Meet the lovely mama Hannah behind Amelia & Co. She makes beautiful sheets mostly from vintage fabric.....swoon worthy!
Could you tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do:
My name is Hannah. I’m 24 years old. I’m a mum to 10month old Amelia, a full time hairdresser and I also run a handmade online store Amelia & co.
Age when you had your first baby:
23
What was your reaction when you found out you were pregnant?
Excited. Nervous. What the f***?!?
I still have the video where I tell James (my partner) that I’m pregnant. He immediately asked me if it was a joke for Facebook then when he realised it was real, he couldn’t speak for about 5 minutes.
What has been your biggest challenge with running a business and being a mama at the same time?
Balance. When to work and when to spend time with my family. At the start it was easy as Amelia was little and I wasn’t back at my day job yet. I was able to sew while she played with her play gym or while she slept/ at nights. Now every minute is precious. She’s moving so needs constant attention and I’m working full time so I want to spend every minute with her.
How do you balance Home and work life? (any tips/tricks to share?)
Allocate time slots/ batch everything together. This way you know exactly what’s happening when and you don’t feel bad about doing something. A great example is Monday mornings. I spend 2 hours cleaning and that’s it for the week - other than that endless pile of washing. If you batch it or have a set time spent doing something it has your 100% attention and then you can move onto the next thing. After iv done my cleaning I know the house is tidy and I can spent the rest of the day with Amelia without having to write mental lists of the things I need to do and worrying about when I’m going to do them.
Another tip is to write lists. I find a great sense of accomplishment seeing something ticked off. It also saves you having to remember everything- again allowing you to 100% focus on your allocated task.
Best piece of advice you were given about parenting:
Follow you gut.
Chances are your the one who knows best, even if you have no idea what you are up to.
What would you do if you weren’t doing your current job/running your business?
I honestly can’t imagine myself doing anything else. I love what I do. If I were to do anything I would probably want to work in a library or a book store. I love to read!
Have you met any challenges being a mama in your 20s?
Yes! The comments around age and the assumptions people have around ‘younger mothers’ are something I put up with almost daily.
It’s amazing how many people still assume someone in their mid twenties is too young to have a child. I even had one lady tell me I shouldn’t be having my daughter when I was pregnant because I was too young. I just told her to suck a fat one. I was 23, owned my own home, had an awesome career ( I still do) and an amazing partner. She also forgot that she had her first at 19. How contradicting is that.
What has been your biggest challenge in your 20s (non-parenting related)?
Knowing I’m enough.
As a teen I always had this mentality that I wasn’t enough. I needed to be skinnier, needed more friends, needed better grades. So I pushed myself and I lost myself. I wasn’t until I left school and university that I truely started to accept me as me. I stopped trying to be skinner, more popular or the best and just started to focus on my mental health. I couldn’t be happier. It’s a daily struggle but I know that everything I do is because I want to do it and because it makes me happy. Since I have stopped worrying about other people and their perception of me I am a completely different person.
What piece of advice would you give to a twenty-something year old to a pre kids?
Do what feels right.
The more you try and please other people the less happy you will be.
DO WHAT MAKES YOU YOU.