Sense by Meg Faure: Real Life Parenting

On this week's episode of Sense by Meg Faure we sit down with Dr. Nellie Balfour, a specialist paediatrician who has spent years working in neonatal ICUs, as she navigates her own second pregnancy in real time. This is the first episode in a brand new series on Sense by Meg Faure, following Nellie's pregnancy journey trimester by trimester. It is raw, honest, deeply personal and utterly reassuring.
What We Cover:
Prenatal Depression: The conversation we are not having.
Dr. Nellie opens up about experiencing prenatal depression during her first trimester — losing six kilograms, sleeping constantly, feeling hopeless, and ultimately needing medication. She explains why second-time mums are actually more vulnerable to prenatal depression than postpartum depression, why the symptoms are so often missed or dismissed, and why the stigma makes everything worse. Her advice is simple and direct: any feeling of hopelessness during pregnancy is a red flag. Talk to someone. Tell your gynaecologist. Do not wait.
Medical Knowledge and Pregnancy Anxiety:
Many people assume that a paediatrician would sail through pregnancy with confidence. Dr. Nellie challenges that completely. When you know every possible risk, your mind finds more to worry about — not less. Meg Faure shares her own experience of this, reminding us that motherhood is the great leveller. It does not matter whether you are a plumber or a paediatrician. The emotional journey of becoming a mother humbles everyone equally.
Medication Safety in Pregnancy:
Social media is full of dangerous misinformation about medication in pregnancy. Meg and Nellie set the record straight.
Breech Babies and Motor Development:
Dr. Nellie asks Meg a fascinating clinical question: what are the developmental implications of a breech birth? Meg explains the role of the vestibular system in orienting a baby head-down in the womb, and how a consistently breech position may affect muscle tone, balance, coordination and bilateral integration later in life. It is not a linear outcome — but it is one reason why movement in pregnancy matters, and why sensory integration therapy can make such a difference for children with vestibular challenges.
Rupture and Repair:
The episode closes with a concept that will stay with every parent who hears it. There is no such thing as a perfect pregnancy or a perfect mother. .
About Our Guest:
Dr. Nellie Balfour is a mom and Specialist Pediatrician with a focus on neonates, newborns, and early childhood development. Dr. Nellie is passionate about empowering parents with credible, evidence-based information so they can make the best decisions for their children. You can find her and her popular Q&A sessions on Instagram at @drnelliepaeds
Episode References and Links:
📱 Parent Sense App — Your all-in-one baby care app for routines, nutrition, and expert advice. Download it here and use code SENSE50 for 50% off.
https://parentsense.app/
CONNECT WITH MEG FAURE
Web: megfaure.com
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/MegFaure.Sense
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megfaure.sense/

Introduction
On this week's episode of Sense by Meg Faure we are talking about one of the most searched, most stressed-about, and most misunderstood milestones in the toddler years: potty training. Meg Faure takes you through the science, the sensory personalities, and a practical day-by-day plan that gets most little ones out of nappies within ten days. No punishment, no pressure, no drama.
Why Sensory Personality Changes Everything
Not all children potty train the same way, and getting this wrong is one of the main reasons parents feel like they are failing. Meg explains the four sensory personalities and what each one means for potty training. High-filter babies, your social butterflies and settled little ones, are prone to accidents because they simply do not notice the signals. They need a scheduled approach, active play to increase body awareness, and language cues to bridge the gap. Sensitive and slow-to-warm-up babies feel everything intensely, may have anxiety around the process, and need calm, unhurried, comfortable conditions to feel safe enough to go.
The Golden Window and Readiness Cues
Meg introduces the four age categories for potty training and makes a clear case for why 18 to 30 months is the golden window. She walks through the physical, cognitive, and sensory readiness cues to look for, from dry nappies after naps and pulling the nappy off, to pointing, communicating, and pausing in play to register the signal. She also explains why waiting until after 30 months tends to make the process significantly harder.
The One Thing Parents Set Up Wrong
Before potty training even begins, you need to set up the right space. Meg covers exactly what this looks like: a calm, dedicated spot with books nearby, a stable and well-fitted potty or seat reducer, a reward jar, and, critically, a footrest. Feet flat on the floor is non-negotiable. Children cannot push out a poo and manage a swinging-legs balancing act at the same time.
The 10-Day Plan: Prep Week and Potty Week
Prep week is about nappy-off time, language, and dolly play. Potty week is about repetition, timing, fluids, and reward. Meg gives you a clear sequence: lots to drink, a timer set for every 45 minutes, training pants on, signals watched for, and every success met with genuine reward. She also covers troubleshooting: going out, the difference between wees and poos, children who need a nappy for poos, and how to approach night-time training when the time comes.
About Our Host:
Meg Faure is an occupational therapist, author of the 'Sense' series of parenting books (including Baby Sense), and the founder of the Parent Sense app. With decades of experience working with parents and babies, her mission is to bring calm, clarity, and confidence to the parenting journey.
Episode References and Links:
📱 Parent Sense App – Your all-in-one baby care app for routines, nutrition, and expert advice. Download it here and use code SENSE50 for 50% off: https://parentsense.app/
CONNECT WITH MEG FAURE
Web: megfaure.com
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/MegFaure.Sense
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megfaure.sense/
Potty Training Course: https://parentse.onelink.me/TCyx/coursesToddler

