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Mrs Mummy PhD

Journeys of Becoming...

About

Michelle | Mrs Mummy PhD

Hi, I’m Dr Michelle Gibbs – it’s so lovely to see you here!

I am the creative mind behind Mrs Mummy PhD®, Founder of Scholarly Mamas® and Author of Doodle Dozen®. I am married to my high school sweetheart and together we have three sons.

In my post-PhD era, I enjoy combining my knowledge, skills and experience to positively impact the experiences of patients & healthcare professionals through research and continuous learning in clinical practice. 

Mrs Mummy PhD®, however, comes from a place of lived experience and was created to help Mamas with/doing PhDs, to achieve their ambitious career goals without sacrificing themselves or the family life they love! 

If you’re like me and juggling many balls in real life (i.e. working hard toward your goals but also wanting to live your life with purpose and enjoy it to the full with those you love) then you are definitely in the right place.

My hope is to inspire you through the challenges you face in your own similar journeys, as you create your own legacy too!

A Love for Learning

I am a high-achiever, always have been and likely always will be. 

With 5 degrees, including my PhD, I unapologetically enjoy learning and intellectual stimulation. And as a researcher with a clinical background, I also enjoy the application of that knowledge to create innovation in healthcare and clinical practice.

However, early on in my career, I married my high-school sweetheart and we started a family together, becoming parents to our three wonderful sons – our three ‘son-shines’… our heartbeats!

Michelle | Mrs Mummy PhD

Redefining Success

While career building taught me how to be successful in one aspect of my life, becoming a wife and mother taught me how to blend the many hats I wore, purposefully.

However, throughout my career journey so far, I’ve witnessed so many ‘successful’ people missing out on the precious moments that make this life worth living, sacrificing themselves with lives in shambles beyond all the accolades, accomplishments and achievements. So, with a family to love and one wild life to live, I decided that this was not going to be my story!

I realised that purposeful success on my journey required a bold change in my thinking regarding what success in life was truly about.

I’m not saying you should not set goals for yourself. In fact, I’m a huge fan of having lofty goals and pursuing them boldly. I believe that, as mothers, we deserve to pursue and achieve our goals – no matter how big they are or what anyone else thinks about them…

But there is a hidden danger of focusing so much on reaching those goals or that perceived ‘destination’ that we don’t even stop to enjoy the journey. Instead, we risk burning out, not reaching our goals and losing what matters most… 

When we seek to discover a deeper purpose in the journeys of becoming whatever or whoever we want to be, then we can better serve every dimension of our lives in a purposeful and fulfilling way. 

This is how you achieve real success, Mama…

This is how you go from the overwhelm and disillusionment of the juggle-struggle, to overflowing with peace and purposeful success. 

And here on my platform, I help ambitious Mamas who are juggling all the things, to become unstoppable with less hustle and more harmony.

In this little corner of the internet, we are changing the juggle-struggle narrative that so many of us experience as ambitious Mamas, with a little grit and whole lot of grace. 

Let’s journey with purpose!

Join the journey!

I’ve created a space where other Mamas like you, who are feeling stuck in the throes of the juggle-struggle, can ditch the overwhelm without sacrificing what matters!

This evolving space is for intelligent, ambitious Scholarly Mamas® who want to elevate their lives with purpose, blending career ambition with present motherhood.

If this sounds like the kind of supportive space you need, then check out Scholarly Mamas®!

Also check out my shop with exclusive merchandise designed to empower Scholarly Mamas® like you to wear your whole selves purposefully!

If you want to begin living a more purposeful Scholarly Mama® life, then you are in the right place!

This Is Me…

Before you head off, just for fun, here are a few things I’d love you to know about me:

  • I grew up on the Caribbean island of Barbados. 
  • Growing up, I literally lived 5 minutes from the beach! Talk about the good life eh!
  • I married my beloved secondary (high) school sweetheart. My best friend, my soul mate.
  • An early bird? Oh yes, that’s definitely me. Give me early mornings over late nights any day!
  • Please don’t talk to me when I’m hungry… instead pray for your girl 🙂
  • I love fruit (and all things fruity). What’s that? Smoothie, you say? Yes please!
  • I love deep, meaningful convos! (I can talk even more than I can write, just ask my husband, haha!)
  • I enjoy walking outdoors, especially in the summer time, with my husband and our boys!
  • Family is everything to me, hands down! Home drums beat first here 🙂
  • I enjoy gardening too, because I think it’s when I do my best thinking.
  • I try to have an attitude of gratitude in all things, but accept that I’m still a work in progress!
  • Please keep it 100% real with me – I’ll definitely do the same for you as authenticity is one of my core values.
  • I am a believer and Jesus follower, Amen.

