Mamamia Out Loud: Introducing A New Season Of Hello Bump

Hi Out Louders, it's Jessie here, just letting you know that I've been working on a new podcast.

You might remember Hello Bump from 2015 with Monique Bollie and Beck Judd.

Well, we've brought it back for a refresh, and for the next 10 weeks, my co-host, Gemma

Prenita and I will be talking all things pregnancy, walking you through it month by month.

So if you're pregnant, or you know someone who is, send them Hello Bump.

In the meantime, I thought I'd drop the first episode in the Out Loud feed for you all to enjoy.

Hope you love it.

This episode of Hello Bump is made in partnership with Huggy's newborn nappies and baby wipes,

endorsed by the Australian College of Midwives.

Huggy's, we got you baby.

From Mamma Mia, welcome to Hello Bump, the podcast with all the stuff people never tell

you about growing a human inside you.

I'm Jessie Stevens.

I'm an author, I'm a podcast host, I co-host Mamma Mia Out Loud and cancelled.

And I am currently in my third trimester with my first baby.

She's a little girl.

I'm far from an expert.

In fact, I'm a complete idiot.

All I know is that I have the worst calf cramps of my life.

I sneezed the other day, some wee came out.

But luckily, I am joined by my amazing co-host Gemma Prenita, who has done the pregnancy thing a few times.

And she's ready to tell us everything.

I'm ready to lay it all down, Jessie.

I'm certainly no expert, but I have experienced the very turbulent journey of growing two humans inside me.

I have a five-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son.

And like Jessie, I'm a creative slashie.

I'm a photographer slash online educator slash co-host of the podcast.

We don't have time for this.

And what I've learned through the process of working on Hello Bump alongside Jessie is that I am full of regret about many things when it comes to how I approached each of my pregnancies and those precious first six weeks with a newborn.

But how great that I get to be a cautionary tale for you.

I think regrets from others are very helpful.

I love it.

In each episode of Hello Bump, we're going to speak with some pregnancy experts and some parents who have been through the ring up.

This isn't going to be one of those weird pregnancy books that your mum or your auntie gives you.

And it represents those nine months as bliss and you're just cradling your bump and glowing.

This is about the dirty details, the weird questions you find yourself texting your friends late at night.

What exercise can I do? Do I still sleep on my back?

Consider Hello Bump, your one stop shop for all the things you need to know about pregnancy.

Today, we're looking at the first month of pregnancy.

What happens after you pee on the stick? What do you have to stop doing and what do you have to give up?

We're going to get to the bottom of all that with our expert guest and remarkable woman who has been present at the birth of 10,000 babies over her 45 year career.

Before we start episode one, here's a little taste of what is coming up on this jam packed season of Hello Bump.

I did not even shower for days. I could not get up. Your work isn't even on your radar.

Exercising is not even on your radar.

We're not meant to as women to be alone.

No.

We thrive from community, communication, caring.

So I started to kind of pull together a village.

You have to still honor that trauma though too.

I feel like sometimes when you retell your story, people like, oh yeah, but you're both fine and you never forget it.

It's all about being the vessel and getting this baby here.

But it's like, what about mum? What about just some really relaxing time where she's actually given permission to switch off?

I hear so many mums to be with these grand plans of what are they going to do in that first year?

I'm going to do a PhD. I'm going to write a book.

I'm going to renovate. I'm going to renovate because I'll have all this time.

I'm going to catch up and then they just feel like failures.

Like are we changing five nappies a day and feeding three times?

Oh, Jesse.

Okay, back to the very start.

Well, not conception.

Month one.

A bunch of us might not even know we're pregnant yet.

Or we've just found out and we are overjoyed.

Or we're chock full of fear and anxiety.

You might be worrying about the health of your baby, the changes to your body, your lifestyle.

And for those with a history of infertility or miscarriage,

getting pregnant is a really sensitive experience and it can spark a whole range of emotions.