Introduction
This week we have one of the most honest and tender conversations this podcast has ever held. Meg sits down with Dr Raphaela Itzikowitz Geva, specialist paediatrician, neurodevelopment expert, and founder of The Full Spectrum app. Together they explore what it truly means to raise a child whose brain works differently. Whether you are a parent who has just started to notice something, a family in the middle of a long diagnostic journey, or someone who received a label years ago and is still finding their footing, this episode is for you.
What Neurodivergence Actually Means
Raphaela unpacks the difference between neurodiversity and neurodivergence with clarity and compassion. Neurodiversity is simply the reality that all human brains are different. Neurodivergence is where those differences create specific challenges in navigating a demanding world. Crucially, she reframes the entire conversation: this is not about fixing an incorrect child. It is about understanding how a child processes their world so that we can support them to thrive within it.
Guilt vs. Grief: Two Very Different Things
One of the most powerful moments in this episode is Raphaela's distinction between guilt and grief. Guilt asks: did I cause this? Grief says: this is not what I expected, and it is hard. Raphaela explains why neurodivergence is almost never anybody's fault, and why untangling these two emotions is one of the most liberating things a parent can do. She also addresses the moment of diagnosis itself, which for many parents holds both shock and, unexpectedly, relief.
Neuroplasticity and the Early Window
The early brain is wiring itself in real time, and what happens in those first years matters enormously. Raphaela explains neuroplasticity in plain language and makes a compelling case for early intervention. Not because we are changing the child to fit the world, but because we are shaping the experience of the child so they can explore their world with confidence. The window is open right now, and this conversation tells you exactly how to use it.
The Space Between the Notes
Raphaela introduces one of the most memorable ideas in this episode: the space between the notes. The notes are the therapy sessions and clinical appointments. The space is everything that happens at home, every day, in the ordinary moments of connection and repetition. She explains the three documents every parent receives when leaving her practice: a neurodevelopmental report, an Understanding Your Child document that decodes behaviour, and a Rationalised Action Map that gives families a clear, prioritised place to start.
Why You Must Listen
This episode is not about adding more to your plate. It is about understanding. And understanding, as Raphaela says, is the key that unlocks a great deal of frustration. Her closing words are a gift to every parent on this journey: the journey is different. It is not less. Listen today, and share it with every parent who needs to hear it.
I. EPISODE REFERENCES AND SHOW NOTES LINKS
Guest: Dr Raphaela Itzikowitz Geva
Specialist Paediatrician and Neurodevelopment Expert
Website: docraphaela.com
Instagram: @dr.raphaelaitzikowitz
App: The Full Spectrum
🎙️ Enjoyed This Episode?
Please like, share, and subscribe so you never miss a week of Sense by Meg Faure.
📱 Take the guesswork out of feeding, sleep, weaning, and routines. Download the Parent Sense app today and use code SENSE50 for 50% off. 👉 https://parentsense.app/

