Nurture Pelvic Health

31/10/2025

Managing pelvic symptoms with a return to run may mean that you need to look outside the pelvis.

20/10/2025

Just a new mom trying to figure out how to fit exercise into the day 😅

Who knew it would feel like such a puzzle to solve? 😮‍💨 Between the sleep deprivation, living life in 2–3 hour slots, brainstorming when to get back to my master’s, and dreaming about a photography hobby I haven’t started yet 😅 it’s a juggle!

It’s wild how something as simple as a morning walk feels like reclaiming a little piece of yourself again, a long shower feels like a luxury and getting to the shop is a proud moment - anyone else feel that?

But hey, baby steps.

So many people have told me they struggled to find a rhythm, and it took me ages to figure out the logistics - so here’s what day one looks like in case anyone else finds this remotely relatable:

My new morning routine attempt:
🍼 3–5:30 am – Last feed / dream feed at 5:30 am if C hasn’t woken yet
⏰ 5:30 am – Alarm
👕 10 min – Get changed
🧃 20 min – Pump (set up, pump, decant — while having protein & coffee)
⏳ +15 min buffer (because… newborn life 😅)
🏃‍♀️ 6:15 ish – Leave for gym / workout at home / outdoor exercise
💪 6:15–7:15 ish – Exercise (depending on travel)
🚿 7:30–8 am – Home, shower & change
☕️ 8 am ish – Coffee + high-fiber breakfast
👶 8:30 am – Take over with Charli

(Rich does a bottle feed if needed while I’m out - or I’ll feed when I’m back.)

Day one 🎉 here we go! 😅
Putting this out there partly for accountability, partly because I know I’m not the only one figuring this out ❤️

Grateful for this phase, messy as it is.

10/10/2025

08/10/2025

Hands free pumping!

I didn’t know it was possible and I wasn’t going to contemplate putting on an expensive pumping bra every time I needed to pump, I also wasn’t very willing to hold these two in place for 10-20 mins 😅

In my postpartum sleepy fog I couldn’t quite calculate how to use my bra and came to the rescue with this little trick! Since I’ve started I’ve had quite a few questions on how to pump hands free, so here it is my friends!

Cheers 🥛 to a little more time on your hands to do whatever it is your heart desires!

Happy pumping!

01/10/2025

This time last year our lives began to change and wow, how they’ve roller coastered! In just twelve months we’ve emigrated twice, welcomed our most precious Charli and truly transformed life as we knew it. Here’s a little pregnancy video journey:
1. 30 Sept 2024 - the day we found out we were pregnant
2. Grateful for Dr. Manoharan, an absolute gem
3. Working through the first trimester (should not be allowed!)
4. Sneaky scans at work
5. Island living dreams
6. Passing as a BASI reformer & mat instructor at 23 weeks pregnant
7. Our last snorkies in Cayman
8. Sunning the belly after work
9. Stingray City adventures
10. carrot juice > mocktails
11. A spa day gift from a patient
12. A chapter in Scotland at 30 weeks
13. Colostrum harvesting
14. Queen’s College, Cambridge - the Mathematical Bridge
15. Curb walking duty
16. Story time with Dad
17. All the “move the baby out” tricks
18. A run at 40 weeks
19. Oxytocin vibes punting on the River Cam
20. A 41-week false alarm

From island sunsets to punting on the Cam and from anticipation to holding Charli in our arms… and now we are in 🇿🇦 what a year it’s been.

Thank you for coming along for the ride 🫶

20/09/2025

So divine meeting a like-minded pelvic health physio from Cape Town. We’ve never met in person, but I’ve sent many of you her way over the years. It felt like catching up with an old friend over a coffee but that friend also champions squatty potties in her past time, has no concept of TMI and could probably tell you more than you need to know about l**e.

Having emigrated twice and had a baby this year, I’ve seriously missed tapping into my physio brain.