So what should you expect and what are you actually meant to do now?

Well, a heck of a lot happens in that first month.

And when I was first pregnant, I wasn't sure if what I was experiencing was normal.

Can we start with your boobs?

Now, as someone who has always been a humble bee cup and aspired to have bigger boobs,

I was shook by the overnight growth.

And that happens quick.

Yes.

And then I thought they would go down, but then they didn't go down.

Can we talk about just how tender they are?

Because for me, it was a novelty.

I was like, oh my God, I have the boobs I always dreamed of.

And then nobody touched me.

Yes, exactly.

No one came near me.

Was that sort of the first sign that your body was changing?

Yes.

After I did my IUI treatment and I knew I was waiting for some news,

I woke up one morning and I was like, hello titties on my chest.

I feel you.

And this feels different.

And the nips, Jesse, did you have a change in the nips?

Yes.

And I have noticed as it's gone along the change in the size of my nipples,

which I expected when the baby came.

But I've just been looking in the mirror and being like,

this body does not belong to me.

I don't know what's going on.

My first sign was also the boobs.

I was sitting on the couch and my partner lent over to get the remote.

And it was like the air maybe touched a boob.

And I shrieked because it was so painful.

And I thought, that's weird.

And it sort of planted this seed because we weren't trying.

And it was a complete surprise.

So did you connect that to pregnancy?

Because that's odd.

It was weird.

And I just had this spidey sense and I went, I'll do a test.

And I have had unprotected sex once in my whole life.

And it resulted in a pregnancy.

Wow.

So Pete on the stick, so positive.

So positive.

So positive.

Big, big shock.

And then I started panicking because I was getting married.

I was like, okay, I'm going to be a bride at six months pregnant.

I kept saying, I need to plan the next nine months.

And everyone kept saying, it's not just the next nine months.

Probably ongoing.

There will be some changes.

Were you disappointed in terms of looking ahead to your wedding?

Because with the change in your boobs and looking at your nipples,

you already felt like a foreigner in your body.

And then you're like, shit, I've got my wedding.

I felt petty looking at my wedding going, okay,

well, I can't get the dress I want.

And I don't know what my body will look like.

It's not just going to be this basketball under my dress.

It's going to be lots of bodily changes.

How will I feel?

I can't drink.

Am I going to not want to stand up all day?

And I nearly postponed it and I didn't, which I'm glad that I didn't.

That's good.

But I had that awkward period where we went away.

I think just the weekend after I found out we went on a wine tour.

Oh, joy.

I would normally be so dedicated to that wine tour.

And my partner and I looked at each other and went, what do we do?

I can't drink, but I don't know how to explain it.

And everyone will know.

And everyone will ask.

And so I thought, you know what, I'm going to say I'm freezing my eggs

because that was something I'd considered and I'd chatted to a few people.

So you ran with that narrative?

I ran with it and I said, I'm freezing my eggs and I can't drink.

Do people buy it?

I don't even know if that's a rule.

They bought it and they had questions.

It was like, oh, where are you going?

How do you do it?

Does it hurt?

Have you got the eggs yet?

And I was like, it's just early in the process.

I have misled all of these people.

And then, of course, soft cheeses come out to accompany the wine tour.

And I'm like, I'll just have a cracker and hope they think I'm not.

And I was feeling awful that entire weekend, but just trying to push the questions away.

But egg freezing is a great way to deflect.

Brilliant cover story.

My morning sickness was the worst.

I felt nauseous.

I had so much food aversion.

I honestly would have rather given birth every day of my first trimester

rather than going through that morning sickness again.

Coming up, all the questions you have about that first month

answered by a professional and everything Gemma and I wish we'd known

about our first month of pregnancy.

But first, a message from our sponsors.

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Maybe it'll give us some pointers for dinner.

Exactly.

So I'm not meant to have too much caffeine,

no sushi, no soft cheese tonight, obviously no alcohol.

