First Time Mum's Chat

Moms certainly face a challenging time when faced with postpartum depression and anxiety. At a time in their life when they are at their most vulnerable and stressed and overwhelmed, they need support and understanding. However, when they turn to others, the reaction often is "get yourself together and toughen up". This week's guest Suzanne Yatim Aslam went through this journey with he...

The COVID pandemic has been a challenging time for us all and many of us have needed to find new ways to keep ourselves engaged and busy whilst stuck in our homes for long periods. This week's guest, Aruna Lepore, is a mom of two and found herself in this exact situation and decided to embark on a journey as a writer. She even painted all the illustrations for her book, Peanut the Penguin and...

Often when I'm speaking with moms about baby massage, they ask me whether it can help improve their little one's sleep. So I thought I would put together an episode specifically about how baby massage can help with sleep. In this episode you'll hear me explain:- How baby massage is especially helpful as part of your baby's sleep routine. How to prepare the environment for baby mass...

Many women who have recently given birth, ask me about topics such as strengthening their bodies. I've interviewed a number of guests on the podcast who have shared their expertise in this area. This week's guest Christina Whelan has a mission to shift the dialogue around movement, so that more women will get moving with the purpose of finding the freedom that a healthy body and mind will...

Many of the moms that I speak with complain that their little ones are struggling with colic. I often see good results when I teach and assist them to introduce baby massage into their daily routine. It's always seemed to me that there is a lot of mystery surrounding colic and I hear some interesting comments and experiences from moms all the time. These range from being told that it doesn&#39...

Most weeks on first time mum's chat I speak with experts who share tips and insights on a range of topics to help moms commencing their parenting journey. In this week's episode, I'm doing something different. I'm speaking with Seannon Jones a mom of four about her early stages in her journey as a parent. When Seannon had her youngest, she had a newborn, a 1 year old, a 2 year old...

Over the many years I've worked as a childcare educator, I've seen a lot of change in how we do things and in the family unit. Being of an age where I knew life before the likes of mobile phones, computers and other devices, I'm often concerned with how they are used in this modern, fast-paced world of ours! Increasingly I'm seeing a generation of children who expect to be entertai...

When it comes to introducing children to science, many of us have pre-conceived ideas often from our own childhood experiences. Many of the mums I speak with expect it to be costly, complicated and even dangerous. My school experience gave me a poor experience of science and I've always regretted that my teachers didn't encourage me more. Science can be an easy and fun activity for kids to...

Designing a nursery for your little one is something that is often an after thought for many parents and many moms often share their frustrations with me. You really need to start with the planning of your nursery early on to ensure that you end up with something that works for both parent and baby! Also, with the current madness sweeping the world, don't assume that you can get hold of materi...

Have you ever taken the time to examine your messaging and belief systems? It's an extremely important step for us to all take in our lives to help us understand ourselves better and what makes us tick. There's no better time to get started than when you become a mum or are pregnant. After all, the belief systems that you take on board about pregnancy, birth, motherhood, who you are as a p...

Feelings and emotions such as anxiety, stress, overwhelm or burnout are no stranger to many of the mums I speak with and indeed, many an episode of First Time Mum's Chat has provided tips and strategies to manage them. This week's guest Naomi Buffery, is a certified emotional health coach, mum and postnatal depression and anxiety survivor and I really like her approach to these topics. She...

In this week's episode of First Time Mum's Chat, I'm doing something a little different! In a recent podcast episode I spoke with eco-home chartered architect, Jane Leach. Before our interview, the topic of baby massage came up, since this is what I do and Jane explained that this was an important part of her daily routine when she was raising her son. I thought it would be an excellen...

Many of the mums I speak with find the planning and hassle, each time they want to take their toddler out stressful and off putting. Their little one's often unpredictable behavior leaves many mums fearful they won't enjoy their outings. It doesn't have to be this way. Going out with young kids doesn’t need to be chaotic, stressful, upsetting, or disappointing. As parents, you deserve...

When it comes to planning for childbirth, many of the moms that contact me are well organised when it comes to their medical needs. However, what I've noticed is that often a lot of simple planning gets missed, resulting in stress, worry and overwhelm once baby has arrived. This week's guest, Amanda Gorman is a mother of two and is a certified birthing from within childbirth educator. Aman...

Often when I'm speaking with moms the subject of their home comes up with frustrations often vented about why certain aspects of their home space simply don't work for them! This isn't something I've given much thought or consideration to over the years, until I recently spoke with Jane Leach, who is an eco-home chartered architect. I learnt a lot during our chat about why moms so...

When it comes to the topic of pregnancy and childbirth, our society has a lot of preconceived ideas as to what is considered acceptable and what isn't. I always enjoy talking with women on First Time Mum's Chat who put society's general expectations to the test and this week's guest is no exception. When it comes to childbirth, mother of 9 Angie Taylor has done it all! As you'l...

A lot of the moms I talk with often ask me about ways they can improve their posture since they're often put to the test particularly whilst pregnant. I know from experience that my posture is far from ideal and there is much I could do to improve it. In my opinion, one of the mistakes that many moms make is looking to attain a perfect posture! This week's guest, Courtney McManus who is a...

With the many stressors in our lives, it is hardly surprising that many of us find comfort in food and struggle with emotional eating. I feel that the media has a lot to answer for with the typical images of women they portray. Any time I glance over at a magazine whilst shopping, they're full of images of beautiful and gorgeous women! Many of the women I speak with suffer because they feel th...

Being sleep deprived isn't fun, is it! Let's face it, if your little is not sleeping then neither are you. This will take a huge toll on you and your family, particularly when it is an ongoing issue. This week's guest, Kim Davis, knows all about being sleep deprived after being unable to get her son to sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time for naps or sleep overnight. And Kim went t...

Have you found that sometimes when organising activities for toddlers and children that it is easy to over complicate it? Whether it's looking for the Lego or craft materials or something else it can all get too hard when you're busy and just want to get something going now, to keep them occupied for a while! If this sounds familiar then you're going to love this week's episode whe...

There's never been a more important time to ensure you eat well than when you're pregnant! After all, during pregnancy, your baby is taking much of your nutrition, so it's extremely important to ensure that your body gets what it needs. You need to ensure that what you consume fuels both you and your baby and sets the scene for after they're born and your breastfeeding. It's al...

Self care for moms is something that many moms I speak with find challenging. With insufficient time in the day to deal with everything, particularly with the latest addition to the family, this is of course completely understandable. I was thrilled to recently meet Charlotte Caunter who has a remarkable story to tell. Charlotte's experience for me is a reminder of the importance of looking af...

One of the biggest challenges that many of the parents that I speak with face is being constantly tired or exhausted due to restless nights and time needed to settle their little one. After looking after babies for many years I'm familiar with a lot of the traditional sleep programs and the practices they encourage such as crying it out. I don't know about you, but I've always found th...

Have you ever noticed yourself reacting in a certain way to your child's behavior, felt ashamed and then thought to yourself "where on Earth did that come from"? Many of us have triggers from our past that influence how we behave as parents and I've always felt that having an awareness of their origins is an important starting point in any healing. After all, you want to be present...

When you're a new mom it's hard finding time for yourself isn't it! You hardly have a minute to breathe! Many of the moms I speak with yearn for opportunities to get out and enjoy the great outdoors again and they often reminisce about hiking and other adventures. Those with family either interstate or overseas also face the logistical challenges of finding the time and coping with the...