Lizz is mumma to two gorgeous bubbas – 2 year old Tilly and 9 month old Bailey (15 month age gap between the two). Lizz and her husband felt very lucky to conceive quite easily both times, and had two quite similar pregnancies.

Lizz opted for a scheduled C section with Tilly, she felt really big and just wanted to meet her baby girl after a long 9 months! Her recovery from her C section wasn’t too bad, though some things were more difficult than others after having the surgery.

She felt really grateful to be living with her parents when they had Tilly for extra support, but wasn’t completely aware of babies sleep routines (or lack thereof!). She enlisted the help of a sleep consultant online based in Adelaide, which revolutionised Tilly's sleep and now she's an amazing sleeper!

Lizz and her husband took the same approach to getting pregnant the second time round – stop trying not to fall pregnant, and lo and behold, they felt pregnant straight away. She opted for a scheduled c section again with Bailey considering the risks associated with having another baby relatively close in time to having Tilly. The obstetrician told Lizz after Bailey was born that there were two knots in his umbilical cord, meaning had she have gone into labour, she might have lost him.

Lizz struggled at times having two under two and felt exhausted when her husband went back to work. Now they're in a good routine now Bailey is a bit older and they can juggle the two of them better.

Lizz and her husband had a bit of a scare with Bailey when he was three months old; he was vomiting and starting to lose weight so after a few initial consultations with no answers, they went straight to the children's hospital. They were then admitted and spent the next 12 days at the hospital with Bailey. When in hospital, they advised Lizz to stop breastfeed as it might have been an allergy, which weighed heavily on her emotions.

Lizz says for any new mum to trust your gut; and don’t listen to everybody because you know deep down what kind of mum you want to be!

Join me for this story of two under two and the trials and tribulations that has along the way. Huge thank you to Lizz for sharing her heartfelt story.

And remember you are not alone; it's OK to not be OK. We're in this together and Mumma, YOU got this!

Be sure to hit subscribe to hear future episodes, or share with a friend. Otherwise, if you'd like to share your story, send me a DM via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newmummapodcast 

DISCLAIMER:

Please note this podcast depicts personal accounts of pregnancy, birth and motherhood. The views expressed are my own and are those of my guests, as such should not be relied upon for educational or medical advice purposes. The content included is not a substitute for health advice by a professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beth and her husband decided they were ready to start a family after they got married, so after getting her Implanon (4cm contraceptive stick in the arm) removed, they conceived relatively quickly having fun over the festive season of 2016 (hello, September baby!).

Her pregnancy was pretty smooth sailing with no issues, but unbeknownst to Beth she was carrying quite a big baby. She had quite a tough, long labour with Oscar, and after soldiering on for a while asked for the epidural. When it was time to push, Oscars heart rate kept dropping, and so they tried forceps to try and get him out. Again, the forceps were unsuccessful so they had to do an emergency C-section. When Oscar came into the world, he wasn’t breathing, and was whisked away for special care. They said he swallowed meconium on his way out which was why. Oscar's face was bruised across his eye for a few days as a result of the forceps, but luckily went away without any trace.

Beth and her husband were in two minds about having another baby due to covid and the unknowns, but of course fell pregnant before deciding they definitely wanted to. She was nauseous throughout the first trimester with her second, kept active and was too preoccupied with Oscar to feel sorry for herself!

She had a completely polar opposite experience of birth with Reggie. She had a scheduled c-section, meaning she checked into hospital, knew when he would be arriving, and ultimately didn’t experience the same trauma as last time. The obstetrician cut out her existing scar, delivered the baby, and made a new small scar.

Beth was delighted her second was a boy because her first said he would cry every day if it was a girl! He took on the big brother role really well, with a lot of thanks to the 'gift' Reggie got Oscar when he was born.

Beth is English and so her family are in the UK, her husbands a few hours away, and thankfully was told about a community organisation that helps support new mothers by having volunteers come to your home and help with daily chores.

Join me for this story of two opposite births, the struggles of having a family away from your own family and much, much more! Huge thank you to Beth for sharing her incredible story.

And remember you are not alone; it's OK to not be OK. We're in this together and Mumma, YOU got this!