But folate is critical during periods of rapid growth

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Let's chuck in some dark green leafy vegetables.

Beans and nuts all have lots of folic acid.

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Now it's time we thought we'd better bring some experts in.

For episode one, we thought we'd call up someone

with the most experience we could find.

And that person is Caroline DeCosta.

Caroline started studying medicine at Sydney University

when she was just 16 years old.

After a few years off and a baby in between,

Caroline finished her medical degree in 1973.

She decided she wanted to major in obstetrics and gynecology,

but she wasn't allowed.

They wouldn't let her because it wasn't a women's field.

Yes, that happened.

So Caroline packed her bags, her family,

and headed for Ireland where they would train her.

Seven children, 15 books, and almost 50 years later,

Caroline is one of Australia's biggest medical trailblazers

and the first woman ever to become a professor

of obstetrics and gynecology in Australia.

And she's been present at the birth of 10,000 babies.

Yes, 10,000.

So who better to answer our questions?

Caroline, what are some common physical

and emotional changes that someone might experience

in the first month of pregnancy?

First of all, in the case of a planned pregnancy

where people have been trying to get pregnant,

obviously the greatest emotion is going to be happiness at this,

coupled with probably some experience

of the first weeks of pregnancy,

which bring a myriad of different feelings,

including nausea and vomiting and having to pee a lot

and things like that.

Where a pregnancy is perhaps not so planned,

there may be a period of time in which the potential mother

and her partner, other people might be thinking about

how they're going to manage this pregnancy

and what decisions they're going to make.

So there can be a whole range of emotions at this time.

And for someone who is pregnant for the first time

and particularly someone who has been trying to get pregnant

for a while and then finally succeeded,

there's going to be a certain amount of anxiety

about what is going to happen to me.

I've never done this before.

Can I really do it?

Will it be all right?

Will my baby be all right?

Questions like that come pouring into your brain.

Caroline, I in the first,

I think probably the first two months,

experienced spotting,

which I thought was unusual and I panicked.

I thought that that was a sign something was wrong,

but is that actually quite common for women?

It's not uncommon.

And if it's just spotting accompanied by no other symptoms,

it is probably not a sign of anything serious.

It doesn't mean you shouldn't take some notice of it.

The tissues, the uterus and the cervix and the vagina and so on

become very soft under the influence of pregnancy hormones

very quickly and they don't need much of a disturbance

to start to bleed a little bit.

If the bleeding is accompanied by pain,

then you should definitely seek medical advice.

But if it's just a couple of days of slight spotting,

it is probably okay.

Spotting, of course, can turn into more bleeding,

in which case you definitely need to seek help

and investigations to see what's going on.

But just by itself, not to worry too much.

And how accurate are at home tests?

Most of us probably go and just check at home.

We've got a positive pregnancy test.

I mean, do we take that at face value or, you know,

are there false positives?

Yeah, they're very, very accurate. 99% now.

If you have missed a period and you have a positive pregnancy test,

you are pregnant.

The jury's not out.

If you have missed a period and you have a negative pregnancy test,

you may not have had that test performed

when there's enough of the actual hormone that's being measured

to give you a positive result.

So you should wait a couple of days and repeat the test.

And of course, this depends on you having a 28-day

or thereabouts menstrual cycle.

And Caroline, once you've done that first at-home test,

which is the first step many of us take,

I do think there are a number of us

who are trying to manage our expectations.

And I guess I wanted to ask,

what are the rates of miscarriage in the first trimester?

Well, the rates of miscarriage are actually unknown

because many women will miscarry early in the pregnancy

without realizing that they had even been pregnant

and they just have a rather delayed heavy period.

And other women will have an early miscarriage

and not present for medical care because it is complete

and they may have realized what has happened

but they haven't reported it to anybody.

The rate of miscarriage is somewhere between 15 and 25%

of all conception, so it's reasonably high

and it is higher for older women,

particularly past the age of 35.

