Earthside - Pregnancy to Parenthood

28/03/2026

I am getting better at asking for reviews, then I get such sweet reviews that make me smile about how powerful they can be 💜

24/03/2026

Such a great resource in the community, free to attend, there is usually some yummy baking and access to support from Lactation Consultant and social support no matter how you are feeding your pēpi

Every week too except for the Christmas holidays, so just show on up on a Wednesday during the appropriate session.

The Milk Cafe is on every Wednesday , hosted by an experienced Lactation Consultant

⏰9.30am-10.30am babies who aren't yet on the move.
⏰10.30am-12.00pm everyone welcome.

Come in for a cuppa, a chat, any feeding advice or support you may need and a chance to meet some more māmā in our area.

Pohutukawa Room @ Te Papaioea Birthing Centre

23/03/2026

There is a Big Latch On event happening this Friday 10am -12 pm at Te Papaioea Birthing Centre.

There will be giveaways, prizes and great snacks
🧁

All welcome, it doesn’t matter how you feed your pēpi, come hang out with other parents and celebrate.

17/02/2026

Other ways for Birth preparation to help in setting up partners up for success:

💜Identify your partners' love language so you can use it rather than defaulting to your own love language.

🤰Make time to having conversations about expectations, roles, preferences & fears etc. The more you know about each other’s in advance, the more supportive you can be in the moment when it's all happening.

💜Get to know the B.R.A.I.N.S method to ensure you can gather information and make Informed decisions. This method is where you explore the Benefits, Risks, and Alternatives, tune into what your Intuition is saying, as well as understanding what happens if you do Nothing or taking a wait and see approach and ask for Space to have these conversations if you do not feel you can speak openly.

🤰Work with each partners preferred ways of learning – Books, eBooks, podcasts or a hands-on class. If a hands on class is what your looking for keep a look out as details of my next Practical Birth Skills class are coming soon.

10/02/2026

Doulas do not replace partners/support people during labour & birth, actually a key part of our service is helping partners offer the best possible support they can.

Birth preparation is important in setting partners up for success, hiring a doula to guide this process is a great start, but there are other things you can do to prepare for your labour & birth.

Enroll early in a Childbirth Education Class and attend together - knowledge is power and having conversations before being in the intensity of labour leaves you both prepared with what to expect and what you can do together to manage the intensity.

In the Manawatū we have lots of options for antenatal classes:

Barnardos Bumps to Babies - https://barnardos.org.nz/our-work/bumps-to-babies

Entwined Parenting

And me if you would like some 1:1 antenatal sessions tailored to exactly what you need as a couple, because we are all on different journeys.

30/01/2026

We have an amazing new resource for the Manawatu, Horowehnua & Tararua, its called Pēpe Ora and its designed to support the wellbeing of whānau from pregnancy through to the first 1000 days

Basically this means it provides information to help you find the right services for you and your baby in the rohe. If you are looking for anything Pregnancy to Parenthood you should find it on there - You can find me on the Taha Wairua page.

Check it out and if you notice anything missing let me know and ill pass it on:

https://manawatu-horowhenua-tararua.pepeora.nz/

27/01/2026

Well its been a minute between updates that’s for sure, a lot of my focus last year went on navigating the balance between my doula support and my new job teaching child birth education classes.

I am happy to say that I got to support some amazing mammas at their birth had some amazing firsts:

A women only birth – mum, photographer, nana, midwife and me (the vibes where vibing in that birth space for sure.

Return client (that was a pretty special milestone) and

Support of a special whanau with their unexpected stay in hospital in a postnatal doula capacity.

I missed my usual Christmas update as the family an I where on a long overdue family holiday to Japan, as always I was attracted to all things birthy and found the pagoda, shrines and their good luck charms dedicated to childbirth. I have attached a few photos of the birthy things I found.

Looking to the year ahead, I'll continue to support families as their doula as well as getting back into workshops, these took a backseat last year but this year the plan is to provide a space to learn about practical birth skills, VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean) and birthing at home. I’m looking forward to working with whanau in 2026.

20/01/2026

Newbury Sunflowers is opening in next few days and we couldn't be anymore excited !

Don't forget our Sunflower - Family mini shoot on the 26th January, we will have the sunflowers to ourselves and will be able to make use of all the great spots that have been created - did you see they have a shiny red tractor.....

As always:

$30 to book a spot and this includes one digital photo of your choice.

During each 10-minute booking we can shoot a mixture of family, sibling and parent shots - whatever you would like.

Additional digital photos will be available for purchase and cost $20 per photo or $100 for the entire digital gallery.

Send an email on threadandfilmnz@gmail.com to book or with any questions

11/11/2025

Home Birth Awareness Week 2025 has passed and I'm a little late with the post, however I did get to support a whanau during Homebirth Awareness week at home so that was pretty special.

Maternity Services Consumer Council created these slide celebrating Home Birth and I couldn't have said it better myself !

Home Birth is not for everyone but its a pretty great option for those who wish to utilize it.

04/11/2025

📷 Student Midwife Studygram

Have you seen or heard of peanut balls ?

They are a swiss balls weird cousin that’s been a bit squished, but they come in quite handy during labour by holding your body in positions that help pēpi move through the pelvis. They can be especially helpful if you had an epidural and your ability to move around is a bit more challenging.

There are plenty of benefits of using a peanut ball during your labour and birth, and the research is saying that:

🤰They can reduce labour pain (this is a personal experience)

💜They can help reduce length of labour by improving labour progression

🤰They can increase maternal satisfaction and your sense of control

💜There are no safety or obvious adverse effects

Great news, there are peanut balls with instruction sheets available at the Palmy Hospital and Birthing centre, you just may need to ask for them and if you are birthing at home you can purchase one online or if you hire me you can borrow mine.

21/10/2025

Love a subject who’s keen to give anything a try, and that yellow dress was almost as stunning as the infamous tutu 💜

15/10/2025

As part of my other role, Im hosting this weeks parent group this Friday 10 - 12pm Im the Banardos Bumps to Babies room and would love to see you there.

If you would like some help with babywearing bring what you have along and we can explore your options.