pregnant and I saw like posts of mums being really negative. I used to hate it. I used to think, how dare you do this to me? I'm so anxious about it. And now I sort of see why they would be really honest. And now I think it was the fine line between being honest and scaring people. But yeah, in short, I found it harder than I thought.

But also, oh, I'm so obsessed with him. He's just the best thing ever. And I love him. And this is how I've been up to people sometimes actually. I feel like everything in my life is harder now, but I'm happier. So I don't know why, but for some reason, every single part of my day is harder than it was before, but I'm happier. More rewarding, maybe more rewarding. That must be it.

It must do because actually the hardest thing in life is feeling like you don't have a purpose. And actually your baby really does provide you that feeling of purpose. So, yeah, it's been both amazing and tricky, but yeah, we're still only nine months in. So I know that really we're relatively fresh to it in the grand scheme of things. Oh. From where I'm sat, you mentioned before, your family, your huge family, who I'm sure are great support to you. And then of course you've got following on socials as well. You've got your own community, which I know I've seen that you've reached out to about sleep deprivation or advice or like just even sometimes moral support. So not feeling like you're doing it alone. And that must have been lovely for you to have that community that you could reach out to because it is hard. We've establish this, it's bloody hard. Yes, it's joyful, but it's hard. And to have, it's very important, isn't it? Describe to me just how important that felt to you to have that community or have that family support, all these people around you so you're not doing it on your own. Yeah, really. I mean,

amazing. Just couldn't do it without them. Could you like, you know, they say you need a village and it's so true. And whatever your village is, you know, you might not have family around you. It might be that your village is nursery, is the mum's at baby groups, that sort of thing. I'm really lucky. In fact, you know, my job is in London and I'm commuting at the moment three days a week to London from Manchester because I want to be near my mom and dad so they can have the baby or my family are up here in Manchester. So that's how much I really value that support and I need it.

You know, just being able to go to work and know that my mum and dad, I mean, they're downstairs right now with him and they're just incredible with him and he loves them. And it's so great to know that he's growing. up with them. I know that they're going to be loving him all day, kissing him, cuddling him, giving him all this support. I know that it's also great for them. They're in their 70s now and I think they've worked after many, many kids. And actually, apart of me, I feel guilty all the time. I think they should be enjoying their retirement. But at the same time, I know it's good for them as well, so have this fresh, cute little boy around. And so that's really great. And also, yeah,

the social media community. I don't think I went into having a baby thinking, oh, great, I've got this community online. But actually, I do have really nice follow. was like I just think my following is mostly just nice women in their like 20s, 30s, 40s. And yeah, whenever I put something on, I get really nice to yams. It's very rarely that I get something that's not helpful or not nice. It's mostly just lovely support. The other night, in fact, it was last night. It feels like it was a few nights ago because that was sleep deformation feels like.

But last night I was having a bit of a meltdown on the train home because I'm so sleep deprived. And I put a couple of posts on my Instagram. And I ended up taking them down because I ended up taking them down because I just had so many replies. I get a bit overwhelmed then because I feel like I want to get back to everyone. Yes, because I've got to reply to everyone. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And of course, you can't reply to everyone, but I feel when people are sending me these really emotional messages, I feel I want to. So I end up taking them down. But just so many nice, supportive messages. And that's been so good, like, in the middle of the night. Like, you know, when you are off in the middle of the night with the baby. And then it's funny because I did the antenatal claffirs,

the MCT antenatal claffirs. And those people said to me, do the class days, you probably won't need to learn that more. you probably know it all but it's great to make friends it's great to make friends I thought I don't want any new friends I don't need any friends I've got plenty of friends I don't want any mum friends I don't want any mum friends I'm not going to be one of those people that's hanging out with moms all the time and actually we've got a WhatsApp group and we never stop talking I speak to us very more than anybody else because you do need other moms and you like you need other parents and you like yeah well I think they're walking side by side aren't they with you on this so like um when it comes to asking for advice or support or you just want to moan about a nap schedule or something. It's like that person's living it every second of the day as well. So they're there to listen or empathise or help you. Totally.

