Blended – Details, episodes & analysis

Hey Guys! Well, it's been quite a journey since the last time we chatted, and I've stepped out of my little bubble to share a special life update... Shae's here!

In today's mini update, I'll take you on a journey through what it's been like getting to know my gorgeous little girl and adapting to life with not just a newborn, but a toddler and teenagers! You know, trying to find our new rhythm and establish a fresh routine. But let me tell you, it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows. Shae made quite the entrance into this world, being born with congenital pneumonia, and I'll be sharing that rollercoaster of an experience today.

So, thank you for joining me on this incredible journey. Your support means the world to me.

If you haven't already, become part of the Blended community by following and interacting with us @Blended on Instagram.

Thanks for listening, and I can't wait to share more with you all!

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Hi guys, I’ve got something very exciting to share with you today, it’s been a long time in the making, but I’m so excited to say that my brand new book ‘How To Build a Family’ is out tomorrow - I can’t quite believe it!

How to Build a Family is a nurturing handbook that I wish I’d been given when I started out my journey in a fully blended family. As well as my experiences, and those of other blended families, it has advice and tips from experts you’ve heard on the show like Julia Samuel and Lisa Doodson. My goal in writing this book is to encourage, inspire and support families everywhere.

In today’s podcast I also talk about my other new book ‘The Family Tree’ which will be coming out on the 8th of June (quite the author I know). The Family Tree is a reassuring picture-book adventure that will help blended families feel seen and celebrated, offering gentle conversation starters for the youngest readers.

I hope you find these books refreshing and useful, as always thanks for your amazing love and support, I can’t wait to hear what you think of them!You can pre-order both books by clicking on the link here: https://bio.to/KateFerdinand

If you’re excited to be a part of the Blended community, make sure to follow @Blended on Instagram.

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Today’s episode of Blended is with content creator, author, mother and in her words survivor, Grace Victory.

In December 2020, Grace was seven months pregnant when she was diagnosed with a severe case of Covid. Grace was taken into emergency care and their son Cyprus was delivered via C-section. Hours after giving birth on Christmas Eve, Grace was put in a voluntary coma to treat her Covid. Months passed and Grace’s condition declined, Doctors only gave her a 5% chance to live.

Remarkably though Grace has made a full recovery.

Grace talks about re-learning how to live after a coma, missing your son’s first few months of life and being kind to yourself in the aftermath of traumatic events.

Grace’s story is one of trauma, adversity and pain but also one of hope, defying the odds and getting a second chance at life.

If you’re excited to be a part of the Blended community, make sure to follow @Blended on Instagram and you can pre-order my book How To Build A Family here https://lnk.to/HowToBuildAFamily

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Hey guys, I thought now might be a good time to update you with what’s been going on in my world because believe me it’s been chaotic. The headlines are holidays, hospitals and a whole lot of baby brain.

I’ve also been getting loads of questions from you guys about how we’re getting on with potty training Cree and as you’ll hear, it’s been an interesting experience…

I love checking in with you guys and just letting you know what I’ve been up to, I hope it’s relatable or at the very least you can have a laugh at my expense!


If you’re excited to be a part of the Blended community, make sure to follow @Blended on Instagram and you can pre-order my book How To Build A Family here https://lnk.to/HowToBuildAFamily

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Raising kids is no small feat and I think most people listening in will be able to relate. Whether you are part of a Blended family or not, this messy, yet beautiful, chapter we call childhood is FULL of questions, worries and concerns and sometimes all you want is a bit of support so that you can feel more comfortable supporting your kids in return.

With the new baby on the way, I’ve been encountering a lot more questions so I thought why not go back to parenting expert Dr Martha Deiros Collado who has got such a refreshing, calm, and empathetic way of tackling big subjects for some advice.


And that's what I did, so today I’ve got 3 of my favourite bits from Dr Martha. This advice is actually from her podcast - Taking Sense - which provides a thought provoking lens on child behaviour that all parents witness and see every day and find ideas to support you and your child.

It's honestly so great, and a little bit like Blended, it helps bring you closer to other parents who have similar concerns.

The advice discussed on today's episode are from the following episodes of Talking Sense, which you can listen to here:

How do I prepare my child for a new sibling?

When can we expect our children’s big outbursts to stop?

How to deal with others' judgement of our parenting?

I hope you find this mini-episode as useful as I have! If you’re excited to be a part of the Blended community, make sure to follow @Blended on Instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on Blended, we’re joined by the lovely reality TV star, Lydia Bright.

For pretty much all of Lydia’s life she’s been part of a Blended family. Her Mum Debbie and Dad Dave fostered over 250 children across 27 years, as well as having 3 biological children of their own meaning the Bright household was always a busy place to be!

Lydia’s now a single mother herself, raising her three year old daughter Loretta.
This chat focuses on both the Blended sides of Lydia’s life, the amazing and challenging experiences of growing up with foster siblings and becoming a single mother during a pandemic.

If you're a single parent or considering fostering, the experiences and advice Lydia shares in today’s episode is just invaluable.

If you’re excited to be a part of the Blended community, make sure to follow @Blended on Instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode of Blended is all about positive co-parenting and the process of blending two families with the hilarious Rickie Haywood Williams and Natalie Harman.

You may know Rickie from TV and Radio, he currently presents a Radio 1 show alongside Melvin Odoom and Charlie Hedges, but chances are you haven’t heard of his partner Natalie who remains out of the spotlight, this was her first time doing a podcast but you’d never know!

Rickie and Natalie met three years ago and after a successful period of dating they decided to combine their families. Both Rickie and Natalie have daughters of a similar age from previous relationships, and the four of them have Blended in the last couple of years. Last August Rickie and Natalie added to their family and had baby Cruz, their first child together.

Rickie and Natalie discuss all the topics that so often come up in parenting: How to navigate discipline and how to make sure you carve out time with your partner.

They also give some great advice on maturity to make co-parenting a harmonious process.

This episode is full of laughs, it’s a really heartwarming story that shows Blended families can bring so much joy!

If you’re excited to be a part of the Blended community, make sure to follow @Blended on Instagram.

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Today we have a very familiar face on Blended in the name of ex-footballer and more importantly my husband, Rio Ferdinand.

Rio finally comes on the podcast for a full episode to talk about how the family has changed from his perspective over the years.

Rio also discusses growing up in a blended family, both of his parents finding new partners and how his upbringing impacts the decisions he makes as a parent himself today.

There’s also a lot of banter in this episode, you can say what you want about Rio but he holds his hands up when he’s in the wrong and there’s a lot of laughs because of it!

This conversation also shows a side to Rio you may not have seen before and gives a real look in to the inner workings of our family - both the happy times and challenging!

If you’re excited to be a part of the Blended community, make sure to follow @Blended on Instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Something we place a lot of importance on in the Blended community is being really open and honest with our feelings and that’s exactly what we are in today’s episode with grief expert, loss author and CEO of the charity The Mariposa Trust (widely known by its primary support division ’Saying Goodbye’,) Zoe Clark-Coates MBE.

As you may remember from her last episode on Blended, Zoe has lost five babies, but her ability to take the positives and honour life from these experiences is so inspiring.

Zoe shares some great advice and tips from her book 'Pregnancy After Loss', including how to prepare for scans, coping mechanisms for stress and managing the joy and the fear of being pregnant after loss.

Click here for more information on Zoe’s Charity ’Saying Goodbye’ https://www.sayinggoodbye.org/ and find her on Instagram at @Zoeadelle.

If you’re excited to be a part of the Blended community, make sure to follow @Blended on Instagram.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.