Older in the reproductive age group is what I mean.

And in that very early stage of pregnancy,

say month one,

what's the most important GP appointment to set up?

Well, you need to set up a first visit to see your doctor

or your health professional and have the pregnancy confirmed.

You need to have a discussion and be informed about the tests

which are available in what's called the first trimester.

So that's really the first 12 or even 14 weeks of pregnancy.

You need to be thinking about where you would like to give birth

and making those arrangements

and thinking about what tests you would be offered

and which tests you would accept in the first trimester.

And can I ask, as a self-confessed lover of skincare products,

are there any skincare products that we should be avoiding?

Yes, definitely.

You should be avoiding retinol,

which is used for the treatment of acne.

That is the one that really needs to be stopped

and should probably be stopped by anyone

who's thinking of trying to become pregnant.

There are some other things that are in skincare products,

benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, glycolic acid,

which are often questioned,

but they tend to be in most skin products at quite low levels

and to be quite safe.

It's the retinol, which is the main one you want to avoid

because it can cause defects in the fetus.

And how about exercise?

If you're someone who exercises a lot,

you're doing crunches, you're doing running, whatever it is,

is there anything that you should immediately stop?

There's not.

You can go on doing what you have been doing

unless there is some definite reason for you to stop.

It's not the time of life at which you should take up marathons,

but there's no reason not to continue the exercise.

In fact, there's every reason to be continuing it

to keep you healthy during the pregnancy.

And obviously there's a fairly long list,

but top line, I see the positive pregnancy test.

What do I need to stop eating?

So you want to stop a number of things

which can give you a listeria infection.

And these are raw meat, raw fish, unpasteurized milk products,

such as soft cheeses, yogurts, and so on,

are things to be avoided.

But that is pretty much all.

You need to be careful too with leafy green vegetables

where they've been plucked from the earth and not properly washed.

But otherwise, a good mixed diet is what you need.

If you're able to manage it,

the first three months can be quite difficult

with eating because there is a tendency to feel nauseous,

loss of appetite, vomiting, particularly early in the morning.

So I think you need in the first three months

to be guided by how you feel with what you're going to eat.

The fetus is a greedy character

and will take whatever he or she wants from your bloodstream.

There's also a tendency in early pregnancy for cravings

for things sometimes like ice cream and chocolate

and so on that will not do you any harm at all.

Good. Yes.

I have a bunch of friends who had quite a big night out

and might have had five standard drinks

and then a few days later discovered they were pregnant.

Obviously, there's nothing they can do about it now.

What would you say to a woman who's really worried about that

and is feeling ashamed and just like worried

that something is going to be wrong with their baby?

She should stop feeling that way.

She should also not drink anymore alcohol

once she knows she's pregnant.

But if she abstains from alcohol from then on, that is fine.

Unless there has been really serious binge drinking

a number of weeks at the time of conception.

When you would be concerned that there is no need to be overly concerned.

And while we've just highlighted alcohol,

what's the deal with caffeine?

Again, it's recommended that you reduce caffeine

if you are a heavy consumer.

But one cup of coffee a day is absolutely fine.

Oh, how good.

And I know you mentioned before what we should take out of our diet.

Once we discover we're pregnant.

But what kind of things should we be eating if we can stomach it?

Are there any certain multivitamins we should be taking?

Well, first of all, a good Australian diet

is likely to provide you with pretty much everything you need.

If you're eating fresh fruits and vegetables, some form of protein,

it is possible to get plenty of protein from a vegetarian or even a vegan diet.

It is usual for folate to be recommended,

not only in the first weeks of pregnancy, but also prior to conception.

Any woman who's thinking of becoming pregnant should start taking folic acid.

And also some vitamin D is recommended by the College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

There is no need to take routine iron supplements.

You will have a blood test measuring your hemoglobin and your full blood count

and sometimes even your iron levels in that first trimester when you have your first visit.

