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The Second Six Months Any parent knows that the first year of a child’s life is incredibly challenging. It’s filled with so many ups and downs. There’s that first precious, gummy smile, or that first giggle, both of which make your heart feel like it might actually burst open with joy. Then there are the poo explosions, the cracked nipples and of course, the sleepless nights. And you experience a tiredness that you never, ever knew was humanly possible. Those first few months as you navigate your way through the newborn haze are demanding, absolutely. There’s a reason it’s been dubbed, The Fourth Trimester. Friends and family rally together to cook meals, to help with the cleaning and check in regularly to make sure Mum (and Dad) can devote all their time to nurturing this tiny new member of the family. ‘Sleep when the baby sleeps,’ we are told. ‘There’s no rush to lose the baby weight,’ we are reassured. As a society we put a lot of emphasis on the fragility and importance of those early months in the life of a New Baby and a New Mother and rightly so. But what about the months that are to follow? Fast forward to the second half of the year, when the meals have stopped coming, the visitors have died down and there is no one is offering to do your dishes or hang out your washing. You’ve officially dropped off the ‘new baby radar.’ For me personally, it’s this second half of my baby’s first year that I find the most difficult. My post-birth high has dissipated and I’m no longer running on adrenalin but rather a heady mix of caffeine and sheer exhaustion. There seems to be an unrealistic expectation floating around in mothering circles and baby sleep books that your child should be sleeping through the night by now. Not mine. Multiple feeds through the night are still the norm and the sleep deprivation has really started to take its toll. Breastfeeding is no longer a time for sleepy snuggles and Mama/Baby bonding, but rather an act of self-defence in which I try desperately to save my hair being pulled from its roots or my nose being ripped from my face. Nappy changes resemble a wrestling match, where my Son comes out a winner and I come out with shit on my hands. An active baby now means I can’t let him out of my sight for a second. Gone are the days where I would leave him in the middle of the bed while I made myself a cup of tea or had a quick shower. These little rituals of self-care are now reserved for nap times only. And my indoor plants and other precious household objects have had to be removed from baby ‘grab level’ lest he ends up with a fist full of soil in his mouth or drops a salt lamp on his tiny toes. Naturally, my house is in a constant state of disarray. My dining table is consistently covered in a mountain of clean washing, just waiting (praying) to be folded and put away. I spend 80% of my life doing dishes in a kitchen that is somehow never clean and my shower hasn’t been scrubbed in weeks. But amongst all of this chaos there is also a hell of a lot of love, so much learning and discovering and an overwhelming feeling of contentment that comes from becoming a Mother. My point however, is this: being a Mum to a baby under one is a tough gig. Regardless of whether you struggle through those early newborn days, the second six months or the whole damn year, it does get easier. So be kind to yourself. Ask for help if you need it. And pour yourself a glass of wine, Mama. You’re doing just fine. @dannii.odonnell

Mariana Mezic is one busy mama. Her instagram bio reads: ‘mama, artist, she-wolf and part time unicorn’. She divides her time between a farm and a beach house with her super squad – husband Matt and their four kids Kiki (15), Polly (13), Felix (6) and Gracie (3). If that isn’t busy enough, she’s also responsible for three dogs, three cats and four horses. Oh, and she’s the talented artist behind the Adelaide Cabaret Festival’s 2018 artwork. “The struggle is real at this end,” Mariana laughs. “Matt copes with the chaos far better then I do, he keeps a level head, I let my hot European blood takeover a lot!” Coming from a large Croatian household, Mariana is all too familiar with chaotic and loud families. But when she fell pregnant at 30 with her first born, Kiki, the idea of parenting, or even having a big family, wasn’t something she had planned. “It was a happy possibility of perhaps ‘one day’ in my head. Then as the first two got older, the idea of a bustling household really appealed to me. When we moved to the hills we had two more because well, farm fresh air and no TV,” she laughs. It wasn’t long after the first two kids that Mariana started feeling the mum pressures of having it ‘all together’. However, over the 12-year age gap between the younger kids, she noticed the parenting landscape change. “I feel I can be more honest and open about the struggles of motherhood now. Nobody was talking about that back then. I felt very alone, very isolated and no voice to be honest about how hard it all was,” she admits. “The climate is different these days. People are encouraged to openly discuss the trials and tribulations of parenthood. I mean, motherhood is a sloppy, icky, drippy, sleep-deprived mess of emotions and struggles – and the most beautiful, heavenly, heart-bursting, stunning journey you’ll undertake.” And yes, the juggle is real. “It’s a constant juggle!” she exclaims. “One minute you’re dealing with teenage dilemmas and dramas and the next, the 3 year old has lobbed a block at her brother’s head.” “Dealing with a toddler and the constant demanding nature of them is polar opposites to dealing with the teens who go into themselves and become somewhat aloof. They do the eye rolling, suddenly have opinions and know it all.” In the spirit of juggling – and what mums do best – Mariana turns to her happy place – her art. It’s a talent that gives her energy to be a stronger, happier woman, and often represents where she’s at in her life. “It’s messy, it’s colourful, it’s crazy and intense. When I turn up to a white piece of paper, I’m not a mum or wife. I’m back to just me and I’ve found that so important to bring that back to mum life.” Inspired by life events, her artwork features fierce women as the hero – someone Mariana aspired to be. And something the Adelaide Cabaret Festival had their eye on. “The divine Ali McGregor (director of Cabaret festival) found my work on Instagram. Her theme for the festival was eyes open, and when you view my work the eyes are the first thing that grab you,” she explains. “She kindly asked if I’d be up for doing a painting for them and I screamed YES! To go from hanging up loads of washing to presenting my work to a whole city is an absolute thrill to say the least.” Between the kids, farm and her artwork, it’s easy to think Mariana ‘does it all’. But she’s quick to shut down that notion. “Ha! By no means do I do it all. Something always suffers. Sometimes my motherhood suffers and I’m not nearly as present as I need to be and mother guilt kicks in. Sometimes my art suffers when I dive into motherhood and feel the pressure to be one of these baking/knitting/active supermums who have it all running smoothly. I struggle with balance and perhaps I always will.” “The only thing we have here in spades is love for each other and that’s the only thing I will go into battle for, the rest is all a sloppy mess and I’m actually ok with that.” @marianamezic_artist marianamezic.com Images by Meaghan Coles Photography 