And I've spent, you know, on NetMoms and other forums and stuff, I have spent so much time, you know, Googling things and on forums and threads. And it's so helpful to just hear, you know, in fact, I found one last night that was a woman really despairing about, I think sleep deprivation is going to. kill me and I felt it really emotional to read because I was like oh that's where I'm at and and then the responses were just so great because people were like it won't look I had this with

my first and on my third now my first is 10 you won't die like you just you really need other people to hold your hands through it like you just do and and I always see these posts about oh we used to be actually in villages you know and and women would we were in tribes and women would have other people holding the baby and we'd all raise children together and actually now we're a little bit more isolated so it's important to keep that community up so yeah yeah it's been invaluable people said it would be but it's even more so than I thought I think as well like if you think about getting up in the night like it's nice to have those people around you and that community and and your tribe around you but in the middle of the night you can still feel quite alone can't you

when you're eight times and like I said we're in the season where it's like gets dark early you know the sort of witching hour happens between like five and six and before bedtime and then it can feel like you're settling in for quite a long night ahead. In the middle of the night, do you tap into your community on your phone when you're sort of there feeding or rocking in the dark? Yeah, I do. What's more coping? Yeah, recently I've been trying not to go on my phone as much in the night now that he's a bit older,

now that he's nine months and we're just trying to try and actually get a bit of proper sleep about to work, etc. because I've found that when I do go on my phone in the night, that just wakes me up a little bit more. But actually, earlier on, when, you know, when babies are just awake at any time, asleep, any time, eat, feed, at any time. There's no schedule, is there?

I actually really, I think I've ever been so good at, like, responding to people. People are like, God, you're really good at getting back to messages. They just had a baby, and I'm like, yeah, because this baby's just always asleep on me. And I just have the Kardashians on and a bag of mini eggs next to me, because I had the baby in mini eggs, even, of course. And I just,

it was great. I just sit on my phone and reply to people and go on Instagram and go on TikTok. And yeah, I found that really helpful. And I have sort of in these night feeds kind of gone on and seen a message from another mum saying, oh, I'm up kind of thing. And I've put on before like anyone up and someone's thought, oh yeah, and you just feel so much better. I don't know. If you've ever seen, have you seen that

picture that people share in it's like a mum being like I feel so alone in the middle of the night and then it shows like all the lights on in all the different houses. all over the world, you know, all over the times that are in because everybody with so many moms during up what you're doing. Yeah. And you mentioned before about like the change in your expectations of motherhood as well. Like you never experienced it to be, never expected it to be so hard. And you returned to work, didn't you, a few months ago after six months

maternity leave? How is that shifted your sort of you, your job as a mum and you're also now working mom but and like you say you've got your commute three times a week you must be exhausted but loving it as well yeah yeah I am it's funny someone replied to my story the other night saying I have the same sleep situation as you but I'm still on maternity leave I don't know how you're doing it with work and I thought you know what I think work is why I'm actually all right because it keeps me energized especially a job like this as as you all know you can't kind of just slump about and kind of be tired you kind of got to go in and and have a bit of energy.

And I'm really lucky that I've got a job on Radio 1 that is so fun. And I work with people who are so inspiring and motivating. You know, Jamie Lang is just a ball of energy. He comes in. He's running six businesses at the same time of doing the radio show. And Dick Hope is equally absolutely incredible. But she's off on the turn to leave at the moment. I know.

Well, I was going to say, you're in quite a good company, aren't you? Not just in terms of professionalism, but also like all these new parents around you as well. We literally all have had babies at the same time. Everyone's been like, what's going on in that studio? Don't sit on that chair. And I've got a guy called Jerry with the moment, Jeremiah Asiyama, who's covering the Vicks and Ternsey leaving. He is also just a ball of energy.

And so I get in there and we're playing great music and it's all fast-paced and it really wakes me up. So actually I've found that really good, but I do miss him. There's a couple of days a week. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the longest time away from him because my parents have him at their house so I have to drop him off there, which takes longer.

