With Love Mama

What do the first 24 hours after birth actually feel like?

Everyone prepares you for labour and birth but what happens once your baby is actually here?

In this episode, we’re talking honestly about the first 24 hours after giving birth and what you can really expect as a first time mum. From the surreal moment you meet your baby, the first breastfeed and those first newborn noises, to postpartum bleeding, afterpains, shaking, exhaustion, hormones, emotions and your first night together.

We’ll talk about the things nobody seems to prepare you for what your body feels like immediately after birth, what newborns are actually like, what the first night can look like, why your baby may want to feed constantly & why you might feel completely overwhelmed even when you’re deeply in love.

You’ll also hear the emotional side of those first hours like the adrenaline, the vulnerability, the tears, the awe and the strange feeling of suddenly becoming someone’s mum

If you’re pregnant, preparing for your first baby, planning your birth or wondering what postpartum recovery is really like, this episode will help you feel more informed and less blindsided by those first precious hours.

Because the first 24 hours aren’t about doing motherhood perfectly.

They’re about meeting your baby, recovering from birth and learning each other.

Follow my Instagram for more doula / pregnancy content through the week! ⁠@tanikalace⁠

Follow my TikTok for BTS of mum life⁠ @tanikalace⁠

Apply to share your conception journey, birth or postpartum story here

https://tally.so/r/D4ee7Z

Have you ever heard of subcutaneous emphysema?

Three births. Two VBACs and one incredibly rare complication that she never saw coming.

After her first birth ended in an emergency caesarean following 15 hours of labour and foetal distress, she went into her second birth determined to have a VBAC.

She did except this birth was anything but straightforward.

Her second labour involved bleeding, two hours of pushing, a second-degree tear, postpartum haemorrhage, retained products and infection. But one of the most unexpected complications was something she had never even heard of: subcutaneous emphysema, an extremely rare complication associated with intense pushing where air can become trapped beneath the skin.

And then, after everything her body had experienced, she went on to have a third birth! Another VBAC, just four hours long, with around 20 minutes of pushing, a water birth, no cervical checks and no medical intervention.

Sharni is now preparing for her fourth homebirth!

Three births. The same woman. The same body. Three completely different experiences.

In this episode, we talk honestly about emergency caesarean birth, choosing a VBAC, what it’s like when a VBAC becomes medically complicated, the reality of postpartum haemorrhage and retained products, the bizarre experience of subcutaneous emphysema and what happened when she approached her third birth after everything she had already been through.

This is a conversation about VBAC, birth trauma, trusting your body, and the fact that you can never completely predict how your next birth will unfold.

This is the story of my second birth a 70-minute labour and birth at home, completely unmedicated and physiological.

After my first birth was also an unmedicated water birth, I knew I wanted to birth at home again but this labour unfolded incredibly quickly.

From the beginning of active labour to meeting my baby girl was just 70 minutes!

I share what made this birth so beautiful for me: no medication, no interventions, no tearing and an instinctive physiological birth.

If you’re pregnant and considering a home birth, unmedicated birth, natural birth or physiological birth, I hope this story gives you an honest glimpse into what birth can look and feel like when you are able to follow your body’s instincts!

This isn’t a story about birth being one particular way. It’s simply my birth story intense, fast, intimate and incredibly special.

🤍 In this episode:

• My 70-minute labour
• My unmedicated home birth
• What physiological birth actually felt like
• The intensity of a very fast labour
• Birthing at home with a midwife
• Why I chose home birth
• My experience with a second birth
• No tearing, no medication and no interventions
• The moments immediately after my baby was born

If you’re preparing for your own birth, subscribe to the podcast for more conversations around birth preparation, home birth, postpartum, motherhood and feeling genuinely held through the transition into motherhood.

Follow my Instagram for more doula / pregnancy content through the week! ⁠@tanikalace⁠

Follow my TikTok for BTS of mum life⁠ @tanikalace⁠

Apply to share your conception journey, birth or postpartum story here

https://tally.so/r/D4ee7Z

What happens when pregnancy suddenly becomes high-risk and you’re living rurally, far from immediate medical care?

In this episode, we hear one mother’s powerful journey through gestational hypertension, preeclampsia and the terrifying moment she nearly lost her baby at just 31 weeks. From intensive rural maternity care and an induction at 39 weeks, to a MET call and two hours in a hypertensive crisis during labour, her birth took an unexpected turn.

Yet she went on to have a vaginal birth!!

We’re talking preeclampsia awareness, rural pregnancy, navigating high-risk care and finding a sense of positivity in an experience that could have ended very differently.

Follow my Instagram for more doula / pregnancy content through the week! ⁠@tanikalace⁠

Follow my TikTok for BTS of mum life⁠ @tanikalace⁠

Apply to share your conception journey, birth or postpartum story here

https://tally.so/r/D4ee7Z

Breastfeeding is often painted as something that should just come naturally but what happens when it doesn’t?

In this episode, I’m sharing the honest and raw reality of my breastfeeding journey with my second baby. From pain, sensitivity and latch struggles to supply worries, pumping, combination feeding and the emotional rollercoaster that comes with it all.

No perfection, just the truth about my first weeks of breastfeeding.

I truly thought after all the research I did to change my experience the second time it would’ve came easier!

Follow my Instagram for more doula / pregnancy content through the week! ⁠@tanikalace⁠

Follow my TikTok for BTS of mum life⁠ @tanikalace⁠

Apply to share your conception journey, birth or postpartum story here

https://tally.so/r/D4ee7Z

Pregnancy asks so much of the body but postpartum asks even more.

