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We often hear about the 4th trimester as being a time for babies to adapt to the important transition from womb to world. We don’t hear as often how vital this time is to honour the transition for mothers as a time of healing and adjusting to their intense new role of nurturing and nourishing a newborn.

Pinky interviewed Kelly, naturopath, mother and co-owner with her Sister Nicole Farrell of Sisters and The Sea for her top tips as both a mum and a naturopath about how you can plan to thrive in the 4th Trimester

Watch the segment on Youtube:

Learning to breastfeed so it becomes natural and easy can take a few weeks or longer, just like learning a dance with an inexperienced partner who also needs to learn the steps (coordinating sucking, swallowing and breathing). Soon, breastfeeding is mostly a sweet interlude in your days and nights, as you snuggle together and drink in that sweet baby breath and stroke his fine skin as he fills up on your mama milk. But, at the risk of sounding like a Debbie Downer, even when breastfeeding is going pretty smoothly, there are a few things that suck, big time ....

You’re stuck on the couch having the life sucked out of you by the tiny person latched onto your breast as though his life depends on you (actually, it kind of does right now!). Being needed so intensely is making you feel overwhelmed, and now you’re totally confused by the unhelpful comments being tossed at you, including, ‘He’s just using you as a dummy’. And you wonder, am I really just a human dummy? Should I just give my baby a ‘real’ dummy?

Kim, girlboss and incredible entrepreneur, talks about the rollercoaster of juggling motherhood and running two powerhouse Aussie businesses. With ten plus years in senior corporate HR roles and raising two busy boys, we love her invaluable working mama tips and how she’s embraced the ‘fluidity of family life’ to make it work for her. Always putting her family first, Kim uses this to guide her family and career decisions, describing the strong connection she feels to her sons as ‘the imaginary elastic band linking us’.

Congratulations, having your first baby is so exciting as you prepare to welcome this new little person.

 You will be bombarded with tons of advice. While everyone is trying to be helpful by sharing their own hard earned wisdom, they probably won’t share these five things that you really need to know. Just so you don’t worry, ‘are we the only ones who ‘suck’ at this?’ let’s bust this conspiracy of silence – you really have got this!

Around the middle of your baby’s first year, that is at about six months, your baby will start showing signs that he is ready for family foods: he will be able to sit up in a high chair or on your lap; he will have lost the tongue thrust reflex (that protects him against choking in the early months, but also means food gets thrust out of his mouth, rather than swallowed); he will be watching you closely as you eat and probably reaching for your food  - but being able to grab objects and put them into his mouth is an actual sign of readiness ( after all, even young babies will watch you and may reach for food).  Your baby may seem to suddenly be more hungry but not satisfied by extra milk feeds over a period of several days.

See how, when and what to help your baby transition from breastfeeding to family foods

We are all aware of the nutritional needs needed pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy, but post pregnancy nutrition tends to be forgotten about. Feeding our bodies with adequate nutrition post pregnancy while breastfeeding will help our bodies produce healthy milk for our babies, as well as help mums feel better.

Registered Dietician Tammy Kacev  shares her top 5 foods for breastfeeding mums. 

Taking care of a baby is a full time job in itself – well, without the lunch and tea breaks and, most of the day, without a coworker to laugh with or bitch to when the going gets tough. And, did you know that even the most easy going baby takes at least nine hours of ‘hands on’ care each day (and night)?

It’s time to cut yourself some slack and take care of yourself or all your efforts to be a ‘good mummy’ are at risk of being high-jacked by mummy burnout.

It’s your baby’s first Christmas. It’s exciting but also a bit overwhelming too as you try to plan the big day with family and friends.

Hopefully, if you have a newborn, you haven’t put your hand up to host the day, but this means you will be a guest at somebody else’s house and this can present other sorts of stress. Check out our survival plan.