General

However you birth your baby, you need to honour the amazing job you have done growing and bringing your baby into the world. Rest and recovery are a priority.  If you have a C Section, this means major abdominal surgery, so it’s important to get the support you deserve from your loved ones to allow you to rest and snuggle your sweet new baby and establish breastfeeding - this can take a wee bit longer after Csection surgery.   If it’s an option financially, a post-natal doula can be a god-send to support and care for you and your new family. Above all, please be as gentle and kind to yourself as you are to your baby.

We have asked our Boobie Foods Mums who had Csections for their best tips to

If you’re worried about low milk supply, you aren’t alone – recent studies show that the number one reason women say they give up breastfeeding is because they don’t think they have enough milk. Pinky McKay, IBCLC lactation expert, shares her top tips to help you increase your milk supply without a whole lot of stress.

Watch your baby, not the clock

Breast milk production is based on supply and demand: the more milk your baby drinks, the more milk your breasts will be signalled to make. Babies regulate the volume and composition of your milk by their sucking and by how often they feed. As your baby sucks at your breast, he stimulates milk production.

Trying to impose a strict feeding schedule, rather than watching your baby’s cues, is not only

As you carried your baby in your belly, you dreamed of an instant connection between you – just like the soft focused television ads. He would instantly know you are his mother, the one who will protect him and love him forever and he will love you back. You will be his special person, the one he loves more than anyone else in the whole world.

Getting used to your newborn is such an intense time as you recover from your birth experience physically and emotionally and there is a lot of trial and error as you work out what is best for you and your baby. The thing is, it’s ok to take a few short cuts and, as a mum of five, there probably aren’t many I haven’t tried – some were helpful, some not so much. Here are my top hacks to make things easier for you and your new baby.

We hear a lot about postpartum depression, but depression can also take place during pregnancy. In fact, it is almost as common. Here, Dr Dawn Kingston, Canada's leading expert on Perinatal Mental Health explains the warning signs of PRE-NatalDepression. 

One of the best ways to avoid severe postnatal depression is to receive diagnosis and treatment during pregnancy. But with so many bodily changes and outside demands during pregnancy, how do you know what is and isn’t normal?

Pregnant women are frequently reassured that the mood swings, anxiety, irritability, mental fog and emotional outburst they’re experiencing are a normal sign of pregnancy. Television sitcoms have always played it for laughs. However, the truth is that prenatal depression occurs in 16 to 20 percent of pregnant women, and it can range from sadness to real dif

Breastfeeding will be more relaxed and comfortable for you and your baby if you get a good latch right from the start. A good latch can head off breastfeeding problems before they happen: it will enable your baby to get more milk and to drain your breasts effectively and this will signal your breasts to make more milk, increasing your supply. And, although you can expect a wee bit of discomfort as you begin breastfeeding, rather like trying out a new pair of shoes, having a good latch at the breast will avoid damaged nipples and painful feeds.

Signs of an effective latch include feeling comfortable, without pain, ‘pinching’ or a ‘biting’ sensation; your baby’s mouth will cover some or all of your areola, depending on the size of your areola (the dark part surrounding your nipple), with most or all of the underside and some of the top of the areola in your baby’s mouth; your baby’s lips will be flanged outwards, like ‘fish lips’ and baby’s tongue will be cupped under you

There’s nothing quite like four hours of broken sleep and cracked nipples to get you “in the mood”, right?

Mama, it’s completely normal for your sex drive to take a nosedive after you’ve had a baby.

Spending your days (and nights) snuggling, comforting and breastfeeding your new baby can leave you feeling completely touched out – not to mention the significant biological and hormonal changes going on inside your body right now.

Here are 5 interesting facts about breastfeeding and sex that you might now know:

1:Breastfeeding hormones can affect your sex drive

Apart from feeling dead tired and touched out, there are also some biological reasons why your libido has go

You have most likely heard very good reasons to breastfeed: boosting baby’s immune system; providing breast milk that changes to meet your baby’s needs; a lovely way to bond and allowing instant comfort for an unsettled baby.

Another important reason to consider breastfeeding is evidence that it can reduce your own and – if you have a baby daughter – her risk of breast cancer too.

The kids have explored every inch of the backyard and even the local park is off-limits. This is lockdown life with kids – it’s hard and it’s exhausting. If you’re struggling for new ideas to keep your little ones entertained during lockdown, especially if you are also feeding and caring for a baby, we’ve got you!

