LucyLou Blog
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- Category: Pregnancy
A very dear, young friend of mine gave birth to her third child this week. Yippee!
Her two previous births were C-sections and she was desperate to experience a natural labour and a vaginal delivery. She did some extensive research about what the implications of this was. During her early weeks of pregnancy, she went on a search to find the best maternity care that would support this desire.
She found this support and went on to experience her first vaginal birth and her first daughter!
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- Category: Newborn Advice
From restoring energy levels, to the building blocks of brain connection. Sleep, it’s crucial for her development. But if sleep is so essential, why doesn’t she sleep more soundly?
On average, from 2 weeks - 3 months of age your little cherub will sleep 15-17 hours across a 24 hour period. That’s a load of sleep hours to be clocked up in order for your bub to grow best, but sometimes getting baby that sleep is difficult.
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- Category: Newborn Advice
As a first time mum, motherhood can be a labyrinth of well-meaning advice and anecdote. There is so much information out there and much of it is simply picking and choosing what resonates and what is personal preference. However, when it comes to safe sleeping, we need to be well-informed. The lines here are not blurry and, as research has shown us over the years, there are guidelines that help us keep baby safe.
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- Category: Newborn Advice
Did you ever see that Simpson’s episode where Homer’s brother invents a baby translator? It goes on to make sense of Maggie’s baby talk. ‘Lavish attention on me and entertain me’ she’s translated to say.
It would be nice if one of these was on the market. I know our family would have done whatever it took to have one in our home. Perhaps one for the mum of a mumbling teenager too.
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- Category: Newborn Advice
Baby carriers are a must-have baby item for parents. They offer so much more than just the possibility of carrying an infant. With bonding and attachment made simple with one of these purchases and with some even offering the potential to breastfeed baby on-the-go.
Before purchasing one of these, (often expensive!) First of all, you need to know what is out there and what questions to ask, before you choose one. So, first things first...
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- Category: Newborn Advice
The call arrived late one afternoon in August 2010. Similar phone calls had been made for thousands of other babies across NSW over the years, and would continue to do so. But for us, this was our family’s first experience of such a request.
Becoming foster carers had felt like a long wait, but now all our training was complete, we were considered accredited for the task.
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- Category: Labour
There’s so much to be absorbed and fascinated by when your body’s toting new life. Pregnancy’s remarkable and entirely captivating!
But what happens when pregnancy’s drawing to a close and that baby is ready to leg-it out of there?
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- Category: Newborn Advice
It might be the inspiration for some, but Miranda Kerr’s post-baby ‘body-bounce’ makes most new mums want to hurl... yet we’re told that she does enjoy a burger.
Her ‘addiction’ for Melbourne’s Mikoshi burger has me ROTFL. You know the burger I mean... chicken, wrapped in lettuce. Come on, Miranda, we all know you’re professionally good lookin’, but that’s NOT a burger!
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- Category: Newborn Advice
When talking with expectant mums, I’ve always majorly under-played the extent to which their life is about to change.
Sure, there’s going to be lots of new joy, wonder and excitement, but a newborn, by nature, can leave you a little... rattled, scratching your head, wondering how the heck you got yourself here (although I’m sure your memory isn’t quite that bad).
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- Category: Newborn Advice
Wondering whether you’ll survive your newborn?
If your breasts are swollen and tender, your top has a sour-milk pong, and the word ‘sleep’ is only associated with one other... ’depravity’, you’re most likely homing a newborn.Life with a tiny human is tough work, but what can be hard to fathom at the time, is that it really does get easier... However, whilst you’re waiting for these hollow-sounding words to prove bonafide, I’m offering these tips in the hope that they’ll pull you through.
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Staying home and snuggling down with your newborn is bliss. But, what happens when cabin fever sets in and you need some fresh air (and a loaf of bread)? Getting out is essential for everyone’s well-being, but if you’re more shackled than delighted by the notion, it’s understandable.
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- Category: Newborn Advice
As soon as you discover you’re pregnant, there’s a world of adjustment that’s required and much of it is to be relished and delighted in. However, you may have been so enchanted by these that you haven’t considered the biggest and most imminent of changes to your lifestyle yet to come - when baby arrives!
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- Category: Newborn Advice
A manual! That’s what I needed when I brought my first bub home from hospital. I couldn’t believe the nurses were actually going to entrust me with the life of another. Surely, they knew I was completely clueless.
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- Category: Breastfeeding
Perhaps no one could have prepared me for breastfeeding, even if I had have been a little more tuned in.
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- Category: Labour
For the Class of 2022
You’ve heard it all before… there are no university medals, just a cute bundle to behold. So, let’s be smart and understand all there is to know, so we can make informed, educated decisions about our bodies and our babies.
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- Category: Newborn Advice
As a mum to both biological children (of the womb) and foster-children (of the heart), the issue of ‘bonding’ with each baby/child has been a topic I’ve held close.
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- Category: Breastfeeding
At no point have I ever called myself a staunch breastfeeding advocate.
When I was pregnant, I guess I just assumed that I WOULD breastfeed. A generally positive outlook on life (and the fact I was a little clueless) meant I never entertained the thought that breastfeeding would be difficult.
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- Category: Labour
You’ve seen them. Those big, bulky accessories that don the likes of every mum’s shoulder. Only those who are currently in the ‘baby club’ really understand what its contents are. The rest of us can only hazard a guess.If you’re one of these mums, on the outer (albeit momentarily!), let me fill you in on the essentials that are carried by these mothers and why they need them, so that when it’s your turn, you don’t waste time faffing around, working it out the hard way.
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- Category: Pregnancy
Sometime in the super near future you’ll be welcoming into your home a new (& cute!) resident.
