Just ask Justine

I feel victimised because I’m fat

Justine Davies Ask Justine: I am currently pregnant with my first child, after four years of trying. It was a natural conception, not IVF, but I was beginning to think that it would never happen so I was overjoyed late last year to find that it finally had - but now i feel victimized because I am fat!

Just ask Justine

What age should kids get a mobile phone?

Justine Davies Is there a right age to give your child a mobile phone? How young is too young? And are they really bad for your health?

Just ask Justine

Should I bank my baby's cord blood?

Justine Davies I wonder whether it really is worth doing? What is it used for and is it really worth the cost?

Just ask Justine

Am I a pregnancy hypochondriac?

Justine Davies "It’s my first pregnancy and I seem to be either sick or injured the whole time - I never imagined pregnancy would be so difficult. The worst part is that my SIL has sailed through each pregnancy and birth without a single medical complaint and is making me feel like a hypochondriac."

Just ask Justine

Wild West

Justine Davies Just Ask Justine: A reader's son has been invited to a party featuring toy guns as the main attraction.

Kylie Orr's blog

Renovating while pregnant

Kylie Orr Where there are babies, there are renovations. And where there are renovations, there are men who like to DIY.

Just ask Justine

My husband wants a boy – but I know it’s a girl!

Justine Davies Just Ask Justine: A reader breaks her promise to her husband not to find out the gender of their unborn baby. Should she tell him?

Just ask Justine

Should I have an amnio?

Justine Davies Just Ask Justine: A reader had a dream that her baby has a chromosomal disorder and wonders if she should have an amnio.

How do you create the ideal work/life balance?

Justine Davies Just Ask Justine: JD wants some tips on how to combine work and children and keep everyone happy.

Stay-at-home mum does NOT equal servant!

Justine Davies Belinda wants some tips on how to stop her friends treating her like a doormat.

Help! My friend feeds my kid junk

Justine Davies I sometimes take my daughter to McDonalds – but when I do it’s a treat. I don’t want her eating fast food for lunch twice a week.

I'm too scared to have IVF - help!

Justine Davies DH and I have one child and we have been trying to fall pregnant again for the last three years. We’ve run through the series of “natural” therapies such as acupuncture, diet, herbal additives and so on and now we are looking down the barrel of giving IVF a go.

Who's best for families - Labor or Liberal?

Justine Davies If I have a baby next year will I be financially better off by voting for Kevin Rudd or Tony Abbott?

Announcing pregnancy number four: all the intrusive questions answered

Kylie Orr After torturous analysis, discussion, and brain-bursting over thinking (all on my part), we are now expecting a fourth child. Following the announcement, I started a tally of responses.

I don't trust my friend's husband

Justine Davies My daughter is eight and one of her best little friends at school lives just a few streets away and often comes over to our house after school for a play. The friend’s mother is lovely too and often invites my daughter over to their house to play as well. I do let her go sometimes, but often find myself making excuses, because for some unexplainable reason I just don’t trust her husband. What should I do?

Bad parent: I want my kids to be vegetarian

Justine Davies I have recently decided to become a vegetarian (ethical reasons, not health). I’ve been unhappy about the whole eating meat thing for a while now so it’s a decision that I’m very comfortable with. Ideally I’d like my whole family to become vegetarian as well, but my husband won’t have a bar of it. What do I do?

Co-sleeping with baby – and dog?

Justine Davies My husband and I are expecting our first baby in a couple of months. We are going to co-sleep with her for at least the first six months as I believe that is the most natural and best way for her to feel safe and to bond with us. However our beloved family dog also sleeps on our bed. What should we do?

How to get rid of an unwanted "friend"

Justine Davies A friend from daycare is treating me like an unpaid nanny for her son. How do I get her to back off without being nasty?

How can a marriage survive a baby?

Kylie Orr Little prepares you for when you take that miniature bundle of noise home. When the solid waste hits the rotary blades, tempers often result in some less than loving exchanges between partners.