Be sure to hit subscribe to hear future episodes, or share with a friend. Otherwise, if you'd like to share your story, send me a DM via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newmummapodcast 

Community organisation for support: https://3bridges.org.au/

DISCLAIMER:

Please note this podcast depicts personal accounts of pregnancy, birth and motherhood. The views expressed are my own and are those of my guests, as such should not be relied upon for educational or medical advice purposes. The content included is not a substitute for health advice by a professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Patrice and her partner had planned an Italy holiday as the 'last holiday' before hopefully starting a family. Sadly, their trip was cancelled due to COVID, and so they began trying for a family. They had a few anxieties around trying, due to an earlier agreed termination at the very start of their relationship and all the misconceptions around termination affecting future chances to conceive. Patrice and her partner were delighted to have fallen pregnant straight away, so that theory did not prove true certainly in their case!

Being a triplet, Patrice heard alarm bells when her doctor told her she had quite high levels of the pregnancy hormone Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), thinking she might be carrying multiples. It was in fact just the one, and after a relatively easy 9 month pregnancy Teddy made his way into the world.

…but not as Patrice had 'planned'. After doing the Calm Birth course (hypnobirthing), Patrice and her partner were set on having a natural vaginal delivery. She successfully laboured at home and went in at almost 6cms dilated. All was going well until the babies heart rate kept dropping and Patrice was rushed in for an emergency C-section to get him out safely.

Though Patrice felt initially like having a C-section was a failure, and felt failed by some of the midwives during her post birth care, she was relieved he was here safely and that once home she got to enjoy the newborn bubble of love. She also realised having a C-section was the first lesson of many that you cannot plan with a baby!

Patrice SWORE BY her TENS machine during labour, and would highly recommend getting one.

We speak about how anything with a new baby is such a steep learning curve, and just when you feel like you're getting the swing of things, you hit another milestone that needs some adaptation.

Patrice talks about her return to work and really looking forward to getting that part of her life back, but again recognises there will be some changes to get used to. She also mentions her concern about the infamous 'baby brain', not to be confused with early onset dementia, and also the annoying post birth hair loss… the joys!  

Join me for this fantastic story filled with the inevitable ups and downs of pregnancy, birth and becoming a new Mumma, and a huge thank you to Patrice for opening up about her journey!

And remember you are not alone; it's OK to not be OK. We're in this together and Mumma, YOU got this!

Be sure to hit subscribe to hear future episodes, or share with a friend. Otherwise, if you'd like to share your story, send me a DM via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newmummapodcast 

Calm Birth: https://calmbirth.com.au/

TENS machine: https://tensmachinesaustralia.com.au/

DISCLAIMER:

Please note this podcast depicts personal accounts of pregnancy, birth and motherhood. The views expressed are my own and are those of my guests, as such should not be relied upon for educational or medical advice purposes. The content included is not a substitute for health advice by a professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stacey hadn’t realised she was pregnant as she was still getting what she thought were her monthly periods. The HCG pregnancy hormone wasn’t showing up in her urine so every test she took was negative. After visiting her GP and after a positive test, she was on her way to meeting her baby girl Summer.

Stacey wasn't 'textbook' ready to deliver Summer at full term, given her cervix wasn’t quite ripe and was still high. But because she wanted to have a natural delivery, she held off as long as she could before the midwife booked her in for an induction.

She continued having multiple stretch and sweeps, and eventually at 42 weeks Stacey gave in and went in for an induction. Stacey feels very lucky that she did go in on that day, because Summer's heart rate kept dropping dramatically, meaning she had to undergo an emergency C section. The reason for the heart rate dropping was that there was meconium in utero (i.e. the early stool passed by a newborn) meaning the baby was under stress due to decrease in blood and oxygen. Thankfully all was ok, Summer arrived safely.

Whilst Stacey didn’t consider herself to be particularly maternal, she's surprised at how much she loves being a mum. She really struggled with the lack of sleep, and in hindsight realised Summer was actually pretty good. She was confused initially around breastfeeding and sleep schedules, and one night decided to invest in a sleep program which she really valued.

COVID has been tough for Stacey in thinking about Summer not being able to have the same interactions with other children as she would have in a non-COVID world.

Another difficulty Stacey had was not asking for or accepting help, thinking she didn’t need it. She suggests saying yes to easy things people can help with like dishes or cleaning or cooking a meal.

She also speaks about the expectations she had on her husband to 'just know' what they needed for example at the supermarket, emphasising that open and clear communication is key. She said one thing she would recommend is being quite explicit about instructions about managing the baby, i.e. the partners. Given mothers are typically with the babies more than other carers, they need to learn to share the load and give clear instruction.

Join me for this honest and open story, with huge thanks to Stacey for opening up about her journey!