Introduction
On this week's episode of Sense by Meg Faure we explore the question at the heart of connected parenting: Is Your Child Seen? The One Thing Kim Kleidon Says Every Parent Gets Wrong. Meg sits down with Kim Kleidon, former ABC Radio broadcaster, storytelling coach, and host of What We Teach Our Children. Kim has spent years distilling the wisdom of over 75 conversations with parents, educators, and researchers worldwide.
What Children Need Most
Kim's answer is simple: children need to feel seen. Not entertained, not scheduled. Just genuinely noticed. She says five minutes of real presence, eye to eye, interested and engaged, matters more than hours of planned activity. That quality of attention is what children carry with them. It shapes their emotional resilience and their sense of self.
Phones, Presence, and Being Seen
Kim shares a striking insight from her interviews. Children today feel they are competing with their parent's phone. What they often see is the top of a parent's head. This has real consequences for neurological and emotional development. Meg adds that unseen children find ways to be seen. In toddlers, that means tantrums. In teenagers, it can mean defiance or self-expression that surprises parents.
Stories and the Bedtime Hack
Kim is a passionate advocate for storytelling as a parenting tool. A rhythmic, calming story at bedtime helps a child's brain transition into sleep. It also builds language, connection, and emotional intelligence. Meg introduces book sharing, a research-backed approach using wordless picture books. Parents narrate and connect the story to their child's own experience. Studies show it strengthens language, connection, and emotional self-awareness.
Stop Over-Scheduling
Kim's most repeated message across 75-plus conversations: stop trying to control everything. Children do not need to be learning or entertained at every moment. Boredom is not a problem. It is where creativity begins. Free play and unstructured time are not gaps in development. They are the very soil in which it grows.
Why You Must Listen
Is Your Child Seen? The One Thing Kim Kleidon Says Every Parent Gets Wrong is not a conversation that adds to your plate. It quietly removes what was never necessary. Kim closes with one powerful practice: ask your child directly, how can I serve you better? The answers, she says, will change everything. Listen today and share it with every parent you know.

GUEST : Kim Kleidon
Website: KimKleidon.com
Podcast: What We Teach Our Children Available on: Spotify, Amazon, Pocket Casts, iHeartRadio
BOOKS BY KIM KLEIDON Huggle Snuggle Cuddle Flutter by Butterfly Grandpa's Garden
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If this episode brought you clarity, calm, and confidence — please like, share, and subscribe so you never miss a week of Sense by Meg Faure.
📱 Download the Parent Sense App
Take the guesswork out of feeding, sleep, weaning, and routines. Download the Parent Sense app today and use code SENSE50 for 50% off. 👉 https://parentsense.app/

On this week's episode of Sense by Meg Faure we dive into the real, raw, and rewarding world of twin parenting at 11 months. Meg is joined by twin mum and South African TV personality Zoë Brown, and Registered Nurse and Lactation Consultant Tasha Perreard. Together they cover crawling milestones, the feeding window of opportunity, immune support for daycare babies, and the coming nap transition.
🧸 Crawling: What's Normal & What Helps
Zoë's boys are army crawling but not yet on hands and knees. Meg shares the towel hammock hack — roll a towel into a sausage, support baby's chest over it, and help them find that four-point kneeling position. Core strengthening activities like kicking balloons also help. If crawling hasn't happened by 12 months, seek support from an NDT-trained physiotherapist or occupational therapist. And remember — never encourage bum shuffling.
🍽️ The Feeding Window of Opportunity
Now is the golden window to build adventurous eaters — before toddler fussiness sets in. By 12 months, babies can eat almost everything the family eats. Don't forget the allergens many parents miss: sesame, shellfish, soya, gluten, and all tree nuts (not just peanuts).
😴 Sleep & the Nap Transition
Luke's night waking was solved simply by moving him to a 2.5-tog sleep sack — a great reminder that sensory-sensitive babies feel environmental changes more acutely. Looking ahead, between 12–14 months most babies drop from two day sleeps to one. Gradually push the morning sleep later and bring bedtime earlier to ease the transition.
🤧 Daycare Coughs, Colds & Immune Support
No cough suppressants under two — the goal is to keep mucus moving. Use saline spray three to four times daily. ACC syrup (from six months) helps thin mucus. For immune support, Tasha recommends Vitamin D, zinc, and echinacea.
👩‍⚕️ About Our Guests
Zoë Brown is a South African radio and TV personality, best known for hosting the Afternoon Drive on KFM and as a presenter on Expresso. Follow Zoë on Instagram: @zbzoebrown
Tasha Perreard is a Registered Nurse, Internationally Certified Lactation Consultant, and owner of the Well Mother and Child Clinic in Rondebosch, Cape Town. Contact Tasha at: @wmc_clinic
🎙️ Enjoyed This Episode?
If this episode brought you clarity, calm, and confidence — please like, share, and subscribe so you never miss a week of Sense by Meg Faure. Share it with a fellow twin mum or any parent with a baby approaching one year old. It could make all the difference!
📱 Download the Parent Sense App
Take the guesswork out of feeding, sleep, weaning, and routines. Download the Parent Sense app today and use code SENSE50 for 50% off. 👉 https://parentsense.app/