Kristy-Lea Brown is a community builder and emerging founder, passionate about creating spaces where people feel seen, supported, and deeply connected. Her work is rooted in lived experience, empathy, and the belief that no one should walk alone. She is currently working on bringing From Day One Geelong to life.
What do you feel is the biggest misconception about early motherhood?
That it’s possible to savour every moment and still be in the trenches at the same time.
I found the first 4-5 months really hard - much harder than I anticipated. And even though we made it through (because that's what you do with parenthood), I look back and sometimes carry guilt for not slowing down more. The hilarious part? I was slowing down. I set strong boundaries for those early days. I soaked up the newborn smell a thousand times a day, wore my baby close, and savoured every contact nap.
But I was also deep in the messy middle - juggling a difficult breastfeeding journey, learning to meet my baby's needs, and navigating the loss of my own coping strategies, like regular sleep.
Motherhood isn’t all one thing. It’s both. And that’s okay.
What is something every new mum should know?
The best advice I ever got didn’t actually come in the early days - and I wish it had.
It was: "Don’t do what you can do while they’re awake, when they’re asleep."
I heard plenty about removing pressure around housework, but if I’m honest, that was never going to work for my personality. I initially struggled to balance time for myself, time with my daughter, and time managing our home.
Now, I unload the dishwasher with her awake - and when she sleeps, I rest or binge trash TV guilt-free. Game-changer.
Top 5 postpartum essentials
I love this question because it shows just how different every parent’s experience can be. Here are the five things that made my first six months easier:
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The elusive village: It didn’t look like what I imagined, but through a meal train, day-two drop-ins, listening ears, and a postpartum doula, I learned the importance of gathering support. (A mothers blessing in my final weeks of pregnancy really helped cement this need to receive.)
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Cocoonababy: A lifesaver for portable naps - my husband’s favourite too!
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Baby carriers: Yes, I had three (Babydink for the newborn phase, Artipoppe for feeling elevated, and Portier for world-facing adventures). And I loved them all.
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Nappy subscription: Amazon or Comfy Koalas - anything that removes decisions from my mental load is a win.
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Mothers Group: From Day One absolutely saved me - providing space for tears, honesty, connection, and building a solid community that just got it.
How did your first experience (loss) shape your second (living birth)?
I never expected my path to motherhood to look the way it did - and with a full-term pregnancy behind me, I knew what to expect physically during pregnancy, birth, and early postpartum.
What I couldn’t prepare for was what life would actually be like with a living baby. My brain protected my heart so fiercely that I couldn't even visualise it.
Before conceiving Peyton, we gave ourselves time - time for Parker to have his space in our family, time to learn how to live alongside our grief.
That space changed everything. It meant when Peyton arrived, we could hold both the joy and the heartbreak. And even now, every day feels surreal: she’s here...and we get to keep her.
Is there anything you would want to share with anyone experiencing loss?
Pregnancy and infant loss is still so taboo - yet so heartbreakingly common.
It’s bittersweet: when you lose a baby, a community is ready to wrap you up in a virtual blanket, because they know your pain intimately.
Nothing anyone says can erase that pain. Even as someone who has experienced a "happy ending," I know how unreachable it can feel when you're in the thick of it.
My advice? Share your feelings with the people who love you. Let them see your struggle.
Recognize the pain for what it is - real, hard, unfair - and know this:
Giving up on your dream is harder than going through what you are. And you are stronger than you feel right now.
How has becoming a mum changed you? Have your priorities shifted?
My whole world has flipped upside down - in the best possible way.
Some things look the same: I still juggle a full-time job while trying to give my daughter the best parts of me.
But becoming Peyton’s mum has made me dream bigger.
I’m working towards a life that gifts her (and us) the thing we need most: time.
That’s why I’m pouring my heart into launching From Day One Geelong alongside the incredible Keshia and Ariel - to create a space where new mums can find the community that changed everything for me.
Because if motherhood has taught me anything, it’s that connection matters more than anything.
