Join the ultimate 12 month rollercoaster as your friendly host Samantha Hannah (stand-up comedian and traditionally what's known as a "career gal") documents 365 days of parental leave.
A maternity leave diary in podcast form—about fumbling through the end of pregnancy, preparing for parenthood, and discovering if comedy can prep you for the world’s toughest crowd: a newborn.
But this isn’t a “how-to” on motherhood. This is not a parenting podcast. It's *for* the parents. And about identity—how it shifts and flips as your life faces one of its biggest changes yet.
Samantha "Sammy" Hannah and Toby recap July, highlighting how parental leave evolves into an enjoyable experience filled with activities and comedic pursuits after navigating the initial challenges.
31 Aug 2025
Month 8: Our UK Baby Adventure (and why we vanished!)
Host Sarah and guest [Guest Name, Credential] discuss their UK baby adventure, sharing travel tips and podcast format changes after a two-month hiatus.
27 May 2025
Month 7: We're leaving! (for a bit!)
The hosts discuss their baby's milestones, including starting solid food and dealing with diaper discoveries, as they prepare for a trip to the UK and a podcast break.
19 May 2025
Month 6: Trade-offs
This week on Myternity Leave, it’s month six, and we’re somehow nearly halfway through. Toby joins me on the couch for a heartfelt (and slightly grumpy) catch-up as I mourn parts of my old life… like having the freedom to write jokes at any time, not exclusively at 5am in the morning. We talk about our recent trip to Waipukurau, surviving the dreaded 4-month sleep regression (yes, still), and Toby’s first baby swimming classes. All this and the main man himself makes a rather cute appearance.
12 May 2025
Month 5: It's our birthdays and baby will cry if he wants to
On this episode of Myternity Leave, it’s birthday time for Toby and me… not that we're in any way relevant now. We reflect on how celebrations have changed (less bougie brunch, more nappy bin bants), I shed some thoughts — and hair — on postpartum fallout, and I continue my return to the stage with the joyful chaos that is Airhorn! in Newtown.
It’s an episode about building new traditions, letting go of your locks, and clinging onto the little things that help make you feel like you again.
5 May 2025
Month 4: Death Wobble on the SH1 Southbound
In the latest episode of Myternity Leave, Toby finally gets a mic, I reminisce about my foray into the world of baby activities, and reenact the day my car developed a full-blown death wobble on the motorway.
Elsewhere, I squeeze in a visit to work with little one in tow, we take our first little overnight trip, and I return to comedy with two gigs in one night — which would be fine, if I wasn’t completely in love with my baby and crying on the inside the whole time.
28 Apr 2025
Guest Ep with Lesa MacLeod-Whiting
This week on Myternity Leave, life threw me a curveball — a family emergency meant I had to hit pause on documenting the next leg of the parental leave journey.
Luckily, my very funny friend Lesa MacLeod-Whiting (2025 Billy T Award nominee and my Are We Pals? podcast co-host) had been at my place earlier in the week — and we just so happened to record a chat while she was there!
From accidentally ending up at a pro-abortion rally with a five-week-old, to sharing tips about going back to work as a self-employed new mum, Lesa provides us with a very real, very fun surprise guest episode.
Tickets for Lesa's NZ Comedy Fest Show Rebellina are available now! https://www.comedyfestival.co.nz/find-a-show/lesa-macleod-whiting-rebellina/
21 Apr 2025
Month 3: Getting back into the world
It’s Month 3 of maternity leave, and I’ve left the house. On purpose. With the baby. And I drove. That’s right — I’m back behind the wheel as a brand-new mum and a brand-new driver. In this episode, I cry in a pet store car park, get deep as I talk about losing someone I love, and discuss how I now use a Tamagotchi-style self-care app to survive the day.
It’s all about rebuilding independence, exploring as a family, and trying to grow in confidence. But even more important than all that, I've finally finished the nursery and hot air balloon!
14 Apr 2025
Month 2: First Christmas… and all of the Grandparents!
In Month 2 of parental leave, my parents fly over from Scotland, and we celebrate Charlie’s first Christmas — with all the grandparents in one place. I talk mum guilt (why does getting your nails done feel borderline criminal?), witching hour madness, and the power of support when it comes to rebuilding your confidence.
We start to find our stride, helped massively by some rather wonderful postnatal classes. And encounter a different kind of New Years Eve. Do we even make it to midnight?
Also: Toby is back — or Big Toe, as he’s now known. And yes, I struggle to get this episode out on time… because five months on, life is very much happening.
