Clarissa

Tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m Clarissa, I’m 33 and mumma to little Leo! During the day I’m working away paying the bills with my day job in digital content and web design. At night, you will find me working away on my small business 1Body. 

What were you doing before babies/children?

Really taking advantage of impromptu cocktails, yoga, solo shopping trips and lazy sleep-ins on Sundays. And you know really trying to get my small business 1Body off the ground, plus paying the bills with my day job in digital content and web design.

How did you come to be a mum?

Being pregnant was quite the journey, and it was not always glamorous. In fact, sometimes I felt like I was carrying around a watermelon while trying to do normal everyday tasks. Not to mention the painful lightning crotch in my backside ( it felt like how it sounds) I experienced through the third trimester. 

We also thought we couldn't fall pregnant, it took us a while of trying and by the end, it felt like a chore if you know what I mean. Throughout my pregnancy, I was seeing Jan Jamieson who is an acupuncture therapist in Canberra. She has helped a lot of women fall pregnant. I would highly recommend her - she helped me fall pregnant naturally and kept me and Leo safe and healthy through my pregnancy. 

I was also lucky enough to get into the continuity of midwifery care program through the Canberra Hospital. It’s a great program and I would recommend it to everyone if you can get in. 

The midwives are trying to expand this program as there is a huge demand for it in the ACT and a lot of women miss out. I would recommend checking it out if you can.

My pregnancy was pretty smooth sailing other than experiencing nausea in the first trimester, and of course, there were also some unexpected twists and turns. Like when I found out I had something called a velamentous cord insertion.

It was scary finding this out as it can slow the baby’s development - not exactly what you want to hear, but hey, we got through it with the help of our midwife. If anyone else out there is experiencing this, my advice, have a plan in place and talk to your midwife – it really eased my anxiety about it. 

I wanted a natural birth but like a lot of pregnancies, it usually doesn’t go as you planned. My water broke at home and 14 hours later nothing was really happening. My midwife said they needed to induce me as I was at risk of infection. 

So, I was induced. 2 hours in and no pain, I felt great on the oxytocin, and I thought “this is amazing I feel no pain, I can do this no problems”. Until they ensured my waters had fully broken, and my goodness the pain! It was like how I would imagine being stabbed feels like. 

Nothing natural worked to ease the pain and 5 hours in I had only dilated 2 cm. It was a real mental battle, the pain was so bad I told my husband I wanted to die, and I felt so defeated. 

I tapped out at 5 hours and said, “give me the goddam epidural!”. Don’t be scared to ask for the drugs; I had a very positive experience with the epidural. I was able to relax, eat some KFC and feel like a human again. And after two hours I was fully dilated, and it was time to push. Leo was born on 22/2/23 at 11:11 pm we call him our little angel. He was perfect but a little small at 2.3 kilos, my midwives believe he stopped growing at 36 weeks due to the issues with my cord. Luckily our little angel arrived early.

What has your feeding journey been like?

Rough, they put a lot of pressure on breastfeeding. We have been doing both breast and formula to fatten Leo up. He is eating all the time and I can’t keep up with just my boobs, which is why we also top him up if he needs. Advice - don’t sweat it if you can’t breastfeed… 

What has sleep been like in your house?

I’m living off no sleep at the moment, and I’m averaging 3 hours a night. I’m hoping the fatter he gets the long this little dude will sleep. 

The hardest bits…

The lack of sleep has been the hardest part. I thought I was sleep deprived before having a baby… it's on another level with a newborn, and I’m sure every mum out there knows the pain. Not having much time for myself and my small business has been hard too. I’m still trying to grow my business but at the moment it has taken a bit of a back seat. 

The best bits…

Seeing Leo grow and change has been the best bit. Seeing him smile for the first time was pretty special too. 

How do you make time for yourself? 

I’m still trying to find time for myself. Let me know if you have any ideas or advice!

What’s next for you and your family? 

No idea, one thing that’s good about having a baby is being able to live in the moment. You are just living day to day. 

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

I would tell myself not to be afraid to try new things, take risks and put myself first sometimes. If things don't work out, get up and try again, ask yourself what lessons you have learnt from it, and move ahead – I call it learning not failing.