And remember you are not alone; it's OK to not be OK. We're in this together and Mumma, YOU got this!

Be sure to hit subscribe to hear future episodes, or share with a friend. Otherwise, if you'd like to share your story, send me a DM via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newmummapodcast 

Instagram recommendation: themidwifemumma

www.themidwifemumma.com.au

DISCLAIMER:

Please note this podcast depicts personal accounts of pregnancy, birth and motherhood. The views expressed are my own and are those of my guests, as such should not be relied upon for educational or medical advice purposes. The content included is not a substitute for health advice by a professional.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 6 – Katie Whitehorn

Katie and her partner had discussed having a baby in the future, but Corey had other plans and suitably then didn’t want to wait to enter the world.

Katie's waters broke at 28 weeks whilst on their baby moon up in another state. She made her way to the hospital where the Doctor told her she wasn't leaving Brisbane without a baby(!!)

She then went into labour with Corey at 30 weeks, and because Corey was breech, she had a caesarean section. Because he was premature, they then had to stay in Brisbane whilst he was in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU).

Two months later, Katie made her way back to Sydney with the baby and one of the nurses on a commercial flight, and was then transferred to St George Private for further care.

Once home, Katie and Corey didn’t enjoy trying to establish breastfeeding after he'd been fed by pumped breastmilk the entirety of his life, and decided to proceed with formula as it was best for the Corey and Mumma.

Corey was diagnosed with bilateral kidney dysplasia, meaning his kidneys have cysts in place of filters. He is currently under the care of Sydney Children's hospital and is undergoing further tests to understand his condition further.

Katie went back to work at 6 months and is happy with her decision to do so – particularly during covid times and being unable to enjoy typical, covid free maternity leave activities such as meeting with other mums, kids playing etc. Katie also adds that it does help that Corey is (and always has been!) such a great sleeper.

Katie's dog Thor the chihuahua isn't particularly enthralled by the arrival of Corey given he now has to share his mum, which then doesn’t give Katie a break cause if she's not being a mum to Corey, she's mumming the dog!

Join me for this brave and inspirational story, with huge thanks to Katie for opening up about her journey!

And remember you are not alone; it's OK to not be OK. We're in this together and Mumma, YOU got this!

Be sure to hit subscribe to hear future episodes, or share with a friend. Otherwise, if you'd like to share your story, send me a DM via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newmummapodcast 

DISCLAIMER:

Please note this podcast depicts personal accounts of pregnancy, birth and motherhood. The views expressed are my own and are those of my guests, as such should not be relied upon for educational or medical advice purposes. The content included is not a substitute for health advice by a professional. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amanda's journey to becoming a Mum started with some sadness, when she experienced pregnancy loss. Her experience with miscarriage then casted an anxious shadow when she did fall pregnant again, carrying the fear that it may happen again.

Fortunately, Amanda and her husband conceived again two period cycles later, and had a pretty 'easy' pregnancy. She took a relatively laid back approach during her pregnancy, reading her body and continuing to do things that made her feel like herself i.e. exercising, eating foods that may conventionally be on the 'do not eat' list, amongst other things.

Amanda is now a Mumma to little 4 year old Zara and 7 month old Ava. Both her pregnancies went to full term, and as someone who likes to feel 'in control', she decided to get induced both times. Amanda is really happy she chose this option and is glad she is able to share her positive induction stories.

Amanda felt slightly out of her depth with her firstborn trying to be the picture perfect, on demand 'do what your baby needs' type mum, which she realised with the benefit of hindsight that it wasn’t the right approach for her. She was able to tweak her approach to the newborn stage with her second, Ava, to play to her strengths i.e. having structure and some control.

She speaks about the guilt she experienced around breastfeeding; the fact she breastfed her first for longer than she did her second due to weight gain issues, but can now reflect and recognises that every journey is different, and she did the right thing for both her babies.

She also thinks its important as a new mother to carve some time out for yourself. Her focus was on exercising and having a creative outlet, but also her work in the corporate accounting world. Amanda thinks the global covid pandemic has revolutionised the world of work in terms of more flexible working practices, which has allowed mothers to better balance work and home lives. She believes working mothers should be strong in self-advocating how they would like to manage their working arrangements. In saying that, she doesn’t deny the fact it is a juggle and there will be times when you feel like you have it together, and other times when you don’t!

Join me for this incredibly though provoking, helpful and insightful story, with huge thanks to Amanda for opening up about her journey!

