Category: Parenting

  • 10 Steps to a Safe Sleeping For Babies

    10 Steps to a Safe Sleeping For Babies

    As a first-time mum, motherhood can be a labyrinth of well-meaning advice and anecdote. There is so much information out there and much of it is simply picking and choosing what resonates and what is personal preference. However, when it comes to safe sleeping, we need to be well-informed.  The lines here are not blurry…

  • What to expect in the first week

    What to expect in the first week

    You would not be the first woman in history to spend more time prepping for childbirth than the parenting itself. But, don’t forget the gig that follows, mums. Below is what to expect… when you’ve finished expecting 🙂 1. Poop Her first poop will look like she’s done ‘a vegemite’. It will then change the…

  • Cooling Your Baby Down from Baby Fever in 3 Steps

    Cooling Your Baby Down from Baby Fever in 3 Steps

    “Why is my baby’s forehead so hot?”For first-time parents, few things are scarier than witnessing their baby’s first fever. However, there are various reasons why babies may develop a fever or a high temperature, so there’s no need to panic immediately when they suddenly feel hotter than usual. Here are three steps you should take…

  • STOP!  The things you need to know BEFORE you breastfeed

    STOP! The things you need to know BEFORE you breastfeed

    As a doula and post-natal carer, I’ve seen many mums embark upon the breastfeeding journey with very little understanding of what’s required for successful breastfeeding. Many of these women’s experiences, result in frustrated mothers, munched nipples, oversupply and undersupply issues, unsettled babies, wardrobe malfunctions, sleep deprivation, and eventually (and understandably)… a mother who turns to…

  • Bonding with a two days old babe in a sling

    Bonding with a two days old babe in a sling

    The call arrived late one afternoon in August 2010. Similar phone calls had been made for thousands of other babies across NSW over the years and would continue to do so. But for us, this was our family’s first experience of such a request. Becoming foster carers had felt like a long wait, but now…

  • Get Baby A Better Sleep With The Right Swaddles & Suits

    Get Baby A Better Sleep With The Right Swaddles & Suits

    The number one issue I deal with as a post natal doula is sleep deprivation! Let’s face it, sleep is a most basic human need, and we all, in the least, go a little loopy when we’re low on it. When I was having babies, my husband and I would refer to it as ‘wake…

  • What HAS she got in there?!

    What HAS she got in there?!

    You’ve seen them. Those big, bulky accessories that don the likes of every mum’s shoulder. Only those who are currently in the ‘baby club’ really understand what its contents are. The rest of us can only hazard a guess. If you’re one of these mums, on the outer (albeit momentarily!), let me fill you in…

  • Top Tips for Tackling a Newborn 

    Top Tips for Tackling a Newborn 

    My five-year old’s Moana doll comes with one… so where’s my newborn’s? A manual! That’s what I needed when I brought my first baby home from the hospital.  I couldn’t believe the nurses were actually going to entrust me with the life of another! Surely, they knew I was completely clueless. Bringing a newborn baby…

  • Obstetrician, Gynaecologist and a Mother of 4 Talks Post Natal Recovery

    Obstetrician, Gynaecologist and a Mother of 4 Talks Post Natal Recovery

    Dr. Indika Alahakoon has spent years developing the skills and know-how to help women manage complicated and high risk pregnancies. She also recognises that taking the time to provide an understanding and caring environment for her patients is key to a positive outcome. In this article she lends her expert advice to helping pregnant and…

  • Taking Hollywood’s “PUSH!” out of Childbirth

    Taking Hollywood’s “PUSH!” out of Childbirth

    It must be true – we are crazy with hormones because what I considered ‘preparing for birth’ consisted of:  over bleaching my hair (it was a knotted, tangled mess by the time my son emerged), finding a second hand nightie and cutting the sleeves with scissors to get the right fit and not even remembering…