And then also on Wednesdays, I'm recording an ECB's podcast. And so that's quite a long day. And oh, man, I missed him so much. When it gets to the Thursday, I'm desperate for that time with him. Well, then I have Fridays off. Yeah.

I was just like, my mom and dad sent me videos. I'm like, oh, God, look, it's so cute. But then I have Fridays off, and I'm just, I used to do a lot of other work and what's been hard actually concerning to work is being a freelancer as well having to sort of turn down some work opportunities

to have that work-life balance which is hard because there's a freelancer your programme is going, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. You know, it feels terrible to say no to something. But I'm really protecting my weekends, my Friday's Saturday Sundays because Fridays I have off just with my son. It's just me and Mommy and Rubin Fridays.

Then I had the weekend with my husband and the baby. And by the end of Sunday, I'm like, yes, you know what? My cup is filled. I feel like I've had loads of time with him and I'm ready for work again. So it feels like a really nice balance and people think I'm mad doing the commute

but actually those trains I get to have asleep. It's so funny, I get on the train, I have wet hair, I'd like just about manage to shower before he starts screaming, I get on the train with wet hair and on that train I have a nap. I pump breast milk. I do my makeup, I do my hair,

I have some really good wireless hair straightners that I bought especially that are very chargeable ones and I step off that train a completely different woman and go to work with this if nothing's ever happened. you sound like you got it down you should release some like working mum's guide or some guide book with all the hacks to get into work looking human again I mean I'm always late I was late to his podcast today I'm always late I'm always like yeah rushing in and yeah eating on the go like that's been my mission this week is to try and like

try and eat healthily on the go because for the first month or so I was just like if you have to have a bacon roll on the avancery west coast then that's not the end of the world and now I'm like, okay, let's try and get some healthy eating habits. I remember those early days, but you're just snatching food just to fuel yourself and, like, fuel the calories that you need, rather than actually going in. I used to just eat biscuits over his head, like in the newborn days. Like, I remember I'd just grab a packet biscuits and just have them next to me and I'd just get stuck and nap trapped, and I would just be eating biscuits, like, over he'd head

and dropping crumbs on him and brushing them off. I got addicted to serene loaf, like with a big, thick coat of butter on top. I love it. Also because it didn't crumble too much. So when I was breastfeeding, I could just literally inhale it and it was like sweet and gooey. That's actually quite a good one because it's well this tagline is squidgy energy, isn't it? So actually it does give you energy. And you'll tell you that breastfeed, that breastfeeding hunger is like nothing else. I was terrible anyway. I'm terrible. I'm terrible at the moment is the Coke Zero. But this, I've just gone to my fridge to get Coke Zero to try and pick me up. I've probably got

caffeine freeing. This isn't doing me any good. This is just placebo. So we mentioned before, just to go back right to those early days, that it has been quite, you know, we're saying all the fun stuff like the hair straighteners and the caffeine drinks to top us up and all that. And that's all great and it's all true.

But it has been an emotional journey view because we mentioned before you were in surgery six weeks after coming out of hospital from a cesarian birth. And you were there for an ovarian cyst that had been discovered and needed to be removed. And then you've got the recovery as well as looking after a newborn. And so it must have all been quite an emotional journey for you these early months. Yeah, it was.

I mean, it's funny because I've always kind of struggled with anxiety and bouts of depression. And so I sort of thought, oh, well, I really struggle postpartum with my mental health. And then it's funny, a friend of mine who's also always struggled in that way, said to me, well, I thought that, but I didn't get any postnatal depression. So I thought, oh, I'll probably be like her. I'll probably already be equipped because I've had therapy. I'm on antidepressants, et cetera. But then actually, it was around like week three, I think, that I just hit me hard.

Like, I was just, I can barely even remember it now, but I was just really, really low. I was crying every day. I could barely have a conversation without crying. I remember, like, me and my husband would go for walks and go to the pub. And I couldn't even start a conversation. You know, I'd start a question asking what we're having for tea or something. And I couldn't say it without crying. And it felt, it did feel really visceral and hormonal.

