Mum Brains Abroad

About Mum Brains Abroad

Mum Brains Abroad is a heartfelt podcast created by two mothers who met during pregnancy and formed a friendship rooted in shared vulnerability, honesty, and the deep need for community. Both expats living in Copenhagen, they bonded while navigating pregnancy and early motherhood far from their home countries. What began as casual conversations about cravings, culture shock, and prenatal appointments quickly evolved into something more powerful — a support system in a season that can feel deeply isolating, especially abroad. Beyond motherhood itself, the podcast also explores the quieter questions many women face after becoming mothers: Who am I now? What happens to ambition, career, creativity, and identity while raising children? Through deeply personal conversations, the hosts reflect on balancing motherhood with personal growth, evolving dreams, and the challenge of finding yourself both within and beyond being “mum.” Alongside their own experiences, the hosts welcome both expert guests and fellow mums to share insights, stories, and honest perspectives on parenting, identity, relationships, mental health, careers, and building a life abroad. 🌍 What It’s About: The podcast explores: • Raising babies in a new country • The emotional and mental shifts of motherhood (“mum brain” moments included) • Building community without family nearby • Cultural differences in parenting in Denmark • Identity, ambition, career pauses, and redefining purpose • Personal growth and rediscovering yourself beyond motherhood • Honest conversations about loneliness, joy, overwhelm, resilience, and belonging • Expert advice and real-life stories from mothers navigating similar journeys 💛 Why It Matters: Becoming a mother is transformative. Becoming a mother in a foreign country adds another layer entirely. *Mum Brains Abroad* creates space for: • Expat and international parents • Women navigating identity shifts and life transitions • Mothers balancing ambition, family, and a sense of self • Anyone craving authentic, personal, and unfiltered conversations about motherhood Through vulnerability, shared experience, and meaningful conversations, the hosts remind listeners that even far from home, you don’t have to do motherhood — or the search for yourself within it — alone. Instagram: @mumbrainsbaroad

Publisher

Anjelli Requintina & Annika Milena

Category

health & fitness · kids & family · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 May 2026

Latest episode

22 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

21 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Oct 2026

   EP 20 Did We Fall For It? Putting Parenting Trends in the Hot Seat

   Show Notes: Welcome to Episode 20 of Mom Brains Abroad! In this special episode, we're confessing every parenting trend we fell for, the ones we rolled our eyes at, and the ones we're still not sure about. We explore three big trends through our expat lens — wake windows and sleep schedules, the Montessori and beige nursery aesthetic, and baby-led weaning versus purees. We share our personal experiences with sleep tracking apps (Napper and Huckleberry), the Danish outdoor napping tradition, growing up with Steiner education and wooden toys, navigating plastic versus natural materials, and the cultural adventure of a Nepalese weaning ceremony. Plus, we wrap up with our mom high and mom low of the week. Find us on Instagram @mumbrainsabroad and leave a comment on Spotify with your verdict! Timestamps 0:00 — Welcome & Episode 20 intro 1:08 — Trend 1: Wake windows & sleep schedules 3:50 — Experience with the Napper sleep app 5:00 — Formula feeding vs breastfeeding approaches 6:30 — Breastfeeding tracking & Huckleberry app 8:55 — Shared Apple Notes vs dedicated apps 10:55 — Danish outdoor napping vs blackout blinds & white noise 13:35 — Trend 2: Montessori & the beige nursery aesthetic 16:00 — Steiner education background & wooden toys 18:00 — Plastic vs natural materials & BPA concerns 20:00 — Growing up without toys in the Philippines 21:30 — Microplastics, winter clothes & Danish brand pricing 24:10 — Secondhand vs new & quality over quantity 28:20 — Gender-neutral clothing & colors 29:30 — Trend 3: Baby-led weaning vs purees 31:40 — The Solid Starts app & Danish rye bread tradition 32:40 — Nepalese weaning ceremony (300+ guests!) 35:30 — Choking concerns & first aid class 37:20 — Mom high: Animal visits & safari trip 38:30 — Mom low: Teething & bedtime battles 39:20 — Outro & where to find us

2. 

   16 Oct 2026

   Ep 19 — Does Daycare Make Us Better Moms?

