Move with Love
A note from Jane
A Note from Jane
Gentle movement for body, breath, and bonding
Hi lovely,
Forget bouncing back. This is about moving forward — gently, intentionally, and with love. Movement can be dancing in the kitchen, stretching in bed, or swaying with your baby on your chest. There’s no right way — just your way.
Pregnancy Corner: Support Your Body
Try these two gentle moves every morning:
- 🌀 Pelvic Tilts: Relieves pressure and strengthens your lower core.
- 🐈 Cat-Cow Stretch: Loosens your spine and supports baby’s position.
✨ Pair with breath: Inhale to arch, exhale to round. Move slow. Honour your pace.
Mama & Me Moments: Move Together
Try a 3-minute baby-wearing sway to a soft playlist. It calms your baby and gently strengthens your core and posture.
✨ Need more? Even rocking side to side while holding baby counts. Let movement be intuitive and tender.
🧘♀️ Mini Yoga Moment: Seated Heart Opener
Sit cross-legged or on a chair. Reach one arm up and over to the opposite side. Feel the stretch along your ribs.
✨ Breathe into the side body. Stay for 3–5 breaths on each side. Perfect for creating space in your body and calming tension.
Pregnancy tip:
sit on a cushion to make it room for your bump if you are on the floor, or rest your ball if you have one against the wall and reach down to each side (taking care not to go to far and fall off)
Mum & baby tip:
Do this while baby is on a play mat in front of you and have brightly coloured scarves or a toy in each hand so they are entertained at the same time or in if they are in your lap just make the movement smaller and hold them with the opposite hand :)
'Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. I only share products I have used and loved or would buy if I needed one and have good reviews ideally are also on offer (I do love a bargain)
Coming Up Next Week
Week 5: Mum Guilt & Mental Load — Lifting the invisible weight mums carry daily.
Nourish & Nurture
A note from Jane
A Note from Jane
Simple nourishment for pregnancy and new motherhood
Hi lovely,
You are not just feeding a baby. You're feeding your body, your hormones, your mind. That deserves love — and snacks. This week is about gentle nourishment in every form, from food to self-talk to tiny daily rituals that remind you you're cared for too.
Pregnancy Corner: Eat with Ease
Here are 3 foods to support your energy and your baby's brain development:
- 🥑 Avocado (rich in healthy fats and folate)
- 🥣 Oats (provide slow-release energy and fiber)
- 🥚 Eggs (protein-packed and full of choline for baby’s brain)
✨ Try this smoothie: oat milk, banana, almond butter, and a handful of spinach. Blend and sip slowly — it's like a (healthy) hug in a glass.
Recipe:
200ml oat milk (or Almond milk) , 1 Banana, 1 Tsp of Almond butter (or Peanut butter) a few spinach leaves and a little squeeze of honey or maple syrup plus a handful if you have them of ice cubes
Blend until nice and smooth :) will last 24 hours if you make double for tomorrow :)
Note not just for pregnant mums! all mums :)
Mama & Me Moments: Nourish in Bites
Snack prep tip: Fill a muffin tin with muffin cases for mum snacks on Sunday night — grapes, oat bites, cheese cubes, dried fruit, crackers. Keep it in the fridge for one-handed grazing through the week.
✨ Nourishment isn't just meals. It's remembering to eat, even while feeding another little person.
🧘♀️ Mini Yoga Moment: Seated Heart Opener
Why it helps:
This simple stretch supports digestion, opens the chest, and invites a nourishing breath — perfect after meals or feeds.
How to do it:
Sit cross-legged on a cushion on the floor (or on a chair or sofa if more comfortable).
Interlace your fingers behind your back (or hold a scarf if shoulders are tight).
Inhale, gently draw your shoulder blades together and lift your heart.
Exhale, relax your jaw and soften your belly.
Stay for 3–5 breaths.
Pregnancy tip:
Keep the stretch gentle, especially in the third trimester. Focus on opening the chest, not pushing.
Mum & baby tip:
Do this while baby is on a play mat or in your lap — just make the movement smaller. It’s a reset for your posture and your mood.
'Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. I only share products I have used and loved or would buy if I needed one and have good reviews ideally are also on offer (I do love a bargain)
Coming Up Next Week
Week 4: Move with Love — Gentle movement to support body, breath, and baby bonding.
Sleep & Soothe
A note from Jane
A Note from Jane
Gentle ways to support rest for mums, bumps & babies
Hi lovely,
This week in The Calm Nest, we’re giving sleep some tender attention — not by trying to fix it (because, let’s be honest, newborn sleep is wild), but by softening into rest wherever and however we can.
Whether you’re struggling to sleep with a growing bump especially in this heat at the moment or holding a baby who thinks 3am is party time… this one’s for you.
