Early parenthood, played for laughs, with zero advice.
Clare and Jessie Stephens turn the baby years into comedy material, from grizzly 'software upgrade' weeks to a toddler's tooth-brushing standoff that escalates all the way to veneers. Guests such as Matt Bevan and Ash Wicks add their own true stories, and the feed also carries Jessie's twin birth story and Parenting Out Loud culture debates.
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The Baby Bubble is a Mamamia podcast that approaches early parenthood with candour, exasperation and a great deal of laughing. Clare and Jessie Stephens front it, and they are explicit about the terms. It is definitely not a parenting advice podcast. One episode proves the point by taking a 16-month-old's refusal to brush her teeth and escalating the 'solution' until tooth extraction is on the table and veneers become the compromise, before signing off with the hope that nothing said was remotely useful. The humour runs on comparison and exaggeration. A baby's grizzly, sleepless stretch becomes a phone stuck mid software update; the payoff is guessing what the new version can do, whether that means walking, long division or vacuuming. Guests bring the real stories, and fathers get a proper hearing. Matt Bevan describes negotiating his way to a third child, watching a scan reveal twins while his eldest looked on in confusion, and a labour that stalled so the pair stayed put until 37 weeks. He adds that his twins sit at opposite ends of every spectrum, with their older siblings somewhere in between. Ash Wicks talks about his vasectomy, and Sam Mac looks back on the first year of his daughter's life. Sami Shah's episode is about travelling overseas with a baby. Birth-story interviews sit alongside them, including Bree, whose route to motherhood ran through fertility treatment, and Rikki Lee Calleja on a VBAC after a traumatic first birth. Jessie's own birth story comes via an episode shared from Mamamia Out Loud. Talking by phone to Clare, Holly Wainwright and Em Vernham, she describes her waters breaking the day after her maternity leave began, the struggle to eat with gestational diabetes in hospital, the doctors' frank odds about the second twin, and how confronting it was to first see her 33-week babies in NICU. It is frightened and tender, yet she still finds room to admit she calls every NICU nurse Grace. The feed also carries a run of 'SUMMER LISTENING' episodes from Parenting Out Loud, where Stacey Hicks, Amelia Lester, Monique Bowley and, in some episodes, Jessie Stephens trade opinions on parenting news and culture. Their arguments range from whether a picnic table can be claimed without someone staying beside it, to Halloween as a neighbourhood trust exercise, to stealth mums, Roblox, Ms Rachel and nepo babies. Those episodes are built around debates and verdicts rather than personal mishaps, which makes them a different kind of listen. Introductory episodes for other shows, 'Hello, Bump' and 'How To Build A Universe', turn up too. For the core Stephens experience, 'We Said We'd Go Again, But I Did Not Sign Up To *This*' is the clearest place to start. Expect strong language and very detailed talk about birth and bodies.
Made for: Suits a listener in the thick of the baby and toddler years who wants a laugh and some company more than instructions, and who is comfortable with frank talk about birth and bodies.
What sets it apart: It disowns the advice role outright: everyday parenting problems get pushed into absurd territory instead of solved, and guests contribute their own mishaps and birth stories rather than tips.
The Baby Bubble, hosted by twins Jessie and Clare Stephens (who had their first babies just 6 months apart), dives into the absurdity and hilarity of the first few months of newborn life. From the first post-birth poo, to the myth of schedules, and the absolute mayhem that comes with trying to leave the house.If you’re looking for advice you’ve come to the wrong place, but if you want someone to crawl down into the chaos with you, we’re already here and the water is great!
A birthday RSVP becomes a household labor argument that might make you answer your texts.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A candid twin birth story where fear, friendship, and F1 chatter sit in the same room.
Jessie Stephens' single-episode birth story follows a sudden turn from maternity leave on Friday to waters breaking on Saturday morning, then Harry and Margot arriving at 33 weeks a couple of days later.
A picnic-table dispute becomes a funny, useful lesson in public-space etiquette.
A park party turns into a neat little etiquette case study as the hosts work through whether a picnic table can be claimed before everyone arrives.
A warm Halloween episode about consumer pressure, neighborly kindness, and the pleasure of dressing children up.
Parenting Out Loud uses Halloween as a light but telling check on family priorities, moving from a 24-pack of Caramello Koalas and a thrown-together costume to smaller acts of community, like bringing in a neighbor's bin or taking over biscuits.
A candid culture conversation about job hugging and the flexibility parents are trying to protect.
Parenting Out Loud uses eldest-daughter identity as a way into the pressures now shaping family life and work. Monique Bowley, Stacey Hicks, and Amelia Lester fold their own school-captain, prefect, and youngest-child histories into a broader discussion, then follow the idea of…
A Taylor Swift detour becomes a funny, thoughtful look at why eldest daughters can feel like the middle parent.
Parenting Out Loud uses comments from Taylor Swift's brother as a springboard into what eldest daughters are often expected to absorb, manage, and smooth over.
Mom life, older bodies, zero polish.
Dad life, drafted and derailed.
Parenting chaos, told after bedtime.
Marriage, kids, mess, and mercy.
Dad life, after the patience runs out.
Two dads, a stack of nicknames, and zero filter.
The Baby Bubble special centers on Jessie Stephens describing how her waters broke at 4:45 a.m.
Stacey Hicks opens with Jessica DeFino's claim that eye bags are cool now, then pivots to Miranda Kerr, Evan Spiegel, and a Snapchat household that keeps younger kids off most screens.