As a successful entrepreneur, lifestyle blogger, brand ambassador, television and radio host and mother of four children, one could be forgiven for wondering how Bec Judd could possibly find time to do more. On top of all that, Bec has recently launched her first book, The Baby Bible – the ultimate baby book for modern mums. How did you come about writing The Baby Bible? Writing a book is something that was always a distant goal. I didn’t know what I wanted to write about, but I’d always thought I’d love to write a book one day. Publishing the blog, I cover so many lifestyle areas, from fashion, beauty and food, to interiors and events. When I ended up having four children and started writing more about baby routines and feeding, I thought “this is my jam now, I know what I’m doing.” I don’t think you can quite write a book after you’ve had two babies, but after I had four I knew I was well qualified! Tell us a bit about the book and how new and pregnant mums can benefit from it? With a name like ‘The Baby Bible’, we really had to encompass the entire pregnancy and newborn baby journey. It’s a month by month guide, but it has my personal story interwoven into the months. My entire medical team have also contributed so it covers all the professional advice, as well as my story and lifestyle elements like recipes, lists and routines. It really is, I think, everything from the entire journey and I’ve told it in a very raw, honest, funny way that I think has been missing in baby books gone by. I wanted people to be able to really connect with my journey and relate it to theirs. How important was your dream team of medical experts in your pregnancies? So important! They were the team through all three of my pregnancies and I was very lucky to have them. Dr Len Kliman is one of the best obstetricians in the country and Dr Andrew Ngu is the global head of fetal ultrasound, so I was in the best hands. I’m a mad researcher so I researched a lot to find out what was happening with my body and how people could help me. As well as what was happening with the babies from a sleep-science perspective and who was the best person to see. Oscar was a terrible sleeper and when he was six weeks old I was at breaking point. That’s when I realised how important it was to outsource to professionals if you don’t know what you’re doing. “It’s okay to say I’m not super mum and I can’t do this all by myself because if I do, I’m going to have a nervous breakdown.” Reading The Baby Bible feels like sitting down and chatting with a brutally honest friend about pregnancy and babies. Is that the tone you were hoping to achieve? I wanted to have a tone throughout the book of women supporting each other. Don’t compare your baby to others or your routine to others, just pick and choose what you need and adapt it to your baby. I want mums to read it and go “it’s ok if I did it like this, but my mum or girlfriend did it like this” just to stop the judgement, comparison and guilt. The tone of the book in that way was very considered. Are you a naturally organised person? Has having kids changed this? I always used to be the one who would text or email back straight away, return calls, and never, ever, be late. Now I’m always the last-minute canceller, 15-20 minutes late to everything, never get back to my friends. It’s completely changed me. I prioritise my children and they work to their own schedule so it’s been a big shock actually. I’m not used to always apologising, but I’m just in a different part of my life and you’ve got to prioritise your family. Can you tell us some of the things you try to make time for in terms of fitness, beauty, food and wellness? I try to make those things fit in over a week. If I have a crazy work schedule and I barely see my kids, the next day I will try to schedule in a day with them. I do cardio tennis on a Tuesday morning; Wednesday Chris and I do date night, so we have a babysitter and we’ll either play tennis, watch a movie or do dinner. Throughout the week, I try and get that balance right and it’s been engineered over time, I haven’t always been good at it but I feel like I’m at a good place now. Can you share with any final words of wisdom for new mums? Just enjoy the ride. Everyone says this and I know it’s cliché, but they do grow up so fast. Even when you’re going through a bad patch and are kind of hating on life, just know that it doesn’t last forever. “I remember when Oscar was a newborn thinking I hate this, this is never going to end, I’ve ruined my life” and that only feels like yesterday and now he’s about to turn seven. So just know that it doesn’t last forever and you will get through it. This is just a taste of all the wisdom within The Baby Bible and it’s such a relatable read from someone who is a hands-on mum who keeps it real and after birthing four babies, clearly has experience up her sleeve which she wants to share to remind all mamas that we’re in this together. It’s clear that Bec is driven, ambitious and family oriented, and that she has experienced so much of what motherhood can throw at you. A woman of many talents, she can now add published author to her expansive list of career accomplishments. Without doubt, however, her greatest achievements to date are her beautiful

Leadership Qualities At a recent parent/teacher interview for our teenager, one of her teachers told us she had leadership potential. This was not news to me. Not because I am one of those parents who blindly believes my children to be naturally superior, but simply because, as the eldest of three girls, Grace has no choice but to be a leader. Leadership had been thrust upon her from a tender age. The braider of her little sisters’ hair, DJ in charge of family playlists, hand-holder across busy roads and fall-back babysitter. But, it was what the teacher said next that left me slightly taken aback. He said he was making sure he gave her extra encouragement. To be a leader. Because she’s a GIRL. And girls are often reluctant to take on this role. I shifted in my already uncomfortable plastic seat. I wanted to get all up in his grill Oprah-at-the-Golden-Globes style and point out that in my girl-dominated household (at least my husband has a boy dog to hang with) my daughters were crystal clear who run the world, if running the world did indeed turn out to be their career path of choice. But then I remembered some sobering observations from Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg’s book on women and leadership, and I bit my tongue. She reports that: “Women only apply for jobs if they think they meet 100% of the criteria, for men that figure is 60%.” Women are also less likely to actively seek promotions, believing that if they work hard enough, recognition will eventually come their way. “Were you trying for a boy?” I was asked on an almost daily basis when I announced my third pregnancy after two girls. Nope. At the risk of an overshare, I was trying not to have any more children. (Sorry Frankie, we wouldn’t send you back) When another pink one emerged in the delivery room the following thoughts went through my mind: The gas is wearing off and that really stung. Really. Stung. (There were a few swear words in there too, let’s be honest) Look at this perfect little human. Another girl. That will save money on clothes / shoes / toys. Another girl. I will never get into the bathroom. I wonder how long I can stay in hospital, have someone bring me meals and ask me how I’m feeling mentally and physically on a scale of 1 to 10, and take the baby when she cries. The following thoughts did NOT go through my mind: I wish she was a boy. I hope she can still be a leader despite her obvious gender deficiency. Girls are going to be ok. This year, for the first time on record, more women than men were appointed to the boards of Australia’s top 200 companies. The UK has a female leader, as does Germany, and New Zealand’s Prime Minister is going to become a mother soon which will make running a country seem like a big ol’ piece of cake. Girls can now play, not only netball, but footy and cricket at a professional level in front of big crowds and big television audiences. Girls can harness a worldwide moment to stop sexual exploitation. But there is still progress to be made. Begrudgingly, I accept that Grace’s teacher’s endeavours to identify and promote future female leaders are still required and should be applauded. I only hope that in the not too distant future it won’t be necessary. @rebeccamorse10