We’ve pulled together a list of fun resources for kids of all ages.

There’s something for everyone: from exploring the world’s museums, to story time from space – all without leaving your home.

For the animal lovers

Animals At Home Explore Melbourne’s three zoos, listen to keeper talks and see what the giraffes are up to on Werribee Zoo’s savannah.

Atlanta Zoo Panda Cam Watch Atlanta Zoo’s pandas chew bamboo and tumble about. So cute!

Here you are, dripping milk, all ready for your baby to feed – but he won’t!

If you have a newborn, there is every chance you will be ‘woman handled’ as somebody tries to get your baby to latch by grabbing baby and boob and shoving them together (if this happens, put your hand up in a stop sign and ask, ‘please can you guide me, I would like to try myself’).

Or, if your baby is older and has been happily breastfeeding until now, you are probably wondering, ‘is he weaning?’

Whatever the reasons for your baby’s breast refusal, your baby isn’t ‘refusing’ to breastfeed because he is being stubborn, and forcing him won’t help.

For newborns, generally if your baby won’t breastfeed it is because he can’t right now, but it doesn’t mean you won’t be able to breastfeed at all – although you will need to be patient, with the right help, most

“I know I need to exercise but I don’t even have the energy to go for a walk, I feel so tired all the time and I am anxious without any reason,” says Sarah, mum of a happy thriving eight month old. When I visited her, Sarah asked her husband to take notes because her brain was so foggy she could barely stay on track in conversation, let alone remember what we discussed.

According to Dr Oscar Serrallach, Sarah’s symptoms are typical of a condition he has labeled ‘Postnatal Depletion’. Formerly an emergency medicine doctor, Dr, Serrallach is now a GP in Northern NSW specializing in nutritional and integrative medicine and author of ‘The Postnatal Depletion Cure’. He says, “ a lot of my clients were new mums, they seemed to be really tired and not coping well and initially I thought this was quite normal. But, just because something is common doesn’t ne

You have finally made it beyond the letter-box with your newborn. You are feeling pretty proud of yourself for getting out and about between feeds, poos and spews and you even have your own shirt on the right way round. But then some dear old lady spies your little ‘freshie’ and as she peers into your pram, she can’t resist asking, ‘is he a good baby?’

Then that dreaded next question, ‘does he sleep all night?’

Suddenly you are hit by a wave of self-doubt. You wonder, ‘should my baby be sleeping longer? This isn’t helped by all the baby sleep programs advertising how to teach your baby to sleep ‘all night’. Especially when you read that babies can sleep 8 hours or 12 hours or whatever is being promised. Or that you can expect your baby to give you a full night’s sleep when he is just a few weeks old – if you just follow the right ‘method’.

Firstly, ‘all night’

If you haven’t yet had your baby, now is the time to plan beyond a fancy nursery that your baby won’t be moving into just yet anyway and plan for a calm, stress free ‘babymoon’. Think, a babymoon is like a honeymoon for you, your partner and your new baby as you all adjust to this big new world. A huge factor in planning a gentle babymoon for your growing family (whether this is your first baby, or you already have other children), is to create a support team.

A supportive partner is a huge factor in your breastfeeding success so first up, discuss with your partner how they can support you: taking time off work, censoring visitors, allowing you to rest, feeding you and being positive about breastfeeding – never asking ‘are you sure you have enough milk?’

Your support circle

Next, consider your wider support circle: surround yourself with

As you carried your baby in your belly, you dreamed of an instant connection between you – just like the soft focused television ads. He would instantly know you are his mother, the one who will protect him and love him forever and he will love you back. You will be his special person, the one he loves more than anyone else in the whole world.

Right now, though, it doesn’t feel like that. Of course you love him and feel utterly responsible for him but it’s not like the ads – you feel like a zombie craving sleep, he seems more like a tiny poop machine who cries and squirms and feeds endlessly and all you want is some feedback that your endless hours of nurturing are truly making a difference.

Your care is helping your baby thrive. It is helping love grow between you and as this bond grows, he will show you in his own special ways that you are the most important person in his world:

If your baby’s bum isn’t as smooth as it should be according to the old adage (‘smooth as a baby’s bum’), but red and inflamed instead, your little one will no doubt cry and be miserable, especially as urine scalds his delicate skin. Although babies with very sensitive skin or a family history of skin disorders such as eczema or psoriasis may be more prone to nappy rash, any baby can be a candidate.