In this week's episode of First Time Mum's Chat I'm chatting with midwife Beau Wilson about active birthing.

I'm a big fan of holistic solutions and was fascinated when Beau told me all about the holistic childbirth education and support that she provides to families. I particularly like the way in which she empowers and gives both the mums and partners that she trains a level of independence, so they are prepared for the birth process with a good degree of confidence.

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

• The process of active birthing, including its many benefits such as the advantages of being active and upright and mobilizing the pelvis during the birth process.
• The many advantages of having a waterbirth for both mother and baby and you'll hear all about the process.
• The advantages of delayed umbilical cord clamping.
• How homeopathy can help mums have more control over their birth experience and treat things that they wouldn't be able to do in conventional medicine.

And much more...

Whether your little one is on the way and you want to learn about how to plan a good bedtime routine or you've already given birth and are faced with sleep issues or queries, then this episode is for you!

This week on First Time Mum's Chat I'm chatting with pediatric sleep specialist, Hilliary Giglio. Hilliary battled with sleep issues with her child which left her sleep deprived and struggling. After experiencing an amazingly quick transformation when she sought help, Hilliary decided to make it her mission to help other parents faced with the same issues.

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

• Why bedtime routines signal to your little one's body and brain that sleep is coming, making them crucial for good sleep.
• Why you need to follow exactly the same steps in your bedtime routine each and every day without exception.
• Tips on when to schedule your little one's feeding and how it will impact their sleep cycle.
• How to help your little one sleep during the daytime and their naptimes.

And so much more ....

Mums face quite a challenge when trying to navigate their new life after giving birth. In this week's episode of First Time Mum's Chat I'm exploring the challenge of financial stress which is something many of the mums I speak with face.

I'm talking with financial coach, Candice Bakx-Friesen, who is a mother of 4 active kids. You'll hear Candice talk about what steps you can take towards being, even a bit less stressed in your home as you commence your parenting journey.

Whether this is your first time becoming a parent or the 6th, you'll want to listen to Candice's pearls of wisdom.

Having worked as a childcare educator for many years since the 1980's, I've spent many years planning activities for babies, infants and toddlers. Not surprisingly I've seen many changes in how we do things and in the family unit.

Being of an age where I knew life before the likes of computers and smartphones, I'm very concerned with the impacts of technology on infant development in this modern, fast-paced world.

My approach has always been to encourage the children in my care to develop their imaginations and come up with their own activities and this is getting increasingly harder. Computers and smartphones are taking away these abilities as children become more and more accustomed to having everything ready to go for them.

In this episode:-

• You'll hear me share how you can encourage your child's play in a natural way away from technology.
• You'll hear an excerpt of an earlier episode from Melissa Lowry, the principal of a kindergarten through 8th grade schoollocated in the US, who talked about recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics relating to technology access for children aged 0 - 2 years.
• I talk about the importance of letting your child find their own play activities and to be a passive observer.

And much more ...

Last week on First Time Mum's Chat I had my first of two chats about healing following birth trauma with Holistic Pelvic Care Practitioner and Restorative Pilates Instructor, Prudence Todd.

During that episode we discussed about healing your body and now in this week's episode Prudence and I are exploring healing emotionally after your birth when there's been trauma.

During our chat, you'll hear Prudence talk about:-

• Identifying what has been traumatic for you in your experience and not basing this on other people's perceptions or experiences.
• The importance of going from a highly critical inner dialogue to one that is loving, compassionate, supportive and nurturing.
• Why you need to learn to go within and connect with your body and build trust.

And so much more ...

The subject of healing your body after the trauma of birth is not surprisingly a topic that has been explored on First Time Mum's Chat in a number of episodes.

In this week's episode I'm talking with Prudence Todd, a previous Midwife and now Holistic Pelvic Care Practitioner and Restorative Pilates Instructor. Prudence helps women heal emotionally and physically after birth trauma in her healing sessions.

You'll hear Prudence talk about:-

• How women don't tune in enough to their pelvic floor and how releasing helps them in their postpartum healing journey.
• Why as a mother following birth, your pelvis carries so much emotion which can impact you physically.
• Why in our modern hustle and bustle lifestyle where we're all so busy, we need to learn how to take care of ourselves and not put everyone else first!
• Why you need to communicate your true needs openly and honestly and not ignore possible physical symptoms.

And much more....

When your little one is ready to start solids, they may experience challenges such as constipation. As a baby massage instructor I regularly teach parents techniques to help their little one through these challenges.

In this week's episode of First Time Mum's Chat, you'll hear tips on how to help prevent constipation in babies from Jennifer House, an author and Registered Dietitian from Calgary in Canada.

During our chat you'll also hear Jennifer share tips and insights including:-

• The importance of how you feed your baby and why you must learn to be responsive to their hunger and being full signals.
• Ways when your baby is starting solids to stop them from becoming picky eaters.
• How to determine whether your baby is gagging or choking.

And so much more ....

During the life of this podcast, I've had a number of guests who have shared their postpartum journeys and how they have struggled, as well as professionals who specialise in helping moms through their postpartum struggles.

In this week's episode I'm sharing the ways in which baby massage can help moms through postpartum depression and anxiety.

You'll hear me:-

• Explain how baby massage doesn't just help your little one but it helps you as well.
• Talk about why the many benefits of baby massage relating to areas including improving their sleep and the stimulation of their digestive, immune and other systems helps make life easier for you and better able to cope with postpartum challenges.
• Share details and findings from two studies done in the United Kingdom and Norway which showed evidence that baby massage was a positive influence on moms suffering postpartum depression and anxiety.

And much more....

Many of the women I speak with find themselves lost after pregnancy which is hardly surprising. Not only do you need to recover from giving birth but you've also got another precious life to support and you hardly have the luxury of time on your hands to adapt to your new circumstances!

It's all about hitting the ground running isn't it!

This week's guest, mom of 2, Jill Wright, knows all about this after feeling lost and being thrown into a tailspin when her journey into parenting commenced. Jill is a mindset mentor, time management guru and alignment coach for moms and after re-aligning and rediscovering herself she embarked on a journey to share her knowledge and tools with other moms who were facing the same struggle with overwhelm, chaos and guilt.

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

• How intuition is the key to everything and how reconnecting with yours helps everything come more easily.
• How to learn to recognise those moments in your life where your intuition is aiming to talk to you.
• The importance of making quiet time so that your intuition's quiet voice has space to come out and really speak to you.

And much more...

Giving your child the right start and building a really solid foundation is crucial for their emotional development and in this week's episode of First Time Mum's Chat I'm chatting with certified toddler yoga teacher and infant massage and baby yoga instructor, Jen Cooper.

You'll hear Jen and I talk about various topics including encouraging and developing emotional resilience, emotional intelligence and mindful activities.