Chat with Charlie on Mum Matters

Send us Fan Mail One summer they’re in Year 6 doing the school show, and the next they’re in secondary school, pulling away and wanting to do everything on their own. Nobody prepares us for that part. Therapist Nicki Cohen is back! Nicki works with teenagers, was the mental health lead at a large secondary school, and is a mom to three boys aged 13, 16 and 19. Last week I talked about how we becom...

Send us Fan Mail We talk about becoming a mom like it happens once, the day your first baby arrives. But I’ve found that every new age and stage changes you all over again. I’ve been becoming a mom over and over for 12 years. In this episode I share who I was when I first became a mom and who I am now, what each phase has asked of me, how looking back at my own childhood helps me understand my kid...

Send us Fan Mail ⚠️ This episode talks about domestic abuse, coercive control and financial abuse. Please listen when you feel ready. If you are in danger right now, call 999. Hannah Wrixen is back on Chat with Charlie! Last time she joined us, Hannah, a mortgage broker and former mortgage underwriter, talked us through how new parents can get on the property ladder. This time she's sharing s...

Send us Fan Mail Pacing the hallway at 3am with a baby who won't settle? On your fourth load of potty training washing before lunch? Sitting in the car after the school run with a lump in your throat?   When you're in the thick of a hard season, your brain tells you this is how life will be forever. In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on why these phases feel so all-consum...

Send us Fan Mail If you've felt like the last thing you want after a long day of parenting is to be touched by your partner — even when you love them, even when nothing's wrong — this episode is for you. I'm joined by Becky, a sexologist and relationship psychotherapist, to talk about what actually happens to desire after having a baby, and why it's so much more about your nerv...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Charlie breaks down why the all-or-nothing rebound keeps burning you out, why rigid routines fail in busy family homes, and the single mindset shift that changed everything for me: learning to lower your floor instead of your ceiling. Stay connected with Charlie Website: https://stan.store/itscharliedadia (Mum Matters Community & all other tools for motherhood...

Send us Fan Mail If you are sitting in your car outside the nursery or school gates with tears streaming down your face, take a deep breath.    We spend so much time preparing our children for separation anxiety, but nobody prepares you for the sheer heartbreak of your own. Handing over your baby to someone else never gets easier on your heart, no matter how many times you do it.    In this episod...

Send us Fan Mail If you feel like you have just crawled across the summer holidays finish line on your hands and knees, covered in sand, suncream, and snack wrappers, take a deep breath. You are not alone.   Every year we tell ourselves that summer will be slow and magical. But running entertainment, catering, dispute resolution, and schedule management for six solid weeks is mentally and physical...

Send us Fan Mail Even the best-laid plans change once baby arrives. In this episode, Charlie shares the five essential conversations that help couples stay connected, share the load, and remember they're on the same team — even when running on empty. With real-life wisdom from five babies and practical frameworks from Back to Me, this episode is for any mom who wants to move from resentment t...

Send us Fan Mail The first 12 months of motherhood aren't just hard — they're identity-shifting. You can prep the nursery, read all the books, and still feel like a stranger in your own life once baby arrives.   In this episode, I'm walking through the real feelings of that first year. The ones no one warns you about. The grief for who you used to be. The blur of sleepless nights. T...

Send us Fan Mail In my recent Instagram poll, the number one answer to "what would make the biggest difference right now?" was help without having to ask for it. And that part hit me. Because it's not really about the help. It's about being the only one who sees, tracks, and assigns everything.   In this episode, I'm sharing the simple systems that finally got me off the m...

Send us Fan Mail Feeling like you're carrying everything in your head while your partner has no idea? This episode is for you.   Charlie shares the one calm conversation that changed everything in her relationship — and walks you through exactly how to have it yourself. No guilt-tripping. No explosions. Just a simple framework to make the invisible visible.   In this episode: * What the menta...