And only if these are deficient should you be taking iron.

That would be up to discussion with your midwife or your doctor.

And plenty of fiber and plenty of fluid because there is a tendency to constipation

from the beginning of pregnancy and throughout pregnancy.

Some women may need the omega-3 fatty acids suggested for them,

but that would be up to discussion with their health professional.

And if you're on medication, I was on anti-anxiety medication and went to my doctor

and I almost expected that they would tell me that I wasn't allowed to be on it anymore,

which was not the case, they said continue.

In that case, should you sit with your doctor and just ensure that everything you're on is okay?

Is there anything you should stop immediately?

There are a couple of drugs which need to be stopped.

That is a treatment for any kind of cancer needs to be stopped and some other drugs.

But in that kind of situation, you're already going to be in medical care

and hopefully made some preparation prior to attempting to conceive.

So this is a discussion you need to have with your doctor.

And when do you usually recommend that people tell others in their life that they're pregnant?

The 12-weekish rule, when do you think it's a good idea?

Well, by 12 weeks you will know that you have a continuing pregnancy.

You will have had ultrasound.

Quite often there's a dating ultrasound done early on.

And if you are going to have now a range of tests for chromosomal and genetic abnormalities,

this is done towards the end of the first trimester and you will have the results back on those.

The reason for these tests is that if there is a serious abnormality,

termination of the pregnancy can be considered.

But one of the problems that is a reason from the fact that we are now recommending that no alcohol be consumed

is you're out with your friends and you're used to having a drink with them

and suddenly you're not having a drink.

They have very little difficulty in realizing that you may be pregnant.

It becomes more problematic, doesn't it?

And if you're going to tell a few of your friends, you probably have to tell your parents and your sister and other people.

And you don't always want them to know that, particularly if you've had a miscarriage in the past

or you're concerned for any particular reasons about the pregnancy.

Because then if something does happen, you have to turn around and tell them.

But there is really no way out in that situation.

Yeah, and I think if they're the people you would tell if something went wrong,

then you can trust them.

But I understand people who are reluctant to make a big announcement

because then you have to go back and share something you're not ready to share yet.

No, exactly.

Thank you so much for your time, Caroline.

Thank you, Caroline.

That was so helpful.

It's a pleasure.

Caroline was exactly what I needed in that first trimester.

I was attached to Google and everything I was putting in my mouth,

everything I was doing, I was just frantically Googling.

I loved how sort of black and white she was.

Oh, she was so deliciously direct.

Yeah.

And you need that in the first trimester.

I loved it.

She was so matter of fact about it and I find that really soothing.

And she's got so much experience that you're like, I am such a dummy.

Some people look at you like you're mad and she didn't.

I'm hung up on the fact that she has witnessed 10,000 births.

Like, that is extraordinary.

It's amazing.

What an extraordinary gift to be present for all of those.

And now let's hear from you guys.

What tipped you off that you were first pregnant

and were you a hell yes person or more of an a-oh person?

When pregnant with my eldest, I had a miscarriage prior to his pregnancy

and when I was early pregnant with him, I just kept touching my boobs all the time

because they were sore as heck.

And I thought to myself, as long as they're still sore, I'm still pregnant.

The boobs, Jesse.

You and I both shared this experience.

I'm learning it's more and more common.

And miscarriage is something we're going to talk about more next week.

But there is this sense of really strange sense

that when uncomfortable things are happening to your body, even when you feel sick,

you go, this is weird because it's a good sign.

It's a sign that my body is beginning to change.

Yeah, it's the only thing I found comforting with all the vomiting

and the nausea was that I felt very pregnant.

Yes.

As much as I love to celebrate other women in their pregnancies,

I am the self-proclaimed world's worst pregnant woman.

My first telltale sign is always that I have a metallic taste in my mouth

and it's shown up before I've even been able to get a positive test every time I've known.

