GUEST MUM - SAMANTHA

Please introduce yourself -

Hi, My name is Samantha Hamilton. I am 27, from Canberra, I love the outdoors and anything sporty and adventurous. I am married to my loving husband Paul & I gave birth to my little boy Zade Nimal Hamilton on the 4th December 2015. Who came up with the name for your baby and why? Choosing a name was proving to be more difficult then what I thought. Hubby and I had gone through almost 20 names which were vetoed quite quickly. There were a couple of names that stayed on the list and one of them was Cade, but we still weren't 100% on it. One night lying in bed we had a browse on the internet for names and decided we should look at the letter Z as we hadn't yet. As we were looking the name Zade showed up and straight away we fell in love with it. It was something different and one we had never heard before. Zade's middle name is quite special as it is Paul's Sri-Lankan name before he was adopted. Did you have a good pregnancy? My pregnancy journey was most of the time pretty good. I had morning sickness up until the 18 week mark, once that buggered off i was feeling great.I think one thing that helped me have such a good pregnancy was remaining fit and healthy. I don't agree with the whole "oh, your eating for two now so you can eat crap and double of it". I ate healthy about 90% of the time but I definitely had my craving days though and could sit down and eat a block of chocolate to myself :/ haha!! I also tried to stay as active as i could and I really think that helped with my pregnancy and my energy levels. It wasn't until about 37 weeks where i got really exhausted and over being pregnant. Now I cant wait to do it all over again! Where were you and what was your first reaction when you found out you were pregnant? Paul and I were at home when we first found out that we were pregnant. We were just about to head out for our best friends 30th birthday party. I had this weird feeling that i was pregnant, things were smelling funny and making me feel a bit sick and I just overall felt different. I did a test and could see one line that was really prominent and then the second line was barely there, it wasnt showing up enough for me to believe it. We quickly went to the shops and bought more tests, got home and did it. I couldn't read it this time so I got Paul to, he comes over to me and says "Yep, according to this you are 2-4 weeks pregnant"! We hugged for quite a while and we both couldn't wipe the smiles of our faces. We were so fricken excited and just couldn't believe it. Getting through those first 12 weeks took for-everrrrrrrr!!!!! What has changed the most since becoming a mother? I have definitely changed as a person since becoming a mother. My body has definitely changed a lot. I knew this was going to happen though and it is so amazing that our bodies can carry these humans (still blows my mind). I found it hard accepting the change, its only in the last few months that I have stopped being so harsh on myself and embracing my mum body. What were your first thoughts when you saw your baby for the first time? Haha my first thoughts exactly when I saw my baby was "Thank F*ck you are out" lol. Little Zade was in my canal for quite a while so I was so exhausted, but when I saw this little dude I fell in love straight away and was totally smitten. That feeling that I felt once I gave birth and saw his little face for the first time is one that I will never forget. I held him in my arms and just couldn't believe that he was mine. Has your lifestyle changed drastically after having a baby? My lifestyle has not changed drastically, I would say little things here and there have but nothing huge. I still manage to get out and about with Zade plus I also try to have my time. My husband and I still have our date nights which I think is really important for our relationship. Zade spends the night with his Nan on those nights. Your lifestyle only changes when you have a baby if you want it too.Yes, doing the things I love is a bit harder but its still do-able. My husband and I still manage to do most things we used to, we just have another person in tow so we either bring him with us or organise a sitter. I would say one thing that definitely changes is that you cant just grab keys and go somewhere. If I have somewhere to be I have to allow at least 20 mins to get Zade ready and gather all his gear, no more quick escapes. What do you love about being a mother? I have wanted to be a mother for so long, ever since I was little. I love that I mean the whole world to Zade. I love watching him change everyday. I love that being his mother gives me the chance to give him a childhood that I never had. As a mother I want to make sure that he is given every opportunity in life. I love that being a mother has helped me define who I am as a person and has truly shown me that there are more important things in life and to not waste time on the things that don't matter. Any advice for soon to be mothers and already mothers? My advice to mothers would be to make sure that on a daily basis you try to do something for yourself. It's so good for the body, mind and soul. Looking after yourself is such an important thing when becoming a Mummy and I think a lot of Mum's forget this. It is hard at first to leave your baby for an hour but it gets easier and easier. My advice for soon to be mothers would be to take photos. The time goes so ridiculously fast that you will blink and bam they are 6 months old. They are literally changing everyday, being sleep deprived you wont be able to remember most of the memories so its nice to look back at photos or videos that you have taken.

Instagram - @pantha7