Mum's Journey: Introducing Jax

Let's start with the basics. What's it like being a mum?

Being a mum is an incredible journey. It is a continuous combination of the most amazing, difficult, heartfelt, and joyful experience. Every day, hour or even minute sometimes, has huge extremes. I love being a mum and there is so much to learn.

I think the biggest thing about being a mum is that it really feels like the fullest human experience. It teaches you new things about yourself, about life, and about the little people you’re raising. It is the most rewarding job in the world.

We know you love Medela products, tell us which is your favourite and why

I absolutely love my Freestyle Flex breast pump. Before getting this hands-free pump (Jax uses our Hands-free Pumping Bustier), I'd have to stop everything I was doing, go sit on the couch and pump. When I was working on set with clients, it was difficult too. I'd have to find a place near a powerpoint to pump, often sitting on the floor.

Now I pump wherever, whenever and it's been a dream. Couldn't image what life would be like without it now that my son is in full-time daycare.

Breastfeeding. We all know it’s hard but tell us why you found it hard and how you overcame those issues.

Breastfeeding has generally been a really positive experience for me for both my children. For my daughter, I had mastitis quite a few times. I remember being in Thailand when she was 3 months old, crying in the shower because I had it again after back to back rounds of antibiotics. I felt defeated and upset that it was so hard. I thought that would be the end of my breastfeeding journey.

After I got through that one, anytime I felt soreness coming on, I would feed her as much as I could. I breastfed her until her 3rd birthday last year. With my second, I was much more aware of what was going on and have managed to keep it at bay for the most part.

I think breastfeeding is often hard because there is a lack of knowledge, positive examples in society, and a weird oversexualisation that makes women feel ashamed to feed in public, to ask for help, or to breastfeed their babies past a year old. Knowledge is power, and I think learning all I could about breastfeeding has helped me the most.

When did you decide to start your pumping journey? Before or after birth? When did you get your first pump and why? Returning to work or wanting your baby to receive the best nutrition all the time?

I decided to start pumping for my son around 7 months postpartum. He was in daycare one day a week and I wanted to make sure he’d still have access to the best nutrition for him, especially as he wasn’t really interested in food yet.

I always knew I was going to have to pump with him because our video production company needed me to be on set for hours at a time. I didn’t get a pump until he was around 6 months old but from then on it became part of my routine.

You are doing an amazing job as the mother of a young kid and you’re even a business owner of a production company, Ocean Family Adventures. Tell us how you find that sweet spot of balancing work and two kids?

That sweet spot is incredibly hard to find and as a full-time business owner, it does sway and vary. I don’t believe you can achieve a perfect balance at all times, and life is meant to ebb and flow.

My partner and I try really hard as the business grows to implement boundaries to ensure that we are not working, editing, or shooting on evenings and weekends. It’s always our priority to be able to be present with the kids.

If we have to work on something during ‘family time’, one of us will usually take the kids out to do something fun so the other can be as efficient and productive as possible.

Also, it’s honestly a lot of late nights or early mornings. And working to be as productive as we can in the time we have.

How does your partner help you out with the new baby?

Jesse is such a fantastic partner, I am so lucky to be able to be raising children and running a business alongside him. We are so grateful that we are able to both be home & working together. It makes things much much easier.

Jesse is our in-home chef, so he is in charge of meal times, and this first year of life for Atlas, he has been getting Aurora up and out the door to daycare while I stay in bed with Atlas. He’s also helped so much with giving Aurora loads of extra attention with trips to the park, bike rides and so much other fun stuff.

Now that Atlas is getting a bit older, they’re all out doing activities together all the time and because I’m pumping, I’m able to go out on my own for a few hours and Jesse can stay home with the kids.

You recently posted on Instagram saying we need 5 hobbies to keep on keeping on. What are yours and why is it important we don’t lose ourselves when we become a mum?

The 5 hobbies are:

1. HERO (our video production company)

2. Roller skating (or running)

3. Social media & my website (Ocean Family Adventure to keep me creative)

4. Uni (always taking on short courses to continue learning)

5. Writing (journalling and getting my thoughts down helps clear my head so much).

It’s so important to have some priorities that are for YOU. Even as an extrovert, I need time each day to re centre and bring my kids the best and most patient version of myself.

We can see you have gone travelling on a plane with your kids! How amazing, tell us how you went about what was no doubt a stressful journey to Bali.

We are HUGE supporters of travelling with kids. We had Aurora on a plane moving from Canada to Australia at 5 weeks old. Since then she’s hit nearly 10 countries, and that was all BEFORE the pandemic.

I believe travelling with kids is seriously over dramatised. Kids are kids, and you will always be parenting them. The hardest part is your own mindset around it. It is totally doable, and usually not that difficult. I look at it this way, parenting will be hard some days regardless, but how amazing if you get to do it in your villa in Bali!

Tell us three words you would use to describe Medela.

Practical, essential, life changing.

If you can give the mums out there reading this interview one piece of motherly advice, what would it be?

Trust yourself. In a world full of gadgets, timings, and tracking, we lose touch with who knows our kids best… us.

You know what your kids need, when, and why. Trust your gut, if something is not right, then go get it checked out. Your body was MADE to do this, and you were made to be your kids' mother.

I always implore mothers to really listen to their instincts and worry less about wake windows, nap lengths, and all that other motherhood jargon. You know when something is wrong, just like you know when everything is right. Trust yourself.

To learn more about Jax and her experiences as a mother, follow her on Instagram and subscribe to her YouTube channel.

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