Birthing-Essentials

17/09/2022

It’s been a while……. Way longer than I had anticipated but a little update is happening here & I will update you all soon! Change is in the air 💕

22/12/2021

This post has been put off more times than I can count! It’s that struggle between my head & my heart.

The birth of our sweet boy Oliver has changed me in more ways than I ever thought it could.

I have spent months toggling between what lies ahead for 2022 & when to resume teaching as I remain so passionate & in love with all things pregnancy, birth & our course.

I am usually led by my heart but my gut & my head were telling me otherwise. I have had to make the very difficult decision to step away from teaching for a short while. Not forever, just not for right now. Therefore for at least the first half of 2022 I will be stepping away.

This has been extremely hard to do as it’s this time in the world where those pregnant need this course & incredible support. However, I have had to accept that due to factors outside my control & for some personal reasons I need to wrap myself & my family up & step away for now.

Who knows what 2022 will hold. I do plan to return to teaching & sharing this incredible course at some point & there is also another long term dream that may be on the cards.

What I do know, is that I will still share my birth story - it has taken me 10 months to really process it all but I’m ready.

It has been my privilege to share the course with those that have chosen me & I wish you all so much love & happiness for now & into the future.

With Love,
Bec x

09/08/2021

I have written, deleted & rewritten this more times than I would like to admit & now World Breastfeeding Week has come to a close. I acknowledge that many women do not have the feeding journey they hoped for for many reasons, known & unknown ♥️

Something that keeps circling in my mind which is in alignment with this years theme of breastfeeding being a shared responsibility is the importance of surrounding yourself with an awesome support team.

It’s a bit like birth really, who you choose to care for you can often impact your outcomes. Breastfeeding can be amazing but it can also be so damn hard. Both physically, mentally & emotionally. Sometimes, it’s just not possible at all.

Breastfeeding is most definitely a learned skill ~ one that mother & baby navigate together, each & every time. Each dance has its own tune.

I’ve experienced the highs of breastfeeding but I’ve also experienced the lows too with 3 out of 4 babies giving me very painful & challenging starts to our feeding journeys. I’m forever grateful for the clinicians that supported me ♥️

Seeking experienced, knowledgeable & holistic breastfeeding support is vital. It is so important that the mother baby relationship is nurtured & the mother listened to.

If you wish to breastfeed, I highly recommend spending some time in pregnancy preparing.

⭐️Attend breastfeeding education classes
⭐️Seek out & research local lactation consultants (IBCLC’s)
⭐️Find out which GP’s in your area or nearby have a special interest in BF & have additional training in this field.
⭐️Look into the Independent Midwives in your area who offer postnatal support (we have some fab ones in Mandurah by the way!)
⭐️If your unsure where to start speak to your midwife or reach out to a local doula or birthworker (like me!) who can offer various support options & referrals to reputable clinicians.

So to all the mummas that might be reading this, let’s all be kinder to ourselves & support all the journeys, from a couple of days to well into toddlerhood & all in between.

This incredible image by Felicia Saunders Photo] is one of my all time favourites for obvious reasons 💕

📷 Felicia Saunders Photo]

02/08/2021

Postnatal support is so important & so many families don’t have their village around them nowadays ~ for lots of reasons. Services such as those that Queen Bee Birth provide are brilliant & she’s local ♥️👇🏻

I MOTHER THE MOTHER

I am a postpartum doula ready to support you and your family throughout the often rocky transition to life with a newborn!

With 3 children (and all cesareans) I have a deep understanding of the value of support in this pivotal time of your life.

An ear to listen, emotional support ~yes you are doing AWESOME!!~ and home help (particularly after a cesarean) can work absolute magic in the lives of overwhelmed, exhausted parents!

Perhaps you are a FIFO family needing that extra bit of help with one parent returning to work?
Or a first time mum completely overwhelmed and exhausted?
Maybe you have more than one child to look after and just know that asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but survival!
Maybe you’re none of the above and simply want to honour this rite of passage to be ENJOYED.
You should never feel you have to do this on your own.
This s**t can be HARD.

Home support can include; general tidying, bottle washing, laundry, nursery organising

Meal prep or nourishing Ayurvedic family meal provided (at extra cost)

Newborn care & guidance (if requested)

Older child care whilst you bond with baby (or vice versa)

An extra set of hands so you can take that long shower, nap or grab a much deserved break

Gentle breastfeeding guidance

Community referrals i.e bodywork/lactation consultant/mothersgroup

Over night baby care also available
**HELLO SLEEP**

Together we can design your blissful postpartum bubble.

Let's chat mama!
0403 880 204
Kristy

Www.queenbeebirth.com.au

26/07/2021

Oh my heart 💖

Our bodies, our babes & our hormones absolutely do the most amazing dance 💫

with
・・・
“I didn’t teach my membranes how to rupture, or my uterus how to contract, or my oxytocin how to rise...


No doctor commanded my relaxin to peak, or my cervix to dilate, or my sacral promontory to shift anterior-inferior, or my pelvis to translate laterally...


No one taught my baby how to extend her thorax when her spinal galant reflex was activated as my birth canal squeezed her right. No intellectual handed her a roadmap to guide her occiput-anterior as she crowned. She didn’t practice her cry before she breathed her first breath. She took no course on how to feed.


Yet here we are.

