And baby makes four :)

It's been awhile since I last posted, and I've been feeling a bit guilty about neglecting my blog. However there has been big news in our house; I'm pregnant! When our amazing daughter was 11mths we discovered she was going to have a sibling soon. While not entirely planned or expected, it was blessed news indeed.

Like a lot of pregnancies, the initial excitement was soon overtaken by fatigue and morning sickness. In my case I also developed antenatal depression. My early fears of how I was going to cope with two children under two soon morphed into a full scale depression, and to be frank, I was not coping.

I think it's important to blog about this, as depression is so common yet still stigmatized. I have a history of anxiety and depression, so both my husband and I recognized the early warning signs: I was crying, stressed beyond normal, easily frustrated with little things and just wanted to sleep all day. It was time to seek help!



I decided to put my health into the hands of a colleague I trust implicitly. I wanted to use natural therapies for my depression (of course), and knew if they were correctly prescribed they would be both safe and effective. I was soon started on some specific nutritional treatments, and within days I was feeling better and sleeping better. It was such relief, and I was able to enjoy my daughter so much more.

I'm not going to discuss what I used. I believe it is VERY important to have natural medicines for mental health prescribed by a professional herbalist or naturopath. This is even more true when pregnant. What I really wanted to do in this post is share how normal it is to experience some depression during or after pregnancy, and highlight how wonderfully effective natural remedies can be. There is growing evidence to support natural remedies for mental health too, which goes to show it's not just hippy magic!

I'm now halfway through my pregnancy, feeling great and super excited. I can't wait to welcome this new person into our family. Our hearts can only get bigger with love!