Hey loves, four months now since I gave birth to our third child, Sonny. His birth was a little different to what I expected and it has taken some time to make sense of it - but a birth debrief with B has helped me to understand my feelings around it. In this totally raw and unedited chat we go through my birth experience and dive into the feelings beneath the events. Surprisingly my unprocessed feelings were about far more than the birth itself. If you would like to explore a birth debrief...

Today I have a chat with my friend Liv Davis who is a nurse, a podcaster and mum of two boys. Liv is chatting with us today about being in a same sex family - of social infertility, conceiving her boys through sperm donor, how she navigates tricky conversations with new people and what she wishes all parents understood and could teach their own children about the uniqueness of families. You can find Liv over on her own podcast The After Birth Podcast. Hey Mama, I have a Sleep Guide for you!...

Dr Kyla Smith is a Paediatric Dietitian who supports parents to help them feed their families with confidence. Her range of online memberships simplify the challenges you face in feeding your kids, from actually enjoying the process introducing solid foods, navigating fussy eating with confidence, and taking the steps out of packing school lunches and feeding the whole family. She’s also currently working on changing the way we talk about food in schools. Kyla has been a dietitian for 16...

This chat with Dr Heather is so juicy and full of wisdom! We chat about: - What is reflux and does it need to be medicated?- Is there such a thing as a 'happy chucker?'- How much crying is normal in babies?- What is colic?- How seriously do we need to consider food allergies? Elimination diets? CMPI? - What's the deal with breastfeeding and drinking alcohol? What about in pregnancy?- Should we continue to avoid sushi and soft cheeses in pregnancy?  Dr Heather Johnston is a medical doctor with...

Melanie is a mother of three daughters, a naturopath, and the founder of The Natal Naturopath women's health clinic who care for women in their health concerns. She has a special passion for iron-deficiency in women and went on to launch her own iron supplement IronBiotic. Through her work she aims to bridge the gap between baby-care and mother-care, and has also created her own pre and postnatal supplement, EverNatal. We chat about:- Her experience with raising twins - the unique challenges...

Laura Rafferty lives in upstate New York with her husband, Justin, and her two sons, Jack and Ben. It’s a perfect place to live for her, as she loves all four seasons and all of the corresponding outdoor activities. Her favorite things to do are running, traveling, cooking and reading. Laura has worked in corporate America for her entire career, but writing a book has been one of her lifelong dreams. Becoming a mother gave her the content and the motivation to make that dream a reality. As an...

Today we chat with Monique, Postpartum Doula and co-founder of Maia Mothers Collective in Brisbane, QLD. Monique walks us through a postpartum planning exercise including a bunch of practical, helpful tricks to help us to feel nurtured, empowered and solid in our postpartum experience.  We chat about:- Our own postpartum experiences and the impact of lack of boundaries- How to navigate tricky situations like guests staying too long- How to have hard conversations and hold boundaries-...

Dr Carrie Rigoni is a chiropracter, applied kinesiologist and vagus nerve educator with a special interest in treating the vagus nerve in children. She is a wealth of knowledge and I really enjoyed learning about the vagus nerve with her - I know you will too! We chat about: - What is the vagus nerve and how it supports our nervous systems - Signs that our vagal tone or our children's needs some support - Ways that we can help to strengthen our vagal tone - through body work and daily...

This was SUCH a great chat with Cath - we touched on all of this and more: Aligning our values alongside our parenting Taking the pressure off being a cycle breaker Parenting as a performance and relation to our own shame stories Seeing our kids for who they are and having the congidence to advocate for them How our childhood impacts our parenting and perfectionism How perfectionism can impact our relationship with baby sleep Celebrating our own wins in parenting Expanding our...

I am so grateful to Siobhan for sharing her raw postpartum experience with us. This episode mentions postpartum depression & anxiety, traumatic birth and suicidal ideation. Please be mindful of your own mental health as you listen, and if you need to reach out for support you can contact PANDA National Helpline on 1300 726 326. We also have our Perinatal Mental Health Social Worker at Mama Matters, Samantha - and you can learn more about her and bookonline HERE. Dr Siobhan...

Today's episode is allll about bloody 'sleep regressions'. We chat about the following: - The fear mongering around sleep regressions in the mainstream sleep industry - Sleep regressions as a tool to sell - introducing problems that you need to fix - The trap of the 4 month sleep regression and fear of failure - Wonder weeks and whether they help or hinder your parenting - Common tricky times for sleep - Helpful reframes for sleep 'regressions' - Coping strategies and perspective...

Lately I have shared how my nervous system has been a little fragile, so I have needed to check in with myself and think about what I can handle - changing plans where necessary, asking for support when I need it. And I invite you to do the same! In this quick sesh I will be giving you a practical tool to assess where your own resilience level is, and how you can honour your own needs during seasons of overwhelm. You and your kids will be grateful for it! You can download the first...

