Research has shown that it increases gray matter volume which is a good indicator of brain health, as well as affecting white matter which allows messages to travel faster and more efficiently along the nerve network for better communication. It has also been shown to create a delay in the onset of dementia in seniors.

Intraabdominal pressure is the way our body manages volume and pressure. It is a normal and naturally occurring management system.

I have been setting up and planning for my live Zoom lunchtime classes for this week due to physical distancing as part of New Zealand’s Covid-19 pandemic response, and had time to reminise over this photo on our trip to Paihia in Northland last Summer.

There is a reason that my midwife said that Week Four and Week Five are the most common weeks that she will arrive at a home visit to find a parent crying.

We are beyond happy to announce that our little boy Alex Thomas Shearlock arrived on almost two weeks ago on Saturday 21 September at 3.46pm weighing in at 8lb 3oz.

I love this photo. I wouldn’t have said this probably even a year after the birth of my girl. But, I do love it now.

Today has been hard, and it is not even lunchtime! Not for any big reasons, just the normal, little reasons that come with being a parent of a child who is prone to coughs and colds in the winter season.