Tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Eliza, I am 27 years old, and I am the mum to a beautiful 11-month-old boy, Kayce. I was born in Queanbeyan, but grew up on a farm 30 minutes outside of a small country town called Braidwood. I went to primary school in Braidwood and high school in Canberra before briefly moving to Canberra to attend University where I studied a Bachelor of Economics and International Relations. I am currently studying my Masters in International Law and International Relations and have moved back to Braidwood to raise a family and eventually hope to purchase a farm.

I am the eldest of four siblings and have spent my entire life playing every sport you could imagine, including swimming at a national level, horse riding, running, dragon boating, netball and coaching netball, rugby, touch football, pole dancing and skiing. It is safe to say my mum is a saint driving myself and my siblings to all our training, especially living over an hour from Canberra. I am an accountant (currently on maternity leave still), and love reading, puzzles, and have recently decided with what little time I have free between studying and raising a child, that I would start up gardening. I love a glass of bubbles or a cocktail and enjoy going out and spending time with friends and family.

What were you doing before babies/children?

Honestly, the only thing that has changed for me is working a paid job, because being a mum is still a job. I have been lucky enough to still do all the things I did pre baby, post baby. I still have been able to go out for a drink and see my friends, exercise, and study and enjoy me time. I am able to do this because I have a great family and friend network that supports and helps me whenever needed.

How did you come to be a mum?

It was a complete shock for us. I was on the pill, and we were talking about starting a family in the next couple of years, so I went to my doctor to get blood tests done and discuss getting off the pill. Two weeks later I was walking back into that doctor's office with a positive pregnancy test. We are one of the lucky ones to be able to fall pregnant on the first try.

What has your feeding journey been like?

Breastfeeding has been the most incredible beautiful journey I have ever been on. We had a rough start with my milk not coming in, believed to be due to the shock of a long labour and emergency C – section. However, my mum gifted me a private lactation consultant who worked with me for over 12 hours over a few sessions to establish the perfect latch and build my confidence. I still text her with any concerns 11 months later.

We are currently 11 months into our journey, and still feed on demand, roughly every three to four hours, with a feed overnight. I can now confidently feed on a bar stool in front of a 100-plus people on a Friday night and not worry about judgement, something I never thought I would ever be able to do at the start.

What has sleep been like in your house?

As a first-time mum I have nothing to compare it to, but I feel like we are quite lucky. Yes, we have definitely had our bad nights, think 2 hours back-to-back for a week, and recently my son has decided he wants to wake at 3am and play with his toys or sit in bed laughing but for the most part it has been far better than i was told it would be.

We have chosen Co-Sleep and started too around the 1-month-old mark. For our family, it is the safest mentally and physically way to sleep, especially in the newborn days when i found myself almost dropping Kayce out of my arms falling asleep feeding him. It has also made my breastfeeding journey so much easier, and I am loving not having to get out of bed on a cold winter night.

The hardest bits…

The pure fact that you have to learn how to look after a tiny human after spending your entire life looking after only yourself. But other than that, I personally have not found any hard bits. I feel like the entire time I was pregnant, I had people scaring me, telling me my entire life will change and be ruined, that nothing will ever be the same.

The best bits…

All of it, becoming a mum is the best thing I have ever done. Thinking about his little smile and laugh is making me cry typing this. Watching him play and explore the world is beautiful and I wish I could pause time to take in every part of it over and over. Seeing him learn new skills and make new friends melts my heart.

How do you make time for yourself?

I love to stay up a few hours later then everyone at night. The house is quite and I can choose to do whatever I like. Normally it is reading a spicy book in the bath with a glass of wine or binge-watching a tv-show. I also go for a run often and try to get some exercise daily. I go out with my friends as much as I can, or even use to time driving the hour trip to swimming lessons to have a hot coffee and listen to a podcast. I start every morning the same with a hot coffee and alone time either scrolling my phone or reading a book while Kayce plays alone with his toys or has a sleep in.

What’s next for you and your family?

For now, nothing, we are content with where we are at. We are still deciding if I should go back to work or take the opportunity to be a full time stay at home mum for a while. We are working on our new house currently and hoping to renovate it one day soon.

If you could talk to your pre baby/kid self, what advice would you give?

Hold your newborn as much as possible because you will blink, and they will be almost one.