Diary of an academic mum

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). As parents, when we think ‘solids’ we think 2 things: choking and allergy…oh and a third…copious amounts of mess. As a mum, I want to do all that I can to prevent my 5-month old daughter, Abby, from developing any allergy, including food allergies and related diseases like asthma, eczema etc. To do this, I have been eating peanuts, fish, shellfish, tree nuts (e.g. almonds), taking probiotics daily and working hard to continue exclusively breastfeeding all because I have heard somewhere or from someone that this can help to prevent Abby from developing allergies. I also jumped at the chance to feed Abby peanut butter, egg, fish and other foods because I also heard that she should eat these as soon as she starts solids to reduce her chance of developing allergies. Image 1: Abby loves eating solid foods, especially when she can make a mess. I made some love-heart shaped omelette with sesame oil. Allergens galore! S...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). This is the third post in a three-part series discussing my desire to return to work (see post 1 and 2 ). I explored my reasons for returning to work in my previous post . This post will explore the fears I have when it comes to returning to work and being able to ‘do it all’. My fears One third of Australian parents are worried or anxious about returning to work , with two thirds worrying about their wellbeing (Image 1). Image 1: Findings from the National Working Families Report 2019 (credit: APLEN ) Based on those figures, it seems that lots of parents are apparently cool cucumbers about returning to work. I call bullshit and think that all parents would feel some worry about the transition. We’re parents, worrying is what we do best. Image 2: No parent is this chilled during the transition back to work after parental leave, surely! (credit: VectorStock ) Here are some of the thing...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). This is the first post in a three-part series discussing my desire to return to work (see post 2 and 3 ).  This post talks about my history with work and my personal attitude shift from wanting to be a stay-at-home mum to returning to work four months after having my first child. My experience with work since graduating university There was a time when I hated my job. I was in my 20s and had just graduated from my physiotherapy degree. I felt like it was normal to hate my job, as if working full time was a free pass to paid misery. It’s well established that full time workers hate Mondays and live for the weekend, right (Image 1)? It was this time in my life where I couldn’t wait to have kids so I could stop working and be a stay-at-home mum. I could do what I really want to do, which was raise children and care for my family. Image 1: Surely all full time workers hate Mondays? (Credit: Facebook ) I...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). This is the second post in a three-part series discussing my desire to return to work (see post 1 and 3 ). I wrote about my employment history and the things we have in Australia that support women to return to work in my previous post . Let’s now talk about my specific reasons for wanting to return. My reasons for returning to work Writing that title felt a bit odd. Why must I need reasons to want to return to work? I am a highly educated and driven woman who deserves to be happy in both her private and professional lives. My happiness relies on balancing both family and work life, which has informed my decision to return to work part time. I will be away from Abby 3-days per week and she will be in formal day-care on these days.  44% of Australian women who have the income and make the choice to not rely on regular informal/family day-care when returning to work use formal day-care. Abby will be 4-mon...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). WARNING: Too much information for some people in some sections. Read with caution 😮 My daughter, Abby, is my first child and this was my first pregnancy. Abby arrived 2 weeks early on September 13, 2019, weighing 2.94kg and measuring 47.5cm. At 8pm on September 11, 2019, my waters spontaneously broke. Unlike what I thought, it doesn't just come in one gush (Image 1). I had at least 6 gushes over 2 hours (RIP 3x pants and undies!). This happened only 30 minutes after seeing the beginning of my mucus plug dislodge. I thought I was going to have much more time between these two events, wrong! So off to the hospital we went for confirmation that Abby was indeed on her way. The midwives were happy and the plan was to go home, let labour start, and to visit the hospital daily for monitoring. Image 1: What I thought my waters breaking would be like (credit: Reddit ) The next day we visited the hospital. Everything ...