Tell us a bit about yourself?

I'm Tegan, first time (human) mamma to Vincent with 2 chaotic fur babies and a rad husband who is also our stay at home dad/ housekeeper/personal chef hahaha!

You'll usually find me at The Lab whipping up a set of fab eyebrows for someone's forehead.

What were you doing before babies?

Apart from sleeping in on the weekends and going to the shops without spew in my hair, I've been a Co-Owner of The Lab since we established in 2015 so I'm just always at work basically. Nothing much has changed!

How did you come to be a mum?

My journey to become a mum ended up being a long one with several miscarriage's . After a few years of working with my GP and naturopath I was referred to the fertility specialists at IVF Australia. I like to think of myself as one of the lucky ones as I was able to have my healthy baby boy after only a few months of hormone treatment with them. The whole experience was way less scary than I thought it might be and the staff were accommodating and so lovely.

Fertility treatment is becoming more common and I love to hear people talking openly about their journey so it doesn't seem like such a hush hush behind closed doors kind of conversation.

Even though becoming a "human" mamma is life changing, I like to think I was already in my "mum shoes" because I think of my 2 pups as my children. I tell everyone who is nervous about starting a family "if you can have a puppy, you can have a baby".

What has your feeding journey been like?

I had very low expectations for breastfeeding before even trying, I knew it was going to be hard and I was prepared to not be able to. I ended up having a C-section and Vincent had a pretty bad tongue tie and lost too much weight after birth, so I was mix feeding from the start and after about 1 month we switched to all formula. Even though I had assumed I would formula feed before he was here, I still got mum guilt when I wasn't able to continue breastfeeding (mum guilt is a bitch). However it has granted me more freedom to leave him with his dad or his grandparents while I'm at work or want some alone time so bottle feeding has its perks as well.

What has sleep been like in your house?

Vinnie is a pretty good sleeper at night, mostly only wakes for 1-2 feeds and goes straight back to sleep after each one. We had been struggling with day naps and a grumpy baby but we, fingers crossed, have figured out a method that seems to be getting him to sleep for longer than 40 mins a nap. I'll take that as a win for now.

The hardest bits…

MUM GUILT! It's so wild what your brain will make you feel guilty about. (he doesn't know the difference he's 3 months old!)

And for me, the juggle of running a busy business that I enjoy but, requires me to be there as much as possible and being a new mum with a cute as heck baby that I want to squish all day.

The best bits…

Ummm.... The tiny human that you created inside you!!!!! It's mind blowing that YOU MADE THAT! Pat your damn self on the back for creating LIFE!

Also, dressing them in adorable and embarrassing outfits- BEST!

How do you make time for yourself?

My favourite time of the day is when he goes to bed for the night and I have about 2hrs to myself before I also need to go to sleep.

If we are able to get out and go for a walk in the pram (I say IF cos we all know babies can decide they hate something they loved just yesterday) I enjoy listening to music, that was my "self care" before the baby so I feel a bit like myself when I can do that. Shout out to Adele for releasing a new album just as I have a newborn and am a puddle of emotions.

What’s next for you and your family?

We are still trying to get our home renovated after being put off because of the last lock down, so we are really trying to make that happen. I'd love to get another chihuahua one day (don't tell my husband).

But in all honesty, 2022 will be a big test for us as we navigate being first time parents, me going back to taking clients full time again and my husband also working where he can around my schedule. I'm getting mum guilt just typing this!

A piece of advice for our readers?

Keep your expectations of mum life low, like real low... and everything will be fine. None of us know what we are doing so just try everything until something works. What works for my baby won't work for yours. Just when you think it's getting too hard and you don't know if you can do it anymore, they look at you and smile.