Becoming Mum

** Trigger Warning, Stillbirth, Baby Loss**October is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month and today’s guest is going to share a story with us all that will undoubtedly have you reaching for the tissues and holding your babies tighter that normal. This was one of the hardest interviews I have done but it is such an important topic because it is very likely that you or someone you know will have been affected by it. Unfortunately stillbirth isn’t rare, the statistics in Australia alone are 1 in 120. In November last year, the unthinkable happened to Emma Bowes – her fourth pregnancy, a healthy pregnancy, resulted in her baby girl Elke pixie being stillborn at 36 weeks – with no explanation. Elke's story aims to give people a better understanding of how to support their friends who have experienced baby loss and how important it is to monitor the movements of our little babes-in-womb.As mentioned in the episode, in-lieu of receiving presents for her upcoming 40th birthday, Emma has decided to raise funds for Still Aware and you can contribute here.You can read more about Elke's story and Emma's beautiful writing over on her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honestly.emma/Here are a list of resources mentioned in the episode:stillaware.orgstillbirthfoundation.org.auwww.sands.org.auwww.rednose.org.au

Feminine energy doesn't just belong to women and masculine energies don't just belong to men. Tune in this week to understand the important balance between the two and how they may be playing out in your own life. This one's not just for the mamas!Find out more about Alanna here: https://www.instagram.com/iam.alannajane/

This episode contains dialogue around child sexual abuse, which may be triggering for some.I get that most of you listening to this podcast come here for pre and postnatal advice and while I strive to cover a wide range of topics on the show, I’ve never spoken about anything as dark or as serious as this. But this is not something we can stick our heads in the sand over and we can start by having conversations in our own homes and with the children in our lives. The internet has it’s pros – we all know that – but along with our tech advancements come the cons. And the cons we are going to cover today are things that every parent needs to confront, it’s inevitable with the way technology is moving. Today’s guest is Adam Whittington, the founder of non profit organization PRC - Project Rescue Children, which exists to abolish child trafficking, exploitation, slavery & child sexual abuse. It’s heavy I know. But it’s a conversation we all need to start having. Because it’s happening, everywhere and sometimes right under our noses. And the link between your child’s internet habits and this horrific crime will shock you.Support PRC here: https://www.projectrescuechildren.org/Follow PRC on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/projectrescuechildren/And on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/ProjectRescueChildren/

Making a return to the podcast this week is the principal psychologist of the Women's Psychology Clinic, Dr Libby Quinn. With extensive training and clinical practice, Dr Libby is hands down the best therapist I have ever seen (and why I continue to see her regularly) She just gets us ladies! Dr Libby is across all the evidence based tools used to enhance our psychological wellbeing and today we get into understanding how our core beliefs can run our worlds (and what we can do to stop that from happening!) and the process involved in rewriting the 'I'm not good enough' story. After this chat you'll learn that it is just a story - and all stories can be rewritten!Listen to her previous interview here: https://apple.co/3gggYWwFollow Dr Libby on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/thewomenspsychologist/

Returning to the podcast this week is Dr Nat Kringoudis, doctor of Chinese medicine, Acupuncturist, Author, Speaker, co-host of the Period Party podcast and the Wellness Collective podcast, put simply - an all-round natural fertility expert! This episode is a recording taken from my Becoming Mum Live Virtual Event series and in today's episode we chat about:understanding our unique hormonal imbalances,endometriosis + painful periods, and why it's so important to get to the root cause of these conditions.Follow Nat on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/natkringoudis/

Solo mama to her little girl, Leila Stead, a talented writer and photographer, is the incredible woman behind the blog Ever the Daring and podcast We are the Daring. She’s passionate, authentic, brave, vulnerable and she’s not afraid to talk about controversial topics. Today we dive into life as a solo mama, how it happened, how she moved through it, starting to date again, parenting, the lessons she’s learned along the way, how important it is to take care of you first and standing in your truth and speaking it (even if it makes people uncomfortable), dealing with online trolls and the process of caring for her terminally ill mama. This is one jam packed episode!Follow Leila on Instagram hereCheck out her photography hereListen to her podcast here

Today's episode is brought to you by Amy's newest online offering, Returning Home, a 6-month membership for mamas to support them as they find their 'new normal'. *CLOSES SUN MAY 10*Our global situation has forced a change in so many of our lives. On top of the everyday mum duties, mothers the world over are trying to simultaneously educate their children, run their own businesses, work from home and keep everyone fed, clean and clothed. For some it has been a wonderful opportunity to slow down, however for others, the pressure dial has just been turned up a whole lot more. According to Amy Taylor-Kabbaz, a former journalist and matrescence activist, a spotlight has been shone on motherhood like never before, and two things have become very clear: We will not continue to accept we have to do everything all of the time, and together, we can honour motherhood differently. Find out more about the program hereListen to the previous interview with Amy here

