My name is Carly Helgensen and I'm 31! I grew up and went to school in Melbourne. As soon as I finished school, I completed my hairdressing apprenticeship and headed overseas. I lived in the UK for 2 years and Mexico for 2 years as well. I can still speak basic Spanish! I have also studied hotel management, science, chemistry and last year, social media marketing. I have visited over 25 countries, thanks to my parents giving me the confidence to go and explore the world! I made my way back to Melbourne after my travels and ended up in the Victorian high country where I met my amazing partner and baby daddy Sam! I try and keep my days balanced between work, social and nature. I've finally gotten to the point where I feel I have a great equilibrium of everything I do, so every day feels amazing! In saying that, I've had my fair share of mental health days, but it takes time to figure out what's right for you and everyone is different! Our lifestyle is very active, and I can vouch for Sam when I say that it's so amazing for your state of mind and clarity to be active and get some nature time!

Our families are in Melbourne and Aireys inlet, so I feel safe and at home in the house we live in as well as where our families are! We are blessed both getting to work from home most of the time and enjoying the Snow, hiking, mountain biking and nature around us. I hope my son feels the same as I do about going back to my family house and he always feels a sense of home, love and security!

Our bedroom is a big open space with lots of light. We haven’t done a nursery, but we have set up a space for our little man on one half of our bedroom for now as he won’t need his own room for a little while! We only set this up in the last few weeks as we have been so busy coming up to Christmas! But I think the best part is it makes it feel so official, when we were putting the cot together we couldn’t believe that soon our little person would be sleeping in it!

What are you most excited for, and nervous about, when it comes to becoming a mother?

I am so excited to embrace all the changes that are about to happen, meet our little man and see what he looks like! I think what I’m most nervous about is slowing down, I’ve always led a very active and busy life and soon it will be busy in a very different way, but its all for the most amazing reason!

Do you have any self care rituals you live by?

Self-care shows itself in so many faces for me. My mother and father taught me from a pretty young age that if it doesn't feel right, don't do it, and listen to what your body / emotional / relationship needs are in the moment as they can change from day to day. It was such a valuable lesson I hope to pass on to my own son and it's something you should never feel selfish about either because every human deserves a little self-care.

I'm a very active person so my biggest rituals are getting nature time each week, and I'm so grateful to live in a place that I can do that. My veggie garden and my chicken Yoni bring me so much joy, if I ever feel off all I need to do is go outside and soak in my surroundings and everything feels at peace again. Yoga, Pilates and swimming most days over the last 9 months have also been ingrained into my self-care rituals and of course lots of cuddles with my partner Sam and Pete the kelpie! If you stick to everything in moderation you will sense when an unbalance happens and know how to address it, whether it be eating the right foods or having some self time. Peace within yourself is peace with your surroundings, that's true self-care.

Meeting our baby boy and our friends and families meeting him too! Embracing the change and growing together. Creating new memories as a family of 4 (That’s Pete the kelpie included!) Adventures and taking each day as it comes!