Elisa and Nova (revisited)

Name: Elisa

Child: Nova-Millie, 18 months

Location: Warrington

Previous blog post: http://www.the-mothers.co.uk/2014/01/elisa-and-nova.html

Life since the last blog post: Crazy, amazing, stressful, beautiful. When Nova was 13 months old I returned to work, and I must admit it's not been easy juggling motherhood with a career. After some time we've found our routine now, but still - every day - I cannot wait to hurry home for cuddles with my little ray of sunshine. Nova is an amazing girl, full of giggles and smiles, and she is a real pleasure to be around. She is a real charmer, too, and gets a lot of attention from everyone she meets, friends or strangers. I love watching her learn new things every day, and Nova has also helped me to be the best I can be: more patient, enjoying the little things - every day. I wish I could spend all my time with her, but I have to admit sometimes it is really nice to be able to enjoy a cuppa at work in peace. At the moment I do not feel there is a lot of room for me-time - it takes a lot to keep the house tidy, look after babba and dog, and work. But I know it won't be like this forever and one day I will really miss those little arms reaching out for me, and the small sticky fingerprints all over the windows. I wouldn't change it for all the riches in the world.

Motherhood since last being on the blog: I've definitely become more confident as a mother. I think at first you really are sort of lost, but with time you realise it is just a natural thing and you are in charge - you make the decisions that are best for your child, because you know her or him better than anyone else does in the world. And as I already said, Nova has changed me for the better - I want to be a good role model for her. 

Has motherhood changed you? Completely. You have a different outlook on life, on everything really. In the past, I didn't pay that much attention to everything that was going on around me. Now, there is Nova's future to consider. I've become a lot more alert to environmental issues, political issues - I want to make the world a better place for Nova's sake. I know it sounds cheesy, but it really is true.

Hardest parts of being a mother: The tiredness, and the fact that you have so little time for yourself. Most days I cannot stay up past 9pm, and my friends have been making fun of me when they come over for a glass of wine or to watch a sleep and I've fallen asleep on the sofa, again. And everything seems to be a rush - when Nova sleeps I try to whizz through the house, cleaning, washing, preparing meals. My only real time that I have to myself is when I go boxing with my friend twice a week - it's become a really important thing to me where I get to let off steam and do something for just me. I also find it hard to battle with the constant guilt - do I really put my best effort into everything? Is it ok to be on my iPad for a few moments while Nova is playing by herself? Should I be with her rather than care about a career? Am I being lazy if I give her the pasta dish I made for the second time that day?

Best parts of being a mother: The cuddles, the smiles, the giggles - being loved and needed by this beautiful little person that you have created. Every morning Nova wakes up with a smile. I'm so proud of her for every little achievement she makes - starting to crawl, taking her first steps, saying her first words. She is my world and it makes it all worth it - it is those moments that make you forget everything else. 

What you wish you’d known before having children: Everything will be ok. 

Nova didn't crawl until she was 15 months old, and following a horrendous meeting with a health visitor for Nova's 1 year check up, I walked out of there convinced it was my fault as I hadn't practiced enough tummy time with her. The health visitor put a lot of negative thoughts in my head, but I soon realised that Nova was just fine and doing things in her own time. Just listen to your gut instinct - you will KNOW when there is something to be concerned about. You are the mum, stick by your guns.

Any more advice for mothers and expectant mums: You will never have this moment with your children again - tomorrow they'll be a little bit older than they are today. Today is a gift, breathe and notice, smell and hold them, study their faces and little feet. Pay attention to today.

Hannah and Jessica

Name: Hannah 

Child: Jessica, 10 Days old

Location: Didsbury

Expectations of Motherhood: It was going to be a huge amount of hard work with sleepless nights, lots of washing, end of my personality and career. I didn't really think too much about how labour was going to be and I anticipated no problems with breastfeeding! 

Reality of Motherhood: It's a lot of hard work but you find energy somehow. It changes everything but your personality isn't destroyed and your relationship with your partner develops rather than breaks. Labour is horrific, I had a lot of people saying, "It's not that bad". For me it was worse than I could ever have prepared for! 

Breastfeeding is not magical and bonding, it hurts like hell at first and after the labour you can feel pretty hard done by as you go from one pain to another. Get numbers of breastfeeding mentors ahead of time so your not struggling to find help in the middle of a painful session. 

You adapt straight away. You and your partners lives are instantly changed and everything is geared towards this tiny ball of human baby. 

