It got better, a bit, between our 2 kids (born 1998 and 2003), but as a guy in the US i was expected to get back to work ASAP, with no formal leave aside from my existing vacation. I got lots of pushback for even attending the prebirth maternity appointments with my wife, which we insisted on. After birth, we shared sleepless nights and bottle feedings, but I was still working full time. My wife was a teacher at the time, so had the ever-shorter summer vacations, but there was no real break for me. IT was the best decision to have kids, but the headwinds, professionally, were disappointing and persistent.
Currently expecting my first child and today I was getting a little anxious about how life and couple dynamics may change after it. The end of the video, when you both have star eyes telling how, even with the struggles, having a child was so great and talking about the cute little complicity moments with your partners in it was really hearthwarming, thanks for the lift! :)
I haven’t seen a title/thumbnail that got me THIS excited in a very, very long time! 😅 Could I be MORE *the target audience*!? 😂 (it will take me a few days/viewing sessions to watch this between kids and making content, but yayyyyyyyy)
Saaaame! Cannot wait for the weekend when I can watch Hannah and Melanie's hour-long videos back-to-back while doing every chores and Christmas crafting 😍
This was such a fun video, and such a fascinating conversation! I loved getting to see your adventures in Bath and Simon's studio, and hear all about your different responses to similar-ish situations. (It feels like topic-of-videos and/or gender might play a role in the aesthetic of his studio versus what yours used to look like!?) Your and Simon's friendship and creative energy here has made me really energised to go be creative and make things! 🧡
I had to stop and comment this: Hannah, please record your bedtime mixtapes for Rowan to keep. When I was little I had a tape with my mum singing nursery rhymes on, but in the passage of time it’s gone. I so wish I had it now as a memory of that time. She’s still here and I stealthily record her when she’s telling stories or singing so I have the memories but I wish I had that tape ❤
Interesting chat. Simon saying he wishes he has a longer commute to listen to podcasts, it’s the one good thing of my hour and. A half commute and in fact I’ve listened to this video on my commute today. 😄 I also use it for video editing time as my channel is my hobby not my job.
Not to be an American, but to be an American - holy kittens the parental leave in the UK is just... staggeringly better. 14 months off work to care for a baby. Bummer it isn't equal for mothers and fathers, though. Also no huge medical bills for either of them. The need to pay for the birth on top of newborn expenses, even for people who do have some paid parental leave, often drives people back to work.
cries in american 😢 i got nothing with my last job, ended up taking all my sick leave and vacation for 10 weeks. this time i get 6 weeks and i’ll take a week of vacation to make it 7. phew.
My greatest hope is that there will be a shift in American culture, people will wise up and decide to vote in their own best interests, which will benefit all. I'm older - I'm not sure I'll live to see it, but I hope you will 💙💜💚
It’s crazy in the US but if it makes you feel any better 14 months is very unusual. Many places of work only offer statutory maternity leave which is set by the government. This is 90% of your salary for 6 weeks, then ~£180 a week for up to 9 months, then it’s zero. My work has their own policy which was full pay for 18 weeks and then statutory but it’s still financially crippling, I can’t imagine how it’s possible to have kids in the US, especially for those without healthcare. Europe is where it’s at - some countries get full pay for 2 years!!
As a reader i find "stealth-signing" so cool, but as a bookseller it stresses me out. There's this amazing system where we can return unsold books to the distributor/publisher. But you can't return a signed book and even worse, if you return the book without realizing it was signed you won't be reimbursed and with most distributors you wont get the book back either.
Hey hannah! I understand the limbo you are in with your work at the moment. Wanting to get stuck into projects but also aware that you might be unwell so is it worth starting. I have crohns disease and i might need a surgery like you had next year (resection and stoma) but i feel really well right now! I'm also self employed and if i had this surgery i would be out of work with no income for a while.