A Letter to My Second Born Dear Baby Boy, From the moment I found out you were in my belly, things were already so different. When I was pregnant with your Big Sister, I was blissfully unaware of just how much my life was about to change. I bobbed around naively in my first pregnancy bubble, spending hours saving nursery ideas to Pinterest boards and giddily discussing baby names with your Dad. I bought teeny, tiny onesies and organised them in drawers by size and colour. And I lay in bed every night, dreaming of what it would be like to be a Mum. I’m sorry to say that when it came to your turn, there was one very big difference, taking the shape of one very small person. Yes, your Big Sister popped that blissful, early pregnancy bubble, quick smart. Being pregnant with a toddler is no joke. As if the nausea, the exhaustion and the insufferable need to pee every hour wasn’t bad enough, I was also at the mercy of a demanding, emotionally unstable, nap refusing, dictator. There were no weekly photos documenting your growing bump (too exhausted!) and no new outfits to gush over (hello pumpkin stained, hand-me-downs!). And I didn’t impeccably plan out your nursery. We lived in a two bedroom unit; you had a modest nook in a corner of our bedroom with just your bassinet and a simple mobile made of sea shells. Your Dad emptied out a drawer for you from his dresser and we placed your change mat on top. Pregnancy aside, when you did finally arrive (and in a much quicker fashion than your Sister) it all felt new to me again. As your naked, wrinkled body was thrust against my skin for the first time, it was as if my heart might just swell so big it would burst straight out of my chest. I want you to know that this moment is not up for comparison with that of your Sister’s. They were equally wonderful. Equally life-altering. But this was Our moment, never to be replicated. Fast-forward to our return home and there were no early morning, snuggly breastfeeds in bed as we drifted in and out of sleep. No, you were fed and strapped into the baby carrier by 7am, just in time for your Sister to wake up, so I could take part in bleary-eyed, breakfast negotiations with my hands free. There were no impromptu photo sessions with multiple outfit changes on the living room floor; I was too busy getting your Big Sister a snack every damn second of the day. And there was absolutely no drinking of the decaf as we navigated our way through the early days and weeks of breastfeeding. It was full throttle on the caffeine so I could do. All. The. Things. You had coffee pumping through your veins from day one, I’m sorry about that. Your naps are a mess thanks to your Big Sister’s social schedule, and your first food wasn’t organic banana and avocado puree. I get pangs of guilt thinking about your baby book which lies unopened in the linen closet (I’ll fill it in by the time you turn one, I promise), or your keepsake box containing only your hospital name bracelet, that sits next to your Sister’s, overflowing with mementos. But now, at almost eight months old, as we approach your first birthday (which is sure to be underwhelming), I’ve had a realisation: it doesn’t matter, all these things I haven’t done for you. These material things don’t matter at all. The guilt I’ve been holding on to, is gone. Because what matters, is how I love you. And believe me, baby boy. Just like your Big Sister, you are so, very loved. Mum. @dannii.odonnell

New Mum friends At the risk of sounding like a socially inept weirdo, I have come to the conclusion that making New Mum Friends is a very awkward business. Unless you have been lucky enough to have babies around the very same time as your besties, chances are you may be in the market for some like-minded, new friends with kids similar in age to yours and who hold similar belief systems surrounding coffee consumption, The Kardashians (it’s a no from me) and parenting styles. It’s not to say that your existing friends aren’t important, because they are, so very important. It’s just that you may be on a slightly different journey to them at this point in time and there are gaps that could be filled by finding some New Mum Friends. A lot of first time Mums, me included, join a Mothers’ Group after the birth of their baby. The trouble with Mothers’ Groups is that the only thing you generally have in common with these women, as lovely as they all are, is that you all just had a baby. Sure, there will often be some extra-curricular group catch ups to start off with, but they usually fizzle out within a few months and everyone has happily gone their separate ways by your babies’ first birthdays. Some Mums I know have been lucky enough to make life-long friends in one of these groups, but they seem to be the rare exception to the rule. If only we could join a Mothers’ Group based on our own interests outside of being Mums, now that would be a New Mum Friend, smorgasbord! Playgroup, kinder-gym and the playground are all the perfect breeding grounds for auditioning potential New Mum Friends. We politely small talk with lots of different Mums (and Dads) as our kids float around like the social butterflies they are, jumping on the trampoline with this kid and blowing bubbles with that kid. But every now and then, ‘ding, ding,’ you start talking to someone that you seem to have a lot in common with and as an added bonus, your kids get on well too. There’s that Mum at kinder-gym, with the sweet daughter and the chill vibes. Or that Mum at the park, with two kids under three that says she likes to drink gin and just so happens to live around the corner from you. And then there’s that new Mum at Playgroup, with the slightly dishevelled hair, who’s also just had her second baby and politely laughs at your sleep deprivation-induced mutterings: all excellent candidates for ‘New Mum Friends.’ So why, when it comes to the crunch of ‘let’s swap numbers’ or ‘I’ll find you on Facebook’ do we (I) feel like such self-conscious, over-friendly, creeps? Personally, if roles were reversed and a like-minded Mum suggested a play date over coffee, I would happily agree to it and not think twice. So I’m not sure why I am hesitant to do the same. Maybe in part, it’s simply because I am out of practice. Prior to having babies, you have such a stable group of friends, some of whom you may have known since early school days, that you’re just so comfortable and not really in the market for ‘new’ ones. But as we know, Motherhood loves to challenge every aspect of our lives and why shouldn’t our social skills be one of them? So, next time you find yourself in one of these situations, crushing hard on a potential New Mum Friend – just take the leap! Ask for her number! She’s probably thinking the exact same thing as you and doesn’t want to come across as the self-conscious, over-friendly, creep I mentioned earlier. There is no doubt that if you can manage to break through the awkwardness and find yourself a New Mum Friend, it will absolutely be worth it. To be able to laugh and cry and drink lattes together through the wonder weeks and the temper tantrums and the toilet training mishaps, knowing they ‘get it,’ like ‘really get it?’ That New Mum Friend simply becomes, Your Friend. And she will be a friend for life. @dannii.odonnell