You get to know them immediately, know their routines and habits. 

Be gentle on yourself. After giving birth a woman undergoes the biggest changes both physically, mentally and hormonally, often with pain running alongside this change - it's going to be tough as anything some days.

Taking your child home for the first time: Bizarre. 

We planned a home birth; ended up having to rush into hospital and have an episiotomy with an epidural. I had to stay overnight with Jessica but my partner got sent home. Next day we realised we had no means of getting her home! We had to ring round family to get them to buy a car seat and drive us home! Also when we left we realised we didn't have a blanket, hat or gloves for baby! Once at home it was actually fine but the act of taking her home was a nightmare! 

The best/worst advice: Best advice: no-one knows what they are doing with baby so find your own way and listen to people you trust and ignore those you don't! 


Worst advice: To deal with breastfeeding pain, start drinking at least one alcoholic drink and use up all those really strong labour medications you got given that never used.

The hardest parts of being a mother: Dealing with such a massive change in your own body/mindset at the same time as dealing with a new born. 

Stopping to make yourself rest when you can rather than pushing on through exhaustion. 

The best parts of being a mother: You and your partner have created life! Its truly a miracle.  

Looking at her face and knowing all the trivial stuff that filled up your life previously isn't worth your time or energy. The endless joy you can get from all the tiny things she does.

Has becoming a mother changed you: Hugely and not at all. 

I feel like everything has changed and nothing is the same, but equally my partner and myself are the same, we've just got to learn a new way of being. 

Hopes for your family: That we stay as a cohesive unit and love keeps us together whatever issues we have to deal with. 

What advice would you offer to new and expectant mums? Find numbers of breastfeeding consultants. There is plenty of support out there; if you're set on breastfeeding it would be a shame to fall at first hurdle. 

I found expressing (so get bottles /steriliser etc) was what saved me, otherwise I would have caved due to the pain. Take every day (or even hour) as it comes and don't be hard on yourself. You're going to feel terrible sometimes, but it'll pass.

Laura and Rae

Name: Laura

Child: Rae, 6.5 months

Location: Reddish

Expectations of Motherhood: I expected motherhood to be really, really hard. I work with families who find every day a struggle and often feel they cannot cope. There is also a history of post natal depression in my family and so I was constantly worried this could happen to me. 

Saying that, because of this I think it made me more prepared, and encouraged me to make a conscious effort to have a relaxed approach in my pregnancy, a kind of what will be will be. Luckily I had a very easy time growing a bump. I was full of energy, and pretty much could do almost everything that I could do before. I play music and wanted the little peanut to hear all the beautiful sounds, so I kept gigging and playing and loved that she was a part of it already.

I think because I found pregnancy relatively easy, and could juggle work/life/fun, I thought I could do all that when 'bump' came along. I knew there would be tiredness, and I'm a complete nightmare when I'm tired - a right moody arse - but I also knew that I had brilliant family and friends around me and knew other mummies with babies, so I imagined I would go with the flow and still keep my ways with our new addition. 

Reality of Motherhood: I spent a week in hospital as Rae had jaundice, and I was poorly from the birth. I didn’t have the feelings of love and devotion when little Rae arrived, just sheer exhaustion, soreness and wanting things to get back to some kind of ‘normality.’ It was like I had been separated into tiny fragments and hadn’t got a clue how I was going to get back together again.

I was doing 24 hour babysitting except there was no end and somehow I had to convince myself that in actual fact this bundle was our baby. My friend described to me its like falling out of a plane; you have no idea what may happen in the next minute or hour or what the hell is going on, and only you can make sense of the fall as every experience is different.

I couldn’t call her Rae for a while. We called her ‘monkey,’ ‘baby’, ‘wriggler’ and even called her by our nieces names. We couldn’t say mummy or daddy either, at one point Seth called himself uncle! The concept of creating our own family unit alongside a name that didn’t even exist in the world a few weeks ago was really weird and certainly took some getting used to.

The one thing I hadn’t imagined is how I would feel physically; my wardrobe looked like it belonged to someone else and I couldn’t look at my body for weeks. I felt isolated and alienated from it. No one had mentioned this to me, it was all about the tiredness and emotional upheaval and so it was a shock. This went hand-in-hand with breastfeeding. I simply could not get my head around it. With Rae feeding almost every hour it was too much, physically and mentally. I convinced myself that I was a bad mother if I stopped, that surely this is the one thing that all mothers want to do and so I'm lucky to be able to. After 8 weeks of this debate and becoming more and more unhappy I made the decision to stop, and although the guilt is still there, I remind myself, 'Happy mother, happy baby.'