I agree and wanted to also add this to the scales of mum vs. dad differences! The mums have a higher chance of already having to make quite big differences to their work when they are pregnant, whereas the dads could probably work full time right until the baby is actually born
I thoroughly enjoy your lifestyle channel, Great Great Great Great Great Aunt Hannah. More so than your main channel. It's really entertaining and enjoyable to get a peak into what your real life actually looks like. More, please!!!!! Love you!!!!!♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ (P.S., I haven't actually watched the video yet. I just clicked right away!)♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
I don’t have a baby, but my husband works in a traditional office job and I work from home. Inevitably, I end up doing more house chores because I’m here all day. It’s just easier to do laundry, wash dishes, vacuum, etc. in between tasks or meetings. We’re constantly trying to balance me feeling like I’m doing too much and him feeling like he’s not doing enough. But I agree with Hannah’s pickup sentiment - it’s more because of my flexible job that I do it rather than the gender role.
Merry Christmas happy holidays Hannah and Simon and please do more videos and I absolutely enjoyed them 🎁🎄❄️❤️❤️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️☃️🎅🏻🌨️💚💚🎁💚💚🎁🎄❄️❄️❄️☃️🎅🏻🎁🎁🎄🎄🎁🎁🎁❤️❄️❄️🎅🏻
I find this fascinating. We have a similar dynamic in one of us is a creative freelancer, the other 9-5. 2 kids completely compounded the issue 😂😂 . We have taken turns in pushing our careers, which in itself has limitations. Gahh no easy answer. It really is something you have to think about as a family issue not a personal one which can equally cause problems. The world is not set up for working parents.
Do any other parents do Parent Bingo? It’s where you find yourself saying a very stereotypical parent phrase to yours kids, usually something your parents used to say to you like “it just came out of the oven” when they say something is hot. Then you look at your partner and say “Parent Bingo!”
What a great video! This in general is a topic that'll come up for me in a few years. However, I am an engineer and my husband's a anaesthesiologist in a hospital so we both have fairly regulated jobs. (With quite a good pay) He just has unusual work hours which i think could actually be a benefit. (Might actually be curse and blessing simultaneously but we'll see) 😊
Really interesting. Another part of it is who's doing the "childcare" outside "workhours" ie evenings, weekends and all the night parenting and care. Especially with a young baby. I did the traditional job, 12 months mat leave and then annual leave so 14months. With a wakeful baby and breastfeeding preferance for night feeds from 4 months, not also being at work felt vital. Much income lost as I was on significantly less pay but yeah childcare is expensive and i dont think i could have swung it with all 24/7 needs of the family. I guess needs must but tough with a young baby. Plus recovery from birth/matrescence and for some bf on demand makes for a lot for working mums to navigate. So hats off to you Hannah, I hope having the flexibility etc was kind to you but it's hard graft and can be very isolating being a parent x
I only unfollow and Instagram accounts if they post something I don't like or that upset me etc etc. So creators having long breaks makes absolutely no difference to me. No idea who's keeping a check of their following list and removing people regularly 😂
Reception (1st year of primary) is from 4. But lots of primary schools have attached pre-school nurserys that kids can attend from 3 (or even 2 in some places!).
haha I hadn't even though of that! very much old school youtube collab set up is ingrained in me but I guess the facing each other and not the camera is more what people expect from like video podcasts these days. I guess it's just a different format!
See, maybe I'm showing my age, but this looks like a totally normal RUclips collab video to me 😂 but then, I have been watching RUclips since before Hannah was making videos.
Double the kids double the mat leave, i'd say go with 6 months as two is harder to take care of than one. Saying this with my 5 month old asleep in my arms going through sleep regression! Could you maybe bank extra videos as you prepare for pregnancy..
Ooh, Hannah said, at 39:43, "the math does not math" and not the maths does not maths. Confirmation that even the English can say math instead of maths.... sometimes. 🙂😁
As I recall you were vilifying social media for years before getting pregnant, subconsciously looking for reasons to quit so it probably wasn't because of the baby. Be honest, Victoria :) I think it's possible to revitalize it with a few choice course corrections.