Dad Words I’m beginning to realise two things with these reviews. One, is I pretty much smash ’em all out with a glass of shiraz next to my laptop, mere hours from deadline after my boy’s gone to sleep. And two, man, I’m no longer any good at keeping up with new releases. So, my apologies for constantly being a tad behind, but since this is a parenting mag I’m just going to assume you’re no longer up-to-speed with… well, basically anything either, am I right? READ: BETWEEN A WOLF AND A DOGWRITTEN BY GEORGIA BLAINGeorgia Blain’s Between a Wolf and a Dog charts the ups, downs, chequered past and uncertain future of a Sydney family, with the story mostly spanning a single rainy day. It tackles all the big stuff – broken marriage, infidelity, death, memory, parenthood, forgiveness, our relationship with art – but it’s written with a deft and tender touch. Look, if you’re more into explosions this probably isn’t for you, but it’s hard not to relate to each of the book’s complex characters and it’ll leave you reflecting on your own failings and hopes long after the final page.Dymocks, $29.99 THE CITY CHILD’S NATURE BOOKWRITTEN BY GILLIAN HENRIQUESFor the small person(s) in your life, I’m going right back to 1944 (taking my lack of being up-to-speed to comical levels here) with an absolute gem called The City Child’s Nature Book. Designed to inspire wonder in city-bound Aussie kids about the natural world around them (perhaps even more relevant now in the smartphone age), it features gorgeous illustrations of common sights such as spiders, pigeons, mice and gumnuts, alongside charming descriptions that illuminate what makes them special. We were lucky enough to grab a copy from my grandma, but there are still dog-eared copies floating around online if you search hard enough. WATCH: Now, I was going to head to the cinemas to review Black Panther, I swear, but then parenting got in the way and all I did was watch Netflix with popcorn crumbs coating my belly. If you haven’t binged US family drama-thriller Bloodline yet (it finished last year), it’s well worth your time. Charting the fortunes of the wealthy Rayburn family in the picture postcard Florida Keys, the series peels back their layers, revealing dark secrets before a gnarly chain of events changes them all forever. At the crux of the show is the duelling tension and love between the flawed Atticus Finch-like cop, John Rayburn, and his perennial delinquent older brother Danny (played impeccably by one of Australia’s greats, Ben Mendelsohn). Netflix.com DO: Lions 360, Monarto Zoo. Have you seen this? Are you kidding me?! My 11-month-old’s still probably a tad young to appreciate being in a cage within clawing range of one of Australia’s largest lion prides, but you better believe it’s on my hit-list when he’s old enough. Monarto cut the ribbon on the hair-raising attraction late last year and it’s not just an impressive adrenaline hit – price of admission helps the Zoo raise awareness for the vulnerable species and contributes to the international breeding program that aims to safeguard them from extinction. monartozoo.com.au/lions360 Jake Dean is a writer, surfer and bibliophile who’s counting down the days to take his eleven-month-old, Koa, for his first wave. Follow him on: Twitter: @JakeJDean Instagram: @byjakedean Blog: jake-dean.com

Even if you’re not familiar with the name, Billie Justice Thomson yet, there’s every chance you’ve admired her work. It might be her sign writing and iconic food imagery painted on a shop window, or her joyfully unpretentious illustrations in print. Deceptively simple and laced with humour, Billie’s distinctive style has a nostalgic, kitschy appeal and is both a celebration and documentation of the every day. Now based in Adelaide after a stint in Melbourne, Billie originally studied Visual Art at the University of South Australia. While the move east paid off, with her career growing relatively quickly and very organically, Billie was drawn back home for a quieter life after six years. “I felt like it was an easy decision in the end,” she says. “The reasons I left Adelaide were the same reasons I came back,” she reflects. Speaking from her Thebarton studio, the move proved serendipitous; meeting her partner and then welcoming a cheeky baby boy, Marvin, nearly a year ago. “I always knew I wanted to be a mother. Of course I was appropriately nervous in the lead up to his birth, but it felt really natural and special and I didn’t think that being a mum would be this much fun,” she says. Juggling a thriving art practice with the demands of parenthood comes instinctively to Billie. While her partner shares the load equally, motherhood has made her “much more efficient”! It’s a skill that will stand her in good stead given her client list already spans the likes of liquor behemoth Dan Murphy’s, to iconic Australian fashion brand, Gorman. A recent series of commissions for Gourmet Traveller is especially important to Billie. They represent a career-long ambition to collaborate with the pre-eminent foodie bible and one that came post-baby after moving back to Adelaide – two life events she felt could potentially hold her back professionally.   With a number of varying and exciting projects in the pipeline, other key commissions are on the cusp of fruition; most notably as one of Australia’s leading artists featured in the Qantas Curates initiative. Her quirky Fairy Bread illustration will adorn the amenity kits for Qantas business class on international flights. “[It’s an] art exhibition at 38,000 feet!” she says. In keeping with unusual gallery spaces, her most recent exhibition to date, Home Paintings was shown at her local pub, The Wheatsheaf Hotel. The highly personal and witty domestic paintings reflect what Billie describes as a kind of ‘manic nesting’ period before Marvin’s arrival. “I was nervous and be too tired to paint,” she says, “Home Paintings felt like a last-ditch effort to get as much work done as possible, and it was only when I stood back that I realised how home-centric the paintings were,” she says. In a case of art imitating life, the themes of homeliness, comfort and domesticity that thread throughout her body of work have spilled out into her actual art practice. Her first at-home studio enables her to make time for painting without compromising time with Marvin. “My world feels like it has shrunk and in the past I wouldn’t have liked it, but now I love it,” she says of working from home. A subtle shift in what motivates and inspires her as an artist has been a happy side-effect of motherhood too. “It’s for Marvin,” she says. “He makes me want to work harder and to make sure I do what I love.” billiejusticethomson.com @billiejusticethomson Meaghan Coles Photography 

@dannii.odonnell There is so much delight to be found in becoming a Mum and getting to know these tiny little humans who have turned your life upside down. As you unravel their little personalities, you learn how they like to be held, what makes them laugh, and what makes their sweet minds whirl with excitement and curiosity. It is a joy to witness, but, if you’re anything like me, just as you feel like you’re really getting to know Them, you realise you have forgotten all about You. Self Care: it’s a simple concept. It means, doing things for yourself that make you feel good, physically, mentally and emotionally. Then why, when we become Mothers’, does this become so, damn hard? Immediately, our focus shifts from our own needs, to the needs of our kids and any forms of Self Care are abandoned. Before you know it, you can barely manage to shower daily, or brush your teeth, let alone fit in a yoga session, or a leisurely beach walk. Me time, becomes a thing of the past. Personally, I know that one day, very soon there will be more time for Me. But for now, it is about making do with the limited time that I’ve got and seizing any opportunities for Self Care, no matter how small they may be: like sitting down with a hot cup of tea and taking a few deep breaths while the kids eat their breakfast. A quick stretch on the yoga mat while