Pregnancy Corner: Sleep & Support
The best sleeping position in the 2nd and 3rd trimester is on your left side, or right side research shows now that it doesn’t matter which side, a pillow between your knees and another behind your back.
but if you find yourself on your back to do not Panic! Laying on your side helps with with circulation and can help eases back and hip pain.
✨ Try this nighttime ritual:
- A warm bath or foot soak
- 3 long slow as you can breaths in bed-resting your hands on your bump or where ever is comfortable.
- Listening to calming music or birth affirmations I have a playlist I can share and recorded meditations are coming!
It doesn’t have to be long ritual — it just has to be your time to yourself.
My Top Tips for the heat are the obvious get an aircon machine if there is budget a lot of the double as dehumidifiers so great for getting washing dry in the winter too, I found this one for under £150 down from £279 Daewoo 5000 or this one from Costway under £200 if not as good a fan as budget will allow! This Pro breeze Tower fan is down from £89.99 to £64.99
Try keeping a water spray bottle next to the bed too so you can spritz yourself for a bit of extra cooling.
If your legs are swollen pop them up the wall or at least lie down with them over the edge of the sofa or propped up on pillows try and get them above your heart if possible to get the blood flowing the other way.
Ice Cold water in an hot water bottle to drape over them too :)
Mama & Me Moments: Soothing Rhythms
Baby sleep is unpredictable — but your nervous system craves rhythm. Try this 3-step Calm Reset before naps or bedtime:
1. Dim the lights – make it as cosy as possible.
2. Rock or sway slowly while breathing deep and slow when we slow down our breathing it helps babies too .
3. Hum or shhh gently, Mine also like being sung too i found myself singing nursery rhymes from when was young.
All my babies loved a twinkly night light we are still using this one now Star Projector 2 years on and this is the one we use in class its more of swirling galaxy effect galaxy projector both currently on offer on Amazon.
✨ Remember: You don’t need to fix sleep, its not something you can fix but just support calm for you both and try different things until you find something that works for you both (baby carriers massively help too)
Mini Yoga Moment
Try Legs Up the Wall (or feet on the sofa). This simple pose calms your heart rate and supports deep rest. Stay here for 3–5 minutes, eyes closed, palms up. Even 2 minutes can do you the world of good :)
'Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. I only share products I have used and loved or would buy if I needed one and have good reviews ideally are also on offer (I do love a bargain)
Coming Up Next Week
Week 3: Nourish & Nurture — Real food, gentle care, and simple ways to feed your body and soul.
Welcome to The Calm Nest
A note from Jane
A Note from Jane
Hi lovely,
If you’re here, chances are you’re growing a baby or learning to care for one — and maybe a little of both. Either way, welcome to The Calm Nest — a soft landing for mums and mums-to-be who are looking for a slower, kinder way to journey through motherhood.
This isn’t about fixing, perfecting, or “bouncing back.” It’s about pausing, breathing, and feeling supported. Week by week, you’ll find tools, reflections, and rituals that meet you where you are — tired, emotional, messy bun and all.
Pregnancy Corner: Breathe & Believe
Pregnancy can feel like a whirlwind of scans, symptoms, and expectations. But in between all of that, your body is quietly doing something miraculous.
Here’s a simple way to honour that:
Affirmation of the Week:
“My body is wise. My baby is safe. I am supported.”
Place your hands on your belly and repeat this before bed or first thing in the morning. Let it anchor you — a soft whisper that says: you’ve got this.
✨ Mini ritual: Light a candle, rub some oil into your belly, and repeat your affirmation out loud.
Mama & Me Moments: The Fourth Trimester is Real
If you’ve recently had your baby, chances are you’re living life in the in-between — where sleep is scarce and everything feels both beautiful and a little overwhelming.
Here’s your gentle reminder:
You are not meant to be back to “normal.”
You are becoming someone new — a mother. And that takes time, tenderness, and support.
Try this simple 5-minute “Cup Fill” practice:
Find a quiet spot
Place one hand on your heart
Close your eyes and breathe in slowly through your nose
Exhale through your mouth
Repeat for 3–5 breaths, whispering: “I am safe. I am held.”
What to Expect from The Calm Nest
Each weekly edition includes:
Pregnancy Corner: Tips, affirmations, and self-care tools for mums-to-be
Mama & Me Moments: Gentle support for those navigating newborn life
A personal reflection or story to remind you that you are not alone
Plus occasional extras: yoga poses, meditations, recipes, and calming rituals.
Coming Up Next Week:
Week 2: Sleep & Soothe
Gentle ways to support rest, even when sleep feels impossible — for both mums and bumps.