September 7, 2021

Mums Who Inspire Us – Rebecca Burrow

In celebration of the recent launch of our post natal program – The 4th Trimester – we’ve caught up with some inspiring Peachy Mamas to pick their brains and have a REAL conversation. Here’s Rebecca Burrow – founder of @minimarley_kids, and mother to Arabella and Robbie.

How old are your kids?

‍♀️I have two girls, Arabella – 5 years old, and Robbie 1 year old.

What was the worst piece of unsolicited advice you received either while pregnant or with a baby?

‍♀️I think there is quite a lot of unsolicited advice that gets passed onto you while your pregnant or once the baby has been born, I can’t remember one stand out worst piece of bad advice but I do know that you can just take them with a grain of salt and know what works for you. No two babies are the same and just because something works for one family doesn’t mean it will work for you too.

What surprised you most about the birthing process?

‍♀️The effect that it would have on my partner. So much emphasis is put on the mother, I mean – understandably as we are doing so much of the work, but little to no emphasis gets put on the father who is also going through such an emotional process themselves. It can be really difficult to watch the mother go through and albeit hard for us, we also get our instinctual hormones kicking in and adrenaline – so I felt like it was a sort of outer body experience for me and my partner remembers every single minute of it; I think it takes a while for men to process and they are just forgotten about in that process.

What was the hardest part about coming home from hospital?

‍♀️When I left the hospital for the first time I described it as feeling like you are walking out of a grocery store and have stolen something (I actually don’t know what that feels like but I am assuming this would be how it felt). I left the hospital the day after I gave birth to Bella, and only 4 hours after giving birth to Robbie. It is such a bizarre feeling walking into the hospital one day then leaving the next with a new member of your family. It felt like I was unprepared and I wanted to take the midwives home with me so they could make sure I was doing everything right. We are so lucky in Australia to have such a good healthcare system because returning home for us was such an amazing feeling, it felt so right and so real and it definitely made me feel much more comfortable and reassured in my ability to be a mother. Then the midwives came to do house visits and gave me so much praise and much more confidence to know I was doing the right things and the baby was flourishing as she should be.

What saves your sleep as a parent?

‍♀️Keeping my phone out of the bedroom and going to bed not long after the kids. If there is one thing I have learned it is that you can not always control the way your kids sleep, but there is no worse feeling than scrolling on your phone for hours and then your kid getting up multiple times through the night too. Every kid is different and some just don’t sleep very well no matter how many books you read or white noise machines you buy, and being open to trying lots of different things, without blaming yourself really helps to. Stay open minded and get help when you need.

What’s your guilty pleasure as a parent?

‍♀️Sitting and doing nothing. No dishes, no laundry, nothing.

What do you do now, as a mum, that you ‘swore you’d never do’?

‍♀️A wildly long list of things. No bright toys, no princess dresses, no tule, no screen time… The more you fight it the worse they seem to want it. It’s about setting boundaries and explaining why these certain things need to be limited.

What advice do you wish you’d been given as a new mum?

‍♀️You are doing great darling. It may not come to you straight away, or feel like it is natural because it sure is wildly different from anything you have ever done before. Remember to breathe, not to judge yourself, don’t be afraid to ask for help.

What are your ‘can’t live without’ mummy products?

‍♀️Baby wipes, they become your multipurpose life savers. I use the water wipes brand as they are the most natural ones I have found. We also loved having the SNOO for the first 6 months of newborn life, especially having another rugrat to chase around it saved me a lot of time rocking Robbie to sleep, plus peace of mind knowing she was securely wrapped up and safe in her bassinet. I also have an Artipoppe baby carrier and I love it. We still use it so much each day, it is so easy to put on yourself because you may not always have a spare pair of hands around when you need to baby wear.