Parenting Out Loud, hosted by Monique Bowley, Amelia Laster, and Stacey Hicks, opens with summer-listening chatter and then moves into a debate about Halloween, Hailey Bieber, and the Beckham family.
Parenting Out Loud spends this episode on Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Prince William, Corinne Lowe, and a Cart article about how well-read people find time for books.
Parenting Out Loud links Abby Wambach's advice about sports practices, Taylor Swift's Eldest Daughter track, and a comeback story about magicians.
Parenting Out Loud hosts Monique Botley, Amelia Lester, and Stacey Hicks examine children’s social-media preparation, including Jamie C.’s lesson for her 11-year-old that hostile comments may reflect the commenter’s feelings.
Stacey Hicks, Monique Bowley, and Amelia Lester examine Roblox’s 68 million daily users, including 40 million under 13, alongside reports of grooming and inappropriate content.
The Baby Bubble episode examines KPop Demon Hunters, parental tracking apps, and an argument that earlier parenthood can create more intergenerational support.
Parenting Out Loud examines a Father's Day email offering an opt-out for people with complicated relationships, infertility, pregnancy loss, or unwanted marketing data collection.
The Baby Bubble episode “SUMMER LISTENING: The Third Kid Dessert Analogy & FFS, Stop With The Texts” features Stacey Hicks, Monique Bowley, and Amelia Lester discussing parenting culture and online reactions.
Parenting Out Loud hosts Jessi Stephens, Amelia Lester, and Stacey Hicks examine postpartum retreats costing up to $5,200, separate bedrooms, “hopeless dads,” and declining bedtime reading.
Parenting Out Loud hosts Jessie Stephens, Amelia Lester, and Stacey Hicks debate Dr.
Jessi Stephens, Amelia Lester, and Stacey Hicks debate whether parenthood changes friendships, including one argument that friendship is “shared boredom” and another about arranging monthly babysitter-supported dinners.
Parenting Out Loud hosts Jess Stephens and Amelia Lester examine whether co-parents should praise each other, drawing on Catherine Giza Morton’s Brooding newsletter and Joe Jonas’s comments about Sophie Turner.
Parenting Out Loud hosts Jessi Stephens and Amelia Lester examine why family dinner advice can ignore apartment living, citing a 56% rise in Australian families with children living in apartments since 2011.
Jessie Stephens and Amelia Lester examine why Mormon women, Ballerina Farm, trad-wife culture, and “soft swinging” have become prominent in social media and reality television.
The Baby Bubble presents Rikki Lee Kalea's account of choosing a VBAC after Henry's emergency caesarean birth at 28 weeks and months in NICU.
Sam Mack joins Claire and Jessie Stephens on The Baby Bubble after moving from one child to two, with Margot nearly two and Mabel three weeks old.
The Baby Bubble's Claire and Jessie Stephens ask ABC journalist Matt Bevan why he and Rachel planned a third child before discovering through an ultrasound that the pregnancy involved twins.
The Baby Bubble hosts Claire and Jessie Stephens revisit a five-and-a-half-year-old conversation about why they wanted children, including cuddles, pregnancy, cafes, and time away from work.
The Baby Bubble hosts Claire and Jessie Stephens interview Ash Wicks about parenting Oscar and Macy, viral sketches with his wife April, and his vasectomy after deciding not to have a third child.
The Baby Bubble hosts Claire and Jessie Stephens interview Veronica Milsom about reducing waste with her second baby after using disposable products with her first child, Lila.
The Baby Bubble hosts Claire and Jessie Stephens interview Jordan Watson about solo dadding, including public reactions, feeding routines, clothing, and managing children without a partner present.
The Baby Bubble hosts Claire and Jessie Stephens interview actor, director, and writer Jess Harris about children's books, including Rita's Rhino, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Pinocchio, and The Green Sheep.
Jessie Stephens and Claire Stephens compare parenting fatigue with being locked inside the same 45 minutes, while discussing hot-chip-loving Luna and non-crawling Matilda.
Claire and Jessie Stephens answer a listener asking whether to fly alone with a 10-month-old from Sydney to Singapore, an 8-hour-25-minute journey each way.
Claire and Jessie Stephens use the final episode of The Baby Bubble to examine six months of parenting confusion, including checkups, vaccinations, feeding pillows, tummy time, and staged TikTok routines.
Claire and Jesse Stevens catalogue the logistics of leaving home with newborns Luna and Matilda, including nappies, missing clothes, damp grass, and a failed communal acupuncture visit.
The Baby Bubble episode “Sorry But… Were You Always This Incompetent?” examines Claire and Jessie Stephens’s frustration with partners Rory and Luca after Matilda and Luna arrive.
Claire and Jessie Stephens compare Luna and Matilda’s unpredictable sleep, including hourly waking, four-month sleep regression expectations, and babies treating 4:30 a.m.
Claire and Jessie Stephens examine the contradictory expectations placed on new mothers: stay in bed with a baby for 40 days, but also take the baby to the RSL so it learns to sleep around noise.
Claire and Jessie Stephens examine why infant feeding produces conflicting advice about supply, latching, tongue ties, bottles, pumping, and blocked ducts.
The Baby Bubble hosts Claire and Jessie Stephens compare postpartum firsts, including Claire's frightening first shower after an epidural and three days of labour.
The Baby Bubble, hosted by identical twins Claire and Jessie Stevens, examines the awkward first meeting between a parent and a newborn who has technically been known for only seconds.