So when I’m not working, I enjoy spending quality time with my husband and our three boys as co-executive of our busy household, blogging, podcasting, or sharing my children’s book series!

Let’s Connect!

If you want to follow me on social media, I’m on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, Threads, Bluesky and Pinterest. I’m easy to find as I’m @mrsmummyphd on these platforms but I’m usually most active on Instagram.

If you would like to read my blog, you can start here.

Please also feel free to tune into my podcast!

Can’t wait to see you inside Scholarly Mamas®! 

Remember, these are our journeys of becoming! 

Until next time, I’m sending you all the love and gratitude your heart can handle!

Best wishes, 

Michelle - Mrs Mummy PhD

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Meet Mrs Mummy PhD®

Hey Mama! I'm Dr Michelle Gibbs and this little corner of the internet exists to help ambitious women like you, achieve your lofty goals without sacrificing what matters most. If you're juggling a family, career, scholarly journey and everything else in-between, then this space is for you! It's time to flourish on purpose, with less hustle and more harmony. So Mama, are you in? Fabulous! Let's begin. These are our journeys of becoming :-)

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So many Scholarly Mamas® are quietly hoping the ho So many Scholarly Mamas® are quietly hoping the holidays will finally bring relief.

More time. More space. More ease. More rest.

But rest doesn’t arrive just because the calendar slows down or says its mid-December.

You won’t feel rested if guilt follows you into the quiet…

If overworking still feels like the price of worth.

If ‘doing the most’ has become the way you keep everything together.

Rest isn’t seasonal. Rest isn’t a Christmas thing…

It’s structural and once you embed it, it’s transformational.

It comes when you stop trying to earn your right to slow down.

When you loosen your grip on proving and performing.

When you lead yourself differently… especially when no one is watching.

That isn’t laziness or self-indulgence.

It’s wisdom.

It’s self-leadership.

And for many @scholarlymamas

…that’s the real work of this season.

You’re allowed to choose a different way, because these are your journeys of becoming…🦋👩🏽‍🎓

Follow @mrsmummyphd for more!
🍂A seasonal reminder👇🏽 ⁠ Watching the leaves fall 🍂A seasonal reminder👇🏽
⁠
Watching the leaves fall this autumn reminds me that even the trees release what no longer serves them. They don’t cling. They don’t question their worth. They simply trust the process that is their becoming.
⁠
And maybe you’re in a season that feels a lot like falling… or even failing… The overwhelm. The high expectations. The creeping deadlines. The meetings, events, bookings, invites and appointments. The exhaustion. The mental load required to keep it all together. The quiet internal wondering that questions whether you’re still on the right path and making the right calls. All the things that come with juggling both academic work and motherhood…
⁠
But from one Scholarly Mama to another…

I’ve realised that sometimes those internal rumblings are the beginnings of your growth to become the woman this season is calling you to be…. a subtle sign to realign, to shake things up a bit, to do things a little differently this/next time.
⁠
Just like the trees, you’re allowed to let go of what no longer serves…
To release.
To rest.
To root deeper, so you can rise stronger.
⁠
Your becoming begins with a simple decision today… not tomorrow, not on 1st January 2026, not when you achieve this or that, not when someone else gives you the permission…. But right here, right now… in the “in-between”, in the messy middle.

The decision to choose purpose, presence and peace. The decision to give yourself grace for the season you’re in and trust that none of your growth is wasted. 
‘Tis the season for alignment…

❓What shift (big or small) is on the horizon for you? (Just know that I’m rooting for your joy & success!)
⁠
Mama, these are our journeys of becoming 🦋

Follow @mrsmummyphd for more!

#journeysofbecoming #jugglestruggle #scholarlymotherhood #autumn #autumnvibes #newseason #newyou #becoming
For the ambitious @scholarlymamas blending marriag For the ambitious @scholarlymamas blending marriage, motherhood, and a research career… I see you.

Because juggling all of this is its own kind of thesis, and busyness is not a badge of honour.

These are the gentle reminders I wish I had on the days I felt stretched thin:

You’re allowed to slow down.
You’re allowed to breathe.
You’re allowed to be brilliant and tender at the same time.
Your journey might look different, but it’s no less meaningful.
Your pace is worthy. And so are you...

These are your journeys of becoming 🦋
When I travelled recently for work—the solo suitca When I travelled recently for work—the solo suitcase, quiet hotel room, no mouths to feed, no one to get ready for bed… sounds like bliss (iykyk!), and yet my heart remained at home.