they nap, or a long, hot shower once they’re in bed. These acts may seem small and insignificant but they bring a sense of calm to the chaos of my days and remind me that I too, am important. I profiled four Adelaide Mum’s for an honest look at what Self Care means to them, how it’s changed since having kids and how they make it happen, as they navigate their way through the early years of Motherhood. Georgy Keen – Mum to Clancy, one. @georgykeen What does Self Care mean to you? For me, Self Care means putting time aside from obligations, work or daily duties (the endless to-do list) to do something small for myself that benefits me physically, emotionally and mentally. It means that caring for myself is just as important as caring for all of my loved ones, and when I am feeing recharged that the whole family benefits, win-win! Has your approach to Self Care changed since becoming a Mum? My approach to Self Care has changed since becoming a Mum as before I had my daughter, I had a tendency to be a bit of a martyr when it came to having a clean and tidy house and everything organised and in order. Being a Mum has forced me to relax a lot more with things I cannot control and be okay with the fact that my life is rather chaotic and messy – and when you can only muster 20 minutes to yourself at the end of a long day, it is TOTALLY okay to put my own Self Care needs before those crappy chores. I think as women and mothers we have this incredible, innate ability to multi task but it can often be our undoing. So often we are cooking, tidying, baby wrangling, washing, working, micro-managing our to do lists, liaising with friends and family and trying to keep everybody happy, seeing everybody that needs to be seen in order to maintain relationships, making sure we are providing our babies with enough stimulation and learning opportunities. So if we need to power nap when opportunity presents itself, we need to embrace that opportunity sans guilt. Own that nap. How do you incorporate Self Care into your daily life now that you are a Mum? I have always been an early riser and I take my mornings very seriously. I love that time I have alone before my husband and daughter wake up to feel calm and collected. I often start my day at a time most people would cringe at, waking up and making a pot of coffee and getting organised for the day. I try to get to the 5:45am F45 session 3 times a week, which lets me have a good sweat before my husband heads off to work at 6:30am. We live very close to the beach so one of my favourite things to do is take my dog for a walk along the beach to see the sunrise, and listen to a podcast or a favourite playlist. I feel best when I am eating whole, natural foods so I try to have a fridge and pantry stocked with snacks ready-made, like boiled eggs, cut up veggies and home-made dips which make time poor days that tiny bit less stressful. I try to squeeze in this prep time whilst making dinner (queen multi-tasker at it again!) Alana Spain – Mum to Ayla, two. @lovelightandlife What does Self Care mean to you? To me, Self Care means taking time out for yourself to nourish your body, mind and soul. Has your approach to Self Care changed since becoming a Mum? Since becoming a Mum I’m a lot more time conscious as well as money conscious, which is reflected in my Self Care routine. Self Care used to involve expensive massages and facials, long baths or long walks, but now it’s little things like a face mask here or there, or sitting down to paint my nails during nap time. Some days even putting a hairbrush through my hair is a Self Care win. Just little things that make me feel a bit more human again. How do you incorporate Self Care into your daily life now that you are a Mum? Once Ayla is in bed I always try to take at least a bit of time for myself after cleaning up the mess that has been made throughout the day. Sometimes I’ll sit down with a book and cup of tea or do

Finding Your School Mum BFF If there’s anything I’m grateful for in life, it’s friends. And Nutella. Mostly Nutella. But as I’ve grown older [and older, and older] I’ve realised that different friends perform varying but equally vital functions in your life. Some friends, you might have an unspoken agreement with to pluck out each others moustache hairs should you wind up in a coma [resulting from being forced to listen to your son talk about bey-blades, for example]. Or to delete your browser history upon your unexpected death, because no one’s legacy should be how many hours they’ve spent googling “poodles wearing pants”. Some are friends who might really, truly commit to pretending the floor is lava when you’ve declared “the floor is lava”, when other, lesser friends might act like it’s not, even though you clearly just said that it is. And if you’re lucky, you’ve probably met someone along the way who would spend the necessary amount of time searching for the perfectly filtered picture of you on your Instagram to give to the police if you went missing; because if you’re gonna be on the news, they know you’re gonna wanna look like the best lit freakin’ Valencia version of yourself with just enough dialled up highlight and dialled down sharpness to make you look damn good but also enough like yourself that the police will still be able to recognise you when they eventually find you lost in the kids craft section of Kmart. One of the newest brand of friends I’ve come across in the last couple of years, though, is the school-mum BFF. She’s that one mum who you’ve met at school drop off or an excursion or around the playground after pick up time that just inherently understands your need for 5pm wine and calling your kid an asshole behind their backs every now and then. We’ve all got one [a school mum bff, not an asshole kid, well actually… probably both]. If you’re lucky, you’ve got a few. Finding a school mum BFF is like getting that long straight piece in Tetris. You’re just like “ooohhhhhhhhh yeahhhh, things about to get GOOD”. Here’s how you can spot one: 1. You like their kids and they like yours. And I have it on good authority that kids can be pretty difficult to like. I don’t even like my own kids half the time let alone someone else’s. You know you’ve really connected with someone when their kid accidentally spits half chewed jatz biscuits in your face while telling you about the Lego Star Wars Sandspeeder he just built and you don’t even bat an eyelid let alone recoil in disgusted horror. 2. You’ve seen each others houses, even when they look like your floor has been converted into a [sticky] agility course that’s been custom designed by a three year old to kill you in your sleep. You both understand that you will one day clean your houses. And by clean, I mean drink wine and spray everything with Febreze. 3. You’ve seen each other in your natural states. No I don’t mean nude. This is not #dickheaddean from Married at First Sight’s poly-amorous fantasy life. When I say natural, I mean ugly. 4. She can tell off your kids and you don’t feel like cutting a bitch. 5. She’ll tell you you’re not a shit mum and/or a shit human. Or that you are when you need a cold hard honesty bomb dropped on you from a great height. 6. You pick up each others slack. You’ll look after her kids when she’s running late for pick up or remind her its Harmony Day and they have to wear orange to school, and she’ll have enough snacks in her tiny handbag to feed your three hungry children who have the appetites of five thousand, when you can’t even manage to remember to bring all their water bottles. 7. She doesn’t judge you or get a “tone” when your kid acts like a jerk. She might even make excuses for them to make you feel better, even though really she knows they’re just being a jerk. Your kids are equal assholes, she gets it. 8. She’ll offer to help out when you’re suffering “mum flu” [similar phenomenon to “man flu” but no one gives a shit]. 