And I did think, is this the baby blues? Is this a hormonal dip? And but then when I saw my doctor, she was like, well, the baby blues, I was reading up on it, you know, looking up online. Baby blues usually go about two weeks. And mine started that's three weeks. So actually they classed that then as postnatal depression. So I went to the doctors and they did say it was postnatal depression. And I upped my antidepressant.

I reduced it to get pregnant anyway. and so I upped it back to what it used to be and I almost immediately felt better so that yeah yeah but now I'm like could it have been hormonal still you know if I'd given it some time would it have just gone could it have been all the anaesthetic I was on and everything there's just so much isn't there

if you've had pain relief and then you've also yeah have been pregnant and you're not pregnant anymore and then some people say that with a C-section perhaps it can be a bit different as well because your body's not gone through the natural burst process No, and it's trauma as well. You're having surgery. I think people forget that C-sections are actually,

they're a traumatic surgery, surgical process. It is kind of seen as the easy option, isn't it? And then when I was on that table and, you know, absolutely in no pain whatsoever because you can't feel anything. But I distinctly remember feeling them moving my body around and I remember thinking, wow, this is a hardcore surgery. I remember seeing the surgeon, I remember thinking I can't even imagine what's going on down there is extreme, actually. But we, because it's done all the time to bring life into the world, we just say, oh, just another C-section.

You know, they've done four that day before me, those people. And I was thinking it's incredible what these surgeons are doing. And that is a hardcore operation. And then, yeah, so I've recovered from the C-section. And what's funny is something I've always really found good for my mental health when I've been at my lowest is getting in my car and driving around with music on. there's just something about driving around in my car that always makes me feel really good about myself. And so I hated that for six weeks I couldn't drive, I really felt like my independence had kind of been stripped. And I was just about, so I was like a few days off.

I was like, I can't wait to drive. And then the emergency surgery happened and then I couldn't drive again for months. I was like, no. And when I eventually drove my car, I went to the dentist. And honestly, I was the happiest person who ever seen your life. I was like, blashing the tune. Going out. I'm going off to the dentist. Honestly, I was on such a high that day, the sun was shining, I have their tunes on. I was like, this is great. I was like, to my husband, should I go to Matt Donald? I go around the drive-through.

I just felt amazing. But yeah, the surgery thing, the emergency surgery, yeah, I'd had a cyst on my ovary, basically. When I was about 20 weeks pregnant, I was in really awful pain one day. Just the worst pain I could ever possibly imagine down on my right side in that area. And I went into hospital, and they scanned. me, but they couldn't see my ovaries because the baby was in the way. They didn't want to do an MRI because I was pregnant. And they basically just put me in a load of pain relief.

I stayed in overnight. I went away and I went home and they said it was probably, well, one person said it was probably trapwind and I was thinking, this is not traveling. No. One nurse was like, you're sure it wasn't a trap wind? I was like, this was not strange. I wish it was. Honestly, I can't.

A trap wing could be extremely painful in pregnancy. I did have that a lot but this pain I was in was unbelievable I was just constantly throwing up from the pain I was sweating I can't even tell you

I put this on my Instagram and the day you mailed in ask and wrote it in there my mum was like do you have to say that I was like if they come to me and said we've got a gun

and we can just take you out of that line I'd have gone yes I'd have gone just put me down like a dog please because I can't go it's so painful

that happened on a random day in pregnancy and then I felt better and went home and it never happened again and one of the doctors did say it could be that um you might have a cyst on your ovary that's twisted your ovary and then it might twisted back that was the work in theory then yeah six weeks nearly six weeks after having reuben I go and get in the shower and it just comes on so fast I felt a dull ache down there and then before I knew it I'd got out of the shower and the same thing I was pouring the sweat I was being sick I was in this agony it was the same thing at the exact feeling and I remember I was on the phone to the doctor and the doctor was like we can see you in two days

and I thought I need to go to an A&E and yeah yeah and I went downstairs my husband and I was like I think you need to go to A&E like as soon as he saw me and luckily because I was only five weeks postpartum I was still under the maternity service so I went in there which was great because the hospital I gave birth at I was so fantastic and and they got me in and just the worst day of my life of being in that horrendous pain. And the worst thing was, I kept throwing up the pain relief. They'd give me morphine and I was strobing it up. And then they were saying, we can't give you any all because you.