How do you feel when your little one has a meltdown, or when you get triggered by their behaviour and you snap? I’ve been there and to be honest it feels awful and I’ve often wondered why I am so quick to be triggered. Today’s guest, Katie Crosby, a paediatric occupational therapist, is an expert in the emotions and behaviours of kids (and inner kids) In this episode, Katie shares with us some incredible information on understanding what it is ourselves AND our kids need in a “meltdown” moment and additionally, how our experience as children will determine how we typically react in those moments. Parenting it seems, is about what we need AND what our children need and I absolutely loved this perspective with Katie and hope you do too.Find out more about Katie here:https://www.thrivinglittles.com/Her courses here:https://thriving-littles.mykajabi.com/meltdownscourseFollow on Instagram here:https://www.instagram.com/thrivinglittles/On Facebook here:https://www.facebook.com/thrivinglittles/

If you’re anything like me and probably a million other women, chaos and mess makes you feel anxious and overwhelmed, and today’s guest sums it up perfectly - "it’s not about having the perfect pantry or having the cleanest house it’s about feeling in control and not being a slave to your home and your life". Steph Pase (aka @justanothermummyblog) is an Aussie mum of two beautiful girls and the creative and organised genius behind Steph Pase planners, but today we move beyond schedules and to-do lists and dive deep into where life schooled her with some big lessons including growing up with a non-verbal sibling, a 25kg weight loss journey and how it took becoming a mum to break the damaging relationship she had with food and her body.Find out more about Steph here: https://justanothermummyblog.com/Purchase her products here: https://www.stephpaseplanners.com.au/Follow Steph on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/justanothermummyblog/Watch Steph on YouTube here: https://bit.ly/3eqWWIO

Nicola Laye has helped thousands of women with her background in Palliative care, Pilates teaching and more recently in her role as breath workshop facilitator and pregnancy coach. In today's episode we dive into how the breath can help us out of anxiety not only in pregnancy but in everyday life.You can find out more about Nicola here: https://www.nicolalaye.com/Follow Nicola on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/nicola_laye/Listen to her Meditation track here: https://www.nicolalaye.com/meditation-track

I have heard from so many mothers who are experiencing anxiety, fear and overwhelm with what is happening in the world right now due to Coronavirus. So I decided to sit down with meditation teacher and founder of the Momi Method, Nicole King to get some great practical advice on how to deal with these feelings, not only for ourselves but to model for our children as well.We go through simple breathing techniques for you and your family as well as activities you can do with your children should you be in a quarantine situation.You can find out more about Nicole here: https://nicolekingwellbeing.com/Follow Nicole on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/nicolekingwellbeing/

If you’re a mum, fatigue, loss of libido, brain fog (mumbrain), thinning hair, sagging skin and softer nails are all things we just accept as common and normal after giving birth. However, common doesn’t necessarily mean normal and our next guest chats to us about his work in identifying a syndrome all mothers experience to some degree, called Postnatal Depletion. I first heard of Dr Oscar Serrallach when I was pregnant, he has written a book called The Postnatal Depletion Cure which I started to skim through when I was pregnant, however I didn’t really start to look at it properly until a few months postpartum. (If I could go back to when I was pregnant I would have read his book from cover to cover twice – just to make sure I didn’t miss anything!) We put so much emphasis on the birth and the baby, and like he says in the interview, birth is not the finish line. His article on Gwyneth Paltrow’s website GOOP received world wide attention and in addition to practicing integrative medicine at The Health Lodge in Byron Bay, Dr Oscar has grown a real presence of social media and is a big advocate for restoring mother-centred care in our communities. Mamas you are going to love this episode.Find out more about Dr Oscar here: http://oscarserrallach.com/Follow Dr Oscar on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/droscarserrallach/