9. You actually accept her help when you have mum flu instead of insisting “no no, I’ll be right” and soldiering on through the sheer and utter misery that is not being able to breathe with your mouth closed whilst simultaneously having to run around after the tiny army of miniature humans you created yourself that never appear to be able to find their own shoes. 10. She automatically hates the kids that are mean to your kids. When you text her to say some little twat face year 2 called your daughter ugly in the school yard she texts you right back with “right, who do I have to kill?” 11. You also know inherently which selfies are appropriate for social media and which aren’t 12. She knows what you’re thinking from across the school yard dependant on who you’re talking to, what facial expression you have and what you’re doing with your arms, without you even having to say a word. 13. You can have spontaneous catch-ups without having to spend 3 weeks scrubbing the dried weetbix off the bench top or hiding all the superfluous rubbish in the laundry ahead of her arrival. Usually you need at least a months notice before doing anything spontaneous. 14. You understand and respect the rules and boundaries you both have for your children even though they might be different. Like she won’t let your 6 year old son watch Jurassic World for example, no matter how much he reassures her he’s allowed to despite the fact that he gets scared and has to leave the room when Mr Todd gets cross in Peter Rabbit. 15. You’re honest with her about your opinion on those really uncomfortable, expensive shoes

School holidays. They are a blissful break from those chaotic mornings spent packing nude food lunches and finding matching socks, library books and overdue excursion forms while screaming so loudly that your neighbours can hear you but your teenager (deeply immersed in maintaining her Snapchat streaks) cannot. For working parents, however, a new daily challenge presents itself, with an arguably higher degree of difficulty. That challenge is to provide the adequate level of supervision and stimulation for one’s offspring so that their back to school report does not read, ‘In the holidays I sat at Mummy’s work on the iPad and ate Barbeque Shapes.” It is in these moments that I ask myself why I didn’t become a teacher like my mother, so school holiday cover was automatically sorted. Then of course it dawns on me that controlling my own three children is such a stretch most days that multiplying the number of small people in my care by ten is probably not a sustainable or safe career path. So we set about juggling days off and calling in favours from family and friends and somehow we always manage to conjure up something resembling school holiday fun. We schedule the odd play date so that on their return from Susie’s house they can declare that Susie (names have been changed to protect the innocent) has 67 Shopkins and we only have 33. This may or may not be because I have been known to bin them if I step on one in bare feet. Sometimes we might venture to a playground. But I find there can be mothers there who have packed grapes in zip lock bags and whipped up a dip in the Thermomix and I find this altogether too damaging for my already fragile parenting self-esteem. We have a swing at home and also grapes. Well, grapes that have been crushed into wine. And Gaganis Bros tzatziki. I do actually enjoy hanging out with my children during the holidays. I try to spend some one-on-one time with each of them. We go on an ice-cream, sushi or shopping date and I ask them about their hopes and dreams and they ask me what it was like growing up in the olden days when phones were connected to the wall and you had to hang up if someone needed to surf the world wide web. These school holidays though, we have used that under-rated planning system known as a diary and applied for a few days off. My friends invited me to go camping. So I started a list of what I would need. 1. New friends. I did not make that joke up. Unfortunately I also did not make up the fact that I am going camping. For real. No toilets. No showers. No power. No 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi. Pray for me. And let me know what I’ve missed on Instagram. But we will be making some quality family memories. And gathering some excellent material for that back to school story: “And then Mummy said to Daddy pack up the tent, we’re checking into a hotel. The End.” School Holiday Tips Spend a day cleaning out the children’s wardrobes and toy box and do a run to the Salvos or your charity of choice. Teaches kids to help those less fortunate while decluttering. Win win. While you’re rifling around in cupboards do a school uniform stocktake so one does not discover on the first day back at school that the winter uniforms are way too small. This happened to a friend of mine. (Ok, it was me) Try to book a one-on-one activity with each child of their choice. Support a local children’s theatre production. Take a road trip. Try lunch at Patch in Stirling, milkshakes at 21 Junk Street in Yankalilla, fish and chips at the Flying Fish Café at Horseshoe Bay. Don’t compare the quality of your school holiday activities against that of other parents on social media. Not having a craft box/baking day/museum session does not make you a bad parent. I hope. Coffee and wine help. @rebeccamorse10

With seven children between them, Edited Interiors co-founders Nadia Yelland and Caroline Owler know just how much an organised home can contribute to a happy family life. Meeting when their children started school together, the pair soon discovered a shared passion for creating beautiful homes and interior spaces. After years collaborating on styling and organising their own homes it was time to turn their hobby into a business. Thus, much to the delight of their friends and family, Edited Interiors was born. Edited Interiors now offers home styling, product sourcing, editing and organising. “We are professional organisers and stylists who believe that style and organised go hand in hand.” Nadia Yelland. Caroline and Nadia’s top tips for an organised and stylish pantry 1. Use clear storage containers. Decant items like flour, sugar, rice, pasta, nuts and cereals into clear airtight containers. They make it easy to see what you have left and what you need to stock up on. 2. Like with like Use storage bins or baskets to group similar things, such as snacks or tinned goods. Also try to keep together items that you use together, like baking goods or spices. 3. The right containers for your space Look at the space you have and choose your storage containers accordingly. Although large baskets and delicate glass jars might look great in a large walk in pantry it probably won’t be suitable nor functional in a small pantry. Aesthetically, stick to two or three types of containers, bins or baskets as this instantly helps to make your pantry look and feel more organised. 4. Lazy susans / turntables Lazy susans and turntables are perfect for storing sauces, oils and spreads you use frequently and are also great for those under-utilised corners in the back of the cupboard. 5.Labels Label as much as you can! Labelling all your containers, baskets and canisters helps to make sure items are easily identified and everything has a home. Edited Interiors  Instagram: @editedinteriors Facebook: @editedinteriors 