And I was like, I promise, like, there's nothing in me. I have thrown it all up. It was terrific. And then my husband was, like, breastfeeding him. And I kept trying to throw him back to my husband. Oh, my God, you champion. Oh, my God. The things we have to do.

Oh, it was awful. And then they took me for an MRI scan and they said it's a massive stay. So remember this midwife, she crouched down next to me. And she went, I mean, they have to look at it. I'm not an expert reading the scans, but she was like, but I've seen it's a massive cyst and it's twisted your ovary and your flocking tubes. And I just burst into tears because I was so thankful they'd found it. Thankful rather than scared.

Thankful, yeah. I remember I was like, thank God you know what it is because I was so scared that that pain just wasn't going to go away. And then they were like, right, we need to operate on that tonight to try and save your ovary. Then I was scared. Then when the surgeons were coming in and they were saying, you know, sign this waiver as they do. and we might have to remove your ovaries if it, you know, if it's damaged them. And, you know, that was really scary, obviously, because I would like another baby and, you know,

so that's not nice for them to come in. And obviously, they do all the chat that they have to do with every surgery where they say, oh, your bowel's quite near and your bladder's quite near. And, you know, this could get damaged. To cover them. So you're sort of being put to sleep thinking, am I going to wake up with any heart? And then luckily, yeah, I remember I woke up.

and before I'd even got chance to speak to anyone, I still remember coming around, old woozy, and I said to the doctor, I was like, and he got my phone, and he brought me my phone, and I looked at my phone, and my husband had texted and said, oh my God, they've just rang me to hospital,

and they've said it was successful, and your ovaries are fine, and I was like, oh, what a relief. And then recovery part two happens back at home. Recovery part two, which was much worse than the C-section recovery, actually. But then my niece was just had a baby

and found the C-section recovery really tough, So I don't want to invalidate anyone who has had a C-Section fanic rehab. But I think I got quite lucky with it that I had a couple of days, you know, where I was struggling to pick up the baby and struggling to get out of bed. But I think I did quite well with that, whereas the recovery from the over-it-up was brutal. But mainly because of the wind. You know, when they ever have a pressure out, they can pump your stomach with gas. Yes, I remember that.

Oh, my God, it was horrendous, just the gas. And then I remember, I mean, it's terrible detail, sorry, but then I remember the day that gas was just all coming out of me. It's real, yeah. Yeah, no, I remember pulling the consultant in going, to show my stomach going, is this normal? It's crazy. And the pain, the gas caused you, and the shoulder pain.

You get like shoulder pain, and it's because something to do with a nerve down in that area is linked to your shoulder and, oh, it was just, yeah, a crazy time. But, you know, when something like that happens, you're just then so grateful. I think in a weird way, it made me so thankful for my home life, which I was actually finding really. really hard at that time. I was finding home life with the baby really hard, but that actually

in hospital for, I was on it in for a night. But I was like, right, get me home to my baby, get me home to my own bed, even though I'm never in it. So I think actually made me really appreciate. And it's not put you off thinking about having another baby either. Well, I don't know. The only thing that's putting me off that at the moment is a lack of sleep or anything. Like of sleep. I saw a meme the other day that was like when you want to give you child of siddling, but then you'd have to go through pregnancy and post-passing again. Well, I was going to post-passing. Oh, God. So life, we've established, life is very different now post-baby. And sometimes, you know,

we've had our challenges, but generally we like to think in a good way, it's changed, like you said. But there's quite often we feel a pressure as well on ourselves to be that same person again. pre-baby, whether it be around our appearance or around our social life or our personality. Do you feel like you've felt any pressure to be pre-baby Katie again, whether it be, I know you spend a lot of time with your skincare, for example, don't you? And also it's gorgeous when you're there doing your hosting or any work for a bit of stuff. Have you felt like that's just more like a fun thing or is that something you feel pressured to do?