So there's actually 7 items that I talk about, but 5 items sounded so much better!#1 The Mumsie Genius creation by Sunshine Coast mama Janneke. Overalls that carry your baby!#2 Mummy Backpack - Goodbye handbag... There are so many of these available, just make sure you get one with bottle compartments and lots of pockets!#3 Formula Dispenser - I can't believe it took me months to know these existed. Again so many available, choose one that suits!#4 Sophie the GiraffeEntertaining and incredible for teething!#5 Terry Towelling Nappies - I have these all over the house to wipe up all sorts of spills. Great burp cloths too for when they are little.#6 Overhead bibs - For when your sassy 8 month old thinks she can take them off!#7 Hard Books - For when your baby thinks they can turn the pages of a regular book, but just end up scrunching them up! Where is the Green Sheep? It's Time to Sleep my Love are two of our faves

This week I chat to Tara Mitchell, otherwise known as The Gentle Sleep Specialist. She is a Paediatric nurse and infant & toddler sleep consultant with over 200 5-star reviews for her work. Tara has worked with over 1000 clients and is a trusted referral source for Paediatricians, Midwives, Child Health Nurses, Pharmacists, Psychologists, Teachers and many more. Today we bust the myth that being a parent inherently means you say goodbye to good sleep and that babies are just ‘bad at sleeping’.We talk about why sleep is so important for our kids physically, emotionally and psychologically and how a lack of sleep may not only impacts their health, but the health of their families as well. We discuss why families should absolutely seek help if they need it as well as the below common challenges:+ how can I prevent my baby being overtired?+ transitioning to their own cot/room+ how reflux affects sleep+ sleep and feeding and why breastfeeding mums can have babies that sleep through the night+ what to do about early risingYou can find out more about Tara and her work here: https://gentlesleep.com.au/Follow her on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/thegentlesleepspecialist/

Susie Prout supports mamas to not only survive breastfeeding but to thrive while doing do. She is a Registered Midwife and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant originally from Perth, currently based in Indonesia with her husband and three young children. Today we are going to talk about the common challenges she sees including the top up trap, biting while feeding and over supply as well as tongue ties, breastfeeding in public and why breastfeeding isn’t worth it for every mama.Find out more about Susie here: https://www.susieproutlactation.com/about-meFollow her on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/susieproutlactation/Listen to her podcast The Australian Breastfeeding Podcast here: https://www.susieproutlactation.com/podcast

How to use essential oils for babies is one of the most commonly searched for terms and the type of questions I receive the most. I have been using doTERRA essential oils on Lucia who is 8 months old now, since she was about 5 weeks old.I use Frankincense, Copaiba, Magnolia, Lavender, Roman Chamomile, On Guard (sparingly) and DigestZen. Listen to this episode to hear exactly how I do that!

Diana is a mother of 3, a midwife, a paediatric nurse, founder of Gathered Birth and the digital education editor over at Motherly – an uplifting online community full of expert tricks-of-the-trade and inspiring stories. She is also the author of soon to be released The Motherly Guide to Becoming Mama, and today we dive into why token self care is not enough for the burn out mums are facing, how we collectively need to honour matrescence and the transition into motherhood, and what you can do to make 2020 the #yearofthemotherwww.gatheredbirth.comwww.mother.ly Follow Motherly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mother.ly/Make 2020 #theyearofthemother: https://www.mother.ly/st/year-of-the-motherPre-order Diana's book here The Motherly Guide to Becoming Mama

Angela Fitzgerald is a birth healing coach, midwife and mother. She helps women heal from birth and prepare for their next births through her unique personal coaching programmes. Angela believes that we can heal from birth no matter how long ago it was, and when we heal from our experience of childbirth we have the power to heal so much more. Today we dive into really owning our feminine power, which starts long before we have a baby and how tuning into the natural ebbs and flows of our planet we can cultivate a relationship with ourselves that can serve us right through motherhood and beyond (hint hint – our periods are not something to be ashamed of and inconvenienced by!) Seriously, if you’re a woman anywhere – this is a must listen!Find out more about Angela and her coaching programmes here: https://www.birthyourtruth.com/Women with Wings: https://sacredwisewoman.com.au/women-with-wings/

Dear mama,I see you, doing the best you can.Showing up every single day,even when you don't feel like it.I want you to know you are a rockstarCONT . . .

In today's episode we dive into what sperm health has dropped 50% over the last four decades and how we can take matters into our own hands when it comes to male infertility. Sarah Heywood is the Founder of The Journey, a new digital media platform dedicated to providing people with evidence based, easy-to-understand information on fertility, conception, pregnancy and the early years.We chat about how hormones affect sperm health, the role Vitamin D plays in fertility, why men- to a degree, also have a 'biological clock', why recurrent miscarriages can also be due to sperm DNA fragmentation and not just because of an issue with the woman and so much more!