7 Apr 2025
Week 4: The end of the people-pleasing era
And on the fourth week of Maternity Leave, I discovered that people-pleasing tendencies and being a new parent do not mix.
In this episode I chat about having too many visitors before I was ready, my daily joy in creating an 'outfit of the day', and how someone with the exact same life as me ended up having a very similar birth story too. Does that automatically make them a new bestie?
I also show a few flashes of vulnerability, but it's totally fine because it's on a podcast. Just don't come up to me and tell me I'm doing a good job. I will cry.
31 Mar 2025
Week 3: Coming home!
It's Week 3 of Maternity Leave, and the big moment has arrived—our baby is finally coming home! From the iconic “leaving the hospital in the capsule” photo to introducing our new little one to the cat, it’s a time we’ll surely cherish and remember forever… right?
The reality? Sleep deprivation has already wiped half our memories. So here’s what we do remember! In all its raw and honest glory.
24 Mar 2025
Week 2: The NICU adventure continues
It’s week two of maternity leave, but instead of folding tiny onesies and panic-Googling pram reviews, we’ve already got a baby—just not at home with us quite yet. As our little one gets stronger in NICU, we’re thrown into the deep end of parenting, learning on the job in the most intense training ground possible.
An invite to “room in” at NICU gives me hope that home is on the horizon… but also hands me my toughest challenge yet. Aside from that first postpartum bowel movement!
17 Mar 2025
Day 6 & 7: Don't cry over spilt milk (or dropped sushi)
The baby has arrived! But unfortunately he's in NICU while we are in a room in another part of the hospital. In between visits to see him with lots of cuddles and skin on skin I'm under strict instructions to rest, sleep, pump, feed and get some quality sushi down my throat. Not in that order.
It seems to be a tricky balance to fit it all in and in between some spilled milk and some spilled raw fish, emotions are running high.
Tune in for a somewhat messy episode, in more ways than one.
9 Mar 2025
Day 5: The baby arrives!
Day five of parental leave, and things take a dramatic turn—the baby is here! Or, more specifically, the baby is delivered by C-section while your host is under the influence of some rather effective drugs. Luckily, Toby was taking notes (or at least paying more attention than I was), so he joins me to piece together the details of what actually happened.
From golden-hour cuddles and ice blocks to stolen wheelchairs and questionable post-op decision-making, this episode covers the whirlwind of birth. We also discover that antenatal classes do not prepare you for the unexpected, particularly when you missed one of the classes to go to Sydney.
Tune in for the full, slightly hazy, but utterly unforgettable story!
2 Mar 2025
Day 3 & 4: A funny mix-up or subtle foreshadowing?
I'm documenting 365 days of maternity leave, from late pregnancy to birth right through to returning to work. Here, I cast my mind back to what happened on Days 3 and 4.
A hospital mix-up leaves me amused but teases what was about to happen next and keep listening for an outro that shows why starting a podcast alongside becoming a new parent was potentially not the best idea.
23 Feb 2025
Day 2: Bath bombshells and broken plans
There were high hopes for the beginning of My Maternity Leave. Sorting the house, preparing for birth and of course, creating that elusive Hot Air Balloon model for the nursery. But first, it felt like a bath was in order.
But what exactly did that bath lead to? Did it become the route cause of what was to happen next? I (your faithful host, Samantha Hannah) cast my mind back to day two of parental leave and the spanner in the works that thwarted all my best laid plans.
Tune in for all the latest maternity goss!
16 Feb 2025
Day 1: Let's start at the very beginning
Myternity Leave is the ultimate 12 month rollercoaster as I, a stand-up comedian and marketing girl, swap the spotlight for an egg-shaped night light and stand-up gigs for sit-down feeds. And then document it. All 365 days of parental leave.
Think of it as a diary in podcast form. Like a Bridget Jones reboot—only it’s about fumbling through the end of pregnancy, preparing for parenthood, and discovering if comedy can prep you for the world’s toughest crowd: a newborn.
But this isn’t a “how-to” on motherhood. There’ll be no gentle-parenting advice or swaddling tips. It’s about identity—how it shifts, and flips as life changes.
From quoting “Shall I be mother?” to becoming one, or the feeling you're falling behind in your career, we’ll explore the unexpected life lessons that come with expecting and beyond.
In this first episode, which I have recorded and failed to put out five times now, I cast my mind back to my very first day of Maternity Leave where I chat about my last date day with my partner (without a child in the mix), my grand plans for my maternity leave, and get over excited about the concept of really good brie.
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