Or how has it been for you like rediscovering your identity again? Post all the, not just the birth, but the surgery you had as well. Yeah, yeah. I think before I had him, I think me and a lot of my friends, we'd sometimes kind of, and it seems awful now, but I think like we'd sometimes look at our friends who weren't. a mum's. I normally speak about them in a bit of a way of like, oh, you know, they're just obsessed with your mum's now. They're moms now. They'll be talking about as the kid. They don't

do anything. And actually, you know, I look back and I think that there's this really negative way that we speak about moms in society that I think is probably completely rooted in misogyny. And actually now I am a mum. I think, wow, I can really see why everyone feels the way they do and why you actually have no choice but to completely surrendering to being this new person. I honestly do think the biggest lie that you're told. I saw Sean, of Capital Radio, Sean Welby say this the other day,

but the biggest lie you're told is that the baby fits around you. And she's so right because I really don't think that's true. And I think actually you're not, they're maybe not a good parent if you're just expecting your life to be exactly the same as it was before. Because of course, It's completely transformed by this baby. And I think that one of the most freeing things for me has been acceptance

and has been surrendering and just going, okay, everything's different now, but it's okay. And actually it might only be temporary. So, yeah, the way I do my hair and makeup in a mad rush on the train now is different. My relationship is different now. You know, we are. We're roommates at the moment. It's just, it's different. We used to be so loby-dubby and socky with each other.

And now all of that goes in the baby. I come in the room and I go, oh, to the baby. I used to do that to my husband. You know, yeah, that's changed, but that's the area of life. My friendships are different now. We're not going out drinking late at night. Like, if I'm going to see them, I am bringing the baby. And that's kind of just the way it is.

And I am sort of probably seeing my mum friends more for that reason because they don't mind if I'm half an hour late. I don't mind if they're half an hour late. We know that we're going to have to leave when one of the kids starts kicking off. And I think trying to fight. those changes is harder than just going with them and I think just being like

actually everything has changed now that's okay is the best way to be and I found that the most free and thing really so it's something so little but like I love just watching TV in the evenings that is always

but I'm a TV addict I'm happy with that yeah I love yeah yeah I like to just sit and watch TV an evening that's gone away in the same way that it used to in that me and my husband would you know cook a nice meal or maybe get a takeaway at the weekend and sit and watch hours and hours of the drama and that's gone away you know because we have a particularly bad sleeper as well so he doesn't go down in the crib

at 7 p.m and sleep at 7 a.m like some of the Instagram babies he is awake you know constantly really you know every sort of hour he's he's waking up and especially early evening he won't really go down in the crib until it's about like 10pm he'll he'll sleep Oh, not us, but he won't really sleep in the crib. So that's just completely gone away. Our evening is taking up sort of having our dinner on our own, you know, one of your house for the baby, the other eat for dinner. One reheating the dinner, one.

Yeah, my husband hasn't had a, I warm dinner, sin too far, basically. And actually, I found that really, really tough at first that I wasn't, my routine wasn't the same. And as soon as I went, oh, my God, just get into it. Like, now is not the time to what, you're not going to be up to date with traitors. you're just not, okay? No. You've spent 36 years of your life watching TV and then I look at my mom and dad who are retired

and have, well, they would have all the time in the world to watch TV and sleep if they weren't okay off my son every day. But generally, I have all the time in the world to watch TV and sleep. And I'm like, that will come back. One day, my son will be doing his own thing and I'll have all the time of the world to watch line of duty and sleep. But it's not right now. And then you can watch it all in one go, which is super pleasurable.

I remember, like, there was about three or four years where I, I didn't go to the theatre or the cinema. I mean, when I was pregnant and when I had a baby, I did the mother and baby screenings. But then there was about three or four years where I hadn't a clue like which Oscar nominated or films were coming out or like on the cinema or what was happening in the West End.