Thank you for coming to visit! Was so great talking through our journeys
I apreciate very much that Simon talked about the gender difference in your experiences getting back to work after having a baby
It got better, a bit, between our 2 kids (born 1998 and 2003), but as a guy in the US i was expected to get back to work ASAP, with no formal leave aside from my existing vacation. I got lots of pushback for even attending the prebirth maternity appointments with my wife, which we insisted on. After birth, we shared sleepless nights and bottle feedings, but I was still working full time. My wife was a teacher at the time, so had the ever-shorter summer vacations, but there was no real break for me. IT was the best decision to have kids, but the headwinds, professionally, were disappointing and persistent.
Currently expecting my first child and today I was getting a little anxious about how life and couple dynamics may change after it. The end of the video, when you both have star eyes telling how, even with the struggles, having a child was so great and talking about the cute little complicity moments with your partners in it was really hearthwarming, thanks for the lift! :)
I almost cut that bit out and this comment made me glad I kept it in the video 💛💛
So glad you didn’t cut that part out, it was so beautiful to hear!
"We read stories in a linear fashion" is an insane thing to say to a kid, I can't wait to see what comes of this.
I'm glad someone else clocked this bc that line made me crease up omg
It's amazing because I already see my husband with our future children use very high vocabulary. So this is a nice view into our the future. 🥰
I haven’t seen a title/thumbnail that got me THIS excited in a very, very long time! 😅 Could I be MORE *the target audience*!? 😂 (it will take me a few days/viewing sessions to watch this between kids and making content, but yayyyyyyyy)
Haha the reality of being a parent and trying to watch a single RUclips video 😅😅
Saaaame! Cannot wait for the weekend when I can watch Hannah and Melanie's hour-long videos back-to-back while doing every chores and Christmas crafting 😍
Simon was so excited to do his tour🥹 He’s so sweet bless him - looking forward to seeing more of the video but couldn’t resist commenting haha
This was such a fun video, and such a fascinating conversation! I loved getting to see your adventures in Bath and Simon's studio, and hear all about your different responses to similar-ish situations. (It feels like topic-of-videos and/or gender might play a role in the aesthetic of his studio versus what yours used to look like!?) Your and Simon's friendship and creative energy here has made me really energised to go be creative and make things! 🧡
I'm so glad the video had that effect!!
I had to stop and comment this: Hannah, please record your bedtime mixtapes for Rowan to keep. When I was little I had a tape with my mum singing nursery rhymes on, but in the passage of time it’s gone. I so wish I had it now as a memory of that time. She’s still here and I stealthily record her when she’s telling stories or singing so I have the memories but I wish I had that tape ❤
this is so sweet omg
Interesting chat.
Simon saying he wishes he has a longer commute to listen to podcasts, it’s the one good thing of my hour and. A half commute and in fact I’ve listened to this video on my commute today. 😄
I also use it for video editing time as my channel is my hobby not my job.
Not to be an American, but to be an American - holy kittens the parental leave in the UK is just... staggeringly better. 14 months off work to care for a baby. Bummer it isn't equal for mothers and fathers, though. Also no huge medical bills for either of them. The need to pay for the birth on top of newborn expenses, even for people who do have some paid parental leave, often drives people back to work.
cries in american 😢 i got nothing with my
last job, ended up taking all my sick leave and vacation for 10 weeks. this time i get 6 weeks and i’ll take a week of vacation to make it 7. phew.
My greatest hope is that there will be a shift in American culture, people will wise up and decide to vote in their own best interests, which will benefit all. I'm older - I'm not sure I'll live to see it, but I hope you will 💙💜💚
It’s crazy in the US but if it makes you feel any better 14 months is very unusual. Many places of work only offer statutory maternity leave which is set by the government. This is 90% of your salary for 6 weeks, then ~£180 a week for up to 9 months, then it’s zero. My work has their own policy which was full pay for 18 weeks and then statutory but it’s still financially crippling, I can’t imagine how it’s possible to have kids in the US, especially for those without healthcare. Europe is where it’s at - some countries get full pay for 2 years!!
