10 Things Zoë Foster Blake Wishes She’d Known About Motherhood

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10 Things Zoë Foster Blake Wishes She’d Known About Motherhood

It isn’t out of the ordinary for us to hang on to Zoë Foster Blake’s every word. However, it is rare for the Go-To founder and best-selling author to do a deep dive on a topic outside of beauty or heartbreak. 

But, as a mum-of-two, Zoë has earned herself both the authority and experience to speak on the incredibly popular and always interesting topic: motherhood.

Feeling inspired after appearing as a guest on the podcast Australian Birth Stories, Zoë took to her Instagram to keep the conversation going, revealing 10 things she wishes she had known before giving birth to her two kids Sonny and Rudy. 

The entertaining, informative and invaluable gift to all expecting mums includes advice on how your diet can prevent gestational diabetes and the importance of asking for help. 

So get ready to screenshot, bookmark or write down Zoë’s 10 motherhood lessons, which she filed under “Things I Wish I’d Known”:

  1. Once you give birth, your baby needs feeding every two hours. (I genuinely did not know this.) Also getting them back to sleep post-feed can take an hour. (Mine were soooo gassssy)
  2. Preparing your hips, glutes, pelvis and core for pregnancy, birth and baby-holdin’ with pilates will pay ENORMOUS DIVIDENDS.
  3. Flu symptoms while [breastfeeding]? Assume mastitis until proven otherwise.
  4. A birthing class will teach you a LOT about the physicality and physiology and pace of labour and birth. Soo much shit I didn’t know.
  5. Gestational diabetes isn’t great fun, but it makes you eat healthier. And! You won’t automatically have it the next pregnancy.
  6. If you have pubic, groin or back pain, see someone ASAP! (While pregnant or post-natal.) Osteopathy fixed me, and prepped me for my second. The pic above shows all the gear I used at home each day to stay strong. (Mostly from fear following a fractured pubis first pregnancy.)
  7. Ask for help. Don’t be polite at the cost of sanity. Take the offer of a nap or some dang meatballs.
  8. The role of your birth partner or support role is to protect the energy of the room (and you.)
  9. Baby clothes with flounce or buttons are a no. Just zips. Just stretch.
  10. Reading too many books, forums and posts like this will confuse and exasperate the shit out of you. Do what YOU feel is best, and if you are struggling, get professional doula/lactation/midwife help.

And in one more bonus tip, Zoë stresses the importance of resting. “Mother Nature wants it that way, that cheeky, gorgeous witch” she wrote.

Main image credit: @zotheysay

Do you have any motherhood tips of your own? If so, what are they?

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Comments 71

  1. My 2 children were very different babies. Polar opposites. What I did with my first didn’t work for my 2nd. It was like being a first time mum all over again and leaning from scratch.
    My 1st didn’t like dummies or being wrapped and my 2nd loved being wrapped and was obsessed with dummies so for me I just took each day as it came and you just really have to do what works best for you.

  2. I found that motherhood doesn’t just influence that part of your life when you’re pregnant or have little kids/babies – it actually goes on forever – like eternity, for the rest of life on earth (and maybe even heaven – do the kids/grandkids etc become eternal friends? I don’t know that bit yet, but….) – even when they are all grown up, I am still Mum!!! haha this is good though because they all become responsible for themselves and their own decisions and I can just sigh a relief when they make the good ones! : D so pregnancy and life with littlies is just the start of a very, very different life that goes on forever!

  3. Definitely do whatever makes you comfortable, and accept help if offered. Running a business and trying to navigate the needs of a baby who wanted to be fed constantly and didn’t believe in sleeping was a huge challenge. Luckily I had a lot of support.

  4. How hard parenthood is. It never gets easier. I have a teenage girl and a tween boy. The teenage girl is bloody hard work. If you think a three year old is hard. Wait till they are a teen. I’m at my wits end.

  5. Cute write up- there’s always things you don’t know about when you become a mother – you learn along the way and hope for the best.

    I really would add that reading a lot helps to be informed about what can happen during the whole birth thing and thereafter – that way you can slowly make up your own mind of what will suit.