When I first found out I was pregnant, it was a bit of an, oh, sugar.

It was very much a surprise, which was very quickly turned into an, oh my God,

what has happened?

Because I was lucky enough to suffer from high-premises gravidarium

for the entire duration of all of my pregnancies.

Unfortunately, I don't really get the, yay, this is so exciting.

We have a new bundle of joy.

I get, oh my God, I have to live through another nine months

of debilitating, nausea, and vomiting.

How am I going to survive another pregnancy?

First of all, I love how she framed it as, I'm so lucky to have had high-premises gravidarium.

Before we get into the HG, metallic taste in her mouth?

I'd never heard that, but then it did make me think.

I've got a few mates who have said that their first sign was stuff tasting weird

or feeling really put off by something that they had for dinner

and they went, oh, or a smell or whatever.

That makes sense.

If there's a weird taste in your mouth, then you're kind of, I don't know,

it's affecting your taste buds.

It's funny, like, I don't think I would necessarily link that straight to pregnancy.

If I had a metallic taste in my mouth, I'd be like, oh God,

I've definitely got food poisoning.

Yeah, true.

And I'm going to help, you know?

True.

Yeah, fascinating.

But to have it for HG for all your pregnancies and to know that that's coming,

I've seen that.

And there are women that I've seen who are seven or eight months pregnant

and can barely stand, like, they're trying to push through at work

and they are on the ground just like, I feel terrible.

And with that, it's incredibly hard to feel celebratory

over pregnancy news when you're staring down a barrel of known sickness

that you've experienced before and you're like,

well, I'm going to strap myself in for the next nine months.

It's not fun.

Leading up to my period, I was not filled with rage and anxiety

and I didn't get weirdly depressed about my life

and I thought, hang on a minute, this seems strange.

I love this.

One of my early signs, no period pain.

Every month I get period pain because I did get spotting,

but I didn't get the excruciating cramps

and I went, something is going on here.

I became pregnant after my fifth round of IVF.

So, hell yes, is the understatement of the year when I found out it worked,

especially as I was convinced my period had come,

but it turned out to be an implantation bleed.

My little miracle is now 17 months old and I am still pinching myself.

This solo mum by choice is the happiest and most grateful

human on the planet.

Five rounds of IVF.

Anyone who's been through it knows what a tough slog that is.

And what a gift at the end to finally fall pregnant.

Of course she's a hell yes.

Jesse, I want to hear your top three things

that you wish you'd known in your first month of pregnancy.

I reckon, I wish I'd known the fatigue

because people talk about the third trimester fatigue.

They don't often warn you how quickly it comes.

And also that often it passes.

Yes.

Did you have that, that kind of bone-tired,

can't get out of bed?

Do I have an iron deficiency?

Am I about to get really sick feeling?

Yes, I just felt perpetually hungover.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Like, you know that just low-key drone of hangover

where you're like, I'm de-energised,

I don't want to show up for anyone,

for the world even, for my job even.

Yeah.

But I have to.

I had a weekend away and like, it's impossible.

You just don't feel like you can socialise.

I also, and I know this is something we've touched on before,

I wish I'd known that it is okay,

in fact it is normal to feel bloody weird about it.

And we've talked about how we expected

that there'd be elation and there'd be all this excitement and stuff,

but having spoken to more and more women,

it's like if you cry for that first month,

then that is your response, don't beat yourself up,

doesn't make you a bad person.

If it was a planned pregnancy,

you might be surprised by your own reaction

and that's okay if all of a sudden you're thinking,

is this what I wanted?

What have I done?

I remember thinking, what have I done?

Was the big thought.

And it's hormones, it's emotions,

it's like you're 14.

Can we talk more about hormones, okay?

Because here we are trying to rationalise it,

but actually it's the hormone.

Just blame everything on the hormones from here on out

when you're pregnant.

I was antagonistic, irritable,

not my best self.