Our bodies did the dance.

Together.


A design so intricate
Each step a puzzle piece
The intelligence innate
not once did it cease.


Let go of the shore
Your body, she knows.
Each waves of contraction
Brings her closer to home.” -

21/07/2021

Thankyou so much Carlee .life.101 for sharing your incredible birth story.

I shared the course with Carlee & her husband back in January before my maternity leave.

It was my absolute pleasure to be able to share in just a small part of such a special time in your lives.

The birth story of .life.101 is such a positive example of what our course is about - having knowledge, tools, resources, amazing support & the confidence to own your experience & make the decisions that are right for you from an informed place.

Congratulations on the arrival of your sweet boy 💙

.life.101 with
・・・
Why am I sharing this?
Because sharing=education+empowerment

Birth should not be a taboo subject, it is not something to be feared and birth may not go according to your plan...AND that's OKAY!😘

Labour and birth was such a surreal experience for me. I don't actually remember much between being admitted and bearing down (I credit this to the Hypnobirthing techniques I learnt), so it's nice to have my husband remind me🥰

Here are some gory details...😬
Did I p**p during labour...yep!
Do I care...nope!
Is an extended episiotomy painful...yep!
Have I fully recovered...nope!
Did I tear...yep!
Has this affected my pelvic floor...yep!
Did I lose a lot of blood...yep!
Has this affected my recovery...probably!
Was it all worth it...💯 YES!

More on my recovery...soon!

✨A woman's body is truly incredible, however you birthed your child✨

13/07/2021

I would like to take a moment to say Thank you 💕

Thank you to all of the incredible women & birth partners that I have had the immense privilege of meeting & sharing the Hypnobirthing Australia™️ course with over the last couple of years. I take immense pride in what I do & when you choose & trust me to share in your journey it means the world. As a small business every single booking has me jump for joy ♥️

Since starting I have received some truly incredible feedback & for that I am so grateful. Unfortunately, as I am a health practitioner with a registration with a regulatory body, I am unable to share publicly on platforms such as this these kind words.

I am however able to share the great feedback I receive about the course I share & of course, birth stories. This is why, when you visit my page or website, you won’t see personal recommendations about me.

I just wanted to clear this up, as I know as a consumer myself, reviews are so important. I want to explain that there is a valid reason why this type of feedback is not on my socials etc.

So thank you again, I love sharing this course & appreciate you being here 💕

Bec xx

10/07/2021

THE LAST TIME

From the moment you hold your baby in your arms, you will never be the same.
You might long for the person you were before,
When you had freedom and time,
And nothing in particular to worry about.
You will know tiredness like you never knew it before,
And days will run into days that are exactly the same,
Full of feedings and burping,
Nappy changes and crying,
Whining and fighting,
Naps or a lack of naps,
It might seem like a never-ending cycle.

But don’t forget...
There is a last time for everything.
There will come a time when you will feed your baby for the very last time.
They will fall asleep on you after a long day
And it will be the last time you ever hold your sleeping child.
One day you will carry them on your hip, then set them down,
And never pick them up that way again.
You will scrub their hair in the bath one night
And from that day on they will want to bathe alone.
They will hold your hand to cross the road,
Then never reach for it again.
They will creep into your room at midnight for cuddles,
And it will be the last night you ever wake to this.
One afternoon you will sing “wheels on the bus” and do all the actions,
Then never sing them that song again.
They will kiss you goodbye at the school gate,
The next day they will ask to walk to the gate alone.
You will read a final bedtime story and wipe your last dirty face.
They will run to you with arms raised for the very last time.

The thing is, you won’t even know it’s the last time
Until there are no more times.
And even then, it will take you a while to realise.

So while you are living in these times, remember there are only so many of them
And when they are gone, you will yearn for just one more day of them.
For one last time.

~Author Unknown~

📷 Katie Etherington /

22/06/2021

I believe this deeply & is why I do what I do 💕

21/06/2021

I am shook

I knew the numbers were high but this is higher than I had thought, or at least hoped.

I cannot for a second believe that all of these women “needed” nor have full informed consent for these medical interventions when I know for a fact that women are “told” :
-“We’ll book your induction next week as you’ll be 40+5 weeks”

-“I’ll book your induction for 39wks as we know that’s the optimal time for birth” (thanks flawed ARRIVE trial 🙄)

I want to be clear, sharing these numbers is about holding our system & caregivers & policy makers to account. It is by no means about guilting or shaming anyone for a choice they willingly made nor a situation they medically required to keep them and their precious babies safe.

We are not broken, our bodies are not broken but our maternity system clearly is

These stats have been taken from the AIHW website from the National Core Maternity Indicators

20/06/2021

It always amazes me just how much our babies grow & change in the first year.

One week to the next brings so many changes. I always find it bittersweet.... taking so much joy in watching them grow & learn whilst at the same time constantly wanting to press pause! Time really is a thief 💙

Those newborn days are oh so fleeting.

I was running Oliver’s bath tonight & heard my older girls scream at me “Mum quick Oliver has rolled onto his tummy” !!! Cue the tears from me.... I missed it.... almost 4 months to the day & our sweet boy rolled for the first time & I didn’t see it 😢

Tell me - have you missed a special milestone?

📷 Katie Etherington Photography ~ Oliver @ 5 days old.