In this episode, I’m joined by Clare Ramirez from Wildflower Medicine for a deeply nourishing conversation about pregnancy, postpartum depletion and what our bodies truly need during the transition into motherhood.

We talk about why so many women arrive at postpartum already depleted, what happens when we don’t adequately replenish after birth and how we can begin to nourish ourselves in a way that supports recovery, hormones, energy, breastfeeding and overall wellbeing.

We also dive into the cravings that can show up during pregnancy and postpartum and why your body may be asking for exactly what it needs.

Together, we explore:
✨ Postpartum depletion and why it’s so common
✨ How to genuinely nourish yourself after birth
✨ The importance of protein, minerals, fats and nutrient dense foods
✨ Pregnancy and postpartum cravings and what they might be communicating
✨ Eating enough when you’re exhausted, touched-out and caring for a newborn
✨ Supporting the body through breastfeeding and recovery
✨ Why postpartum nutrition should be viewed as part of recovery
✨ Practical ways to make nourishing yourself easier in the early weeks and months

Your baby needs you but you need nourishment, too.

Come and have a conversation with us about feeding the woman who just gave birth🤍

You can find Clare from Wildflower Medicine here

Instagram

Website

Follow my Instagram for more doula / pregnancy content through the week! ⁠@tanikalace⁠

Follow my TikTok for BTS of mum life⁠ @tanikalace⁠

Apply to share your conception journey, birth or postpartum story here

https://tally.so/r/D4ee7Z

Hey mamas,

I’m officially 2 weeks into 2 under 2. Let me share my experience, thoughts, feelings from the past 2 weeks.

It’s honestly just a raw convo in so many directions today touching on how this postpartum experience is so different, postpartum with a toddler, navigating becoming a second time mum.

Follow my Instagram for more doula / pregnancy content through the week! ⁠@tanikalace⁠

Follow my TikTok for BTS of mum life⁠ @tanikalace⁠

Apply to share your conception journey, birth or postpartum story here

https://tally.so/r/D4ee7Z

Your due date arrives and your baby isn’t here.

For many mums, the due date can start to feel like a finish line like a date you’ve been counting down to for nine months. But what happens when you cross it?

In this episode, I’m sharing my experience of being “overdue” in pregnancy and what it felt like emotionally to move beyond my due date and into the unknown.

We’re talking about the mental shift that can happen when you’re still pregnant at 40+ weeks, the pressure and expectations around when your baby “should” arrive, navigating uncertainty and learning to stay grounded when you don’t know when labour will begin.

If you’re a mum approaching your due date, already past your due date, feeling anxious about going overdue or simply struggling with the waiting game, this episode is for you.

Because your due date is a date not a deadline.

✨ In this episode:
• What it feels like to cross your due date
• The emotional reality of an overdue pregnancy
• Managing uncertainty when you don’t know when labour will begin
• Why the due date can become such a psychological “line in the sand”
• The pressure mums can feel around going overdue
• How to navigate the waiting without feeling completely out of control
• Preparing emotionally for the possibility that your baby may not arrive on your due date

If you’re preparing for birth, navigating late pregnancy, or wondering what happens when you go past your due date, I hope this conversation helps you feel a little less alone in the waiting.

5 Things Worth the Money From a Doula

What are the things that are actually worth spending money on during pregnancy, birth and postpartum? In this episode, I’m sharing 5 things I genuinely think are worth the investment as a doula and mum from pregnancy essentials to postpartum support and products that can make those early days with a newborn that little bit easier. Just practical recommendations from a doula who has been there.

If you’re pregnant, preparing for birth, building your postpartum plan or getting ready for a newborn, this one is for you.

Follow my Instagram for more doula / pregnancy content through the week! ⁠@tanikalace⁠

Follow my TikTok for BTS of mum life⁠ @tanikalace⁠

Apply to share your conception journey, birth or postpartum story here

https://tally.so/r/D4ee7Z

Welcome to another episode of the podcast mama and we are joined again by Dr Chelsea Mill!

Is your baby posterior (sunny-side up)? Wondering if there's anything you can do during pregnancy to encourage your baby into a more optimal position for birth?

In this episode, I'm joined by a pelvic floor osteopath to unpack one of the most common questions expecting mothers ask: Can I help my baby get into a better position before labour begins?

Together we explore the relationship between your body's biomechanics, your pelvic floor and your baby's positioning.

Inside this conversation, we discuss:

• What a posterior baby actually means.

• Why babies may settle into a posterior position.

• The connection between the pelvis, muscles, fascia and fetal positioning.

• Practical, gentle ways to support optimal fetal positioning during pregnancy.

• Common misconceptions about spinning babies and positioning advice.

• Whether posterior babies can still have beautiful, straightforward births.

• How to prepare your body for labour, regardless of your baby's position.

Whether you're 30 weeks pregnant, approaching your due date or you've just been told your baby is posterior, this episode will leave you feeling informed and with practical tools you can start using today.

Remember: while we can support our bodies, babies ultimately choose their own path into the world. This episode is about creating the best environment possible not chasing perfection.

If you found this episode helpful, please follow the podcast, leave a rating, and share it with another expecting mum who might need this reassurance.

Follow my Instagram for more doula / pregnancy content through the week! ⁠@tanikalace⁠

Follow my TikTok for BTS of mum life⁠ @tanikalace⁠

Apply to share your conception journey, birth or postpartum story here

https://tally.so/r/D4ee7Z