While we’re eagerly awaiting Christmas and all that it brings with it, 2013 is just around the corner, and discussions surrounding plans for welcoming in the new year are already doing the rounds.

You could be forgiven for wanting to focus all your attention on surviving Christmas with your family, but if you’ve got a small sliver of brain space left, starting to think about what you could do to usher in 2013 that’s both fun AND family friendly, means you won’t be at a loss on the 31st.

Ever wondered how you can feel extra confident after giving birth to your bundle of joy?

Other than sticking to a healthy diet and exercise plan to lose baby weight, there are many other things that you can do to bring out your confidence.

To help you get out of a funk, we’ve prepared 7 ingenious ways that you can easily include into your post pregnancy weight loss plan.

Get new clothes

Sounds pretty simple doesn’t it? But you probably didn’t realise that this transition period to get back your pre-pregnancy figure requires ‘transitional clothes’ as well. Yes, it’s easier and pennywise to use back your old pregnancy clothes but it is so important to get clothes that will flatter and fit your changing body. Not only that, the feeling of shopping and browsing for new clothes is all too exhilarating!

It is that time of the year – the ‘best of lists”, and first up is the top 100 baby boys names from the compilation done by www.babycentre.com. And so many gorgeous names – it makes it hard to choose a favourite!

But what is clear is that the J’s are back in favour again for 2012 – for the first time in a number of years, Jack, Jackson, Jacob and Jayden are all in the top 10 list for boys’ names, making “J” the post popular starting letter for boy’s names this year.

Traditional names such as Noah, Lucas, Benjamin and William are also gaining in popularity, sharing space in the top 15.

Aiden has stolen the top spot this year, while Ethan is sitting pretty at number 3, jumping 4 places from last year’s number 7.

As for the girls, Sophia is firmly back at the top once again, while Mia is sitting happily at number 9. Abigail has lost her place in the top 10, slipping down the list to number 14. You can see the Top 100 Girls Names here

Top 100 Boys Names in 2012

The list below combines names that have multiple spellings.

1. Aiden
2. Jackson
3. Ethan
4. Liam

Nipple pain is a common complaint amongst breastfeeding mums. Most women experience it at some stage during their breastfeeding relationship with their baby.

However, it is important to know that despite it being a common problem, it is always a sign that there is a problem and the problem if left untreated can lead to problems that are more serious.

Birth to Three Months

During the early stages of a baby’s life, nipple pain can have a number of causes.

• The most common cause is incorrect positioning baby on the breast. If your baby does not attach to the breast properly, you will likely develop a sore area, abrasion or ulceration on your nipple.

• Nipple confusion and incorrect sucking technique may also traumatise your nipple and create pain.

• Soggy breast pads can cause inflamed and sore nipples that are prone to abrasions, ulcerations and portals for infection.

• Sore nipples may be the first sign of serious infections including thrush and bacteria that can cause mastitis.

• Dermatitis and eczema may develop around the nipple area, particularly if you are prone to these skin problems before your baby’s birth or you develop sensitivity to products such as washing detergents or soaps during and after pregnancy.

Written by Beck Hendropurnomo

It’s coming up to that time of year again, Christmas! And Christmas equals concerts.

You know the kind.

The concerts which has educators in a flurry and mothers cursing all things end of year as they sew through their finger for the millionth time, trying to make scraps of fabric and wire resemble something vaguely festive.

I pity my poor mother and father, who throughout the course of raising four children, would have had to sit through an estimated 32 performances.

This is inclusive of Sunday School, Primary School and Kinder (Mum copped severe flack from other mothers in 1991 when my little brother announced to Santa that he didn’t believe in him. Apparently she ruined Christmas).

By Michelle Nolan

While I know how frustrating and hard it can be for mothers to get their children to bed, I have a few tips that really worked for my two children, making bedtime a dream.

My first tip is to start very young, I mean from birth. They were in their own cots. As hard as it was not to want to snuggle with them, at about 10 weeks they were sleeping  soundly on their own.

Second is keep a regular sleep routine. This may consist of dinner, bath, story, bed, same time every day.

This way the child knows  that when the routine starts they are prepared and know what’s expected of them . When the kids were babies, I put them into a sleep suite and keeping their comfort toy and dummy only for bed time, this helped to sooth them and gave them something to look forward to.

On top of the holiday rush, planning Christmas dinners, and trying to lose baby weight, now you have the added privilege of picking the perfect gift for your baby’s first ever Christmas!

Relax, we’ve got your back. To help you pick out your baby’s first Christmas gift, here are a few ideas that you might find interesting.

Letter from Santa

Your baby’s first ever gift is from Santa! Imagine how amazing and memorable that would be! You can start a Christmas tradition of writing a letter to your baby, from ‘Santa’ of course, and keep doing it every year to let him/her know that Santa’s always watching to see if they’re naughty or nice.

Pregnancy. Some people sail through it and others have a shocking time. But what is for sure, although there are many common pregnancy experiences no two pregnancies are the same.

I am due to have my second baby in the next few weeks and am well and truly over my pregnancy! 9 months seems like such a long time and I now cannot wait to meet our family’s new addition.

Four things have plagued me this pregnancy – which is pretty much on a par with my first one:

1) Extreme tiredness all the time (admittedly running a very busy business and having a very active toddler doesn’t make this easier!).

2) Terrible foot pain in my heels where if I am on my feet for more than 5 minutes my heels just burn and are in so much pain.

3) Extreme leg cramps all the way though which keep me up all night every night (and doesn’t help the tiredness) and finally migraines.

4) I have always suffered from migraines but the pregnancy hormones going up and down mean that I get some shockingly bad migraine attacks where I pass out/can’t see/hear/talk.

I find magnesium and iron supplements (I use Spatone iron) really do help with the exhaustion and cramps to a degree but all in all I just have to roll with it and I know the end result is worth it!

By Carol Groves

I have had the pleasure of working with young children for well over 15 years now.

Although I am edging towards 52 years old, I get so much pleasure from helping children learn how to do something new that gives them a sense of achievement and helps to build their self-esteem and self-confidence.

I also had the pleasure of helping my own two sons in their early school years as we lived in a location that required me to teach them at home.

Nowadays, working as a home tutor, I have discovered that children generally have lost the ability to be inquisitive and to seek answers f

Written by midwife Carol Groves

Ouch! You grit your teeth but you persevere. It hurts. It really hurts and every suck seems to send stinging pains down your spine, but nothing in this world will make you stop.

This precious baby needs the milk and pain or no pain, you are resolved to “grin and bear it”  ”I had no problems with my last baby, why so many with this one? “.” Hmm.. Something is definitely wrong here. Breastfeeding should not hurt like this. ”

Now, you may wonder why I have chosen to begin this article with these rather pessimistic sounding quotes.  I said these things to myself during the days after my second son were born. I went on to feed him for another 18 months. I do understand why many mums are tempted to stop feeding with the pain.

I had fed my first son with no problems, trained to be a breastfeeding counsellor with the then named “Nursing Mother’s”  (now Breastfeeding Australia). Despite all of this, here was I, a couple of days after my son’s birth with very sore nipples.