Lovely to hear you both try to explain the joys of parenthood! 😊
I found a "stealth-signed" copy of Goldilocks in a bookshop in Edinburgh and only realised when I opened it at home 😍 So cool! (and a great read!)
The book by Laura Lam? Because the fairytale Goldilocks has not author to sign it anymore, i think :D
so cool!
As a reader i find "stealth-signing" so cool, but as a bookseller it stresses me out. There's this amazing system where we can return unsold books to the distributor/publisher. But you can't return a signed book and even worse, if you return the book without realizing it was signed you won't be reimbursed and with most distributors you wont get the book back either.
Hey hannah! I understand the limbo you are in with your work at the moment. Wanting to get stuck into projects but also aware that you might be unwell so is it worth starting. I have crohns disease and i might need a surgery like you had next year (resection and stoma) but i feel really well right now! I'm also self employed and if i had this surgery i would be out of work with no income for a while.
it's so hard figuring out how much to throw yourself into things when in that limbo!! hope all goes well for you next year!
@@morehannah I wish you all the best too. I hope your limbo becomes a positive one! ❤
I agree and wanted to also add this to the scales of mum vs. dad differences! The mums have a higher chance of already having to make quite big differences to their work when they are pregnant, whereas the dads could probably work full time right until the baby is actually born
I am really pleased you raised this topic as I think alot of new parents myself include have to make the same decisions. Thank you ❤
The Broken Earth Trilogy was one of the most amazing things I have read. But boy did it tear me apart.
The community is honestly priceless. Love TCR! And I love your content!
priceless!
thank u hannah and simon!! such a good video ❤
I subscribed. Oops. Honestly, I didn't realize I wasn't subbed. 😂
Fun video, I enjoyed the way the vlog led into the discussion :)
I thoroughly enjoy your lifestyle channel, Great Great Great Great Great Aunt Hannah. More so than your main channel. It's really entertaining and enjoyable to get a peak into what your real life actually looks like. More, please!!!!! Love you!!!!!♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️ (P.S., I haven't actually watched the video yet. I just clicked right away!)♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
I don’t have a baby, but my husband works in a traditional office job and I work from home. Inevitably, I end up doing more house chores because I’m here all day. It’s just easier to do laundry, wash dishes, vacuum, etc. in between tasks or meetings. We’re constantly trying to balance me feeling like I’m doing too much and him feeling like he’s not doing enough. But I agree with Hannah’s pickup sentiment - it’s more because of my flexible job that I do it rather than the gender role.
Oh hello, my two favourite youtubers in one video!
Cries in American where 3 months is about as good as it gets for Mat leave
All your leave entitlements are so much worse 😢 sick leave, paid time off, parental leave etc. Feel for you.
Merry Christmas happy holidays Hannah and Simon and please do more videos and I absolutely enjoyed them 🎁🎄❄️❤️❤️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️☃️🎅🏻🌨️💚💚🎁💚💚🎁🎄❄️❄️❄️☃️🎅🏻🎁🎁🎄🎄🎁🎁🎁❤️❄️❄️🎅🏻
I find this fascinating. We have a similar dynamic in one of us is a creative freelancer, the other 9-5. 2 kids completely compounded the issue 😂😂 . We have taken turns in pushing our careers, which in itself has limitations. Gahh no easy answer. It really is something you have to think about as a family issue not a personal one which can equally cause problems. The world is not set up for working parents.
Really enjoyed this thanks x
Love Toppings in Bath, we take our kids there and they love it too, such an important experience picking a physical book.
What industry does Dan work in if you don't mind sharing? Guessing it's tech related?
Really insightful!!
Damn, y'all are singing some hard bedtime songs out here
Oooooooooh it's my two fav RUclipsrs! AWESOME
Do any other parents do Parent Bingo?