Taking your child home for the first time: We left the hospital at midnight as I was so desperate to get home we begged the staff to let us go the moment we knew Rae was better. I remember going outside being a strange experience; I'd felt completely safe in the confinements of the hospital building but now in the fresh air the thought of feeding, changing, sleeping in our own house freaked me out. I even felt like I had forgotten how to dry my hair or drive as my head was in bits. When we got back we were obsessed with checking she was breathing, checking her constantly until we were exhausted and had convinced ourselves we were capable of keeping this little monkey alive. 

The best/worst advice: The best advice I ever got was there simply is no right way. My decisions will be judged differently depending on who the person is anyway, so I listen to their views, take what I want from them then go with my instinct.


I have found the support and understanding from my family and friends incredible. Not just the practical help, but just asking the question, ‘How are you feeling today?’ has saved me from the brink of despair many a time. And the encouragement that I can do it. When someone says to me, ‘You're doing a brilliant job,’ I almost burst into tears and want to hug them like mad because it truly means a lot and sometimes you really need to hear it.

The hardest parts of being a mother: The hardest part for me is that there's no break. Even if we get a babysitter, Rae’s well being is constantly on my mind. She comes first, then everything else after. It took me a while to get used to this responsibility and in the beginning I almost shied away from it, thinking I could continue my world as it was before. The adjustment is far greater than I imagined.

The criticism from strangers is annoying. A woman in a shop asked me what my baby was called and when I told her, she stated, 'That’s a boy’s name,' and, 'where are the pink clothes?,' and, 'in fact a better spelling would be R-I-A.' By the time I was leaving the supermarket she had decided to call my daughter Ria.



The best parts of being a mother: When Rae first wakes up in the morning and I go into her room, she goes nuts. Her happy face and kicking legs makes me start the day with a smile, no matter what is going on. I can see she is learning so many things everyday and it is amazing to watch. The love grows everyday and I'm convinced there is no end to how big it can get.

I am learning from her too as I see her wonderful personality grow. Rae is such a chilled out baby and takes life as it comes, nothing seems to faze her and she is so bubbly and fun. I'm proud of her and love imagining what the future may hold.

Has becoming a mother changed you? The one thing I realised is that each day that I worry what could go wrong with our daughter, or anything else for that matter, is another day that I am missing our baby change and grow. Living in the present moment is never something I have been very good at - I'm a big planner and worrier - but once Rae came along, just ‘being’ seems to be the best and sometimes only way for me.

Hopes for your family: The three of us have gone from strength to strength in the new world we have created. Rae is certainly a daddy’s girl and the light in her eyes when he comes home is just gorgeous. Everyday holds new trials and tribulations and sometimes is just complete bonkers, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.

What advice would you offer to new and expectant mums: Admit your feelings to your partner. Me and my husband were sat on the couch, shattered with bags as big as bricks under our eyes, and we were starving because we couldn’t be arsed to go and get any tea (Sleepless nights getting to us then!). I looked at him and said, 'Is it bad to say I don’t love Rae yet?'  He looked at me and said, 'I feel the same, all we do is feed, sleep, feed, sleep. But it's OK, we will. Its like a new relationship isn’t it? It takes time.' I felt a million miles better to know that that we were both in the same position, I thought there was something terribly wrong with me and what a terrible mum I was if I wasn’t totally in love with the wriggling milk machine.

Definitely store some food in the freezer for when you get home with baby. We lived off the homemade snacks we'd prepared earlier and it made the first few weeks a lot easier.

Laura and Florence

Name: Laura

Child: Florence (9 months)

Location: Levenshulme

Expectations of Motherhood: Being the oldest of three children, and having a mother who was a childminder when I was young gave me fairly realistic expectations. Quite a few of our friends had babies in the year or so prior to us, particularly our best friends, so we had experienced their joys and frustrations second-hand.

In terms of getting pregnant, I was really disappointed that it didn’t happen straight away. I come from what seems like an ultra-fertile family – my relatives pop out babies left, right and centre with very little difficulty so I had always assumed that I would be the same. The months ticked by until I found myself at the doctor’s, having been trying for a year without success. I was referred to the hospital and after various tests they discovered I had PCOS.

