Rest&Nest Postnatal

04/08/2022

For anyone local to Ewell and surrounding areas, if this feels like a space you'd appreciate then Becky is a fabulous, caring host!

EPSOM & EWELL FAMILIES

I will be starting a Free Support Group for anyone affected by Post Natal Depression.
The Group will be starting on Monday 5th September 10-11

This is a Monthly group, held on the first Monday of every month https://m.facebook.com/Epsom-Ewell-Pandas-110809551702578/

Please share this with local mum friends, local baby classes, toddler groups etc
Thank you
Love & Light
Becky

21/05/2022

The twins have arrived and we are home!

First picture is the night in the ward before I had a c section. I took it as a momento of the amazing thing my body has done by growing and carrying two humans at the same time. It was a (achey and sometimes excrutiating) honour to carry them 😍

I had been in early labour for 10 days and felt exhausted and had started to let doubt creep in whether my body could cope with labour after so long.

However, after a change in movements from twin 1 I went to get checked - twin 1, despite being head down and engaged for several weeks had done a last minute spin (in what space?!) and was now breech. My husband and I came to a decision with my care team that full labour was no longer appropriate and opted for a non-urgent section. So an uncomfy night was spent in the ward breathing and moving through contractions I knew were preparing my babies for the world, giving them a warning that the time was coming, even if they weren't entering it as hoped!

I was first on the list to have the c section in the morning and the second two photos show just how amazing it was to welcome the twins regardless of where I was!

We spent just a couple of days at hospital and we are home and my wonderful family and friends are supporting me in establishing breastfeeding by looking after basically everything else in my life! Love each one of them dearly.

This twin gig isn't easy but oh my goodness it's so special ☺️

03/05/2022

A couple of months ago my husband and I started working through the online course by Megan Rossiter, another fantastic local birth educator, go follow her. We've had two babies before but neither arrived the way I wished and I didn't always feel informed, supported or listened to. Sadly something I think far too many can relate to!

So this time we are prepping together so my husband can be my advocate and supporter through the twists and turns of this birth. I am hoping for a twin VBA2C but have also booked in a c section for a date that both I and my care team are comfortable with should I not spontaneously start labour.

Part of the course is making positive affirmations and so I spent some time colouring in and thinking of the things I would want to be true, things that would comfort me. These have been up by my bed for a couple of months but it's never too late to start drip feeding a positive mindset into your brain, especially if you're worried about what's to come!

My 6 year old drew his own one for me to fill in too 😍 so you never know who is watching and learning around you...

29/04/2022

Postnatal prep for the day: food!

Food is definately one of my love languages. I get a lot of joy from cooking for others. This is a gift to myself! A hearty homecooked beef brisket in the slow cooker. Some for tonight, some to help the freezer stash of batch cooking 😋

I did have to sit down to chop the veggies because but I also used the time to listen to some music I hope to play in labour and visualise my babies being here with me. 🎶👶👶

Did you batch cook before baby arrived and what were your favourite meals in those first few weeks when working out how to eat one handed? Any freezer staples I should stock up on?

I'm also super lucky to have great friends in my community who will join together to provide I rota of meals for 3 weeks once babies are here 😍

So be bold and ask for meals as a gift!

If you or your friends and family hate cooking or just don't have the time then do really yummy nutrious food and do 10% off for 6 months for new parents - vouchers make a wonderful present.

27/04/2022

So now I've finished with my 121 clients and it's time to doula myself for a while!

I've been a bit busy growing twins along side growing my business this year! Currently 34 weeks and expecting the babies to arrive in the next 3 weeks. 🎉😬

I may have stopped supporting other parents 121 but keep watching here as I show you what I'm doing to prepare to enter newborn motherhood all over again! Spoiler alert, being a PN doula doesn't mean I'm immune to nerves, baby brain, or all the emotions!

Also a fun birds eye view of trying to navigate the stairs now 😅

12/04/2022

Had to say goodbye to this cute fella and his Mama today, 9 months after our first postnatal planning session prepping for his imminent arrival! 😢👋

Sometimes a postnatal doula is a very short term fix, someone to help you for just a few sessions, but sometimes I have the great privilege of staying with a family for many months. Yes this means watching baby grow 😍 but often more rewarding is watching parents grow - developing confidence, intuition, being the person who walks through the many highs and lows of parenthood and fining an individual way to support people where they are at.

Every single one of my clients has needed something different physically, practically and emotionally, but my job has always been the same - to support, listen, nurture and nourish.

We finished our session with some painting today, and I even got to take an original masterpiece home with me!

