This week, I'm talking with J'Nel Metherell who is a lactation consultant located in the UK about the obsessive weighing of newborns.

I was drawn to speak with J'Nel after reading a post she had written on Instagram about obsessive weighing. I could tell immediately that she had hit on a troublesome area because her post had plenty of comments from young mothers who clearly identified with its contents in their birthing journeys.

During our discussion, you'll hear J'nel talk about why "having blinkers on" and solely relying on the baby's weight when they are born often leads to decisions being made which cause both mums and babies unnecessary stress, setting them on a path that can lead to feeding and other difficulties.

When you're a busy mum and often time poor, making and maintaining friendships can be a daunting task. This becomes an even greater challenge when you are living away from family and friends. You've got to start over again from scratch, finding new friends, new schools and community.

Mum of 2, connection mentor and coach and host of the Connected Mom Life podcast, Emily Siegel has experienced these challenges firsthand after moving interstate on a number of occasions. This included a move shortly after she gave birth to her first child.

Over the years Emily has learned how to make friendships in new communities and she has a thriving community and is on a mission to help mums create more real life friendships.

During our chat, you'll hear Emily talk about the 5 types of connections that every mum needs in their circle of friends and much more.

In this week's episode of First Time Mum's Chat I'm chatting with midwife Beau Wilson about active birthing.

I'm a big fan of holistic solutions and was fascinated when Beau told me all about the holistic childbirth education and support that she provides to families. I particularly like the way in which she empowers and gives both the mums and partners that she trains a level of independence, so they are prepared for the birth process with a good degree of confidence.

During our chat you'll hear Beau talk about:-

• The process of active birthing, including its many benefits such as the advantages of being active and upright and mobilizing the pelvis during the birth process.
• The many advantages of having a waterbirth for both mother and baby and you'll hear all about the process.
• The advantages of delayed umbilical cord clamping.
• How homeopathy can help mums have more control over their birth experience and treat things that they wouldn't be able to do in conventional medicine.

And much more...

Whether your little one is on the way and you want to learn about how to plan a good bedtime routine or you've already given birth and are faced with sleep issues or queries, then this episode is for you!

This week on First Time Mum's Chat I'm chatting with pediatric sleep specialist, Hilliary Giglio. Hilliary battled with sleep issues with her child which left her sleep deprived and struggling. After experiencing an amazingly quick transformation when she sought help, Hilliary decided to make it her mission to help other parents faced with the same issues.

During our chat you'll hear Hilliary talk about:-

• Why bedtime routines signal to your little one's body and brain that sleep is coming, making them crucial for good sleep.
• Why you need to follow exactly the same steps in your bedtime routine each and every day without exception.
• Tips on when to schedule your little one's feeding and how it will impact their sleep cycle.
• How to help your little one sleep during the daytime and their naptimes.

And so much more ....

Mums face quite a challenge when trying to navigate their new life after giving birth. In this week's episode of First Time Mum's Chat I'm exploring the challenge of financial stress which is something many of the mums I speak with face.

I'm talking with financial coach, Candice Bakx-Friesen, who is a mother of 4 active kids. You'll hear Candice talk about what steps you can take towards being, even a bit less stressed in your home as you commence your parenting journey.

Whether this is your first time becoming a parent or the 6th, you'll want to listen to Candice's pearls of wisdom.

Having worked as a childcare educator for many years since the 1980's, I've spent many years planning activities for babies, infants and toddlers. Not surprisingly I've seen many changes in how we do things and in the family unit.

Being of an age where I knew life before the likes of computers and smartphones, I'm very concerned with the impacts of technology on infant development in this modern, fast-paced world.

My approach has always been to encourage the children in my care to develop their imaginations and come up with their own activities and this is getting increasingly harder. Computers and smartphones are taking away these abilities as children become more and more accustomed to having everything ready to go for them.

In this episode:-

• You'll hear me share how you can encourage your child's play in a natural way away from technology.
• You'll hear an excerpt of an earlier episode from Melissa Lowry, the principal of a kindergarten through 8th grade schoollocated in the US, who talked about recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics relating to technology access for children aged 0 - 2 years.
• I talk about the importance of letting your child find their own play activities and to be a passive observer.

And much more ...

Last week on First Time Mum's Chat I had my first of two chats about healing following birth trauma with Holistic Pelvic Care Practitioner and Restorative Pilates Instructor, Prudence Todd.

During that episode we discussed about healing your body and now in this week's episode Prudence and I are exploring healing emotionally after your birth when there's been trauma.

