![Jessica Biel, a true multitasker.](/web/20161021155320im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/7/r/9/x/image.related.landscape.380x253.gs7raq.png/1477020174586.jpg)
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6 things I thought I'd do on maternity leave (and didn't)
There were a number of things I thought I was going to achieve during my months at home. As it happens, the reality was rather different.
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The phenomenon of phantom pregnancy kicks
'Phantom pregnancy kicks’ are encountered by many mums months - or even years - after their pregnancy is over.
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![fall lead](/web/20161021155320im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/3/e/k/7/m/image.related.landscape.120x80.3ek42.gmyl99.png/1457068872374.jpg)
![Ovarian cancer survivor Margaret Rose.](/web/20161021155320im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/3/3/e/w/0/image.related.landscape.120x80.33hwl.gmyl99.png/1457068872374.jpg)
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Latest
![Australian blogger Constance Hall.](/web/20161021155320im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/q/e/h/b/image.related.landscape.300x200.gs0sx7.png/1476577103655.jpg)
Constance Hall gets my vote
That Constance Hall is happy enough to admit she's not perfect makes her perfect.
![Suddenly, self-nurturing doesn't appear selfish.](/web/20161021155320im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/y/m/k/a/image.related.landscape.300x200.grym73.png/1476152895755.jpg)
I'm breaking up with my mother's guilt - and you should too
We all know that saying – "you can't pour from an empty vessel" but for so long I assumed that didn't apply to me.
![Maria and her three sons at a family wedding recently.](/web/20161021155320im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/v/8/n/k/image.related.landscape.300x200.grv66z.png/1476171321463.jpg)
'No excuses' mum admits there actually are excuses
Maria Kang become famous in 2013 after showing off her super fit physique while posing with her three young children and asking mums everywhere: "What's your excuse?".
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The art of the 'no sandwich'
"I'm at a work social event and I don't want to be. I suspect I'm not alone."
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Depression is just another illness - so we need to treat it like one
Keeping quiet about mental health helps no one. Let's all be open about this. It's totally normal.
!['Having a healthy sense of humour, and coffee, helps me cope.'](/web/20161021155320im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/q/6/s/z/image.related.landscape.300x200.grpzz0.png/1475029946979.jpg)
The dangerous game of comparing lifestyles
From the outside looking in, I've got a lot going on. Truth is, I don't have anything more going on than most other average people my age.
!["I've learnt to ignore doctors when they use my age as an excuse for anything."](/web/20161021155320im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/o/s/l/w/image.related.landscape.300x200.grort7.png/1474945477673.jpg)
I no longer listen when doctors tell me I'm 'too young', and neither should you
Jessica Seaborn found out the hard way that being in your 20s does not automatically render you exempt from every medical condition.
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Life after Fitbit: do trackers really make a difference?
When Laura Hart first discovered Fitbit she was convinced the device would be life changing. She diligently tracked her steps and started paying close attention to her energy expenditure.
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Dear Offspring, if we take you back again here are our conditions
As second farewells go it was a decent one, if not as transcendently joyous as the farewell at the end of last season.
![If time travel was possible what changes would you make?](/web/20161021155320im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/9/7/d/q/image.related.landscape.300x200.gr96m6.png/1473656200281.jpg)
If I could turn back time
What would you change if you could turn back time?
![Pregnancy and motherhood provide opportunities for self-doubt.](/web/20161021155320im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/c/k/y/p/image.related.landscape.300x200.grcjz7.png/1473387235637.jpg)
The question every woman will ask at some stage in her life
At some point in her life when thinking about her health, every woman has almost certainly asked herself the question 'is this, and am I, normal?'.
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