News of my next great adventure coming soon... 😄

08/04/2022

Last night I had the great pleasure of leading a group of parents through the ins and outs of postnatal recovery, introducing siblings, birth debriefs and seeking support. Thank you to for inviting me to teach on their 'refresh' course for second+ timers 😍

Preparing for a positive, informed postnatal experience is as important (if not more so!) as prepping for birth. If you'd like help thinking through what this looks like to you, plus a wealth of tips and tricks to optimise your postnatal recovery and help asking for help then get in touch to talk about a 121 postnatal planning session with me!

12/01/2022

Hip carry! Did you ever try it?

Being adaptable is really important when trying to settle a tired, teething, snotty or fussy baby. This one normally enjoys a front carry but today he just couldn't get comfy, so I scooted him over to my hip. He could snuggle from a different angle and the sling worked its magic.

13/12/2021

If you live near Cheam in Surrey and are pregnant or have a baby under 10 months, then I would love to invite you to NCT Bumps and Babies every Friday morning from 10.15am at The Harrow Pub in Cheam Village.

I facilitate this group most weeks as part of my volunteering with NCT, and I just love meeting all the new parents, sharing stories, hearing worries, celebrating milestones and successes and offering good quality information when needed.

The best bit is it's absolutely free, the pub provide tea and coffee and you can have a wee in peace while I entertain your little one if you fancy!

Just book at https://linktr.ee/NCTSutton so we can keep numbers at a safe level.
*This week is the last week before Christmas, and we then return on 7th January*

03/12/2021

This is the face of a happy doula who persuaded a grouchy 5 month old to succumb to sleep while Mama had a relaxing bath. 🛀

4-5 months babies aren't always a barral of laughs as there is SO MUCH going on developmentally yet they are still so immature physically, add on top potential teething, jabs and winter bugs and life can feel pretty tough for 5 month olds and their parents alike!

But slings are magic. They are a place where baby can feel loved, held, safe, close to your heart, they can't flail around and most importantly it saves those tired arms. 😩

Keep responding to your baby, keep holding them close, keep supporting them where they're at and keep an eye on the horizon for better days coming your way. Find all the support around you and call in all the favours.

My client and I were musing today that we cannot stop babies being babies, but we can certainly share the load and come out healthy mentally and physically the other side. 💜

16/10/2021

Wellbeing after miscarriage, tip 6: Dancing!

This is my final wellbeing tip, and possibly the most unexpected. It doesn't have to be dancing, but letting lose and allowing yourself to move, to laugh and enjoy moments of life.

Most people won't be surprised to learn that there is a lot of sadness involved in losing a baby. And there were times I just say in bed and cried. BUT amongst those moments were moments of joy.

My first day home alone, a couple of days after my miscarriage, I put my favourite music on super loud in the kitchen, got my bake on, and had a little boogie while I made some energy balls and cake! I felt so uplifted 🙌

I was dancing and singing my grief away and I refused to feel guilty about enjoying myself (even though my mind was desperately trying to make me!).

This is something I learnt in a workshop I did earlier in the year called 'An Ayurvedic perspective on grief' by about how grief feels and where it lives in the body.

Grief feels empty, cold, bitter and heavy, so to heal it we need fullness, warmth, sweetness and lightness.

That's our food and drink. It's our body movements. It's our environment.

So if you can find lightness, fullness, warmth and sweetness by dancing, or singing, or laughing with friends then go ahead. There is no right way to grieve. You are not 'over it' just because you laughed at a joke. You are not disrespecting your experience or your lost baby by enjoying yourself again. You are healing yourself.

I really hope that Baby Loss Awareness Week hasn't been too hard for you. It's a tough week when social media is full of these stories. It can cause a lot of anxiety. If you need to talk then please send me a message or talk to your loved ones.

15/10/2021

Wellbeing after miscarriage, tip 5: nutrition

Despite being initially starving and being nil by mouth at hospital, which didn't help my situation at all, once everything was said and done and I was home I found that I had lost my desire to eat.

This is very unlike me.

But eating seemed pointless. I couldn't think of anything I actually wanted.

Then I remembered that postpartum the body needs lots of support from good nourishment and so I thought 'what would I make a new mum who didn't fancy eating?'

I made the most brilliant first food after birth, a type of porridge with lots of milk and honey and spices so it's easy to digest, warming, healing and sweet 😍 it's exactly what my body needed.

Once I started looking inside myself and hear what my body needed it was amazing how food can be medicine.

I made an iron boosting smoothie.
Energy balls.
Ate cooked warm food.

I generally followed the advice I give to alll new mums!

💛 Warm
💛 Cooked
💛 Sweet
💛 Gently flavoured

So nurture your body through nutrition and nourishment 💞

Forgive you body for losing your baby, for 'failing at its job' , and thank it for growing your baby in first place and help build its strength back up.

Hopefully your mind will follow suit.