15 | Elly McLean's Postpartum Story - Breastfeeding, Mastitis Scare, Sleep Deprivation & The Importance of Support Systems

In today's episode of the show, Sandra shares her story of two quite different postpartum experiences. The first, was in lockdown in Victoria, which proved to be quite a lonely and difficult experience. Sandra openly and honestly shares what it was like to not be able to breastfeed her son as she had planned to, and how she was not provided the level of education and care she would have hoped for as a first time Mum. 

Her second postpartum experience was quite a contrast, as she knew what to expect, especially in terms of post-caesarean recovery. She also spent time educating herself more about breastfeeding and had a much more positive feeding experience second time round. Sandra also talks about the importance of having more support postpartum, as she had more help from her mother the second time round. This made a huge difference in terms of taking care of the household, so that Sandra was able to focus more on taking care of her toddler and her newborn. 

I'm sure you will love today's episode as much as I loved hearing Sandra's story. 

In this short episode, I explain why the podcast is still on break and why it will stay on break for the foreseeable future. 

Thank you so much for being a loyal listener, I sincerely hope I am able to bring you more episodes sometime soon! 

Jade 

In today's episode of the show, I speak to Sandra who shares her two birth stories - one unplanned caesarean and one planned. Sandra also discusses what it was like moving back to Melbourne from Sydney in the middle of lockdown and how that affected the choices she made for her maternity care.

Hey there!

I'm just letting you know that the show is taking a short break - I'll be back very soon with new stories, special guests and experts!

If you would like to request any episodes or if you would like to share your story, please reach out on instagram @thebirthandpostpartumdiaries

Sending love and warmth, 
Jade 

In today’s special episode of the show, I speak to Vaughne Geary who is a nautropath, postpartum doula and one half of Mama Goodness. For someone who is so young, Vaughne has achieved so much and is someone I find so inspirational!

In our conversation, Vaughne explains what a doula is, why they’re important and why their services are becoming more popular (and in many cases, more crucial for Mother-wellbeing) in the birth and postpartum space. We also discuss why she chose to become a doula and how it intertwines with her work as a naturopath and business woman.

We chat about her new book (Life After Birth) that she co-wrote with Jess Prescott (which is a must-have for postpartum), prenatal and postnatal nutrition, and Vaughne provides some top tips for supporting people in the postpartum period.

I absolutely loved chatting to Vaughne and learned so much from our conversation. If you’re about to enter postpartum or have friends or family who are about to enter this phase, this episode is well worth a listen. As always, if you enjoy the show please share it with a friend or family member who you think would benefit from tuning in 🤍

You can find Vaughne here:
Vaughne’s Instagram
vaughne’s website
mamagoodness.com.au

In today’s episode I have Niki back to share her postpartum journey so far. Niki describes the immediate postpartum as peaceful, as she birthed at home and was surrounded by people she loved and felt cared for by.

Niki speaks about the transition to motherhood and how it took a while to adjust to the new life and new way of being. Niki and her partner Michael took a teamwork approach to parenting, and due to lockdowns, were able to spend a significant amount of time together as a family of three in the first 18 months of Elsa’s life.

We discuss the transition back to work, along with Niki’s breastfeeding and subsequent weaning journey (and so much more). Niki eloquently shares her story and reminds us of the importance to using your intuition when it comes to parenting so I’m sure you’ll love listening in 💕

In today’s episode of the show I speak with Niki who shares her pregnancy, labour and birth story. Niki lives in Thailand and after falling pregnant towards the end of 2019 decided she wanted to have a home birth in Australia, which is where her husband Michael is from. 

As we all know, Covid spread in 2020 which led to lockdowns and border closures. This meant that Niki and Michael had to rush back to Australia and essentially spent the last few months of her pregnancy in isolation. Niki shares what it was like navigating the challenges of lockdown, along with how she used breath, movement and sound to have a positive, unmedicated home birth.

Niki has a magical way of describing her journey and also has an incredible outlook on life, so I’m sure you’ll enjoy listening in to this episode.

Today I have Emma back to share her postpartum experience. As you may recall from the last episode, Emma is a solo Mum by choice and shares her experience of parenting with a different style of support system. 

Emma says she went into postpartum with balanced expectations, however felt intense pressure to be a perfect mother with a perfect baby, as she had worked in childcare and a nanny for most of her life. She describes what it was like when her son wasn’t doing the things that she expected a baby to do, and quickly had to change the plan and lean into a parenting experience that was different from what she had envisioned. 

Charlie struggled with sleeping flat and faced several health issues in the early months of his life, which meant that Emma endured over 6 months of incredibly rocky sleep. These sleep challenges led to Emma eventually deciding to attend Masada baby and mother unit, which she describes as life changing! 

If you’re having a tough time with your baby’s sleep, Emma’s story might provide some solidarity. Either way, it’s well worth the listen as she provides great insights into solo parenting, along with some great tips that have helped her along the way.

In today’s episode of the show I speak to Emma who shares her preconception, pregnancy and birth story. Emma decided to become a solo Mum by choice, and chose to use ICSI to conceive her son Charlie. The journey was long, and as Emma openly shares - expensive, but was of course well worth it in the end! 

There were a few twists and turns (as there almost always are) during the birth of her son, but overall Emma describes her birth as a positive experience. This story is inspiring and insightful, especially for those who may be considering becoming a solo parent by choice. 

“Western culture pretends our little ones need us less than they do” 

In today’s episode, I have Sammy back to share her postpartum experience so far. 

We cover a lot of ground and discuss things such as: 

• Sammy’s transfer to hospital post birth 
• Co-sleeping 
• Breastfeeding
• Feeding to sleep
• Natural parenting 
• Nurturing and attachment 
• Becoming a “we” instead of a “me”
• Why side lying feeding is the best (it is truly great!) 
• Going against the grain when it comes to parenting choices

We also talk about the challenge of not having family around, which has led to Sammy having what she describes as an “immersive parenting” experience. As I mentioned in the last episode, Sammy has a beautiful way of describing her experience, it is truly a pleasure to listen to her story so I know you will love it! 

If you’re interested in the books that Sammy mentions, they are listed below: 
 
The Nurture Revolution - Greer Kirshenbaum
Safe Infant Sleep - James McKenna