First Time Mum's Chat

It is important to remember that young children need to be treated with courtesy and respect. They are less experienced in interacting with others and work things out very differently.

In this episode I share some tips on how to communicate with your child to encourage positive behaviour.

You'll find out about:-

• the importance of connecting with your children.
• the importance of mutual respect.
• How to facilitate peaceful decision making and more.

In this episode you'll hear all about the wonderful world of baby yoga. I must admit that I had always thought that baby yoga was little more than just laying your baby on the floor and doing some exercises. How wrong I was!

As Jessica Barnaschone, a London based baby yoga instructor explains in this episode, it is a very much baby led activity involving singing and it's loads of fun for both parent and baby.

You'll also hear about how it strengthens those core muscles after giving birth. The medical profession often recommend new mums follow a regime of regular pelvic floor exercises and baby yoga is a great way to do this.

Jessica is a lady of many talents and is also a baby massage and tummy time instructor so you'll also hear her speak about these and their many benefits.

As a new mom, there's always lots of demands on your time, making it really easy to neglect your own self care. It's important that you always ensure you take care of yourself so that you are able to provide your little one with the best care possible.

In this episode I speak with Rebecca Jean Baptiste, a life strategist, certified coach and mother of 4 about the importance of taking time out daily to focus on yourself.

Your baby is crying and you can't work out what's wrong! There's times when you just want them to tell you, right?

Wouldn't it be great to know what your baby is trying to tell you. If you're looking for the code to this secret language then you're going to learn lots in today's episode.

DBL helps you to identify a number of different cries so you don’t have to keep guessing, including:-

• A hunger cry
• A gassy cry
• A sleep cry
• A discomfort cry

I'm talking with Sonja Preston who is a Dunstan Baby Language (also known as DBL) trainer. Sonja de-mystifies some of the sounds for you and tells you all about this fascinating language.

Being a new parent is stressful enough without having to check on your baby every few minutes!

Knowing your baby is safe gives you that peace of mind and a baby monitor can provide that extra pair of hands and ears.

In this episode, I share some ideas on what to look out for when selecting a baby monitor. You'll hear information on:-

• video/audio only monitors,
• video only monitors, and
• smart monitors which monitor breathing activity, movement and temperature.

It’s a huge relief when your baby starts to sleep soundly through the night, and an opportunity to regain some normality with your own sleep opportunities!

So what do you do when baby sleep regression occurs and your baby, who’s been sleeping well, starts to refuse to settle? If your baby’s sleep pattern suddenly changes, then there’s no need to stress, it’s actually a healthy sign.

In this episode I talk with sleep consultant Catherine Thompson about what she likes to refer to as baby sleep progression.

Returning to work after maternity leave is a stressful time for many mums.

You not only need to factor in how to juggle your working life with your home life. You've now got your little bundle of joy to factor into the equation and this can be a difficult time with many adjustments.

In this episode I speak with Millie Malum, a mother of two who has been through this, juggling a career with her family.

Millie's passion led her to write a book, 'Merging Parenthood and work: A new mum's guide to returning to work from maternity leave', which has recently been published on Amazon.

When I ask parents about their experiences with tummy time, their reaction is often negative with comments such as “they don’t like it” or “they only want to remain on their tummy for a few seconds”.

In this episode, I’ve shared tips including some natural activities you can use to inspire your baby.

Including tummy time in your daily routine is a great way to give your baby a great start in life and there are many benefits in doing so.

This includes assisting their development in lots of areas including crawling and hand-eye coordination whilst helping to strengthen their head and shoulder muscles.

In this episode, you'll find out all about tummy time including:-

• How to get started.
• Tips to encourage your baby and get the most out of it.
• Information on the many ways it benefits your baby.

I'm often asked by mums for advice on when to start brushing teeth for their babies. Many parents take the view that there is no need to worry about their baby's oral health prior to teething starting.

In this week's episode, I discuss a number of areas including:-

• When to start brushing your baby's teeth.
• When to introduce your child to toothpaste.
• The importance of getting into a routine early on.