Planning a celebration? It’s a piece of cake with LENZO, the one-stop online party shop. LENZO was created by Adelaide born, Elleni Pearce, whose objective was to create the ‘eBay of parties’. Today, it is exactly that. Anyone from suppliers to buyers can utilise the website as a hire business, event service, party supply store or venue finder, all in the one place. We know that kid’s parties are sometimes challenging. You feel like you can’t do the mermaid theme again, because your daughter’s friend or cousin had that at her birthday last week. Coming up with new and exciting ideas can be difficult, but now LENZO will do all the hard work for you! We’re not the only ones in love with LENZO. Recently celebrities such as Bec Judd and Rozalia Russian have shared their own LENZO parties on social media. Think decorations like neon lights, multicoloured balloons, monochrome themes, teepees and confetti. Parents are side-stepping the clowns and face painting for giant balloon installations and extravagant table settings. LENZO has also worked with major brands such asSEED Heritage, Witchery and Mecca Cosmetica. We quizzed Elleni Pearce on how she became the queen of entertaining: WHAT DID YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT GROWING UP IN ADELAIDE? I love Adelaide – still do! Despite having moved almost 15 years ago, it’s still “home” to me. More than anything, I don’t think it’s relevant where you grow up, but really who you grow up with, and the people around you. That’s why I still call Adelaide home because of my friends and family. Elleni as a child WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE CHILDHOOD PARTY EXPERIENCE? Preparation! Pulling the prettiest of partyware together. Even as a 4 year old, I always had a clear vision and theme in my mind. My most memorable parties were the ones hosted at home with friends and family with a pass the parcel out the back and an Australian Women’s Weekly cake creation by Mum (which was pre-ordered by me about 6 months in advance). WHEN DID THE LIGHT BULB MOMENT FOR PARTY WITH LENZO OCCUR? I have always had a love for entertaining. For me, it was all in the details! After celebrating my wedding and my 30th I realised there was not a curated platform for the best in the events industry. I had to Google and search to find exactly what I wanted (and that’s not easy when you’re a little fussy). So I knew there was an opportunity. Then I had my first daughter in 2012 and started the initial business plan but succumbed to the day-to-day pressures of it all and rather than pursuing LENZO, I went back to my career in advertising sales. After my second daughter was born I was adamant this was what I was going to do. The fire was in my belly. WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT LENZO? It is the only place where you can shop from a curated range of stock and services for your next event. Rather than being a directory, LENZO allows you to search for the product you want. We inspire via our blog, THE LENZO EDIT and then allow you to get the look via the Marketplace. We now also offer a national service ‘Parties by LENZO’ where we act as an online virtual party planner and pull an event together. This is great for time poor mums that still want a beautiful, personalised event but just don’t have the man hours to pull it off. HOW DO YOU JUGGLE BEING A MUM OF TWO BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS WHILE RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS? A juggle it is!!! I am also pregnant with my third baby (a little boy) so things are about to get very interesting! Over time I’ve realised you can’t do everything at once. You need to prioritise certain things in your life at any given point of time and give it 110%. I try to be present I am home, I feel that’s really important. When in LENZO mode, I have to be super productive. It’s easier now with a fabulous team and support around me. WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR RARE DOWN TIME? I love to get away for the weekend. A simple road trip to the Mornington Peninsula will do the trick. I am very much an extrovert and gain energy from those around me. On the weekends, I ensure that I balance the crazy work life with social activities with friends and family. This is very important to me and although it’s not traditional down time, I feel I have a balance. The kids love it too! WHAT ARE YOUR KEY STYLING TIPS FOR ANYONE PLANNING AN EVENT? Choose one key element you love. It could be a reference to a pattern, colour or texture. Create a mood-board around this element and if you find something doesn’t tie in, then ditch it! This focus will keep you on track and ensure you execute a cohesively styled event. DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL AESTHETIC IN 3 WORDS? Fresh, playful and chic. WHAT IS INSPIRING YOU RIGHT NOW? I went to a talk recently called ‘The Resilience Project’. It was probably one of the most inspiring two hours of my life. They have an app and I love it. It’s all about three key ingredients to achieve happiness: gratitude, empathy and mindfulness. I strive to live by those and try to implement them into the lives of my girls. Instagram: @partywithlenzo  Website: Lenzo.com.au  Elleni Pearce Portrait Hugh Davies Photography  Lenzo photography by Kas richards 

Deeply rooted in the Indian Classical tradition and gifted with her father’s ability with the sitar, Anoushka Shankar returns to WOMADelaide 2018 to share her musical innovation and exploration. With a multitude of accolades including five Grammy nominations, Anoushka is a bold composer. She is also a mother of two boysand an impassioned supporter of women’s rights and social justice, which is reflected in her recent collaborations. We chat to Anoushka to get the scoop on how she juggles being both a mum and famous travelling musician. So you’ll be gracing the stage of WOMAD this year, how exciting! What are you looking forward to about WOMAD? Just being back in general. WOMAD is one of the more memorable show experiences that I’ve had and that says a lot. The last time I was there was back in 2010, so it’s been a long time and I’m really looking forward to coming back. I’m playing with some amazing musicians and I have some other friends that are playing the festival. What is the value of your music and world music festivals like WOMAD to families?  My music at its heart is based on the Indian classical music I was raised with but then it sort of broadens out from there into something you could say is a bit more accessible. You could say it’s a great way for new listeners and young people to be introduced to what could be a new sound for them. You’ve got two kids yourself? Has motherhood inspired any of the content in your latest album ‘Land of Gold?’ Absolutely, I just had my second son a few months before starting working on the album so it was hugely influential on where I was at emotionally and mentally when I started making the music. I think probably I wrote the whole album in response to the ongoing refugee crisis, but primarily it was the experience of sitting with my own children in a kind of place of safety and watching the experiences of other families, other parents, other children and that was really the thing that broke my heart. Above all I think there is a difference at least for me, a different level of sensitivity and empathy for what that must feel like now that I have children of my own, that I love as much as I do. I can just immediately relate to what that must feel like and therefore I felt really compelled to want to express that musically. Tell us about inside me, the lyrics are about feeling the life inside of you and you wrote this whilst you were pregnant… Yes that was a few years ago when I was pregnant with my first boy. So that was my first experience of being pregnant and of feeling a child moving inside. It’s a really amazing experience that I had with both of my kids whilst making music. Hearing the child inside and feeling the child inside kind of responding to the music I was making. So it was a really beautiful experience of being in the recording studio and feeling the baby kick when we were playing the music, so that became, one of the songs that I was writing, about what it feels like to feel a life dancing.   