At this point, I realised I had been putting my life on hold – I was stuck in a job with a bullying boss, producing photographic work with no real focus, with dreams of doing something to inspire me – so I got a new job and a place on an MA course. Starting a new job coincided with taking fertility drugs – my poor boss must have wondered what sort of madwoman he had employed. And within three months, I was pregnant. Having to break that news three months into a new job was a little embarrassing, but as we’d waited two years by that point, we were ecstatic. 

I was slightly apprehensive about maternity leave as I have always been very focused on my career as a photography teacher and enjoy being independent and socially active. I was photographing abandoned buildings for my MA project, we ate out and went to gigs all the time – I couldn’t see how any of that was going to be compatible with motherhood…

Reality of Motherhood: Turns out none of it was, but I don’t care now we’ve got Florence!

Motherhood is amazing. It is joyful, it is magical, it is wonderful. And it is bloody relentless. I don’t think I had longer than an hour to myself in the first four or five months. There are days when I practically throw Florence at Ewan as he walks through the door, and there have been days where I have just sat and cried with her, but as I have been told so many times, it gets easier. Those days are few and far between now, as Florence and I have grown into each other’s rhythms – I know when she is likely to get grumpy and how to prevent (or to get through) it. But it is rare – she is a lot of fun to be with. I can’t think of a person I would rather hang out with. And certainly no-one else with whom I would willingly spend 24 hours a day.
The reality is strange though – just last week I thought, “I’m a married mother of one” and it seemed like somebody far away from me; somebody older and wiser.

Taking your child home for the first time: I couldn’t wait to get out of the hospital. The birth was quite quick (so I’m told – 11 hours didn’t feel that quick to me, but what would I know?) but I lost a lot of blood at the end, so I had to stay in overnight. I wasn’t expecting that, and after a hot, sleepless night with a shellshocked newborn baby, and two meconium-filled nappies to deal with when I could barely stand up, I just wanted to get home. I hassled the midwives (apologies) and even spent the final hour sweltering in my coat as some sort of pointless protest. When they finally let us go, I felt like the first woman in the world to take her baby home from a hospital. Walking gingerly along, carrying this tiny bundle, I was so proud when people stopped to look and ask about her – I thought we were so special, but people are just interested in tiny babies I now realise! 

Both sets of parents had turned up at the hospital within a couple of hours of Florence being born, so my parents set off first to put the kettle on (a brew solving all of life’s problems) whilst we carefully buckled Florence into the car and spent the five minute journey home on full alert for signs of reckless driving (everywhere).

We got home, and all six of us just looked at her in the carseat. Shit!

The best/worst advice: It’s been said many times on here, but being told to wake your child up to feed them is just beyond comprehension. Here you are, an exhausted new mother with no idea what’s going on and a midwife tells you (as she did me) to blow in their face to keep them awake, to strip them naked and wipe a cool flannel on their body. I cannot believe that I even attempted this (never the cold flannel – the midwife did that at the hospital and I was horrified) but I was told that if I didn’t feed Florence every two hours that she would sleep through the hunger signs and become too weak to wake up, and essentially die. As if I wasn’t worried enough! With the next one, I will definitely leave them to sleep. Oh how I will leave them to sleep!

Another piece of terrible advice – sleep when the baby sleeps. I don’t understand when you are meant to wash, put a wash on, clean up, cook etc if you are always asleep at the same time as your baby. How would anything get done? And I am lucky enough to have a hardworking husband and loads of really supportive family and friends nearby. I shared some naps during a few weeks of a brutal growth spurt, and the house looked practically derelict. We ate a lot of beans on toast (when we’d remembered to buy bread – sometimes just beans).

The best advice has been to do things my own way and ignore all other advice! I feel lucky that I have been brought up to be very confident in my abilities and I resolutely refused to read any books during pregnancy. I am not doing things the way the midwives and health visitors suggest (co-sleeping, breastfeeding on demand, baby-led weaning etc), but do you know what? I have a really happy and healthy little girl who loves life so I must be doing something right. 



I understand that not everyone will feel confident enough to forge ahead blindly, and that seeking advice can be really helpful but I think one needs to be aware of over-seeking. You can find evidence to support whichever path you choose to take, and worrying about the smallest details won’t have any real bearing on the way your child grows up. We are all brought up differently but on the whole, most people are pretty decent human beings.

