In this episode, Laura shares her experience of becoming a mum to Billie, including an unexpected caesarean birth, feeding challenges, physical recovery and balancing motherhood with running a business.

We discuss:

• Laura's journey into motherhood and deciding when to start a family
• Navigating the decision to have a baby while running a business with her husband
• Feeling excited about motherhood while wondering how it would fit into their working lives
• Concerns about Billie's growth towards the end of pregnancy
• Increased monitoring and the unexpected decision to deliver by caesarean
• Having a positive caesarean experience despite an unexpected change in birth plans
• Meeting Billie for the first time and the initial shock of becoming parents
• The emotional intensity of the early postpartum period
• Adjusting to frequent feeding, broken sleep and caring for a newborn
• The support Laura and Liam received from family
• How becoming parents has affected their relationship
• The importance of working as a team during postpartum
• Breastfeeding initially going well before Billie became increasingly unsettled
• Navigating weeks of crying, feeding difficulties and concerns about weight gain
• Introducing expressed breast milk by bottle
• Gradually transitioning to bottle feeding and pumping
• The practical and emotional challenges of pumping
• The relief of seeing Billie become more comfortable and gain weight
• The unexpected emotional significance of changing feeding methods
• Laura's concerns about recovering from a caesarean as a Pilates instructor
• The initial shock of seeing her caesarean incision
• Experiencing numbness and difficulty connecting with her abdominal muscles after surgery
• Gradually returning to walking and gentle movement
• Rebuilding core strength and pelvic floor awareness during postpartum recovery
• Why Laura feels her own recovery has made her a better Pilates instructor
• Developing Wild Pilates' new postnatal programme while recovering from birth herself
• Filming the programme with Billie alongside her
• How motherhood has changed Laura's relationship with her body and movement
• Finding a renewed sense of purpose in her work after becoming a mother
• Returning to work while caring for a baby
• The challenges of switching between work and motherhood throughout the day
• The guilt that can accompany trying to balance paid work and parenting
• Finding connection with friends who are navigating motherhood at the same time
• Remembering that challenging postpartum seasons don't last forever

You can follow along with Laura and Wild Pilates on instagram at @lauramohiryan and @wildpilates.

Auckland mums, if anyone would like to find out more about Connection in the Postpartum Season, head to my website www.thepostpartumseason.com. There are only a few tickets left!

As mentioned in the episode, here are some postpartum support resources. Please reach out if you need help.

Australia

• PANDA (Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia)
  Helpline: 1300 726 306
  Website: https://www.panda.org.au
• Lifeline Australia
  13 11 14 (24/7)
  Website: https://www.lifeline.org.au
• Beyond Blue
  1300 22 4636
  Website: https://www.beyondblue.org.au

New Zealand

• PlunketLine
  0800 933 922 (24/7)
• Healthline New Zealand
  0800 611 116 (24/7)
• 1737 Need to talk?
  Call or text 1737 (24/7)

Thank you for listening. Take care x