Your baby will need you to prepped with all kinds of things, including a wardrobe of essential outfits.
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- Category: Pregnancy
When you arrive at your due date you’re by no means guaranteed to have your baby handed to you on that day 😉
But how long past the due date might you have to wait??
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- Category: Pregnancy
Artificially starting your labour by induction might carry with it some fear and trepidation..
Is this a fear to have?
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- Category: Pregnancy
Beliefs and experiences with baby movement are not the same for all mums.
It’s important that you are aware of your own baby’s activity
Your baby is as you unique as you are 😊
Watch this video and learn how to keep track of baby movements.
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- Category: Pregnancy
As if sleeping isn’t challenging enough during pregnancy..
There are some additional restrictions you’ll need to know about.
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- Category: Pregnancy
You might not see it this way but ALL bumps are created equal 😉
It’s just that they aren’t all the same size!
Why?? I hear you ask.
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- Category: Pregnancy
Should I be leaving on a jet plane??
If you’re pregnant and wanting to get away there are a few things you’ll need to consider regarding your mode of transport.
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- Category: Pregnancy
With all the things on your plate right now, is it possible that your system is conspiring against you??
Feeling foggy? Hazy? can’t remember where you put your phone? (that you’re talking on right now)
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- Category: Pregnancy
I know your world revolves around your growing bump right now, but there’s nothing wrong with considering the long-term consequences of this upon your own body.
The skin that you’re in is precious.. and you might wonder how it’s going to accommodate these changes.
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- Category: Pregnancy
A combo of Hollywood and our own natural fears make bleeding during pregnancy incredibly frightening.
How should you respond if this happens to you?
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- Category: Pregnancy
One of the most exciting moments in every pregnancy is when you start to experience baby movement!
When is this likely to happen and not just a figment of your wishful imagination? ;)
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- Category: Pregnancy
In your day to day activities you might find these random questions entering your mind...
Here’s a video with an answer to a common question regarding travelling with a seatbelt.
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- Category: Pregnancy
It would be nice if this pregnancy was as considerate as a carton of milk and simply give you a printed due date.
It doesn’t, have you noticed?
Weirdly, it’s not always as straight forward in calculating as you might expect.
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- Category: Pregnancy
If you're anything like me you probably have a borderline dependency upon coffee as a means of survival..
So what happens when you’re pregnant? How will you survive?
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- Category: Pregnancy
How reliable are the cheap little pregnancy kits you pick up from your corner store??
Would you be happy for this small device to be the delivery system of the most important news of your life?
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- Category: Pregnancy
With the progress of time the answer to the question ‘what foods can a pregnant mum enjoy’ seems to only get more complicated or confused..
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- Category: Newborn Advice
Stop eating those strawberries! They cause strawberry-skin blemishes on your newborn.
Baby born with a flock of hair? It’s because you experienced heart-burn and indigestion whilst pregnant.
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- Category: Pregnancy
Occasionally you hear that story of the girl who discovers she’s pregnant the moment she goes into labour…. I have no doubt that these stories are true, but they are perhaps a little on the margin!
For the rest of us, especially those with a longing and a reasonable amount of self-awareness, we want to know what our bodies are up to and are keen to read its signs.
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- Category: Labour
For the most part, the final stretch of pregnancy is spent asking the final down and dirty questions about labour and beyond. Discussions that include formerly un-speakable subjects: maxi-pads and stool softeners become common-place.
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- Category: Pregnancy
You’re pregnant! congratulations, there’s much to celebrate and a lot to consider and decide. One of your first tasks will be to make a choice in regards to your and your baby’s care during pregnancy and where and under whose care you’d like to give birth.
There's a load to consider and it can be a minefield to navigate, so let’s take a look at some of the lurks and perks that both public and private maternity care can offer. There’ll be plenty of other considerations though too and loads of questions to ask yourself before you decide what’s best.
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- Category: Labour
Having a complete and comprehensive labour know-how, whilst remaining entirely peace-loving is dad’s duty; sounds supernatural and it is. However, as much as your partner might strive for this hero-status, the stakes are high and it can get dicey.
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- Category: Breastfeeding
Not all women can breastfeed; some choose not to and some breastfeed for a short season. I didn’t breastfeed all of my children, so there’s certainly no guilt-fest coming from me.
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- Category: Labour
As a doula, I’m not medically trained, like a midwife, nor do I have the expertise to deliver a baby but what I do offer is a supportive role in the journey of a pregnant woman. I support her in many ways and I work with her, to create a positive and memorable birth.
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- Category: Newborn Advice
For centuries past, parents have been getting by with absolutely none of the below... and we survived as a species too, you might say... True!
But, in a post-agrarian society, today as a culture, we demand safe, functional and optimal outcomes for our children and we expect to have the tools to help us get there.
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- Category: Pregnancy
A work colleague of mine announced her pregnancy at 12 weeks. I was in my early 20s at the time and having a baby couldn’t have been further from my mind. But, I was super pleased for her and whilst she was a little restrained, I could tell she was about as excited as she could be.
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- Category: Breastfeeding
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- Category: Labour
Immediately following the arrival of your bundle of joy, you will want to focus on two priorities. Loving-up with your new babe AND giving your outrageously awesome bod a chance to recover. Don’t let a lack of prep steal your attention away from these two priorities.
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- Category: Pregnancy
Don’t assume a woman is pregnant... EVER! I learnt this down the aisle of Woolworths. I’d had three children of my own, so there was no excuse for my brain explosion.
There was a young woman, searching for the best breastfeeding pads. She saw me, with a small child, and asked ‘Excuse me, which are the best pads?’.