DAVID JONES KIDS SUMMER 2016 CAMPAIGN
"Having a baby is the best thing that happened to my relationship but it also put a strain on it like I'd never felt before. It's another level of responsibility being a parent and things that never used to bother you for some reason end up bugging you a lot. Mix that with sleep deprivation, raging hormones and the sound of a screaming baby and it's a recipe for disaster. I have the worlds most perfect man by my side and still find a way to lose my mind sometimes..." Rebecca Jobson
Modern parenting is all about making life easy so there is more time to enjoy the important things like your new baby. As part of the David Jones Baby Campaign for SS16 we took real advice from real life and sat down with model and mum on the road Rebecca Jobson who candidly reveals how motherhood changed her and her relationship with partner professional surfer Taj Burrow and what she discovered about keeping it real.
Ok lay it on me, how obsessed are you really?
Beyond what I even thought could be possible. I never knew you could stare at a human so much, especially someone that barely even moves.
What was the thing that surprised you the most about being a new mum?
I think the natural motherly instinct that I had as soon as Bella came surprised me the most. I was quite overwhelmed in the lead up to the birth and felt out of my depth, yet the moment I laid eyes on Bella I felt like I had been a mother forever.
Describe a normal day in your house?
A normal day for us is far from normal. We travel a lot so theres a lot of change in our day to day life. It definitely involves a beach wherever we are, a big coffee for mum and dad and some sort of adventure.
Take us into Miss B’s nursery?
We created the nursery before we found out that we were having a little girl, so we tried to make it quite gender neutral. We wanted the space to be special, so we decided to put our DIY hats on and do it ourselves. We added a feminine touch after she was born with some Sheridan cushions, throws and some Beatrix Potter plush toys.
Have you had any moments where you’ve gone “oooooohhhh that was what my mother was talking about”. Do you think becoming a mother has changed your relationship with yours?
One hundred percent. I don't think you understand the sacrifice that a mother goes through until you live and experience it yourself. Living away from my mum has been quite hard, as I haven't been able to have her around so much. I recently got to spend a whole month with her. It was really the best thing ever, I didn't want to let her go.
Your husband has just retired from travelling the world tour after twenty years of being at the top of his game in surfing. How has being a father changed him or given you a different insight into who is?
He got ten times better. Witnessing Taj's transformation to becoming a father has been one of the most beautiful things I could have ever hoped for. I thought we were already very much in love, but since becoming a family it has just reached a whole new level. I think having a baby girl changes every man and brings out his soft side.
You travel often with the little lady. Any advice on what makes your life a little easier on the road?
Breastfeeding, a supportive partner who is willing to share the load and I have the Ergo 360 baby carrier that comes with us everywhere we go and allows me to have my hands free for the journey ahead. I love how you can have the baby positioned so that she can see the world and learn instead of being tucked away hidden the whole time and if we are out she can easily go to sleep in it.
What are your top picks that you pack to keep her comfortable but insanely cute?
I'm a sucker for anything Country Road Baby, the materials are just so soft and beautiful that she is always so comfortable while looking cute as a button. I also love the Pure Baby grow suits and no one can go past a Bonds wonder-suit. She practically lived in them for the first 3 months of her life.
You're a very easy going lady, low maintenance in fact. Is there anything you can’t live without when it comes to Bella?
Sophie Le Giraffe, she is teething right now so I cant go anywhere without it. I always have to have a white muslin wrap in my bag because of the crazy West Australian weather and how it can turn instantly cold. You can also always find about 50 packets of wet wipes in my bag because I use them for everything, I get the natural ones that are biodegradable and best for the earth.
If someone could have given you one piece of advice before having Bella what would that be?
I think before having Bella I was so overwhelmed with such an over load of information. It's a great thing that there is so much information available so you can do your research and try and prepare yourself but for me it almost felt like too much and it would just send me into a stressful overload and make me anxious. I was really lucky that I had a lot of friends with babies and kids of all ages so I had mother's who offered me great advice. Especially equipment wise, if you're a soon to be mum you will understand, there's definitely a lot out there on the market. One piece of advice that I received was to invest in a great capsule car seat and we ended up going with the Maxi Cosi Mico AP with Isofix . It was such a blessing because you can just detach it from the base and out of the car and clip it straight into my pram without having to wake up the baby and unstrap her every time we got out of the car. Bella fell asleep the second we put her in the car so this saved us a lot of tears and tantrums at the other end!
The other beautiful piece of advice that I received and really stuck in my mind was.. "Make sure you always make time for your relationship. Give the baby to a friend or relative and go on a date night every now and then". Having a baby is the best thing that happened to my relationship but it also put strain on it like I'd never felt before. It's another level of responsibility being a parent and things that never used to bother you for some reason end up bugging you a lot. Mix that with sleep deprivation, raging hormones and the sound of a screaming baby and it's a recipe for disaster. I have the worlds most perfect man by my side and still find a way to lose my mind sometimes but its all normal. Make time to go out of your way to tell each other how much you love the other, spend some time to soak up the love bubble that you're in without any interruptions!
Shop the Campaign HERE or click on images above
TEAM
Photographer Sam Elsom | Hair and Makeup Amanda Reardon | Creative + Stylist Sheree Commerford | Assistant Stylist Sharee Gray | Assistant Everything Kenyon Batterson
