If you've been a listener of First Time Mum's Chat for some time then you will know that I'm a big fan of encouraging babies and infants to develop their own imagination, fun and activities and earlier this year, I put together an episode of First Time Mum's Chat focusing on the Montessori Method which very much encourages this approach.

I received a lot of feedback following this episode so I've been on the lookout for someone qualified. I was delighted to recently meet Daniela Hoyle who is currently a head teacher for the toddlers program at a Montessori school in California.

Daniela is a certified infant and toddler Montessori guide and in this episode we have a chat about the Montessori method and particularly its application to infants during their first 12 months.

I'm sure you'll find Daniela's pearls of wisdom as interesting and inspiring as I did and you'll hear us talk about the importance of:-

• Talking to your baby to encourage their development and imagination.
• Connecting with your child as much as you can during their first year and letting them participate in your activities.

And much more!

This week on First Time Mum's Chat, I'm thrilled to be chatting with Dr Diane Speier, who has been a birth and postpartum professional both in the USA and UK. Diane has been helping parents make a smooth transition from pregnancy to parenthood for more than 40 years.

She is the author of Life After Birth: A Parent's Holistic Guide for Thriving in the Fourth Trimester and in this episode you'll hear her talk about her book and the accompanying Digital Doula app which is designed for both Apple IOS devices and Android. This app follows the structure of the book and has additional sections and is regularly updated with new information and resources.

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

• The 8 keys for thriving in the fourth trimester - the first three months after birth.
• The use of energy medicine techniques that offer wonderful ways to take care of yourself, whether it's balancing stress, increasing milk flow or enhancing the bonding process with your little one.

Many mums that I speak with feel lost when it comes to their postpartum period and I've spoken with a number of ladies on First Time Mum's Chat who've related how alone they felt and what they went through. This week's guest Sarah Bilger is a mom with an engineering background. Sarah felt so strongly after her own experience with the lack of support and lack of talk on all things postpartum when her daughter was born, decided to change her direction, becoming a postpartum doula.

In this episode you'll hear Sarah and I talk about postpartum nutrition and you'll hear Sarah talk about:-

• Ways that food should be prepared to really increase and accelerate your healing process and recovery during that transition into motherhood, particularly during the postpartum period.

• Why salads and other raw stuffs such as smoothies are best avoided during your postpartum period.

• Why you should prepare meals for yourself that contain as few ingredients as possible.

And much more!

In this episode you'll hear me share:-

• Tips on how to identify whether your baby is likely to be suffering from colic.
• Simple to follow baby massage techniques to help relieve your baby's colic.

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

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In this week's episode of First Time Mum's Chat, I'm chatting with Sandra Kwesell who has a background working with children, youth and families in settings including day treatment, counselling, education and therapeutic settings.

Sandra's life journey is the result of her brother's mental health issues that ended in his suicide at the age of 18.

Sandra has developed her Pillars for Success parenting program to find solutions for other families that hers could not and in this episode you'll hear Sandra talk about:-

• The 3 core reasons for challenging and defiant behaviour.
• Words that she refers to as the 'C' word which when removed from your vocabulary will remove the possibility of your child responding defensively or aggressively.
• Why she uses outcomes instead of consequences and why this avoids taking you down a path that is likely to lead to negative interactions and negative outcomes.

AND much more.

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

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"I love Helen and First Time Mum's Chat." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- for a smooth journey into the exciting world of parenthood. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven't done so already, subscribe to the podcast.

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There is a lot of tension and insecurity around being a new parent and this becomes even more of an issue when you are away from your family. Ann-Christin Villegas knows all about this, after relocating from her native Germany to Virginia in the USA and giving birth to two girls, both in the USA!

Ann found the process frustrating and challenging finding information and resources and she kept meeting other moms and expecting women who were in the same situation and frustrated.

Ann was so passionate about the difficulties she and others were facing that it motivated her to write a book titled Becoming A Parent: A Reality Check on Pregnancy, Birth, and Baby's First Year, to help new parents and expecting parents. For Ann, it is also very important that her parents and family in Germany have the opportunity to bond with her little ones, so they visit each year.

