JulieBhosaleAchive

When pregnant with my first son I remember being terrified of the sleep deprivation that was to come. I knew it would be hard and I also knew that I did not know just how hard it would be. I have had two babies now – gone through the crazy sleep deprived newborn days twice. I am not going to say I have mastered that time. Far from it. And I still struggle with sleep deprivation. What I do have is hindsight – beautiful, wonderful hindsight - that this time, which seems to have no end, won’t last forever and you are stronger than you believe you are right now. So here are a few things that I wish I could say to a fellow mum deep in trenches of sleep deprivation. Mummy - the first few days are the worst. You have just given birth, are learning to breastfeed/feed and are trying to recover yourself while getting to know this little person you created. Your hormones are all out of sorts, it can be overwhelming and sleep is basically non-existent; maybe an hour or two at most in a row. You ma...

I am a mother. I am tired, broken and sore. I have lumps, bumps, marks and jiggly bits. I am a mother. I have created, grown, carried and birthed two gorgeous sons. I am a mother. I am solely responsible for the lives of two little humans, every single day and night, week in and week out and will be for the rest of my life (and maybe future #number 3 baby). I am a health professional. I work in an industry which is largely focused on the superficial. The how you look . Not how you feel . Not who you are . I am a mother. You too are a mother. You are also tired, exhausted, broken, sore, have lumps, bumps, marks and jiggly bits. You too live in a world which judges you on how you look . Not how you feel . Not who you really are and what you have sacrificed...and continue to sacrifice. You are beautiful, you are amazing, you are a mother.  You live in a society that pushes images at you every day of women who have given birth and just "bounced back" - great for them (truly, tha...

This blog has been quite hard for me to write and taken me a few drafts! I sincerely hope that it helps another mum out there feel at peace with their own choice of how they feed their baby. My First Experience This story really starts with my experience breastfeeding my first son (now aged 2). As a nutritionist and lecturer prior to having children I taught the importance of breast-feeding. I KNEW how important it was – but I had no idea just HOW HARD it could be. I thought I was prepared. I read books, practiced with balloons in antenatal class, but in reality I had absolutely no clue. By the middle of the second night after my first son was born, I already had raw painful nipples. My milk did come in but every feed was painful and getting worse, especially on my left side. I tried every cream on the market, every breast-feeding position, even my midwife struggled, we just could not get him to latch properly. I was feeding semi-ok on the right side so why could I not get the left sid...

I always have a batch of home-made muffins made and in the freezer - I find they go a lot faster with two monkeys now! They provide a fast, easy and healthy snack which I can grab while on the go, and these particular muffins I literally lived on while breast-feeding (and expressing) Smushie. These muffins are packed full of nutrients to help with breastfeeding, giving a boost of protein and essential fatty acids from the walnuts and LSA. In particular, LSA (ground mix of linseeds, sunflower seeds and almonds) provides the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6, B vitamins and fiber. It contains no wheat, gluten, artificial colours, preservatives or chemical additives - a great product to have in your home! You can get LSA from most health food shops and supermarkets today (pictured below). This recipe also contain no refined sugar and is one of my one-bowl wonders - it's not fancy but it sure is fast - just add, mix and bake!! Ingredients: 3 bananas 1 and 1/4 cups of whole-meal...