And remember you are not alone; it's OK to not be OK. We're in this together and Mumma, YOU got this!

Be sure to hit subscribe to hear future episodes, or share with a friend. Otherwise, if you'd like to share your story, send me a DM via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newmummapodcast 

Amanda's career, wealth & wellness website: https://www.gorgeouspresence.com.au/

Book recommendation: Expecting Better by Emily Oster

DISCLAIMER:

Please note this podcast depicts personal accounts of pregnancy, birth and motherhood. The views expressed are my own and are those of my guests, as such should not be relied upon for educational or medical advice purposes. The content included is not a substitute for health advice by a professional. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tamara spent the first half of her pregnancy dealing with debilitating nausea, which she was on prescribed medication to manage. She found it had such a profound impact on her mental health, whilst trying to continue to feel grateful for the gift that is a baby.

Jock's birth was pretty 'straightforward', progressing naturally from 3pm to birthing him 4 hours later. Amazingly, Jock was 1 in the 80,000 births where the baby is born in the amniotic sac. Tam also had a slight complication whereby she had a retained placenta, meaning it had to be manually removed under general anaesthetic.

Her breastfeeding journey hasn’t been the easiest as it was off to a delayed start as her milk came in later than the norm. That, and Jock not being the best sleeper (understatement!), amongst other things then contributed to Tam having quite a difficult time with her mental health in the first six months or so. After thinking she was just experiencing prolonged baby blues, she recognised she wasn’t in a great place mentally and after consulting with a few professionals, she's on a path to better managing her anxiety.

In hindsight, one thing Tam thinks was a huge factor in her anxiety was the loss of control; as many parents can attest to… you can't control babies' behaviour! And that was tough for Tamara to grapple with. In addition, the constant worrying and anxiety around Jock's welfare and health, which played out in quite negative intrusive thoughts, proved quite difficult.

But between the tough times there were of course the silver linings of overwhelming love and little 'heart explosions'! The Covid Lockdown has been a blessing in disguise for getting Jock into a good routine, and more family time with Tam's partner working from home.

Tamara has been very pleasantly surprised by her resilience through such a transformative journey, and feels so grateful for the little guy Jock (aka her partners Mini me!)

Join me for this raw and vulnerable story, with huge thanks to Tamara for opening up about her struggles! And remember you are not alone; it's OK to not be OK. We're in this together and Mumma, YOU got this!

Be sure to hit subscribe to hear future episodes, or share with a friend. Otherwise, if you'd like to share your story, send me a DM via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newmummapodcast 

For support with maternal mental health & wellbeing: https://healthyfamilies.beyondblue.org.au/pregnancy-and-new-parents/maternal-mental-health-and-wellbeing

DISCLAIMER:

Please note this podcast depicts personal accounts of pregnancy, birth and motherhood. The views expressed are my own and are those of my guests, as such should not be relied upon for educational or medical advice purposes. The content included is not a substitute for health advice by a professional. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maddi Wilson was delighted to have fallen pregnant after only 6 months of trying after stopping the contraceptive pill. She'd been on it since she was 15, and now at 28 feels much better mentally since stopping using it. 

She was unable to enjoy the first trimester of her pregnancy due to consistent spotting most days. She didn’t want to get her hopes up knowing how common the risk of miscarriage is, however come second trimester the bleeding stopped. Other than a few aches and pains (and lightening crotch!!) she had a pretty enjoyable and straightforward rest of her pregnancy.

Zahli's birth however wasn’t so straightforward. Her waters broke at home so the next day she had to be induced as there's a risk of infection. Being induced meant her labour came on very quickly and was quite intense, she was really uncomfortable as she was losing so much water during each contraction and so she got an epidural. However her babies heartrate kept plummeting, resulting in an emergency caesarean section.

Maddi found breastfeeding quite difficult to establish with Zahli as she struggled to latch. She made the decision to stop breastfeeding at 5/6 months as it just got too hard and she knew it was best for her daughter.

She also found recovery from the C section more difficult than she anticipated, and found being an exercise physio helpful for recovery.

She didn’t think she was particularly maternal until she had Zahli, and felt really lucky to have such a strong bond – a bond she struggles to put into words!

Her advice would be to go with your gut, try not to over think or over research things because deep down you know your child!

Join me for Maddi's courageous story, with a huge thanks to Maddi for being so open about her struggles! And remember you are not alone; it's OK to not be OK. We're in this together and Mumma, YOU got this!

