Nicola Dahl
Tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Nicola and I am 27 years old. I have been married to my high school sweetheart for 2 years but we have been together for 13! We have a beautiful 1 year old daughter named Matilda and a Boxer dog named Malcolm.
What were you doing before babies?
Before babies I was working for my parents as the office manager in their Air conditioning business. I have been back at work since Matilda was 6 months old but am so lucky that my parents have been super flexible with my work hours and up until she turned 1 she was actually coming to work with me... that was not very productive! Now she goes to her Nanny’s on a Monday and her Zinha’s on a Thursday!
How did you come to be a mum?
After my husband and I got married in 2018 we were super lucky to fall pregnant right away on our honeymoon, unfortunately that pregnancy ended in a miscarriage which was super difficult for us but a few months later I fell pregnant with our rainbow baby, Matilda, who was born 28/02/20. My pregnancy with Matilda was pretty straight forward, I had morning sickness until about 20 weeks, went into spontaneous labour at home the day before her due date, birthed her naturally the next morning, with the help of the magic epidural and some gas of course!
What has your feeding journey been like?
Honestly pretty incredible, and I’m so thankful because I always wanted to breastfeed and I know how difficult it can be. Matilda latched right away with no problems and with only a couple episodes of mastitis I feel like we have pretty much nailed it. She has always been such a boobie monster which helps and no surprises here we are still feeding and I have decided I will probably just follow her lead with weaning. It’s such a special thing we get to do together, especially now she’s a busy 1 year old I really appreciate that quite time.
What has sleep been like in your house?
Well she slept well in her bassinet, and by well I mean she would sleep but still wake every 2 hours to feed, until 4 months old and then got her first two teeth, pair that with the “sleep regression” and she ended up in our bed, we have co slept ever since. We are currently practicing our morning nap in the cot but she’s never been a great napper so we usually only get 40 minutes unless I’m laying with her or feeding her. So I guess all things considered she sleeps pretty great, in our bed...
The hardest bits…
Finding time for myself. Having a breastfed on demand baby I really couldn’t leave for longer than a couple hours because she wouldn’t take a bottle or a dummy. It’s only now I feel confident leaving her for extend periods of time because she’s finally into her solids enough that she doesn’t need so much boobie. The best bits… There are so many things it’s actually hard to put into words but I would probably say the cuddles, the giggles and seeing them grow and learn.
How do you make time for you?
Something I’m still working on but now she is a LITTLE less boobie obsessed I try duck off and get my nails done, I have also been training with my sister every Friday for the past year and my mum watches Matilda for that hour so that’s always a nice break even if I’m getting my ass kicked.
What’s next for you and your family?
I would love more babies, my husband jokes and says he wants 6 but I think 3 is the right number for us. I think for the moment just enjoy our time with Matilda and enjoy the many “firsts” she still has to experience.