“It changed in every way, but for the better. I had to let go of friendships that weren’t serving me and things I’d been holding onto out of habit or obligation rather than genuine passion. I’ve made incredible new friendships. Having less time actually made me more creative. I know some people really struggle with the identity shift but I think because we waited until we were a bit older, I was genuinely ready for it. I welcomed the change rather than resented it. My life is so much richer than it was before.”

“I love seeing life through their eyes. I’m so much more fun than I was before kids. I notice things I would have rushed past before. As we grow older, we stop skipping. But having kids makes you skip again. Their energy is infectious, and it’s given me back a lightness and playfulness I didn’t even realise I’d lost.

Who knew a walk to nursery could be the biggest adventure.”

“The overwhelm of having so much to do and being needed all the time. My brain is a constant to-do list. Since having my second, I find myself a bit more wound up. Whether that’s the lack of sleep or the increased workload, I’m not sure. My husband and I are trying so hard to be patient with the kids that there’s not always patience left for each other. It’s not ideal but we can both handle it and we know we don’t mean it. What helps is knowing it’s temporary. We’ve adjusted before and we’ll adjust again. What matters is that we’re honest about it. We apologise when we snap. My daughter is super resilient but I think it’s good for her to see that adults struggle sometimes too.”

“I miss the time. The freedom to hyper fixate on a creative project without interruption, or meet friends for an impromptu coffee without having to coordinate childcare with my husband. There
was a kind of spontaneity to life that’s gone. But what I could never be without now is the sense of purpose and meaning that comes with motherhood.

I thought I had purpose before but this is different, so much deeper. And the friendships I’ve built through motherhood, the way my kids have made me braver and softer and more myself somehow. I wouldn’t trade that for all the spinning classes in the world.”

“I learned the hard way the first time around that it’s so easy to lose yourself in motherhood if you’re not intentional about it. This time I came home from the hospital hoping for a dramatic weight loss from giving birth. It wasn’t there. I felt like a fraud. I didn’t know how to show up when I felt like everyone would think I’d catfished my own page. So I decided: if I couldn’t feel good in my body, I’d gain confidence through my clothes.

Nothing in my wardrobe fit. So I set about learning, once again, how to dress a body I didn’t recognise. The small things matter just as much as the big ones. Getting dressed every day in things that make me feel good has a real impact on my mood and energy. That s one kind of self-care. The other kind is just a few hours of silence, reading, scrolling, decompressing, no audience, no effort. Both are just as important as each other.”

“How naturally good I am at it, and how much I love it. It’s the one area of my life where I’ve never doubted myself. I didn’t grow up with a great example of parenting so I often find myself studying
people who have close relationships with their parents as adults. Always looking for what they did differently. For a long time I wasn’t sure I wanted kids, so discovering this depth of love and natural ability has been a real revelation. It feels like the thing I was always meant to do.”

“Just spending time together outside. Nothing complicated. Playing in the garden, going on a treasure walk, making food together. Parenthood throws you curveballs. I expected less sleep and more anxiety, but becoming an outdoorsy person? Finding this deep well of patience? I never saw those coming.

We re so lucky to live on a farm surrounded by beautiful countryside, with fruit trees, wildlife and unlimited ways for them to play outdoors. It really is the perfect place to bring up kids.”

“One of my favourite design thinkers, Don Norman, once said that good design is harder to notice than bad design, because when something fits our needs well, it becomes invisible. That's how I feel about Nofred. The Mouse Table and Chair in blue, the Book Holder in dark blue and the Kiddo Step Seat in dusty rose; simple shapes, considered proportions and tiny pops of colour. The little ears on the mouse chair make it feel playful and fun for a child, but it still sits in our space without fighting our own taste.”