Be sure to hit subscribe to hear future episodes, or share with a friend. Otherwise, if you'd like to share your story, send me a DM via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newmummapodcast 

Maddi's exercise physio Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maddiwilson_ep/

DISCLAIMER:

Please note this podcast depicts personal accounts of pregnancy, birth and motherhood. The views expressed are my own and are those of my guests, as such should not be relied upon for educational or medical advice purposes. The content included is not a substitute for health advice by a professional. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jaime felt really lucky with her journey to becoming a Mumma to Primrose, but admittedly her luck nosedived at various points along the way. Jaime and her husband conceived using in vitro fertilisation (IVF), due to some underlying health issues, namely polycystic ovarian syndrome amongst a couple of other things.

They were lucky that they were just able to continue their IVF treatment before all elective surgeries were put on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They also successfully conceived after just one round of IVF, which notoriously can take quite a few attempts before, quite literally, paying off.

Jaime's pregnancy wasn’t the easiest; so whilst she was so grateful to have fallen pregnant with Primrose, she was simultaneously dealing with unrelenting nausea, pregnancy insomnia, pain in her hips and back, amongst other not-so-wonderful pregnancy ailments!

9 months later, she had a birth she could only dream of; quick, minimal intervention, support from her wonderful partner and the arrival of a beautiful (albeit big!) baby girl.

And whilst she is besotted with her daughter, she's not one to deny she has her tougher days. That being said, Jaime finds having other mum friends to confide in and bounce off, as well as following her gut, had helped her get through the more difficult days.

Jaime struggles to put into words her love for Primrose, and can't explain the feeling she gets when she looks at her with pure joy. She's also glad she didn’t lose that sense of self she thought she might, and becoming a Mumma has given her the strive to be the best version of herself that she can be.

Join me for this incredible story, with a huge thanks to the wonderful and eloquent Jaime! And remember you are not alone; it's OK to not be OK. We're in this together and Mumma, YOU got this! (Oh, and Google is not your friend!) 😉

Be sure to hit subscribe to hear future episodes, or share with a friend. Otherwise, if you'd like to share your story, send me a DM via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newmummapodcast 

DISCLAIMER:

Please note this podcast depicts personal accounts of pregnancy, birth and motherhood. The views expressed are my own and are those of my guests, as such should not be relied upon for educational or medical advice purposes. The content included is not a substitute for health advice by a professional. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Courtney was delighted to have fallen pregnant quite straightforwardly after having an ovary removed due to cancer at age 25. Her pregnancy then coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant she hadn’t enjoyed pregnancy as much as she perceived she would have pre COVID. She felt anxiety stricken around giving birth, but found doing hypnobirthing really helped her and her partner understand the science behind birth itself.

9 months later, still in lockdown, Courtney had a relatively quick birth with Harper Jean, though did lose control at one point due to uncontrollable vomiting. She hit a stage where she couldn’t go any further and so asked for an epidural, but her midwife convinced her she would be quicker to start pushing (much to her disappointment!), and used breathing techniques learnt via hypnobirthing to get her through the contractions.

Courtney struggled after birth with her mental health, hormones and emotions, and turned to a psychologist to deal with feelings of isolation and grief. The grief was threefold; grief for her old life, grief around the pregnancy she expected pre COVID and grief for a friendship that was strained due to infertility issues.

She thinks new Mumma's should try not to compare themselves to others' situations, and once further into their own journeys… hold back on the unsolicited advice to new Mummas (as hard as it may be!)

That being said, she realises now that mothers intuition is 'a thing', and can confirm she now has it!

Join me for this honest and uplifting chat with Courtney, and remember you are not alone; it's OK to not be OK. We're in this together and Mumma, YOU got this!

Be sure to hit subscribe to hear future episodes, or share with a friend. Otherwise, if you'd like to share your story, send me a DM via Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newmummapodcast 

To find out more about Hypnobirthing: https://hypnobirthing.com.au/

To find out more about Calm Birth: https://calmbirth.com.au/

For support with maternal mental health & wellbeing: https://healthyfamilies.beyondblue.org.au/pregnancy-and-new-parents/maternal-mental-health-and-wellbeing

DISCLAIMER:

Please note this podcast depicts personal accounts of pregnancy, birth and motherhood. The views expressed are my own and are those of my guests, as such should not be relied upon for educational or medical advice purposes. The content included is not a substitute for health advice by a professional. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.