Are We Boring Parents?

It’s time to say goodbye. For now. In the final episode of Eat Sleep Repeat, Kee and Kel are joined by their editor, Madeline, for a little behind-the-scenes goss, the episode that almost didn’t make it to air, and the tiny habits she’s been editing around for years. Then Kee and Kel ask each other the big questions - about friendship, motherhood, confidence, growth, and what they want to leave listeners with after four years in your ears. Thank you for listening, laughing, crying, messaging, and being part of it all. You’re doing it. You’ve got this!   LINKSKelly's InstagramKee's InstagramYou BeautyI'm Wigging Out   HOSTS & PRODUCERSKee Reece Searles @keereeceKelly McCarren @kelly_mccarren AUDIO PRODUCTIONMadeline Joannou - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mylk Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After four years, hundreds of conversations and more than a few opinions that aged terribly, Kee and Kel are looking back at the episodes, guests and listener messages that changed them the most. In this second-last episode of Eat Sleep Repeat, they revisit the conversations that stayed with them, the advice they still use, the topics they never expected to hit so hard, and the moments that made the whole wild ride feel worth it. It’s a love letter to the shitters, the mother’s group so many of us didn’t have, and a reminder that none of us are doing this perfectly - but we’re definitely not doing it alone.   LINKS OUR FAVOURITE EPISODES:Kelly Has A GhostTravelling Europe With A Toddler Will Be Fun (Said No One)When I Have Kids I Will NEVER Do THAT!A Good Old Fashioned Whinge About ToddlersDear Pregnancy, We Have A Few ComplaintsSh*t We’re Getting Done In 2024Sh*t We’re Getting Done In 2025 (And Everything We Didn’t Last Year)Sh*t We’re Getting Done in 2026The Wedding Car Was On FireAnd all of Season 1, but you can start here..Emergency C-Section Birth Stories EPISODES THAT CHANGED OUR PERSPECTIVE:“I Ended Up In A Psych Ward” - Postpartum Mental HealthWhen You’re The Only Parent GUESTS THAT STAYED WITH US:Kristy Bryant - My Son And I Shared A WombLarissa Leone - Why All New Mothers Need MotheringKate - Wait, What Do You Mean That Toy Isn’t Safe!?Luke and Sassy Scott - How Does Surrogacy Work?Gen Muir - Gen Muir On Catching Your Toddler On The Emotional ClimbGen Muir - Gen Muir Makes Us Feel Like Much Better ParentsChelsea Williamson - My Birth, My Choice: Chelsea Williamson On Doing It Her WaySara - Fed Is Best: Breastfeeding Doesn’t Always WorkMegan - The Dark Side of Postpartum: My Time In A Psych WardAlice - When You’re The Only ParentLem Zakharia - You’re Not Entitled To Your Child’s Emotions EPISODES WE’D FORCE NEW LISTENERS TO START WITH:Gen Muir On Catching Your Toddler On The Emotional ClimbGen Muir Makes Us Feel Like Much Better ParentsFed Is Best: Breastfeeding Doesn’t Always Work“I Ended Up In A Psych Ward” - Postpartum Mental HealthI Hate My Postpartum BodyAre Sleepovers Still A Thing?What It’s Really Like Raising Multicultural Kids In AustraliaTricky Family Dynamics   HOSTS & PRODUCERSKee Reece Searles @keereeceKelly McCarren @kelly_mccarren AUDIO PRODUCTIONMadeline Joannou - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mylk Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the final Peak & Pit of the series, Kee and Kel are in a reflective mood - but still very much themselves. There’s a birthday decision that brings up more than expected, a post-holiday realisation that hits later than planned, and one of those rare weeks where life is messy but somehow… fine? Plus, comfort food, a new show, and a Sydney outing worth adding to the list.   LINKS TO EVERYTHING WE MENTIONEDAlice and Steve - Disney+Recipe Tin Eats Lasagne RecipeChinese Garden of Friendship HOSTS & PRODUCERSKee Reece Searles @keereeceKelly McCarren @kelly_mccarren AUDIO PRODUCTIONMadeline Joannou - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mylk Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Eat Sleep Repeat enters its final few episodes, Kee and Kelly are looking back at where it all began - lockdown lives, new babies, no village, and the hope of becoming the kind of mother’s group they wished they’d had. But this isn’t just a farewell lap. It’s a bigger conversation about identity, friendship, failure, ageing, motherhood, and the strange realisation that you can become a completely different person… and not really miss the old one.   HOSTS & PRODUCERSKee Reece Searles @keereeceKelly McCarren @kelly_mccarren AUDIO PRODUCTIONMadeline Joannou - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mylk Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kelly is back from Bali, barely recovered and armed with the kind of stories that only come from a very big weekend away. Meanwhile, Kee has been feeling the quiet side of freelance life and finds herself unexpectedly emotional about long weekends, little routines and the strange things that make parenting feel magic.   