Because I could never get to like a seven o'clock theatre ever because obviously that's bedtime for the kids and stuff. But it does come back. I can say, I can tell you that now. Speaking from experience now the whole day. come back. So there is like at the end of the tunnel. And obviously now you move into an older phase speaking to you and hearing about those nights, even though they're really annoying when you're in it and you're having these broken meals and swapping forkfalls with each other

and whatnot for a night. It's almost like, you know, obviously I look back now with rose tinted glasses at those moments. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They are lovely. But we just do, don't we? I mean, I even look back on those newborn days now when actually I was really struggling and I, in it really romantically and think like oh isn't it it's just so lovely to be up all of hours and you know i look back at that and and this is why there's the um just you wait brigade isn't there and i know that people hate it and i do as well when people go just you wait just you wait you wait you think it's hard now it's going to get harder i find that i think that's so so unhelpful and i always say to people in my opinion so far that is not true it's only got easier and i can see

why people, but I think what happened is we look back with very students of glasses and we go, when they were a newborn, they just slept all the time. So they wake up frequently, but they do just sleep. They're not crawling around. They're not running around. You don't have to chase after them. They're not. They're throwing back at you like teenagers. Exactly. Exactly.

Yeah, you have to worry about where they are. They're just there. So of course, as they get older, there's different challenges. But for me, just especially with your first, I think. I mean, I might feel different with the second, but just that shock of becoming a parent. Yes, the shift was so much. Changing lifestyle.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The shift to just being needed constantly. And also the crying, I think I just don't really deal very well with crying. It really affects me. When it's your own baby crying, it's like stabbing the heart, isn't it? Awful, awful.

So for me, I think it has only got easier. And so I always say, don't listen to people when they do, but just you wait, just you wait. Because also you get, you get, you're more used to being a parent. you just completely, you've adapted, don't you? So, yeah, I can't remember why I brought up the just-you-waiting now. What were we saying? I think we were just saying about the phases.

Oh, those-tinted glasses. Yeah, yeah. Already I look back and think, oh, yeah, God, it would be easier if he was just sleeping all the time now, like he wasn't at an Uber-on. But I'm like, no, you hated that bit. But the thing is, in that first year, 18 months to years, the phases are so quick. Like, the turnover of those phases are so quick compared to when they get older.

Like, you know, a new phase comes in another year or 80 months. But in those early days, every month is like a new phase. And I think that's the other thing when you say about the shift in your lifestyle, you're shifting every month almost in those early days. Because you've shifted to become a new parent, but then the turnover of those new phases are quite rapid. And so you're having to pivot constantly with new routines and new ways. ways to deal with things or you are and i keep having to remind myself if he's having a particularly

bad week where he's really wingy or stopping in you know yeah it'll be different next week he he had a week recently where he screamed in the car seat constantly which was fun and um he's doing quite good in the car seat and then that stops now he's not screaming in the car seat anymore you know and so i have to remind myself you know this isn't yeah these things are phases and they're not forever like my mom and dad will have him like i say monday tuesday wednesday i feel like i don't see too much of him and they'll be like oh he's stay in, the other day they were like, he's staying tree now and I was like

he's not staying tree, is it you say him on soul? But they were like, if you say to him, where's the tree? He looks up at the tree and sure enough, she was right, he does, he goes, and looks up at this tree. They'll have him for a few days and they'll say he's doing this thing now. And he will be. And then over that weekend, I'll

observe it and I'll be like, God, yeah, just in three days he developed this and his girl. He's learning so much from my mom and dad as well, which is really sweet. They really like, you know, they're really encouraging to talk. They've got him dancing. Yeah, it's very cute. I mean, they're singing old songs to him, but it's all right. The new, I think there's new discoveries,

like the smiles, the first belly left, the roll over, the face plant, all those sorts of different funny things and discoveries that they do are the sort of, yeah, there's really golden sort of magical moments, aren't they? So gorgeous. It's so funny, I said to Jamie Lang, who the day, he's always saying to me like, is it all right?

