Do you have an Idea to Do Now You are a Mama?

3 things that made We Got This happen

We Got This started from thoughts of what do I do now I have two kids…as a brand manager working from home I was lucky that I didn’t have to be at an office everyday, however buyers need meetings when they need them and it was when I was crying at Stowmarket train station as I’d got off a stop too early, pregnant and clock watching to pick up my daughter from nursery that I thought I can't do this with two babies! I was on the phone to my boss and I thought the station looked different but maybe it was a different side?!!?! Cue a very pregnant weeping women snotting to the train man about how long would a taxi take etc etc. Anyway. 

So. Will was born. I searched for something to help his dry skin and came across a coconut brand Kokoso (which I now use myself!), and saw a pic of Mother of Daughter's lovely twins and of course found Mother Pukka and her extremely relevant and epic Flexible Working campaign then scrolled and clicked and scrolled and clicked and found a whole world of mothers parenting, earning, having fun, learning, sharing mishaps AND actually connecting in real life at events. 

But not to Norwich…and that’s why I said to Mike one night, maybe I could host the events here as maybe other women would like to get inspiration from each other like me.

If you have an Idea-to-Do-Now-You-Have-Little-People, here are my top 3 things that made We Got This happen...

1> Little Black Book: A Toolkit For Working Women This is a brilliant tiny book, really easy to read and its quite pragmatic, looks pretty, and I felt like I’d been given a little guide of how to own a little space and it was perfect for shifting my brain from full on baby mode to start-to-think-about-earning-again mode.

2> Podcasts. It's like going to college or listening to your mates chatting but actually you are sterilising/washing/driving (I wish I could say running). One Girl Band - I LOVE Lola’s podcast. Bit like a pep talk if you are thinking about starting up a business. Cherry Healey's are really good, I especially love the one with Steph from Don't buy her Flowers, and of course Scummy Mummies make me HOOT with laughter (do NOT listen with kids though!). I have also partaken in some Side Hustle School listening, and for stuff completely unconnected with parenting, Ctrl Alt Delete makes me feel like an intelligent adult, which is nice. Please tell me what podcasts you find!

3> Running the idea past a life coach, my long suffering friends and husband and anyone who would listen! And then asking actual Norwich women if they would come. That could have been a school girl error. 

My intention is run workshops / talks / supper clubs that focus on different bits of all of this...it's coming!

What happens next?

Juggling lots is second nature to women, however when babies come along, the juggling gets faster and more tricky.

Those lovely days of all day binge watching box sets, or leisurely leaving the house at 11 on a Saturday for brunch vanish and it takes a good while to get used to it. I was hoping this wasn’t just my view on the world, as movies, books, magazines all make being a mum look kind of peaceful, happy, and wholesome. 

When I first read Katie Kirby’s (disclaimer, she is one of my best friends) blog when my daughter was about 4 months old, I literally crapped myself. It was the most honest, warts and all account of looking after two children I had ever read, and my first reaction was what on earth have I done! My second reaction and how I feel about it now is thank god it’s not just me. And I am ok in general with the highs, lows and averages of what can be a minute by minute or hour by hour change in our days. 

So, I really like the idea of getting together with other people who want to do stuff, maybe creative / money earning / socialising and when I properly discovered instagram I found inspiration in The Parent Pause in Rugby, Mum’s the Word in Tunbridge Wells and Cheltenham Maman. The baby classes are excellent at getting out of the house in the early days but I also wanted to learn stuff for me too. 

To check it wasn’t just me, I asked 93 mums in Norfolk to complete a little survey, which is amazing when you consider they’d rather probably be chatting to their mates on what’s app if they’ve 5 mins spare! So thank you to them.

• 72% of Norfolk mums with two kids are looking for ways to manage the ever lasting juggle, citing me-time as the most out of reach challenge
• Me-time is considered fitness, doing nothing and socialising
• 65% of mums have more than one child, making the balance between kids, relationship, work, house, friends and self even harder (Katie’s plate juggling illustration comes to mind↓)
• Mums life balance, parenting, food hacks, wellbeing, fitness and working for yourself are the most popular interests, which this new company We Got This will host events and workshops to help with  

Keep an eye on the website and social channels for the next events, or sign up and I’ll drop you an email when an event is all organised. I am a bit excited about this, I really hope it will be as useful and help parents like me carve out a bit of time to do the things they love, as well as enjoy family life. Let's do this!