During our chat, you'll hear Prudence talk about:-

• Identifying what has been traumatic for you in your experience and not basing this on other people's perceptions or experiences.
• The importance of going from a highly critical inner dialogue to one that is loving, compassionate, supportive and nurturing.
• Why you need to learn to go within and connect with your body and build trust.

And so much more ...

The subject of healing your body after the trauma of birth is not surprisingly a topic that has been explored on First Time Mum's Chat in a number of episodes.

In this week's episode I'm talking with Prudence Todd, a previous Midwife and now Holistic Pelvic Care Practitioner and Restorative Pilates Instructor. Prudence helps women heal emotionally and physically after birth trauma in her healing sessions.

You'll hear Prudence talk about:-

• How women don't tune in enough to their pelvic floor and how releasing helps them in their postpartum healing journey.
• Why as a mother following birth, your pelvis carries so much emotion which can impact you physically.
• Why in our modern hustle and bustle lifestyle where we're all so busy, we need to learn how to take care of ourselves and not put everyone else first!
• Why you need to communicate your true needs openly and honestly and not ignore possible physical symptoms.

And much more....

When your little one is ready to start solids, they may experience challenges such as constipation. As a baby massage instructor I regularly teach parents techniques to help their little one through these challenges.

In this week's episode of First Time Mum's Chat, you'll hear tips on how to help prevent constipation in babies from Jennifer House, an author and Registered Dietitian from Calgary in Canada.

During our chat you'll also hear Jennifer share tips and insights including:-

• The importance of how you feed your baby and why you must learn to be responsive to their hunger and being full signals.
• Ways when your baby is starting solids to stop them from becoming picky eaters.
• How to determine whether your baby is gagging or choking.

And so much more ....

During the life of this podcast, I've had a number of guests who have shared their postpartum journeys and how they have struggled, as well as professionals who specialise in helping moms through their postpartum struggles.

In this week's episode I'm sharing the ways in which baby massage can help moms through postpartum depression and anxiety.

You'll hear me:-

• Explain how baby massage doesn't just help your little one but it helps you as well.
• Talk about why the many benefits of baby massage relating to areas including improving their sleep and the stimulation of their digestive, immune and other systems helps make life easier for you and better able to cope with postpartum challenges.
• Share details and findings from two studies done in the United Kingdom and Norway which showed evidence that baby massage was a positive influence on moms suffering postpartum depression and anxiety.

And much more....

Many of the women I speak with find themselves lost after pregnancy which is hardly surprising. Not only do you need to recover from giving birth but you've also got another precious life to support and you hardly have the luxury of time on your hands to adapt to your new circumstances!

It's all about hitting the ground running isn't it!

This week's guest, mom of 2, Jill Wright, knows all about this after feeling lost and being thrown into a tailspin when her journey into parenting commenced. Jill is a mindset mentor, time management guru and alignment coach for moms and after re-aligning and rediscovering herself she embarked on a journey to share her knowledge and tools with other moms who were facing the same struggle with overwhelm, chaos and guilt.

During our chat you'll hear Jill talk about:-

• How intuition is the key to everything and how reconnecting with yours helps everything come more easily.
• How to learn to recognise those moments in your life where your intuition is aiming to talk to you.
• The importance of making quiet time so that your intuition's quiet voice has space to come out and really speak to you.

And much more...

Giving your child the right start and building a really solid foundation is crucial for their emotional development and in this week's episode of First Time Mum's Chat I'm chatting with certified toddler yoga teacher and infant massage and baby yoga instructor, Jen Cooper.

You'll hear Jen and I talk about various topics including encouraging and developing emotional resilience, emotional intelligence and mindful activities.

Not surprisingly, the topic of self care comes up on First Time Mum's Chat fairly regularly and it's something that many moms struggle with, whilst juggling the needs of their little one. It's of course easy to suggest contacting friends and relatives to see if they can give you time out but this isn't always practical or even possible in some situations.

This week's guest wellbeing coach, LaKeisha Entsuah helps working moms create systems and routines for a better work/life balance to ensure they avoid burnout. LaKeisha is a mom of 3 who found that there was never enough time in the day to do what needed to be done and whatever she did never felt enough! She's made it her mission to support women with practical tools and support and her approach is centred on helping moms get in touch with their needs, so they show up as their best self each and every day. I very much like LaKeisha's approach of building a proactive self-care routine that fully aligns with each mom's personal and professional goals.

During our chat you'll hear LaKeisha talk about :-

• The importance of figuring out who you are and what your interests are and what things really get you going.
• Working out what things bring you joy and what things that you do, make you perk up.
• Her 4 step process that she takes her clients through and how figuring them out will help you figure out your life and how to live with less stress and more joy.
• Knowing what phase of the self-care cycle you are currently in and the 3 phases of your restoration phase.

