To the outside world, Ash London is the quintessential working mother.
Whether she’s recording her hit podcast or making regular radio and TV appearances, Ash does it all while raising her eight-month-old son Buddy, but her pregnancy and motherhood journey hasn’t been without some very relatable struggles.
In an exclusive interview with Now To Love, Ash opens up about how COVID actually helped her pregnancy, the importance of her husband Adrian Brine pulling his weight, and why self care for mothers if imperative to a happy household.
Ash welcomed her son Buddy into the world in September 2021.
(Image: Instagram)Ash, who welcomed her son Buddy into the world in September 2021, said her nausea was easily one of the worst parts of her pregnancy.
“But I got pretty lucky in that it all subsided by the second trimester, which also curbed my hot chip intake,” she laughs.
“I had a very active baby and a very big belly, so by the third trimester I was waddling everywhere and had to force myself to exercise.
“All in all though, I had a really wonderful pregnancy and it was much more manageable than I had thought. In a strange way I think COVID helped with this because it meant I was forced to slow down, take it easy, and just potter around the house.”
“I would not have been able to do this without [my husband] Adrian pulling his weight.”
(Image: Instagram)Since welcoming Buddy, Ash reveals there aren’t many parts of motherhood that haven’t surprised her.
“No amount of reading, advice or preparation actually prepares you for the reality of bringing a small human into the world,” she says.
“We don’t get enough education about the weird body stuff that happens postpartum, like night sweats, weird bodily fluids. I wish I’d spent less time preparing for the birth, and more time preparing my nipples for the onslaught they were about to face.
The 32-year-old admits she was “completely obsessed” with Buddy the second she laid eyes on him, but it took her several weeks to “really feel like we were connected.”
“Babies are kind of a blob when they arrive and it takes a while to get any sort of actual response out of them,” she says.
“It wasn’t until I reached out to some mum friends of mine that I realised it’s totally normal to feel like nothing more than a milk machine for a while. Thank god for other mums!”
Luckily, Ash’s husband Adrian is as hands on as a dad can be for the early stages of a newborn’s life.
“I mean it when I say, I would not have been able to do this without Adrian pulling his weight. I know that with every fibre of my being,” she gushes.
“Our parenting journey so far has been a partnership and I am so thankful everyday for it. If only he could lactate, then it would truly be even!”
“Learning to put our needs first sometimes feels wrong because of this BS the world perpetuates about mothers needing to sacrifice everything in order to be ‘good mums’.”
(Image: Instagram)Something that can’t be underestimated during first-time motherhood is the power of self care, Ash says.
“Sometimes it’s been a coffee with a friend, a massage, a manicure or just a walk. I am so lucky that [Adrian] works from home and we very much parent 50-50, but I know that’s not a luxury all of us new mums have,” she says.
“As mums, learning to put our needs first sometimes feels wrong because of this BS the world perpetuates about mothers needing to sacrifice everything in order to be ‘good mums’. I whole heartedly disagree.
“A good mum isn’t someone who puts herself last, she’s someone who values her needs, and knows that in order to be there for her kids, she needs to be there for herself.”
Something that can’t be underestimated during first-time motherhood is the power of self care, Ash says.
(Image: Instagram)As for advice for new mums, Ash says “get help” and lots of it.
“Get all the help you can! Whether that’s from a parent, a neighbour, a friend, or even a meal delivery service,” she says.
“Whether you’re deep in the throes of cluster feeding, or simply heading back to work and managing that juggle…it’s easy to forget simple but very important)things like organising dinner.
“About two months after Buddy was born I had a consult with my naturopath… she suggested I put meals on the ‘outsource’ list and it was one of the best things I did. MACROS meals arriving on my doorstep – with all the nutritional information on the packet.”
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