When it doesn't go to plan - working through birth trauma & a difficult fourth trimester with Midwife & Mom, Courtney.

Hello Mama's! In today's episode I had the pleasure of speaking with the lovely Hannah who is the Mama to 17 month old Mila from Auckland. From a marathon 30-hour labour to overcoming breastfeeding challenges and navigating the postpartum haze, Hannah shares the raw realities of motherhood. In this conversation, Hannah shares with us her decision to take up a new job opportunity and return to work when Mila was 6 months old. A lot of people Hannah would speak to about this would tell her she would dread going back to work, it would be too much and make her feel guilty about putting Mila into daycare at 6 months old. But Hannah is here to share that her journey couldn't have been more different. Mila has thrived in daycare (aside from the daycare bugs) and Hannah has loved being back at work and is proud of how both her & Mila have managed this transition. This conversation is a reminder of how everyone's motherhood journey will look so different and you do not have to conform to what society says you should do and feel, it is important to stay true to who you are and do what feels right to you. Hannah takes us through how she balances work and mum life, makes time for herself and her partner Tom and continues to chase her dreams. Hannah is so honest and authentic and I am so grateful she wanted to share her journey. If you enjoy this episode, I would love if you could rate and review on your streaming platform of choice and follow along on @bumptomum.podcast for updates on future episodes. Enjoy Mama's! xx

Hello Mama's! I hope you have had an epic summer and 2024 has been good to you this far. I am back with the pod and super excited to be sharing the first episode of the year with you which is with Rachael from The Food Tree. Rachael is a UK-trained registered dietitian specialising in family feeding, feeding disorders, disordered eating and body image. In this episode we talk about: How to heal your own relationship with your body How to cope with the pressure of diet culture How to raise body confident children who have a healthy relationship with food How does pregnancy and childbirth affect your body image and self-esteem What are some of the myths and misconceptions about dieting and weight loss after pregnancy How can you practice mindfulness and self-compassion to improve your body image and well-being How can you model positive body image and healthy eating behaviors for your children How can you help your children develop a balanced and joyful relationship with food and their bodies How should we approach sugar with our children so that they have a healthy relationship with it. I learnt so much in this chat & I really hope you will find it helpful to. If you need further support with anything that has been discussed in this conversation then you can contact Rachael here. If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, it really helps a small podcast like mine be found by other parents! You can also follow a long on Instagram @bumptomum.podcast for updates on future episodes. Enjoy!

Hello Mama's The festive season is in full swing and I am loving the feeling of getting closer to the end of the year. This is the last episode for the year as I am taking some time to reset, refresh and relax over the festive season. It has been a massive year for me personally and with this podcast and I would love to hear from you as to what you would like to see/hear on the podcast next year. Please message me on IG @bumptomum.podcast with any feedback you have as this really helps me shape the direction for next year. For the final episode this year I spoke to the lovely Di from Mama's Meals and we talked through everything from starting solids, Di's approach to food for the family, her experience with solids with her two kids and how different/similar they were, her top tips for testing toddler behaviour around meal times, her go to meals for the family, how we can incorporate family meals into our week and what inspired her to start Mama's Meals and how she balances running a business and being a Mama to two. Starting solids and food in general can be such an overwhelming space so any help in this area is always SO appreciated. If you are wanting some 1:1 support or to download some of the resources Di has created for starting solids, you can find Di's account here or contact her through her website https://www.mamasmeals.co.nz/. Thank you for all your love and support this year, I hope you enjoy the festive season with your families and I cannot wait to be back in your ears in 2024. Lots of love Mama's!

Hello Mama's, This episode is one that has been requested for a long time and I know there are a lot of Mama's out there that will resonate with this journey. At 30 weeks pregnant after a very smooth pregnancy, Jess experienced some bleeding in the evening and within 2 hours her baby boy Casey was born by a emergency c-section. Jess shares with us her families journey, we cover: what was going through her mind as she came to terms with the fact her baby was going to be born at 30 weeks what the cause of Casey being born so early was what happened in the moments after he was born how they shifted their mindset and stayed positive in the really hard times like having to leave Casey in the hospital and go home their feeding journey from tube feeding to mouth feeding to breast & bottle feeding what NICU was like; how much they visited, what milestones they had to hit, how long they spent there the highs and lows of her motherhood journey to date the transition from NICU to home advice to parents on a similar journey Casey is now 9 months old and Jess shares with us what life is like for them now and how this experience while so tough, has made them all closer as a family and is a part of their story. I really loved this chat with Jess, she has such a positive outlook on what was an incredibly challenging time and it is so nice to hear that they are all thriving. I also wanted to echo Jess's thanks to the amazing NICU nurses who really are angels who make such a challenging time for new parents bearable. And while we are at it, a big thank you to all Nurses and Midwifes who work long hours for in my opinion, not enough pay because of their love for caring for people. I hope you love this episode, if you do if you could rate & review on Apple Podcasts here. It is also the last few days to nominate Bump to Mum for the Listeners Choice Award in the NZ Podcast Awards so if you have a couple of minutes to nominate, I would be very VERY grateful. You can nominate Bump to Mum here. A big thank you for Jess for sharing her story and lots of love to the Mama's and Dad's out their on a similar journey. Chat soon Mama's!

Hello Mama's! This is a special one, Co- Founder of Viva La Vulva, Stevie has kept a relatively low profile during her career but agreed to speak with me about all things motherhood and business. In this chat we cover: her inspiration to start a business focused on postpartum care her own pregnancy and postpartum journey breastfeeding sleep and how co-sleeping works for her family the mental load of motherhood being overstimulated what the work and motherhood juggle looks like for her and what time she took off when her daughter Sunny was born what her favourite Viva La Vulva products are and how they can be used during postpartum recovery and beyond weaning & the emotions that come in postpartum Stevie is so honest, relatable and inspiring and I am personally very grateful to have products like the Viva La Vulva range on the market to support women in their postpartum journey and normalise what it is like to give birth. If you would like to check out the full range of products you can find them here https://www.vivalavulva.co.nz/products. Stevie & the Viva La Vulva team have also kindly shared a discount code for you to use, BUMPTOMUM will get you 15% off the range so happy shopping Mama's! If you enjoyed this episode and enjoy tuning into Bump to Mum I would be so grateful if you could follow this link - https://www.nzpodcastawards.com/nominate and nominate Bump to Mum for the People's Choice Award in the 2023 NZ Podcast Awards. I love bringing this podcast to you so your support is very appreciated. Speak soon Mama's!