I appeared on ‘9am with David & Kim’ on Channel 10 this week to discuss my new book Full Belly: Comfort and inspiration for new parents.

Catch the video here.

For a free extract from Full Belly: Comfort and inspiration for pregnancy and birth click here.

To buy the book, click here.

And I love feedback - so if you have any - feel free to comment!

Is controlled crying bad for your baby?

Is controlled crying bad for you?

According to The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne controlled crying can be very beneficial for tired and depressed mothers without harming the baby.

Susie O’Brien from the Herald Sun blogged about it and also reported on this study.

And of course, when it comes to baby’s sleep - a very contentious are - not everyone agrees with the research.

But I think it’s important to recognise that the aim of this study was to find out whether helping babies sleep better, by using controlled crying, reduced depression amongst mothers without adversely affecting the babies.

And they found that it did reduce depression amongst mothers and it wasn’t harmful to the baby up to 2 years later.

What this research highlights is the importance of parent wellbeing for baby’s wellbeing.

Depressed mums are not good for kids.

We need to get beyond the ‘best for baby’ argument and look at the ‘best for baby and best for parents’ argument.

Parenting is an amazing, dynamic, and intimate relationship.  It isn’t all about the baby nor all about the parents.

It’s about both.  Their interaction, interrelationship and interdependence.

What this means is - if you don’t have a problem with your baby’s waking through the night, then there is no problem.

But if you do, controlled crying once your baby is older than 6 months, might be worth trying.

By Jodie Benveniste, Director of Parent Wellbeing.

Courtesy of The Food Coach www.thefoodcoach.com.au

Low GI, Low sugar, Wheat Free

With this in the cupboard, there’s no excuse for skipping breakfast. There are hundreds of delicious organic muesli products you can buy, but it’s lots of fun to make your own - and better for you. This recipe makes about 500 grams but you can easily reduce the quantities.

Nuts are high in omega-3 fats and are very good for you. Once chopped, heated and exposed to air and light, however, they can become rancid and lose much of their nutritional goodness. The best advice is to buy nuts whole, store them in a cool, dry place and, once cooked and chopped, eat within a week. This muesli is delicious, so that shouldn’t be too hard a task!

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Ready in: 40 mins

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats
½ cup rye flakes
½ cup barley flakes
½ cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
½ cup almonds, roughly chopped
½ cup brazil nuts, roughly chopped
½ cup dried apple, chopped
½ cup dried apricots, chopped
¼ cup maple syrup
milk or soy milk to serve

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Method

Mix all the cereals, nuts and dried fruit together in a bowl.
Gently heat the maple syrup in a small pan until it becomes very runny then pour over the mixture and toss to coat.

Spread the coated mixture on a non-stick baking sheet and roast in the oven for 20 minutes, tossing frequently.

Cool and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Serve with your milk of preference.

Makes approx 500 grams (1 lb), with about 50g for each serve.

Courtesy of The Food Coach www.thefoodcoach.com.au

Finally, a pharamceutical company has put their billion dollar research and development funds to good use.

They’ve discovered a cure for the overly happy.

Very funny indeed, and will only take 2 minutes out of your day.

FDA Approves Depressant Drug For The Annoyingly Cheerful

Enjoy!

Not many women enjoy putting on weight.  But during pregnancy, weight gain is inevitable.

For your baby’s health and your own health, most women need to put on anything from 6kg to 18kg.

Even if you begin your pregnancy overweight, weight gain is still recommended.

But weight gain during pregnancy can be confronting.

There are times when you feel fat and heavy rather than beautifully, blossingly pregnant.

The first day you can’t do up your favourite pair of jeans can be distressing.

And when you find out your baby is only responsible for three or four kilos of the 10 or 15 you’ve gained, well it feels downright excessive.

But trust that in pregnancy your body knows what it’s doing .  Your body knows what you and your baby need to be healthy.

All you have to do is listen.

When you listen to your body you respond appropriately to its needs.

1. You eat healthy food when you are hungry.

2. You exercise when you need energy.

3. And you rest when you are tired.

That’s it - that is all you have to do.

Forget the scales.  Don’t worry about weight gain.

Instead listen to your body - and your body will work its magic.

By Jodie Benveniste, Director of Parent Wellbeing