Kate is an IBCLC and midwife and is incredibly passionate about supporting mothers in their pregnancy, birth and feeding journeys. You can find her on her digital home land @milkybusinesslactation on Instagram, or reach out to her via her website www.milkybusiness.com. Never met a midwife so passionate about physiological birth and breastfeeding. We chat about: - Kate's personal experience with breastfeeding challenges, tongue tie - When home birth turns hospital birth - the stigma and...

Today I am speaking to our personal experience in deciding to go for a third child. It definitely wasn't a clear decision, and honestly? It probably won't help you to decide either.  Life isn't black and white, and neither is this. I let you in on my personal adjustment to finding out I was pregnant and share with you our worries and our excitement. Hop on over and follow me on Insta @mamamatters.au, and if you like it here, I will love you forever if you leave a rating and review. Fi x

Have you heard of mental labour? It's all of the thinking, organising, planning, management, emotional work that underpins all of the aspects of family life, household life, everything related to our children. And for women especially - it's a lot. Dr Elyse McNeil has been a clinical psychologist for nearly a decade and has recently completed a PhD on the topic of mental labour. Through her work at Share to Thrive she is creating education and information for couples to significantly...

I haven't been feeling myself lately - in this episode I chat about the steps I have taken to seek the mental health support I need. I also speak about small practices and rituals that I have been focusing on to help myself in this season. - How to identify depressive, anxious or stressed symptoms in pregnancy (or postpartum) - Accessing the GP Better outcomes Mental Health plan - Daily practices to help my mental health This episode is brought to you by my Sleep Matters Sleep Guide:...

Amy is a mama from my Mama Matters Academy who has a helluva story to share with us. Please reach out if her story resonates with you. Follow on Insta @mamamatters.au I'll love you forever if you leave a review and subscribe to the poddy!

This chat was so fun! Dr Kristyn Sommer has a PhD in developmental psychology where she explored how young children learn from social robots and screen media. She is now a Griffith University Postdoctoral Research Fellow exploring social robots and children again alongside her new research stream investigating the impacts of social media on parenting. This second research stream was inspired by her TikTok platform which skyrocketed to nearly half a million follows since 2021 where she...

Alissa Boyer is a Mentor for Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) with a passion for helping fellow HSPs learn how to unapologetically embrace their sensitivity and use it as a strength in their lives. She’s the creator of several online programs including The Highly Sensitive & Soulful Membership and Sensitive & Soulful Self-Worth. Alissa also offers business mentorship to HSPs, hosts a podcast called The Sensitive & Soulful Show, and writes for the award-winning HSP blog, Highly...

Tracy Gillett is the founder, writer and advocate behind the award-winning blog, Raised Good - a guide to natural parenting in the modern world. Written from Vancouver with millions of readers worldwide, she educates and inspires women to reclaim the wonder of motherhood and the joy of childhood by parenting without the shoulds, expectations, and white noise of society. She is the host of the Raised Good Online Summit, and she offers courses, eBooks and guides on her website raisedgood.com....

Two kids, six years, and a whole lot of musical beds; our family's sleep sitch has looked less than perfect over the years. But, we love it! Here's to normalising messiness of childhood sleep. I chat today about: - surrendering to safe bedsharing with my babies - transitioning toddler to own room - being flexible with naps and bedtimes - our ever-changing sleep arrangements over the years - how temperament affects sleep - sleep apnea - nighttime breastfeeding and weaning experiences - how you...

Jessica Donovan is a mama of 2 and naturopath who helps mums raise super kids with healthy food and natural medicines. She is passionate about educating parents on nourishing their children with real food, helping to boost their health and heal naturally. Jessica combines her extensive naturopathic knowledge with a realistic, empathetic, inspiring, and down-to-earth approach to empower women to look after themselves and take charge of the well-being of their families. Come along and join...

Today we chat with Emma Morris, Clinical Nutritionist about Postnatal depletion and the impact it can have on our wellbeing as mothers. Emma is mama to one, a Clinical Nutritionist and Co-founder and Director of Maia Mothers Collective, a holistic clinic for mums and babies in Brisbane. She is passionate about supporting women in all aspects of childbearing including preparing for birth, maintaining a healthy pregnancy and assisting women with postpartum depletion and mental health issues...

Yara is a Perth psychologist who works exclusively with women throughout conception, pregnancy, and motherhood. Yara started Life After Birth Psychology following the birth of her first son which started her on yet another journey of self-rediscovery. Her experiences throughout early motherhood drew her to support other women as they navigate their own family of origin dynamics, the social programming of the “good mother”, relationship changes with those around them, identity shifts, and role...