LINKS TO EVERYTHING WE MENTIONEDMobile SkipsTip Toe - BINGE28 Summers - Elin HilderbrandImperfect Women - Apple TV HOSTS & PRODUCERSKee Reece Searles @keereeceKelly McCarren @kelly_mccarren AUDIO PRODUCTIONMadeline Joannou - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mylk Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New research says almost 60% of Australian parents are experiencing psychological distress. But for Kee and Kel, the most confronting part isn’t the statistic - it’s how familiar it feels. This week, they unpack the kind of burnout that doesn’t always look like falling apart. It looks like getting everyone to school, answering emails, remembering the lunchboxes, swallowing the guilt, and wondering why you’re so snappy when you’re trying so hard.  Maybe the problem isn’t that parents aren’t coping, but that they’re being asked to carry too much.   LINKS TO EVERYTHING WE MENTIONEDABC - Calls to support struggling parents as national survey reveals increasing psychological distress8 Signs of You Have Depleted Mother Syndrome and How To CopeBeyond BlueLifeline - 13 11 14 HOSTS & PRODUCERSKee Reece Searles @keereeceKelly McCarren @kelly_mccarren AUDIO PRODUCTIONMadeline Joannou - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mylk Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Kelly is personally victimised by a stuffed daycare kookaburra, a scrapbook full of suspiciously wholesome family activities, and the creeping fear that maybe everyone else is doing parenting better. Meanwhile, Kee is finding the magic in small domestic wins, from Facebook Marketplace chairs to the kind of cos home moment that makes you feel like you might actually be getting it right.   LINKS TO EVERYTHING WE MENTIONEDLet’s Go Fishing GameMindful & Co Yoga Snap Game HOSTS & PRODUCERSKee Reece Searles @keereeceKelly McCarren @kelly_mccarren AUDIO PRODUCTIONMadeline Joannou - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mylk Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Kee and Kelly are joined by Lem Zakharia - founder of Bedou, former executive producer of It’s A Lot with Abbie Chatfield, and the creator of the podcast Twice Displaced. Lem’s family story doesn’t fit the neat little boxes we’re used to. She fell in love with her wife Christina, and slowly became a parent to Christina’s two kids -— first from the sidelines, then right in the thick of tantrums, boundaries, bedtime battles and teenage emotional landmines. In this conversation, Lem opens up about step-parenting, queer family life, earning a child’s trust, and the moment she realised being “the other parent” wasn’t something she could claim - it was something she had to build.   LINKS TO EVERYTHING WE MENTIONEDLem Zakharia's Instagram @lemzakhariaTwice Displaced - PodcastOvershare - Podcast HOSTS & PRODUCERSKee Reece Searles @keereeceKelly McCarren @kelly_mccarren AUDIO PRODUCTIONMadeline Joannou - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mylk Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Kee and Kelly are having one of those weeks where everything is technically fine… but also absolutely not fine. Kee has a moment in Pilates that feels bigger than Pilates, Kelly survives a truly cursed medical appointment, and a very bold preschool sickie attempt hits a little too close to home.   LINKS TO EVERYTHING WE MENTIONEDToo Good To GoKia Abdullah - Author Off Campus - Prime VideoIs It Too Early to Bitch? - Grace Rouvray HOSTS & PRODUCERSKee Reece Searles @keereeceKelly McCarren @kelly_mccarren AUDIO PRODUCTIONMadeline Joannou - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mylk Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if the person you chose to have a baby with didn’t have to be the person you were in love with? This week, Kee and Kelly are deep-diving platonic co-parenting - from friends having babies together, to co-parenting apps, to the families choosing to raise children outside the traditional romantic relationship model. And the more they unpack it, the more the question becomes less “is this weird?” and more “did we just make parenting harder by doing it all in a nuclear family?”   LINKS TO EVERYTHING WE MENTIONEDImpact - Mixed-Orientation Marriage Mamamia - I'm a straight woman happily married to a gay manThe New York Times: In Search of a Platonic Co-ParentElective Co-Parenting Study HOSTS & PRODUCERSKee Reece Searles @keereeceKelly McCarren @kelly_mccarren AUDIO PRODUCTIONMadeline Joannou - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mylk Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.