Boobs, first trimester.

We talked about sore, big.

Just go and get a new bra and get a soft one

and wear it for the rest of your pregnancy.

Don't try to fit into the other ones.

You're gonna hurt yourself.

You'll regret it.

Yeah, exactly.

Actually, Jesse, something else just came to mind.

You know what I didn't know that I wish someone told me?

Was the peeing.

Oh, yes.

Because that's another thing where everyone's like,

dude, by the end of your pregnancy,

that baby is pushing so hard down on your bladder

and you're gonna be running to the toilet every two hours.

I had that in my first trimester.

Is that hot?

I think that's hormones, right?

It is hormonal.

Yeah.

Because it is constant.

Yeah.

And it doesn't make sense

because you're like, the baby's not that big yet.

No, it's got nothing to do with it.

It's all hormones driven.

And you're constantly peeing.

And the other thing was,

I remember saying to someone really early on,

I already can't do it my genes.

I think I'm having a gigantic baby.

And they were like, that's not the baby.

That's the bloating.

Your gut's all out of sorts.

I mean, it's sexy.

It's so sexy.

And you're trying to hide it and wear normal clothes.

And literally in the first month I was going,

I didn't expect it to happen this quickly.

Yeah.

That my body would actually start changing.

It's instant.

It is bloody instant.

Is there anything else that you wish you'd known?

You know, something I wish I'd have known

is that you're not a terrible person

if you ate oysters and sashimi in the first trimester

and you didn't know you were pregnant.

I think people kill themselves the minute they find out

and they go, oh my God, I've done drinking.

I've been partying.

I've been staying up late.

I've been eating all the wrong foods.

It's not going to impact the viability of this embryo

just because you're a second pregnant

and you ate one day old salad out of a bain-marie.

That brings us to the end of the first episode of Hello Bump.

Thanks so much, Caroline, for sharing your insights.

And we are so excited to be on this journey with you.

We've got experts.

We've got people sharing their personal stories.

We've got duelers, midwives, obese, everyone,

that you want to basically rack their brain.

We've got them and just yelled questions at them.

And next episode, we're actually going to go through

the not-so-great side of pregnancy,

the difficulties, the emotions, and the losses.

We'll be hearing more from you

about how you coped during the hard times

and from some experts with practical advice

on what to do if you do experience difficulties during pregnancy.

In the first month, you're often like,

I don't have morning sickness.

Oh, what a miracle.

This is great.

And then you guess.

Oh, it sneaks up on you.

You get to about, like, eight or nine

and you're like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

And then things get dark.

Real dark.

Not for everyone, but for most.

Hello Bump is a Mamma Mia podcast

hosted by me, Jesse Stevens.

And me, Gemma Pranita.

This episode was produced by Cassie Merritt.

Our executive producer is Eliza Ratliff.

And our audio designer is Maddie Juannu.

And if you liked what you heard on this episode of Hello Bump,

do us a solid and give us a five-star review on Apple Podcast

and subscribe to the show wherever you're listening.

Or if you've got any mates who are pregnant,

send this on to them.

This can be their companion.

Follow us along.

We have so much gold coming.

If you're a new mum or you're pregnant

and you're stressed about everyone telling you

how you're not going to get any sleep,

we have a newsletter for you.

Think of it as a gateway to the hacks and information you need

to get you as a new mother as much sleep as possible.

There's a link to sign up to that mailing list in the show notes.

It's free.

You will not regret it.

Bye.

Bye.

This episode of Hello Bump was made in partnership

with Huggy's newborn nappies and baby wipes,

endorsed by the Australian College of Midwives.

Huggy's, we got you, baby.

Everyone's pregnancy journey is so different.

We would love to hear more about yours.

Head over to the show notes to have your say.

And by completing the survey and to thank you for your time,

you'll go into the running to win a $50 gift voucher.

Machine-generated transcript that may contain inaccuracies.