And much more...

I've always been a fan of healing techniques that bypass our minds and egos and get straight to our bodies, allowing no-nonsense, often faster healing and in this week's episode of First Time Mum's Chat I'm exploring EFT tapping with Certified Transformational EFT Coach, Maria Yakimchuk.

Maria helps moms struggling to find joy and fulfillment in motherhood to clear their past traumas and emotional blocks.

During our chat, you'll hear Maria explain:-

• What EFT (emotional freedom technique) is and how it helps process negative memories and traumas of various size and impact.
• How bypassing your thinking brain and bringing in the autonomic nervous system enables you to go straight to your body where a lot of the healing happens faster.
• How results can be obtained more quickly than traditional therapy and address the root cause.

And much more ....

The journey of being pregnant and bringing children into the world is a challenging one. Imagine what it's like for a mum who is disabled in a wheelchair and on her own.

This week on First Time Mum's Chat I'm speaking with transformational and empowerment mindset coach Shanice Green who has brought up two amazing children whilst being wheelchair bound and with neurological conditions.

You'll hear Shanice talk about:-

• Her unique experiences as a mom and the importance of parenting your way and learning to adapt to your unique environment and needs.
• Why you must believe in yourself, learning not to take on board other people's judgments and not allow them to disempower you.
• How you can encourage and condition your little ones from an early age to develop a level of independence.

And so much more...

This week on First Time Mum's Chat I'm revisiting the challenges of balancing motherhood with work. I'm speaking with Nicole Cumberbatch who as a corporate VP in Florida faced a challenging transition to motherhood when she gave birth to her son.

During our chat, you'll hear Nicole talk about:-

• The challenges of managing her time balancing a busy work schedule versus the time needed for her young son.
• How as a successful woman her expectations that motherhood would be easy were quickly quashed.
• The challenges of handling employers who can be inflexible and lack empathy for new moms.

And much more ....

Way back in the very first episode of first Time Mum's Chat, I had a chat with mum of 4, who shared her experiences of teething. I spend quite a bit of time showing parents how to help with teething during my baby massage classes, and I'm often asked by my listeners for more tips.

So this week I'm revisiting teething and you'll hear me talk about some common symptoms of teething and how they relate, and I'll also share a number of holistic tips to help soothe your little one during this challenging time.

The symptoms I discuss include:-

• General irritability
• Drooling
• Biting and gnawing

And More!

A recurring theme that regularly comes up on First Time Mum's Chat is the importance of planning for your pregnancy and postpartum period with the right mix of people to support you.

You need to start putting this together now and not make the mistake that so many do, leaving it until after they're pregnant or have even given birth! Trust me, by then it's too late and you'll face a big struggle finding the time and energy for these tasks!

If you're at this time in your life then you'll want to listen to this week's guest who can help you "find your village" and provide essential help to you. Andrea Ippolito used her experiences from the challenges she faced during her own pregnancy and postpartum period to found a much needed service, which provides moms with a range of services delivered virtually. You'll hear Andrea:-

• Share the top 3 issues relating to breastfeeding that moms come to see them about.
• Why it's so important to have a lactation consultant to support you during pregnancy and as part of your postpartum care team.

And much more...

For many moms, breastfeeding has its challenges and I'm regularly asked for tips and advice on breastfeeding a newborn, particularly from those moms that are experiencing challenges with their breastfeeding.

In this week's episode, I'm chatting with lactation counselor Lacy Reason all about breastfeeding. Lacy is a mum of 3 who teaches mums how to breastfeed and helps them through their challenges.

During this episode you'll hear Lacy talk about:-

• Tips to reduce soreness when breastfeeding.
• Tips to help your baby when they have tongue tie or a lip tie.
• The difference between foremilk and hindmilk.

And much more...

I regularly receive enquiries from moms wanting to know more about cloth diapers versus disposables and have been on the hunt for someone to chat with on First Time Mum's Chat and I was delighted to recently connect with April Duffy, who runs a very busy community on Facebook which is entirely dedicated to cloth diapers.

This buzzing community has in excess of 50,000 members and what better place to start immersing yourself in the world of cloth diapers!

During our chat you'll hear April share loads of tips and insights including:-

• Details on the different types of cloth diapers available.
• The huge cost savings you can make by using cloth diapers over disposables.
• The different materials that cloth diapers are manufactured from and the advantages.
• How using cloth diapers often speeds up their potty training.

And much more...