Send us Fan Mail Episode Summary   If you've ever been handed a rare moment of free time and completely blanked on what to do with it, this episode is for you. Charlie digs into why so many mums feel disconnected from their own interests, how survival mode becomes the default setting, and what it actually takes to find (and protect) time for yourself. Spoiler: you're not broken. You&apos...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Charlie sits down with therapist and mom of three, Nicki Cohen, to have an honest conversation about the mental load. Together they unpack what the mental load actually is (hint: it's not the to-do list), why moms carry it so silently, and practical ways to start letting go without the guilt spiral. From the glass vs rubber ball analogy to the 30% good enough...

Send us Fan Mail The summer holidays are coming — and whether you're excited or already exhausted at the thought, this episode is for you.   Charlie shares how she actually prepares for six weeks at home with five kids: the practical stuff (loose planning, meal prep, night-before routines) and the mental stuff (checking in with yourself, protecting your energy, and remembering you're a p...

Send us Fan Mail Summer's here and so is that familiar stress: trying to get your little ones to drink water when they'd rather do literally anything else. In this episode, Charlie shares her tried-and-tested tips from raising five kids through many hot summers. From sneaky hydrating foods to warning signs every mum should know, this episode will help you keep your kids safe and hydrated...

Send us Fan Mail Ever sat in a room full of people — your kids, your partner, maybe even friends — and still felt completely alone?   In this episode, I'm talking about the kind of loneliness no one prepares you for. The kind that has nothing to do with how many people are around you, and everything to do with how disconnected you feel from yourself.   I'm sharing my own story of losing...

Send us Fan Mail Had two, three, maybe four kids and thought you'd have it figured out by now? This episode is your permission slip to stop pretending.   In this episode, I'm getting honest about why more kids often means more chaos, not more confidence — and what it actually looks like to start finding yourself again when your schedule is bursting and you've got zero hours that bel...

Send us Fan Mail Do you ever catch your reflection and wonder where YOU went? In this episode, Charlie opens up about the exact moment she realized she'd lost herself — standing in her kitchen during lockdown, surrounded by chaos, and crying because she couldn't recognize the woman staring back at her.   If you've ever felt like you're "just mom" and nothing else, thi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Charlie gets honest about the parts of motherhood no one prepares you for: the bone-deep exhaustion, the guilt of wanting five minutes alone, and the shock of realising you don't recognise yourself anymore.   What we cover: * Why loving your kids doesn't automatically refill your cup * The guilt that comes with wanting space (and why it's completely...

Send us Fan Mail In this deeply personal episode, Charlie shares her experience of four c-sections — two emergency, two elective — and breaks down everything mums need to know about this often misunderstood birth experience.   What You'll Learn:   * Charlie's full birth story across five babies (including why her second birth became traumatic) * The real difference between emergency and...

Send us Fan Mail Just because you didn't have surgery doesn't mean your body didn't go through something massive. In this episode, Charlie shares her honest experience recovering from her first natural birth — and why the "you should be fine" narrative is harmful.   In this episode, you'll learn: * Why natural birth still requires serious recovery (and why the "h...

Send us Fan Mail Your body just did something miraculous — so why do we spend so much time hating it?  In this episode, Charlie gets real about postpartum body image: the impossible "bounce back" expectations we're sold, what actually affects your body's recovery (spoiler: it's not willpower), and how to start being kinder to yourself when the mirror feels like the enemy....

Send us Fan Mail You can love being a mum and still need space to breathe.   In this episode, Charlie dives into something that could genuinely change your entire experience of motherhood: boundaries.   Not the aggressive, wall-building kind. The gentle, honest, "this is what I need" kind.   We're talking about why we don't set them (hello guilt, people-pleasing, and fear), why...

Send us Fan Mail Following last week's deep dive into losing yourself in motherhood, this episode lifts the energy with real, doable self-care — not the "book a spa day" kind, but the small-but-mighty moments that keep the "you" in motherhood. What We Cover: * Why self-care feels impossible for moms (and what happens when we skip it) * What self-care actually looks like —...