Conversations and connections like this remind me why I love this work so deeply because it’s not just about anatomy and muscles, it’s about humanity, connection and the joy of breaking taboos that desperately need breaking. Pelvic health is such a vital part of our wellbeing and sharing space with women who are equally dedicated to lifting that conversation higher leaves me inspired.

19/09/2025

Postpartum recovery requires more than time away from work (we all know that this is no restful vacation).
It requires time, support and the security to heal (mentally and physically), move safely and re-establish strength.

When maternity leave is doused with stress, short or unpaid, many parents miss the opportunity to seek help in this critical window, increasing the risk of persistent symptoms relating to; incontinence, prolapse, pain etc.

Fair paid leave = pelvic health

The significance of this transition deserves to be acknowledged by leaders and reflected in company policies (despite the position that government may hold).
It’s very interesting to not see this acknowledgment reflected in the policies of wellness and health care facilities that advocate for the comprehensive health of their paying customers…

💬 Do you feel postpartum recovery is supported where you live and work?

23/08/2025

Sleep and Intimacy

Research shows that just 1 extra hour of sleep can boost the likelihood of partnered intimacy the next day by 14% (Kalmbach et al. 2015)

How does sleep impact s.

Estrogen, testosterone and progesterone levels are influenced by sleep and play a role in desire, arousal, receptivity, sensitivity, tissue health

S. Drive - better known as s. motivation may be impacted by poorly regulated stress hormones and a muted dopamine response

REM sleep preserves local spontaneous nocturnal blood flow (tumescence), receptivity and response to cues and general energy for s. activity.

Postpartum note: Sleep is especially disrupted in the early months after childbirth. Combined with hormonal shifts (decr. estrogen/progesterone, incr. prolactin), this can contribute to feelings of low motivation, dryness & fatigue. This can be rather distressing leading to a lot of self blame. Considering the significant impact of sleep (described above), change in lifestyle and hormonal shifts - I hope that this helps you to reduce the pressure and expectation a little in this transitional time!

Sleep isn’t “just rest.” It’s essential for wellbeing, s. connection and s. health.

A note: the study above shows correlation not causation and focuses on young women so may not generalize to the broader population. Nevertheless the findings are interesting!

😅 posted with tired eyes after early morning feeds. Dad and 8 week old baby Charlotte are sleeping peacefully 😅

20/08/2025

In awe of this body, what it’s been through and how far it’s come at 8 weeks postpartum.

This poem, a favourite of mine, feels entirely different now.

———

be softer with you.
you are a breathing thing.
a memory to someone.
a home to a life.

08/08/2025

Quite aptly… I missed it, because I’m feeding all the time.

This journey has been a beautifully challenging paradox.
We’re currently navigating the curveball of an elimination diet to uncover the culprit behind a cluster of allergy symptoms. If you’re curious, search Picariello et al. (2019) for research on peptides in breastmilk and clearing times.

Our current rhythm:
• One expressed bottle each morning so I can grab a sliver of sleep, then pump
• One sleepy little feed around 3ish AM
• A perfect latch… sometimes 😵‍💫other times, we’re learning through together.
• And then THAT moment: when she pulls off after comfort feeding, I melt 🥹 ( a lot of non nutritive suckling at the moment with a developmental leap and her eczema discomfort).
• She gave us a 7 hour stretch last night! From 10:15 - 5:08 am! It was glorious but she didn’t sleep and fussed the entire day yesterday.. 🤔

There is probably more but I’ve forgotten because this mama is tired 🥱

Requests + recommendations needed please:
• I need more nursing bras: the once great H&M ones have changed their pattern and are now just meh. What are your favourites with clippies that are available in South Africa? 🇿🇦
• I’ve had to stop lanolin due to Charli’s eczema. Any tried and trusted alternatives you’d recommend?

For the love of an intact nip, I wish you well as you feed your babe/s in what ever way works for you 🫶