Welcome to The Motherhood Connection

Being a bit awkward, sharing more about me and what The Motherhood Connection is all about.

Welcome to The Motherhood Connection -a place where I support mums to live a life that feels good to them. I share the ups and downs of being a mum of three and behind the scenes of my coaching business too.

Hi, I’m Jenna and I’m a Coach who supports mums with young kids to go from feeling overwhelmed and exhausted to feeling calmer and happier.

I’m also a mum of three - my kids are currently 8, 6 and 1, so life is pretty full on - especially because my youngest doesn’t like to sleep much!

Getting the awkward bit out of the way first

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve rewritten this first post - so much that I’ve annoyed myself and probably confused myself further but here we are!

I think the problem is that I find it hard to really convey who I am and what I’m about through writing, even though I love writing. My natural default is a more formal style of writing, because that’s what I learnt in my previous career working in universities (lots of report writing and minute writing), but now I want to write in a way that is more, me. That’s a huge part of why I’m starting this Substack is to find my writing voice - if that makes sense.

Ok, so my I’ve put some of my insecurities out there to you already, which is a classic case of me oversharing - something I tend to do when I first meet people - maybe it’s a nervous thing!

So, The Motherhood Connection, what’s it all about?

Two huge parts of my life are being a mum of three, and being a Coach for Mums. I’m a mum who supports other mums to live a life that feels good to them - also while finding out what living a life that feels good to me looks like too. So my personal life and professional life is all about motherhood, which is what I’ll be talking about a lot on here. 

The connection side of it means to me that everything I talk about on here will all link back to motherhood. The other part of connection is about building a community of like-minded and supportive mums on here, which is something that I’d love to do.

I’ve set up groups before where mums come together to talk openly and honestly about motherhood and I know what a game-changer that can be, for another mum to realise that she isn’t alone in her struggles. 

Things that I’m looking forward to talking about on here are:

• Sharing practical tips on how mums can live a life that feels good to them

• The tough parts of motherhood

• The ups and downs of life as a mum of three

• Behind the scenes of running my coaching business as a stay at home mum

• My monthly goals and reviews

• Book recommendations 

I want this to be a space where I can write about things that excite me and bring me joy, and I hope that that energy will come through in my posts!

Changing my career because of my own struggles as a mum

I retrained as a Coach back in 2020 after 14 years of working in University management and admin. My passion for wanting to coach mums comes from my own struggles as a mum.

With my first and second kids, I totally abandoned myself and really didn't take any time for me. I thought that to be a good mum, I had to do everything myself and show that I was coping (even when I wasn’t). I used to feel totally overwhelmed, numb and constantly anxious.

When my middle son was 6 months old and my eldest child was 3, I was diagnosed with post-natal anxiety.

In all honesty, I was relieved to be diagnosed because that confirmed that how I was feeling wasn’t just in my head - it was real. It took me a year of therapy plus daily self-care to get through the post-natal anxiety.

Going through this experience is what made me want to support mums who felt like I did - overwhelmed, exhausted and who never took any time for themselves. Now, I love supporting mums to feel happier, calmer and more able to cope with motherhood.

For me, coaching and supporting mums is a chance for me to be creative and authentic, and have that space for me away from my role as a mum. I know that when I can express myself like this, I feel happier and this feeling ripples out to my relationships with my kids and husband too.

That’s what I want for the mums I coach too, to find something that really lights them up so they can have that feeling of excitement and chance to be creative, outside of their role of being a mum.

You can find out more about me and the work I do here.

My new podcast

Oh I nearly forgot - my podcast! I'm launching that too at the start of June, it's called The Inspiring Mums Podcast - an encouraging and uplifting podcast for mums who want to feel inspired to make positive changes in their lives.  I'll also be talking to inspiring mums and sharing their stories, as well as having honest conversations about the tough parts of motherhood. I’m so excited to start that too!

A little bit more about me…

I live by the sea near Cardiff with my husband and three kids.

My ideal day would involve a lie in, breakfast in my fave coffee shop, spending an hour or two in a bookshop, the afternoon walking on the beach with my family and then an early night reading or crocheting while I pray that my kids give me a decent night’s sleep!

I love crocheting huge colourful blankets – it’s my current form of meditation.

I’d spend all day reading if I could – 3 books I’ve loved lately are – Again Rachel by Marian Keyes (highly recommend the audiobook), Little Wing by Freya North and London with Love by Sarra Manning. I’d love to hear your book recommendations in the comments!

I can't wait to see how ‘The Motherhood Connection’ evolves over time and thank you for being here.