Post-partum

I have never felt so angry in all my life as in the last two weeks.

I'm certainly not immune to anger, but it often passes pretty soon. Until the last fortnight, the worst bout of anger I've had in recent years was the week I spent writing my book chapter on anger (funny that).

This time though, it's been epic. I didn't have a blue with my partner, and nothing particularly awful happened, but every tool in my tool-belt has been called on to avoid throwing the child I love most in the world acr…

“Come at me baby, I can take you. Give me everything you’ve got”.
My daughter was five months old when these words left my lips.
The moment they escaped, I felt sick.

I knew I couldn’t handle all the parts of her.
She was a firecracker.
All her feelings, all her boundary pushing, her power and glory... they were too much for the woman who spoke them and I knew it.

I was scared.
The anxiety rose.
It would take a huge, ongoing up-levelling, to be with a child so strong-willed.

A year and a half later, she …

This morning I watched a video of Serena Williams training in the lead up to the Australian Open with her daughter hitting balls alongside her. Aside from being super cute, it got me reflecting on a question I was asked in an interview earlier this week: “what would be the single most important step we could take towards solving the problem of childhood inactivity?”

Physical activity in children helps with concentration, learning, emotional regulation, sleep quality, bone and muscular health, c…

In one of my favourite books (and less conventional pre-baby maternity leave reads) "The Five Invitations", author Frank Ostaseski invites us to bring our whole selves to the experience of life so we can approach death without fear and regret.

If we strive to the patriarchal, capitalist mantles of womanhood and motherhood as pure selflessness, sacrificing of our own needs to meet the needs of others, we repress our experience of life and risk approaching those breaths unfulfilled.

How would it f…

💔The relationship counsellor who's marriage is falling apart.
💪The personal trainer who never gets time for their own workout.
👇Me.

I write this as a postpartum support professional who tells mums to get all the help they need, yet put it off for myself.

The mama mentor who teaches other mums to look after themselves, but put making an appointment for myself low on my priority list.

The exercise professional who tells women to see a pelvic floor physio six weeks after they birth their baby, yet…

Some bubs LOVE being worn. We're carrying mammals after all.

There are wraps, slings, structured carriers... How to choose?

This is what we know:

Baby wearing helps the infant stay close to the caregiver and regulate its breathing and reduce stress levels (neurodevelopment).

There are myths and truths around baby wearing and baby's hips, and postural considerations for the caregiver (science, anatomy).

The proximity of the baby by touch and scent accelerates bonding between the wearer and the baby (b…