JulieBhosaleAchive

This was about 7am Saturday morning. Hubby took this photo as he was like "you are not seriously taking them all out" – ah yes - the boys had been up at 5am and needed the park (so did our fur-baby and his friend we have been looking after). I didn’t want to post it as I thought my thighs looked really big. I have always had a thing about my thighs, as I am a pear-shape and have been quite sporty so never really had well…sticks for legs and certainly no ‘thigh-gap’. Of course I went and saw the movie Embrace that afternoon by the founder of The Body Image Movement and mentally slapped myself. This movie spoke of the 91% of women who HATE their bodies. Who wished their bodies looked something different. Looked like bodies which are NOT EVEN REAL – photo shopped and edited and cropped and colored all to an ideal that does not even exist. Seriously what ‘perfect-body’ am I trying to aspire to?  Look at what I about to do - push a million kilograms to the park at 7am in the mor...

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...

Slow cookers are honestly the best thing since sliced bread. No kitchen pun intended! Also known as crockpots a slow cooker is an absolute must have for any bustling family kitchen. I do a slow cooker at least once a week if not more (what ever the season) as they are honestly a live saver! Here are few reasons why: 1. Maximum nutrients – Most slow cooker recipes will always include meat and vegetables which of course contain all the protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals you need in a meal! In addition, as the food is cooked at a very low temperature it helps to maximise nutrient retention. 2. Family friendly – Not only do slow cookers enable a meal in one to suit the whole family but you can cook a large amount and there is normally extra left over which you can easily freeze or take for lunch the next day. This leads me to: 3. Fast homemade baby food - for babies and toddlers who may struggle to eat meat as the vegetables are cooked in with the meat they absorb all this g...

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...