Is it great? You know, and I said, I said, it's amazing. I said, this weekend, he started crawling now. So we, we just, for hours, he was just crawling from me to Alex, from Alex to me, from me to like, to me, and he went, that sounds rubbish. He was like, is that the good bit? I'm sorry to say, that's the good bit of Ferranston.

But he will also love that when it's his son. He'll be like, oh, my God, my son. I used to laugh. Like, if I saw somebody post, like, I'm so proud of my little baby. And they were like six months like, well, one or something. I used to think, you're not done his GCSEs, doesn't he? what are you proud of? He's not done anything.

And then literally the second Reuben did anything, I was like, oh my God, he turned his head. I'm so proud. He's so advanced. And just to finish off, if we were to sort of reflect for a moment and you were to go back to Katie in those early weeks after bringing Reuben home,

what would be your words of advice to her if you could go back to those early weeks and whisper something in her very, very tired-faced ear? I would say just give it a minute because I think as a person I problem solve and I go something's not right in my life and this needs to sorting out now

and so I think I panicked and I thought I can't do this I'm not built for this this isn't for me I've made a terrible mistake you know I'm not well equipped to be a mother like my mom and my sister and all these other people that I know

this is too hard and actually just give it a minute because after a few weeks I was fine and after a few months I was more than fine I was loving it and now I'm really really happy and it's hard but I'm really how I could say it every bit of my life is harder but I'm happier and he's just amazing I'm obsessed with him

and stronger right you're a strong woman you've you've created a human like women are so like all women in my family are so tough my sister my mom my auntie my mom's one of nine and it's seven of them, six of them are women and you wouldn't mess with a single one of them like they are tough. And now I really see why like women of a certain age are hard as nailed because motherhood makes you that way. And yeah, it just make you feel like

you could absolutely do anything. It makes you feel invisible. You feel a real sense of achievement don't you? When you get through those tough bits, when I make it to work, you know, after the morning's been an absolute shambles. I feel really good about myself. So, yeah, it's great. So I'd say, I'd say, just give it a minute. It gets better. And that's what I keep saying to people. Loads of people around me have had babies recently with New Bonds. And I'm like, it gets better. And they're all just fine. And I'm like, why are you fine? Why do I find stuff? Tell me your problems. Tell me your problems. I'm here to listen. I'm like, well, but I'm also aware that, you know, so I'm quite honest on my social media on my

Instagram story. But I'm also aware that if you looked at my posts, you would think I was driving, you know, because I'm putting pictures on. studio with my hair and makeup done and I'm sending up to work in London every day. So actually I do know that even though I'm looking at these other people thinking, why are they all finding it so easy? I'm not seeing behind the scenes. I'm not seeing when they're crying at four in the morning. And that will be going on for all these people.

Yeah, which we all do. Katie, I think you're an absolute queen. Oh, you too. And you've been an absolute pleasure to chat to. And I'm sure there's lots that you've said during this podcast that will resonate with so many new mums out there and hopefully be a support to them as well. So thank you. Thank you. Mums are incredible and yeah, I knew that anyway because my mum is amazing but like, yeah, amazing what people have to do. Thank you so much, Louise. All right, take care.

Katie, thank you so much for joining us and for being so open. Your honesty about the highs and lows of new motherhood is such a comfort to anyone listening tonight. And to everyone tuning in whether you're feeding, folding up never-ending laundry or just taking a deep breath, remember you're doing an amazing job, even on the tough days. We're all in this together. You can read more from Katie's chat and find expert advice on postnatal well-being at netmums.com. And don't forget, you can claim your free pack of Aldi Mammaia newborn nappies there too. Thank you to Aldi Mamia, the award-winning baby range loved by parents, for supporting today's episode. And to everyone listening, enjoyed this chat, hit follow, leave a review and come join the Netmons community. I'm Louise

Burke and this was Cloud 9. See you next time.