But instead of allowing the guilt to take over, I chose harmony:
- FaceTime during dinner
- Silly faces on screen
- FaceTime family worship
- Bedtime with the kids
- Uninterrupted chilled convos with my husband
- Letting connection travel with me.

Not perfectly. Not performatively. Just intentionally.

Then, I switched off completely and embraced the R&R!

For the @scholarlymamas navigating ambition + motherhood:

You don’t have to split yourself in half to make both matter.

You get to choose the personal mini-moves that keep you grounded, connected, and human.

Self-compassion is the bridge. Harmony is the goal.

Burnout doesn’t get to be the price of your dreams.

These are your journeys of becoming 🦋

#scholarlymama #workingmomwisdom #worklifeharmony #antiburnout #selfcompassionjourney #mrsmummyphd #journeysofbecoming #workingmama #minimoves
It’s the becoming, the growth, the evolution…👇🏽 T It’s the becoming, the growth, the evolution…👇🏽

This kind of freedom is priceless✨

To know oneself, to know one’s worth, to be able to embody grit & grace without the grind, to have clarity of purpose, to transform one’s PhD Motherhood journey it into something incredibly purposeful and beautiful… they offer the kind of joy that no one can take away.

So the next time you feel like you can’t do this without unpardonable sacrifice or without losing yourself in the process, remember that you can still pause to BE and success can still be yours regardless of the many other hats your wear.

Mama, these are our journeys of becoming 🦋
Growing up on a tiny Caribbean island, I had big d Growing up on a tiny Caribbean island, I had big dreams as a little girl, but there were no guarantees because options were limited.

Fast forward several decades and that little girl moved countries twice, married her high-school sweetheart, became an RD with 5 degrees, including her PhD, and had 3 amazing sons (+2 angel babies).

But it wasn’t all a walk in the park…

My PhD was the hardest thing I’d ever done, especially as wife and mother. Honestly, there were many moments I wanted to give up — nights when the weight of it all felt heavy, and the finish line felt out of reach. I often questioned if I could really see it through…

But then… there was him… My husband, my anchor, my ride or die guy — the quiet strength who held me when I wanted to let go. When I doubted myself, he reminded me who I was. He carried what I couldn’t, so I could keep pursuing my career dreams.

And then there were our 3 boys — their laughter, their little voices, reminding me why I started in the first place. They were my reason… my strength… my heartbeat through it all.

There were tears, prayers, and moments of doubt — but love kept me steady, faith kept me grounded, and family gave me purpose. I realised that love and ambition aren’t opposite ends of the spectrum, but they’re threads that can weave together into something extraordinary.

Because at the end of the day…
what is success if you have no one to share it with?

That PhD began as my dream — but it became our journey. Built on faith, held by love, and made real by the people who never let me forget why I began. 

So if I could go back to childhood me, I’d let that little island girl know that though it wouldn’t be easy, her dreams were 💯possible. I’d let her know that these will be her journeys of becoming 🦋

Tag all the @scholarlymamas who need to know that their dreams are possible too!

#scholarlymama #mrsmummyphd #journeysofbecoming #phd #scholarlymamas #phdmama #purposefulsuccess
If you’re in the throes of PhD Motherhood, this me If you’re in the throes of PhD Motherhood, this message is for you! 

Keep going Mama, cheering you on all the way to Dr [you]!

Secret to success: being intentional about your Scholarly Mama life!

Sometimes being intentional looks like taking breaks for rest, recovery and recharge. Sometimes it looks like embracing the new and shelving what isn’t working for you any longer. Sometimes it’s embracing the stillness of deep work or quiet reflection. 

Here are three questions to ask yourself when you’re in the trenches of the juggle struggle:

1.	What does success look like for me in this season, and am I giving myself permission to embrace it?

2.	What can I release — habits, expectations, or pressures — that no longer serve the woman I’m becoming?

3.	Where can I create small pockets of stillness to reconnect with my purpose and joy?

Which of these questions resonates with you most right now? 

Drop your thoughts in the comments — and tag another Scholarly Mama who needs to hear this today.

These are our journeys of becoming 🦋
"I met myself..." These were Dr Noni's words afte "I met myself..."

These were Dr Noni's words after an 8+ year PhD journey—one that led her from rejection and redirection to unexpected transformation.

This latest episode (Episode #121) is a powerful reminder that the academic path isn’t just about degrees or titles—it's a journey back to oneself.

If you’ve ever felt like your story doesn’t “fit” the traditional academic mold, this one is for you.

Remember, these are our journeys of becoming 🦋

#SelfDiscovery #PhDMotherhood #ScholarlyMama
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