We all know that motherhood can be rewarding, but what about the rest of it – the bits that no one tells you about?
No one talks about those moments in the day where you want to scream or cry, or possibly both at the same time.
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That’s exactly where our brand-new podcast, No Parental Guidance, comes in.
It’s a hilarious, no-holds-barred look at the chaos of motherhood, from crayon scribbles on the wall to car keys in the dishwasher.
Each week, our two hosts – model/influencer and mum-of-three Louise Boyce, and comedian and mum-of-three Hannah East – are joined by celebrity guests including Angela Scanlon, Konnie Huq and Amy Hart for an unfiltered vent about the beautiful messiness of parenthood.
Here, the pair reveal the realities of being a mum and what to expect from our new podcast.
‘If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry in this journey’
“None of my friends had children when I got pregnant with my first child in 2012, so I felt very alone.
I really felt like my confidence was at an all-time low.
I did have an NCT group, who I’d meet up with occasionally, but they weren’t honest. They kept saying how their babies were sleeping through the night at three weeks old and how their partners were being absolutely brilliant.
I was just thinking: ‘I’ve got the complete opposite – my baby’s not sleeping and my husband’s driving me absolutely insane.’ I felt like I was failing.
On top of that, I’d been ditched by my modelling agency when I announced I was pregnant. They were like: ‘Thank you for everything. Good luck!’ – assuming I wouldn’t be around for shoots or be able to go abroad for work.
I thought to myself: ‘Oh my God, I’m about to become a mother and I’m now jobless – what am I going to do?’
That’s one of the reasons I started the @Mamastillgotit account: to show people I’ve still got it.
I thought: ‘How dare you say I’m done!’ I’m still here. In fact, I feel better than ever. My personality didn’t disappear when I had my kids – Basil, now 13, Sonny, nine, and Inca, six.
I think my survival mechanism is putting a comedic spin on most things – it’s how I get by in life. If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry in this motherhood journey
Louise Boyce, 44, @Mamastillgotit
That’s why a lot of my Insta reels – and now the new podcast – are very raw.
Teaming Hannah and me up on No Parental Guidance has been a brilliant match – she’s so funny, making light of the everyday crap that we go through as mothers.
It’s the grit and depths of parenting, but it’s also really funny.
I think my survival mechanism is putting a comedic spin on most things – it’s how I get by in life.
If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry in this motherhood journey.
There are so many times when I’ve been in the trenches, wondering if it’s only me who’s going through it.
Take, for instance, the time I was flying to Thailand with my seven-month-old and forgot to pack any milk.
The only milk they had on the plane were those tiny individual sachets, and they wouldn’t give me any because other passengers wanted their tea and coffee.
There was no way I could do such a long journey without any milk, so while the cabin crew were serving drinks, I made a run for it and raided the milk tray in the kitchen area – stuffing all these little sachets in my bra, jeans, my socks, even my mouth!
I was terrified I’d get caught. It felt like I was robbing a bank – my heart was thumping so hard in my chest.
I made it back to my seat and managed to give my baby a bottle of milk, then hid all the empty sachets in the seat in front of me.
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Needless to say, there were lots of people without milk for their hot drinks.
Sometimes, I’ll press the ‘post’ button on Insta or TikTok and think: ‘Am I the only one?’
Then the comments come rolling in, saying: ‘I went through that today, too.’
When I started to realise I wasn’t alone in struggling, that made my confidence come back a bit – knowing I’m on the right track and actually, I’m doing a great job!”
‘There isn’t a manual to tell you how to be a mother’
“When you go on to any social media platform, all you see is the perfect parent and how everyone’s got it together.
Everything is drenched in mocha, their nurseries look amazing and the kids have got clean clothes.
That’s not my life – that’s not the reality for me as a mum to Bradley, nine, Logan, seven, and Annabelle, two.
There isn’t a manual to tell you how to be a mother, and it’s really important for mums to feel that other people aren’t perfect – because nobody is.
That’s why I started doing comedy a year ago after being a sports presenter.
At first, I was worried, thinking: ‘Nothing I do is gonna be funny, because I’m a mum now and no one will get my comedy.’
You kind of lose your identity a little bit.
But my friends were encouraging and told me I would make other mums laugh – and I did.
I just started posting and I very quickly realised that there are other mums out there in exactly the same boat as me.
We all have the same pressures on us – we’re trying to work, trying to keep fit, we’re trying to do everything.
Posting my comedy sketches gave me a confidence boost.
I realised that I’m not on my own with all this parenting stuff, and there are other women who take pleasure out of watching me and my mum fails.
Just the other day, I filmed some content in my car – I’d done my hair and make-up nicely, but then I realised I’d actually had vomit on my top the whole time!
Another recent parenting fail was when I asked my husband to put the bins out and he said: ‘I don’t think I can. I don’t feel very well.’
I thought to myself: ‘For goodness sake, mums have to do everything – dads just have it easy.’
Our new No Parental Guidance podcast is saying the things that mums always think, but don’t necessarily say out loud. It’s what your inner monologue is screaming out to say
Hannah East, 39, @Hannaheastcomedy
So I went and dropped all the kids off, came back stressed because I was late, then I realised he was really, really ill and his appendix had burst!
I rushed him to the hospital because he was going grey.
I still asked: ‘Did you put the bins out?’
And he replied: ‘No’.
Our new No Parental Guidance podcast is saying the things that mums always think, but don’t necessarily say out loud.
It’s what your inner monologue is screaming out to say.
I used to think: ‘I’m never gonna get to do any of this because I’m a mum now. I’ve been written off.’
It’s like the time I was booked to present this awards ceremony, and when the organisers found out I was four months pregnant with my second baby, they cancelled.
They just didn’t want me because I was pregnant!
But I should be heard.
Yes, I’m Bradley, Logan and Annabelle’s mum – but I am also Hannah East, and I’ve got a lot to give.”
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