Essential Gaia

As you know, I have a huge passion for reusable products.

Did you know at Christmas alone, we go through approximately 150,000km of wrapping paper in Australia?!

Last year I made reusable Christmas wrapping and so many people were interested in it.

So I thought, why not sell it?!

We've launched an instagram page www.instagram.com/wrapped.in.loveaus
and our website went live Thursday!

✨AUGUST PROMOTIONS✨

• Product of the Month - Peppermint Touch 10mL

• 10% off Easy Air® Vapour Stick and Spearmint Essential Oil 15mL

• Father's Day Promotion - On Sale Monday 2nd August from 10am

Refillable cleaning products 🙌🏻

So excited for these to arrive (thanks Aus Post for delivering in a Sunday!)

Welcome to the future of cleaning products, brought to you by .com.au

Basically, how it works is you purchase a 'forever' bottle (made from plastics pulled from the ocean) and refill with pouches (made from plastics diverted from landfill)

Once you've used 15 pouches, you send them back in the prepaid envelope provided to be reused 🙌🏻

How freaking awesome is that?!?!

The products are made in Aus, plant based, vegan and cruelty-free, palm oil free and grey water safe!!

So far I've tried the toilet cleaner (which was awesome!), I'll update as I try the rest!

Have you tried something like this before?

If you're interested in trying, I have a code where you can get $10 off your first order (full disclosure, I also get a discount off my next order)

Post-partum

Until very recently I didn't understand the extent of how rarely this was spoken about.

I've very fortunate to have incredibly open friends and family, so a lot of post-partum life wasn't a surprise to me (although you don't truly understand it until you go through it yourself).

This is me in my post-partum glory. Totally exhausted from birth (it's a freaking marathon), hormones raging and bleeding. So. Much. Bleeding.

I was pretty open about my struggles with difficult pregnancies. I was incredibly lucky to have two amazing birth experiences. But now I want to talk about post-partum.

The days following birth for me were a total blur. I was totally exhausted from birth (not just the actual birth but also not sleeping for days due to anxiety) and up all day and night with a newborn (and not being able to sleep when they're asleep cos you're worried about every sound they make).

Then there's the hormones. Oh my gosh the hormones. Crying over the little things. Even not knowing why you're crying. Feeling totally isolated and lonely (even though I was lucky enough to be totally supported by incredibly family and friends). People talk about the day 3 'baby blues' but I didn't realise it would go on for weeks and weeks. I also didn't feel that overwhelming, all consuming love for my newborns that everyone talks about. I thought there was something wrong with me. Most people don't talk about this, but it is totally normal to feel this way. For me this came a few months later. Don't get me wrong, I loved them so much and would do anything for them, but I didn't get that feeling so many people talk about.

Post-partum bleeding is next level. Mine was like my period, but 100x worse 🙃 I HIGHLY recommend depends underwear or something similar for the first week. So so so much better than maternity pads!

I also had absolutely intense after pains with Lachie (I didn't notice them with Ollie but I heard they are worse each subsequent pregnancy), they were as bad as contractions. I didn't expect it and it was so painful! Thankfully they only lasted 3 days for me.

Breastfeeding is a whole other kettle of fish. It. Is. Freaking. Hard. I had a lot of issues with both boys which resulted in bottle feeding pretty much from day dot. This deserves a post of its own.

After getting home from the hospital, those first 8 weeks for me were total hell. With Ollie I was very lucky to have a placid baby who was a pretty good sleeper. Lachie was not. He didn't like to sleep at night and would hardly settle between feeds. Unfortunately having another baby at home, I could not 'sleep when the baby slept' so I was incredibly exhausted. Thankfully I have an amazingly supportive husband who was able to help with some feeds so I could get some sleep.

I've also been battling with post-partum anxiety. I've always struggled with anxiety, but this has been next level. I finally have an appointment with my GP to get it sorted!

Thankfully Lachie is sleeping much better now and I have found a rhythm day to day, which had made it much easier.

Everyone's experiences are totally different, but for those who don't have people to speak to about post-partum, this is mine.

What's something you wish you knew before having a baby?

🎁 REUSABLE WRAPPING PAPER 🎁

After making some reusable Christmas wrapping paper last year, I thought I'd make some more for birthday presents!

The fabric just arrived so I'm keen to get started!

Have you make reusable wrapping paper before? Is it something you'd like to try?

Refillable cleaning products

I've been making my own cleaning products for a while now, but sometimes life gets in the way!

I'm on the hunt for refillable products and I'm looking for recommendations!

What do you use? Do you recommend?

🎤New Mum Anthem🎤

👀 Can you spot me?

Tag a mum who you think would like this 🤣

*WARNING - SWEARING, NOT FOR LITTLE EARS

S*!T Music credit:

July promos!

• Product of the Month - Harvest Spice, Gathering Blend 15mL.

• 10% off - Ancient Oil Collection.

• Open a wholesale account with a qualifying order and receive a FREE Lemon Eucalytpus 15mL.

I made a fitted sheet 🙌🏻🙌🏻

I am so proud of myself 🤣

My bassinet is a co-sleeper, so larger than a regular bassinet but smaller than a cot. It's really hard to find fitted sheets, and a lot of them cost around $50!!

I'm not a sewer; I made some reusable Christmas wrapping paper last year and absolutely loved it (although I'm not very good at straight lines 🤣)

It was a bit trial and error and mistakes were definitely made, but I'm so happy with the result!

I cannot tell you how incredibly impressed I am with the new night nappies!

They are so easy to put on, SUPER absorbent, have lots of room for extra boosting if needed, plus they're super cute!!

I've been using their older style night nappy for over a year now and they have been great, but these are a massive improvement!

DIY make-up remover

Such a simple recipe!

1/3 witch hazel, fractionated coconut oil, distilled water
5 drops tea tree, frankincense

Tea Tree is super cleansing and frankincense can help reduce the appearance of blemishes. If you don't have essential oils, you can omit them 😊

I use reusable make-up remover pads, just spray a few sprays onto the pad and wipe off make-up!

I reused an old 15ml bottle (was 1.5 teaspoons of the first 3 ingredients) and a spritzer top from

How do you reuse your old bottles?