The hardest parts of being a mother: The absolute relentlessness. Feeling a bit tired? Cranky? Headache, sore throat, cold, backache, unable to go to the toilet because of stitches? Tough. Get up, get on, do it. Your baby has no concept of you as a separate being – you are simply there to nourish them. It changes and evolves as they get older, but it hasn’t let up yet! The initial newborn helplessness segues nicely into separation anxiety and now Florence is developing mobility with alarming speed – if I so much as look the other way she manages to crawl to something dangerous, grab the cat or otherwise cause mischief.

The failure to protect your child is something that I can only imagine increases as they become more independent. Whenever Florence falls over or is in pain, I feel like I have failed as a mother. When she gets older and has her heart broken, or gets teased at school for something, or is influenced by insidious advertising I will fail over and over. All I can do is my best, but it won’t always be good enough. 

The best parts of being a mother: Seeing your baby for the first time. I couldn’t believe that this amazingly perfect little thing was mine. It took about six months to stop wondering when the knock on the door would come to take her back – I was sure we were only allowed Florence due to some administrative error.

Making her smile and laugh. Florence was an early smiler, at around two weeks, but didn’t give up laughs easily. She was easily amused, but didn’t give a real belly laugh until????? Now we know how to get a giggle from her, but it’s also exciting discovering new ways. 



Seeing Florence interact with others. She is a sociable little thing and particularly loves other babies and children. Because she is so smiley, people react to that so she does get a lot of attention when we’re out – it’s great because I’m quite outgoing but people think you’re a bit odd if you just strike up conversation with them – a baby is a great excuse. I’ve met so many people through having Florence and had so many positive experiences just chatting to strangers when out and about.

Each new experience with her is amazing too – every time she does something new, I become extraordinarily excited. Just seeing positive (and sometimes negative) elements of yourself and your partner emerging in this tiny being is interesting beyond belief – genetics is infinitely fascinating to the people involved!

Has becoming a mother changed you? It has made me more tolerant of others – I used to get really annoyed about small things, like bad driving or someone being grumpy but now I try to put myself in their shoes more. They may have been up all night with a screaming baby; they might be experiencing any number of difficulties. Or they might just be an idiot. But I can’t know one way or another and I would want to be given the benefit of the doubt, so I must do the same for others. 

But in other ways I am less tolerant – less tolerant of selfishness - people parking on the pavement so that I can’t get past with the pushchair (or even the sling sometimes!) makes me furious. Loud swearing in public really annoys me. Probably all the things I did before I had Florence.

It has made me a bit softer, I think (and not just physically). I was probably a bit more cynical before. It has made me wonder at the world again – if Florence finds a tiny piece of foil fascinating, then perhaps it is. Maybe I need to look again.

What I was worried about prior to birth and what I have been really pleased to discover though, was that motherhood hasn’t changed me – it has added to my experience and personality but I am still essentially Laura.

Hopes for your family: I hope that we treat each other (and those around us) with kindness and respect. I hope that we can all be patient with each other.

I hope that we can provide siblings for Florence; we are both one of three siblings and would love to recreate the childhoods we both had, and the bonds we have with our siblings. I hope that our children love each other and like each other.

I hope I’m one of the cool mums when Florence goes to school…

What advice would you offer to new and expectant mums? I know it’s been said before, but trust your instincts – you grew your child for nine months, and spend all your time with them, so who else would know better than you? Be confident enough to make your own decisions. However, seek help if you need it. There is no need to be embarrassed if you are unsure – most of the time, the answer you find will only confirm what you thought anyway, but it might help to find that others agree. 

On a practical level: stock up the freezer with meals that are easy to chuck in the microwave; accept all offers of help; let visitors get their own drinks and be firm about how long they stay.

Above all, don’t worry if you don’t feel like a ‘natural’ mother straight away. This is the biggest change you could ever make in your life – why on earth should you know exactly what you’re doing? It took me at least three months to get the hang of breastfeeding, and even now I don’t think I’ve ever managed to leave the house with everything I need in the nappy bag.

And, enjoy it.

Benedicte and Anne

Name: Benedicte

Child: Anne, 14 months

Location: Manchester 

Expectations of Motherhood: Oddly enough I never really thought about what it would be like to have a baby in our lives. We prepared for Anne’s arrival, but I never really thought about what it would mean to have her around. I guess I had never really been a ‘baby’ person before Anne came along. I didn't know very many kids and didn't really know what they were about. Part of me also consciously resisted forming expectations.