You'll hear Ann talk in the interview about:-

• How they plan for and manage their overseas trips and overcome the challenges of flights with young infants.
• Being confident in parenting your own way and not letting self-doubt to creep in or allow others to dictate how to parent.
• The importance of treating each of your children as a unique individual with their own ways and timeframes and not basing decisions on shoulds and have-tos!

AND much more.

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Helen and First Time Mum's Chat." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- for a smooth journey into the exciting world of parenthood. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven't done so already, subscribe to the podcast.

Subscribe now!

As a first time parent coping with infant feeding problems, identifying allergies and finding ways to deal with fussy eaters often feels like a fulltime occupation doesn't it! It's the last thing you need on top of the other stresses you have to deal with daily as a new parent.

I've wanted to chat with someone such as a paediatric dietitian for sometime and was delighted to recently meet Judith Lynn. Judith lives in Northern Ireland and has a background in the British health system and has tons of experience and expertise, including 10 years as a pediatric dietitian.

I really enjoyed chatting with her and she's got a great wealth of knowledge and in this episode you'll hear us talk about:-

• The psychology behind fussy eating and the reasons it may occur.
• Identifying where there is an allergy to cow milk and what are the alternatives.
• How to start introducing them to solids when they are ready.

AND much more.

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Helen and First Time Mum's Chat." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- for a smooth journey into the exciting world of parenthood. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven't done so already, subscribe to the podcast.

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Kinesiology is an area that has always fascinated me and something I did some training in many years ago. For those unfamiliar with kinesiology, briefly it is a system of diffusing stress and energy blocks within the body to help people move out of dis-ease into a place of wellness. It amalgamates Eastern wisdom with Western Science to facilitate energetic shifts that allow your body to heal itself from the inside out.

This week's guest Amanda Kate is a highly trained kinesiologist and transformational coach and it was great chatting with her about how she helps her clients and the tools and techniques she's used in her own healing to turn her life around from being unwell, out of alignment and miserable to happiness, vitality and connection..

In this episode you'll hear Amanda talk about:-

• The importance of teaching your children through example how to look after themselves and the importance of putting yourself first.
• The importance of filling yourself with reserves of nourishing energy to help build more tolerance to stress.
• The importance of trusting your internal compass and following your intuition.

AND much more.

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Helen and First Time Mum's Chat." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- for a smooth journey into the exciting world of parenthood. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven't done so already, subscribe to the podcast.

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Having spent many years looking after babies and toddlers during my career as a child care educator and more recently as a baby massage instructor, I'm not surprisingly very much used to interpreting their often non-verbal communication.

Many parents question me when I talk about this a lot when I'm teaching them how to massage their baby using the baby massage techniques.

One of the important aspects of baby massages is that you always ask your baby's permission before getting started, and many parents have no idea how to do this or interpret their baby's body language. Just because they cannot communicate with you in words doesn't mean there is no avenue of communication.

So in this episode, I'm going to talk about ways to help you communicate with your baby and understand those non-verbal cues.

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Helen and First Time Mum's Chat." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- for a smooth journey into the exciting world of parenthood. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven't done so already, subscribe to the podcast.

Subscribe now!

The transition into motherhood is a challenging time for many moms and there's never a more important time to ensure you look after and nurture yourself.

A recurring theme on First Time Mum's Chat has been the lack of information available to moms to help them with their own health and wellbeing during the postpartum period. Yes, it's important to always ensure that your little one is well looked after, but please don't forget to take care of you also! After all, you're not going to be at your best and give your all otherwise!

I've had a number of guests who have shared their postpartum journeys and how they have struggled with various aspects and felt alone. This week's guest Allison Lieberman owns a marriage and family therapy practice in California and focuses her energies on helping new moms and new parents transition into motherhood and parenthood. Allison's inspiration to help parents led her to start her New Mama Mentor podcast which I highly recommend listening and subscribing to.

So go ahead, my dear mum. Click to listen and get started.

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts

"I love Helen and First Time Mum's Chat." <-- If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show! This helps me support more people -- just like you -- for a smooth journey into the exciting world of parenthood. Click here, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven't done so already, subscribe to the podcast.

Subscribe now!