2019-09-30_Hello!_Magazine_UK

B

est-sellingauthor,TVpresenter

andYouTubehitGiovanna

Fletcheris a podcaststartoo,with

morethansixmillionlisteners

tuningintoherHappyMum,

HappyBabypodcast.ThemotherofsonsBuzz,

five,Buddy,threeandone-year-oldMaxwith

husbandTomFletcher– McFlystar,author

andvlogger– Giovannais knownforherfrank

discussionswithhigh-profileguestsincluding

KatherineJenkins,JoeWicksandAmanda

Holdenabouttherealitiesofparenthood.

Hereshetellshello!howshe’sfinally

embracingsomeme-time,whysheis careful

whomshefollowsonsocialmedia,andher

parentingadvicefortheDuchessofSussex...

Giovanna,betweenfamilylifeandyourcareer,

howdoyoulookafteryourwellbeing?

“Untilrecently,I feltlikeme-timewasselfish–

notforanyoneelse,butforme.BecauseI am

working,if I’mnotwiththekids,everytime

I’mdoinganythingelseI amriddledwithguilt.

“ButI’verealisedyoucan’tpourfroma cup

thatis emptyandyouneedtimeaway.SoI

havestartedrunning;I don’tlikeit muchbut

thefeelingafterwards,theendorphinsrushing

throughthebody,is incredible.I runthree

timesa weekandthat’smy me-time; it helps

metoclearmymind.”

Howdoyoutackledowndays?

“EitherI’llrideit outorgetoutofthehouse

fora changeofscenery,taketheboysfora

walk.Talkingaboutit canbea massiveweight

off.It’sa caseofrealisingit willpass.”

Whatadvicewouldyougivetonewmums,such

astheDuchessofSussex?

“Stopcomparingyourselftootherpeopleand

whatthey’redoing– if they’resleepingor

usingdummies,breastfeedingornot.

Motherhoodis nota competition.Listento

yourinstincts,yourintuition,andworkout

whatis rightforyouandforyourbaby.”

Youoftenshareparentingmomentsonsocial

media;hasit beena positiveexperience?

“WhenI firstbecamea mum,it wasa

timewhereeverythingwaspicture-

perfect;lotsofmumsandbabies

smilingat cameras,butnoone

wassharingmyreality,soI felt

I wascontinuallyfailing.But

whenyoustartsharing,people

willsay:‘I strugglewiththis

too.’Youfeellikeyouarenot

alone.I thinkthepodcastadds

tothat;everyonehasa different

versionofparenthood. It gets rid

of the judgement.”

Arewomenstillunderpressureto

“snapback”afterpregnancy?

“Peoplearestartingtobecomea bit

morerealisticbutthereis stillthat

low-keyrequestforwomentojust

snapback.I thinksocialmediahas

comea longwaytogoagainstit.

“Forme,it is allaboutwhoyou

followonline,whomakesyoufeel

empowered– I don’tfollow

accountsthatmakemefeellikeI’m

failingbecauseI don’tlooklikethat.”

Afterhavingthreechildren,what

aspectofmotherhooddoyou

stillfindchallenging?

“Youarecontinuallylearning

andadapting.Parentingis a

lotofpushandpullandyou

havetogowithit.It freaksme

outwheneverI’mintroduced

asa parentingexpert.I’m

makingit upjust as much as

everyone else.”

Withtheboysat differentages,is it easytodo

activitiesthatsuitallthree?

“I findactivitiesthatareadaptableandwehave

loadsofFisher-Pricebitsthatcovera wide

rangeofages.BuzzandBuddyshareandplay

withthesametoysandtheyarenowtryingto

includeMax.It’seasiernowthathe’solder.

Theyhelphimunderstand,showhimhowto

playanddiscovernewthings,andheis starting

tointeractmore.It’sgreattosee.”

Giovannais workingwithFisher-Priceonlearning

anddevelopmentthroughplay.TheHappyMum,

Happy Baby podcasts are free to download from Acast.

HEALTH

MINDFUL

MOTHERHOOD

Bloggerand

presenter

GiovannaFletcher

talksparenting,

findingtime

forherself and

playtimewith

her three sons

INTERVIEW: KATE LOCKETT. PHOTOS: GIOVANNA FLETCHER

Giovannatalks

parenthoodonher

podcast,sharingher

experiencesof raising

hersonsBuzz,Buddy

andMax(below),

withherhusband,

McFly’s TomFletcher

(below left)

‘I usedto thinkme-time

wasselfishbutI’ve

realisedyoucan’tpour

from a cup that is empty’

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