Not having expectations was perhaps a strategy which meant I would be better able to cope with any situation. I just had this image of me as a little old woman visiting my grown-up kids and driving their partners crazy...I hope it will come true one day!

Reality of Motherhood: I completely underestimated the total upheaval involved in welcoming Anne into our lives. The first six months were tough. At first, everything revolves around baby - that’s something I had not anticipated. I liked looking after Anne, but found it hard to accept how much my life had changed; I resented how little freedom I had. 

When I began to let go of my ‘old’ life, it all became much nicer. I also started to feel more confident as a mum. By that point, I felt I knew Anne and I understood her a lot better, we shared a bond, we had a relationship.

Now, she is 14 months, it feels strange to recall these moments and write these sentences. We know each other so much better, we understand each other, we communicate and the love we share feels boundless.

Taking your child home for the first time: I remember the car journey. For some reason it felt like a huge deal to get Anne in her car seat and drive her back home. I was so focused on the car journey (!) - I don’t really remember what happened once we arrived!

The best/worst advice: The best advice was definitely ‘trust your instincts’; it helped me grow as a mum, made me more confident. 

‘Cut yourself some slack’ was another good one...though really hard to put in practice.

Worst advice: A book came highly recommended by one of our friends. It basically advised parents to abide by a strict routine from day 1. I still wonder how that’s even possible. Go with the flow is the best you can do!

The hardest parts of being a mother:
The tiredness is an obvious one, but I think it’s more the sense of commitment and responsibility that I sometimes find awesome (in all the different senses of the word!).



The best parts of being a mother: Getting to know that little person and building a relationship with her. But more than anything, the forceful experience of sheer love, this is truly special.

Has becoming a mother changed you? For me, being a parent is making a lifelong (and beyond) commitment to your child. This commitment is life changing and it impacts on my day-to-day activities, but also impacts on the long-term decisions I make. I like to think I am still the same person (albeit wiser), but a person with an unalienable commitment which informs my entire life.

Hopes for your family: 
First I hope we can all remain in good health. I also hope we are all able to pursue our individual goals whilst staying united.

What advice would you offer to new and expectant mums: Being a new mum can be a lonely experience (especially when your family is not around and your friends don’t have kids!) so try and find other expectant/new mums to share your experience with, you’ll make new friends and so will your child.  

Lynsey and Freya

Name: Lynsey 

Child: Freya 2.5 years

Location: Didsbury, Manchester

Expectations of Motherhood: I didn't have a lot of expectations really. I expected I would give birth and it would hurt, but I thought mainly about the practical aspects: washing, feeding, no sleep, teaching etc. I didn't really know what to expect when it came to the emotional impact of being a mother.

Reality of Motherhood: It's a constant juggling act of cooking, cleaning, playing, cleaning, working, organising childcare, playing... cleaning... all driven by the overwhelming desire to do whats best for your child and LOVE for that crazy little creature! It really puts into perspective all the stupid things that you thought were a problem before you had a child. Also, being a mother makes you cry at the news more!



Taking your child home for the first time: For us it was a really horrible experience to be honest. I had been in labour for a really long time (the 1st contraction was on Tuesday morning and she was finally born Saturday afternoon) so I was really tired and hadn't eaten pretty much the whole time. We left the hospital at 10pm into freezing fog and got home terrified and totally overwhelmed with a tiny baby to care for. 

In hindsight I should probably have stayed in hospital overnight, but I didn't want my partner to have to leave. So, overall it was pretty grim but it got much, much better!

Best advice: Mummy knows best! If you don't think something is right, it isn't!

Worst Advice: Your baby is underweight you should wake her up every 2 hours to feed her!

The hardest parts of being a mother:
Learning to have infinite patience in the face of utter exhaustion.

The best parts of being a mother:
Remembering all the games you used to play as a kid and getting to be a kid all over again!

Has becoming a mother changed you?
Yes, it has given me a capacity for patience I never thought possible (though I still lose my cool). It has made me understand the true meaning of unconditional love and it has made me less concerned about trivial things.

Hopes for your family:
For everyone to be happy, healthy and be the best that they can be.

What advice would you offer to new and expectant mums?
Go to groups! Mum & Baby groups, breast-feeding support groups, coffee mornings, anything! You will need friends who are going through the same stuff at the same time. If it wasn't for the breast-feeding support group I went to (baby cafe), I strongly suspect I would have given Freya to the neighbours (that's a joke... a bit).


Also, the sound of a hairdryer will get a baby to go to sleep!