For Sydney-based television presenter and stylist, Jules Sebastian, life is busy.
Between work commitments and raising the two sons she shares with husband, The Voice Judge Guy Sebastian, that feeling of being everything to everyone often comes with a healthy dose of mum guilt.
But now that the boys Hudson, 7 and Archer, 5 are getting older and more independent Jules is looking back at the early days of parenting with a gentle hindsight.
Speaking at the launch of Amazon’s new Baby Wishlist, Jules reflected on those days, revealing that she’s learned to leave the mum-guilt at the door a lot more now.
“I’d tell new mums now not to stress yourself out, and don’t put pressure on yourself,” she said.
“Everybody on the planet does things differently. Your friend might do something that works for them, and you could try it and it’s a disaster.
“There’s no rule book, the kids make the rules. Hudson and Archer are seven and five and they’re still making the rules,” Jules laughed. “I was chronically bad at the mum-guilt thing for the longest time, and now I just now that it serves no purpose. We’re all just doing our best.”
Another thing that hindsight has taught Jules is that self-care is so important, something that she admits she could have done a lot better in the early days of parenting.
“You know how people say to nap when they nap? Yeah, I didn’t do that and I wish now that I did,” she confessed.
“If you’re at home with a baby now, leave the house dirty and go get some peace. Take a nap.”
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“Don’t stress yourself out, and don’t put pressure on yourself, everybody’s journey is different.”
(Credit: Amazon)At the event on Thursday, Jules sat on a panel alongside baby guru, Midwife Cath as Amazon announced it’s new Baby Wishlist feature.
Baby Wishlist enables expectant parents to create a list ahead of their baby’s arrival to help them keep track of the products they want and need, with the ability to share with friends and family who may be looking to buy the new bub a gift.
Speaking with Now to Love after the event, Jules is the first to admit that a baby registry would have come in handy for her back in the day.
“It’s such a great idea, I’ll be using it to choose gifts as well,” she says. “As much as I appreciated every single gift I received, I did end up with multiples of the same things, for example I received a lot of beautiful baby blankets.
“It’s a nice thought that the gift you’re giving someone is going to be useful for them.”
So what are the kind of gifts that Jules like to give?
“I do like to spoil the mum a little,” she confesses.
“Particularly if they’ve already had a child or two and they have most of the stuff they need. It’s nice to give them a little something to help look after themselves in those early days too.”
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Customers, like Jules, using the Baby Wishlist service will be eligible to redeem a Welcome Box, over 30 baby essentials valued at over $200 when they add more than 20 different items to their Baby Wishlist and over $59 of purchases from their Baby Wishlist are shipped.
“I like that you can read the Amazon reviews on the products and see what other mums have to say before you make your selection,” says Jules who shared a hilarious anecdote about the breastfeeding cover up she thought she’d need for getting out and about with her boys.
“I imagined myself sitting there at Bondi Junction, all covered up feeding my baby,” she laughed.
“But in truth I just ended up in a huge tangle in it, it was a mess!”
You can hear from more from Jules at her Tea With Jules Podcast.
