With my first pregnancy I avoided alcohol, blue cheese and unpasteurised cheese, pâté, cured meat, runny eggs, rare steak and caffeine — all the really good stuff. Oh and ibuprofen, which I think also counts as the good stuff now I’m in my thirties and don’t get out as much as I used to.

There isn’t much call to think about nipple cream before you have a baby, but advice from a friend on using the stuff before I had my first baby was some of the most helpful wisdom I received. During pregnancy, it can feel like there is so much to do, so much to buy, and so much to organise and it’s very easy to focus all your planning on the tiny human who hasn’t even arrived yet.

So today is my due date. Wow. But when I woke up this morning there were no fanfares, no fireworks, no balloons or bunting. No baby either. As I have read approximately 8000 times in my pregnancy apps over the past few weeks, only 4% of babies arrive on their due date, and so this day is of course fairly nominal. It is actually highly likely that it’s the one day I can relax, safe in the knowledge that I won’t go into labour.

The decision to send your baby or child to nursery can be tough for some. Many mothers feel guilty and worry whether they are making the right decision. The fundamental point I must make is that you must stop being so hard on yourself, give yourself a break and look at this with an open mind.

I would like to start with a very warm hello to everyone in the LushTums community! My name is Kim and for several years I've been working as a LushTums pregnancy yoga teacher and a doula in Brighton and Hove, as well as looking after my two daughters. I am very excited to announce that I am now also teaching Postnatal Yoga!

What does the festive season mean to you? Do you get stressed thinking about buying presents and trying to find the time and energy to keep everyone happy? Are you feeling completely overwhelmed and wishing it was over already? Has the festive season become a time you dread, rather than the celebration it should be?