I read that in the past you’ve taken one of your sons Zubin on tour. Do you still tour with your kids? Are they interested in learning from you the way that you learnt from your father? Now because he’s school age it’s a lot more infrequent, but when he was a baby and I just had one kid and it was a very particular time where I was still booked the way I would have been booked if I hadn’t had a kid, so I just took him on the road with me. And we did an incredible tour with my album ‘Traveller’ where he just was with us. We built a little crib into the back of the tour bus and we did about 90 shows that year. It was iconically amazing for me and it was also exhausting and really stressful. You know, it’s that thing a lot of parents go through where I had no idea what it would be like until I was finally doing it. That pressure to try and do everything and feel like I had to keep going with everything that I said I had said I would do as a musician and then also wanting to be the perfect mother and be present all the time. I kind of did it all but at the end it was a little bit like ahhhh phew okay Is he interested in learning from you the way that you learnt from your father? Not at the moment, he’s quite young. He’s quite interested in the electric guitar at the moment though. I’m guessing it would be a little hard from them to learn the sitar yet considering it is one of the most complex musical forms? Can you tell us a bit more about the sitar? What I had was a bit of a musical grounding before I started the instrument so that’s really helpful. So we do a lot of basic singing, understanding of the notes etc. We do that and he studies piano and he has fun on the guitar. But when he’s a little bit older, if he’s genuinely interested then of course I would teach him, but it’s not something I feel like I need to do for the sake of it.   How long would it take one to learn to play the sitar? Oh god, I’m still learning! Years for sure. It’s a really complex instrument and it’s a intricate intense classical music form so it takes a lot. Is there anything else you’re going to do whilst you’re here in Adelaide? How long are you here for? We are there for a couple of days. We get in a

Healing illness can come in many forms, and probiotics are one natural source leading the way. Daina Lindsay will never forget seeing her baby boy, Sands, struggling to breathe. Covered with tubes and attached to machines in intensive care, the then one year old’s immune system had shut down from a respiratory infection. He had endured countless viruses and had five rounds of antibiotics in three months for repeated ear infections. So when a caring nurse told Daina and husband Dan that their son’s immune system had been compromised by the antibiotics, she put all her energy into finding ways to improve her family’s health. “My kids have been completely different since I started using probiotics,” says Daina, mum of four year old Maiia and Sands, now two. “From having to call the doctor every two weeks, they are now so healthy even being in daycare four days a week. If they do get sick, it’s gone in a day or two and we haven’t had to use antibiotics since.” The radio station sales executive was so convinced of the healing properties of the health supplement, she started her own brand, PONO Probiotics, making combinations that are particularly baby and child friendly. In fact, they can be taken by babies from birth. “I give it to them every day,” says Daina, 34, a born and bred Adelaide girl who recently relocated her family to Brisbane. “My kids love to eat the coconut powder off the spoon as a treat. I also put it on their Weetbix, and in their water bottles. It can stay for hours in chilled water. Or I’ll make up a smoothie with the tummy tonic liquid or green powder. A teaspoon each day and you’re done.” Mum of two and naturopath/nutritionist Jess Blair is also a big advocate of probiotics. “The benefits are far and wide, from reducing gastrointestinal problems, to helping conditions such as colic, allergies and eczema,” she advises. “My son, Taika is 11 months and has probiotics in his formula almost every day. My eldest son, Harlem is 7 and we have used probiotics on and off over the course of his life. In times of stress, sickness of travelling overseas we all make sure we are taking probiotics as well as pre-biotics to reduce risk of getting sick or reduce the severity if we do come down with something.” The recommended daily dose is between 5 to 10 billion CFU good bacteria per day, or 20 to 30 billion if recovering from illness or preparing to travel. The key ingredient doing all the good work is ‘Lactobacillus’, which flushes out bad bacteria and replaces it with beneficial ones. “It’s great for reducing inflammation, as is ‘bifidobacterium’,” adds the health practitioner. “These strains are great for general babies’ health. If your child has a certain condition, different strains can be added to combat this. The research is ever evolving with gut health, and more research is getting done in relation to microbiome of babies however the two strains above are very well researched and tolerated in babies and in adults.” Jess Blair on how to give an infant probiotics · For breastmilk, express a small amount and mix with the correct dosage of PONO Baby Probiotics and syringe it into the mouth. · Prior to breastfeeding, hand express a small amount of milk around the nipple and rub PONO Baby Probiotics onto the nipple prior to the baby latching. · If baby is taking a bottle, either breastmilk or formula, mix the correct dosage of PONO Baby Probiotics in with the liquid · If your baby is on solids you can also add the correct dosage of PONO Baby Probiotics in with cooled or room temperature food. Do · Take a probiotic during and after antibiotic administration. Research has shown quite clearly that you SHOULD take probiotics alongside antibiotic therapy and taking probiotics concurrently will reduce antibiotic associated side effects and symptoms such as diarrhoea. · Dose your probiotic either with food or within 30 minutes of eating. Studies suggest that probiotic bacteria have a much better survival rate when taken with a meal. Dairy or grain based meals optimise this survival rate through the upper gastrointestinal tract. · Provide your gut with prebiotics by consuming foods such as dairy, fermented foods, cooked and cooled starchy vegetables and rice. This gives the probiotics something to feed on. · Consult your healthcare practitioner if you are concerned about taking a probiotic supplement and whether it is right for you. · Follow the probiotic storage instructions. Certain strains of good bacteria can only survive in the right temperature conditions. Dont · Stop taking a probiotic after one course. Probiotic bacteria don’t permanently colonise the gut on their own and need constant support through our diet and lifestyle · Take probiotics at the exact same time as taking an antibiotic. While you should be taking a probiotic during antibiotic therapy, spread the dosing out by a couple of hours. · Assume that you are getting a therapeutic dose of probiotics through cultured yoghurts. Yoghurts only contain a small number of probiotics, if any at all! You can however add PONO Probiotic to your yoghurt. · Cook or heat your probiotics as this will kill the good bacteria cells. Research shows that probiotics die when heated to high temperatures, however can survive at body temperature. If adding probiotics to your oats in the morning, don’t add them prior to cooking, only add the probiotics once cool enough to eat. Probiotics can be added to cool foods or drinks that are then frozen and naturally defrosted, as the bacteria will remain dormant in the freezer. @ponoprobiotics ponoprobiotics.com