   Episode Summary Anjelli and Annika tackle the emotionally charged question of whether daycare makes mothers "better." They share personal experiences of guilt, slow transitions, and the relief that came once their daughters settled in. They compare cultural attitudes between Germany (where staying home 2–3 years is common) and Denmark (where early daycare is the norm and deeply affordable), and discuss the expat reality of raising children without extended family nearby. They explore research showing working mothers have better mental health outcomes, the gendered nature of "mom guilt," and the idea of daycare as a modern form of "the village." The episode also covers breastfeeding challenges with daycare, parental leave policy differences across countries, and the importance of flexibility and part-time options. They wrap with their weekly Mom Light and Mom Low. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro: Does daycare make us better moms? 1:30 Research: Working moms have better mental health 2:10 Personal guilt & slow daycare transition 3:14 Germany vs. Denmark daycare norms 4:12 Denmark's affordable daycare system 8:03 The "village" concept in modern parenting 9:10 Expat reality: no family nearby 11:29 Why "better moms" and not "better dads"? 12:33 Research on primary caregivers & first two years 13:20 Career impact of staying home 16:40 Daycare as cultural & language integration 19:45 Daycare ratios & staff turnover 21:02 Dagmama vs. institutional daycare 27:20 Breastfeeding challenges with daycare 30:48 Parental leave: Denmark vs. Germany 34:30 Final answer: Does daycare make us better moms? 37:10 Mom Light & Mom Low of the week

3. 

   8 Oct 2026

   EP 18 Baby Gear Heroes & Flops: What We Actually Used (And What's Still in the Cupboard)

   Show Notes: This week on Mom Brains Abroad, Angeli and Annika get honest about the baby gear they bought as expat parents in Copenhagen — the heroes they still use, the flops gathering dust, and everything in between. From baby carriers and Moon Boon hammocks to unopened IKEA beds and pricey baby monitors, they share what was worth every krone and what ended up on Facebook Marketplace. They also dive into the Danish brand culture around baby products, why shopping secondhand (or across the border in Germany and Sweden) can save you thousands, the realities of co-sleeping, and why you should wait and see what your baby actually likes before investing big. Timestamps: 00:00 — Welcome back to Mom Brains Abroad 00:42 — Disclaimer: nothing is sponsored, every baby is different 00:51 — Hero items intro: what did you buy first? 01:06 — Hero #1: The Baby Lift / baby carrier 02:38 — Hero #2: Moon Boon hammock swing 04:25 — Hero #3: The stroller 04:46 — Annika's hero items: baby lift, baby carrier & white noise machine 07:20 — Flop #1: Bottles (baby wouldn't take them) 08:02 — Flop #2: Pacifiers (never needed them) 08:25 — Flop #3: Baby swing (baby wanted to be close) 09:04 — The big flop: an unopened IKEA bed 10:01 — The bed-buying struggle: secondhand hunting and junior beds 11:00 — Floor beds and the Montessori approach 11:55 — Bedside crib: flop for sleeping, hero for storage 13:15 — Co-sleeping: safe sleep science and cultural perspectives 14:55 — Flop: baby monitor (pricey and rarely used) 16:05 — Hero: wall-mounted pull-out changing table 18:10 — The overpriced baby outfit: a cute dragon onesie regret 19:30 — Lessons learned: buy less, choose zippers, go secondhand 20:50 — Denmark's baby brand culture: everyone has the same stuff 23:30 — Stroller shopping: Bugaboo vs. a German alternative 24:40 — Scoring a brand-new stroller online for less than secondhand 26:25 — The referral effect: why Danish moms all buy the same brands 28:00 — Being a foreigner without a mom network: trial and error 29:15 — It doesn't have to be expensive: flea markets, Germany & Sweden 31:00 — Baby swaddle: flop for one, hero for the other 34:00 — Hero: muslin cloths / spitting cloths 35:15 — Hero: Baby Brezza bottle sterilizer 37:00 — White noise machines, fans & sleep routines 38:50 — Sleeping bags and warm winter babies 39:30 — Mom High & Mom Low segment 40:20 — Mom Low: exhaustion and anticipating night wakings 41:30 — Mom High: feeding alpacas and sheep at a farm 42:30 — Mom Low: daughter dropping her nap 43:20 — Wrap up and see you next episode

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.