It’s where you find yourself saying a very stereotypical parent phrase to yours kids, usually something your parents used to say to you like “it just came out of the oven” when they say something is hot. Then you look at your partner and say “Parent Bingo!”
Loved the video! I found it very interesting!
This was such a joyful video!
What a great video! This in general is a topic that'll come up for me in a few years. However, I am an engineer and my husband's a anaesthesiologist in a hospital so we both have fairly regulated jobs. (With quite a good pay)
He just has unusual work hours which i think could actually be a benefit. (Might actually be curse and blessing simultaneously but we'll see) 😊
Really interesting. Another part of it is who's doing the "childcare" outside "workhours" ie evenings, weekends and all the night parenting and care. Especially with a young baby. I did the traditional job, 12 months mat leave and then annual leave so 14months. With a wakeful baby and breastfeeding preferance for night feeds from 4 months, not also being at work felt vital. Much income lost as I was on significantly less pay but yeah childcare is expensive and i dont think i could have swung it with all 24/7 needs of the family. I guess needs must but tough with a young baby. Plus recovery from birth/matrescence and for some bf on demand makes for a lot for working mums to navigate. So hats off to you Hannah, I hope having the flexibility etc was kind to you but it's hard graft and can be very isolating being a parent x
Great video!❤
Very interesting discussion.
hannah how does your hair grow so long so quickly 😭😭 let me know your secrets
I only unfollow and Instagram accounts if they post something I don't like or that upset me etc etc. So creators having long breaks makes absolutely no difference to me. No idea who's keeping a check of their following list and removing people regularly 😂
Vlogception!
Hi, hannah! ❤❤❤
THE Doctor Simon Clark?! :D :o
Looking at primary schools already? 🥺 Sorry, I'm not British so I have no idea what age they start and when you have to choose the school.
They will go at 4 years old
In England 4, Scotland 5 not sure for everywhere else
Looking at primary schools for nurseries that are attached which he can start when he’s 3
Reception (1st year of primary) is from 4. But lots of primary schools have attached pre-school nurserys that kids can attend from 3 (or even 2 in some places!).
Leaving a comment for the algorithm
Would love to see y'all sit facing each other. This front facing angle is a tad awkward. love the vid still
haha I hadn't even though of that! very much old school youtube collab set up is ingrained in me but I guess the facing each other and not the camera is more what people expect from like video podcasts these days. I guess it's just a different format!
See, maybe I'm showing my age, but this looks like a totally normal RUclips collab video to me 😂 but then, I have been watching RUclips since before Hannah was making videos.
hi
Double the kids double the mat leave, i'd say go with 6 months as two is harder to take care of than one. Saying this with my 5 month old asleep in my arms going through sleep regression! Could you maybe bank extra videos as you prepare for pregnancy..
Does anyone in the comments have a recommendation for a career coach in london?
Dan should have had 14 months off!
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Ooh, Hannah said, at 39:43, "the math does not math" and not the maths does not maths. Confirmation that even the English can say math instead of maths.... sometimes. 🙂😁
hahaha I definitely say "maths" normally but I was quoting internet speak which is overwhelmingly american
As I recall you were vilifying social media for years before getting pregnant, subconsciously looking for reasons to quit so it probably wasn't because of the baby. Be honest, Victoria :)
I think it's possible to revitalize it with a few choice course corrections.
who's victoria?
And how many followers do you have?
@morehannah I might be wrong but I think it's a reference to a Victoria Beckham interview turned into meme where David tells her to be honest.
Isn’t that what she’s saying around 37:15 herself?
This is very outstanding and learned a lot and educational 🎁❄️❄️❄️❄️🎁❤️💚🎅🏻☃️🎄🎄❤️🎁❤️🎄🎄❄️🎅🏻💚🎁🎁❤️❤️🎁❄️❄️🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻💚☃️🌨️🎄🎄