Motherhood is … 

Selflessness of the highest level! It is also the greatest yet most thankless but somehow most rewarding job in the world!

What is the biggest lesson pregnancy and birth has taught you? 

Patience, patience, patience and to let go of those darn expectations. At some point through your parenting journey you will become a hypocrite and contradict yourself. You will try to hold yourself to silly standards of the kind of parent you thought you wanted to be. But the greatest lesson for me has been to let it go, stop second guessing myself and take each day and each milestone as it comes.

How is your relationship with your body post baby?

One minute I’m all “I am a badass childbearing goddess hear me roar!”… And other days I look in the mirror and sigh. I gained 22kgs during my pregnancy. I lost 15 easily but the last seven kgs are being stubborn. I do like the idea of nine months to cook a baby therefore I get nine months to let my body recover. I’m certainly not in a hurry. And to be honest, as time goes by, I seem to care less and less about my body and care more and more about the smiles I get from Raffaella.

Describe your parenting style?

 Fluid in every way except bedtime. I’m pretty strict about her 7pm bedtime and to Raffa’s credit she mostly goes down at 7pm without a fight. But during the day she goes where I go and she has become a pro at napping anywhere on the fly.

“One minute I’m all I am a badass childbearing goddess hear me roar!… And other days I look in the mirror and sigh.”

 Greatest challenge as a mother?

 I’m sure I’m not alone in this response but #mumguilt is a real thing! I’m constantly wracked with guilt. I couldn’t tell you what I feel guilty over exactly but I constantly feel like I’m not doing enough for her or not being selfless enough.

Do you have any rituals?

I love singing to her. I’ve made up lots of “Raffa” songs, so singing has become our favourite daily ritual.

How do you perform the great balancing act between work commitments and motherhood? 

 The juggle is real. And I’m still struggling to make the juggling act work. I take it a week at a time. I feel very lucky to have a family village to support me and help care for Raffa. I do find that scheduling and preparation is key – my iCalendar has never had such a work out!

 Tips for taking beautiful images of your children? 

 I have a whole blog post on it if you fancy a squiz. But my favourite tip would be to get down on their level. See the world from their point of view rather than photographing them from an adults point of view.

“You will try to hold yourself to silly standards of the kind of parent you thought you wanted to be … The greatest lesson for me has been to let it go, stop second guessing myself and take each day and each milestone as it comes.”

Do you have any personal goals you are working toward?

I’m working on being active everyday. I’m guilty of being glued to my computer all the time, so my goal has been to get to the beach every day and breathe in that sweet salty air.

Who is your ultimate mama muse?

Lauren Dubois! (@thelaurendubois) She’s intelligent, funny AF and honest as hell. My kinda mum.

Wellness or beauty secrets for busy new mamas?

Metal spoons in the freezer! Best mum hack ever. When you’ve had zero sleep, rest the frozen spoons on your eyes and say bye bye to the puffy eyed monster and hello glamazon!

Drink of choice?

I’ve developed an unhealthy addiction to hot chocolates. It was a habit I picked up during pregnancy and it has lingered on. Help!

 Book or Talk/Podcast recommendation? 

 I’m currently listening to “Teacher’s Pet” (but so are 18 million others). I’m also listening to the podcast “Year 1” which resonates with me so heavily at the moment. I love it!

 I hope one day my daughter will … 

Learn to sleep from 7-7! And be a kind human with a heart for adventure!

Follow Gemma’s adventures via her Instagram account Gemma Peanut @gemma_peanut