This week…Clemmie Hooper, midwife, author and founder of GAS & AIR BLOG

Mother to two little girls (with twins on the way in February!) and midwife to many, Clemmie Hooper decided to start her blog – Gas & Air – to share the knowledge and wisdom she had learnt from being a midwife and being a mother. Stories about pregnancy, birth and mothering young children that aren’t so widely talked about – straight from the midwife’s mouth. She lives and works in South East London.

My little Munchkins are… Anya (8), Marnie (5) and twins due early Feb

No-one ever tells you that…all that thick shiny hair you grew in pregnancy falls out after you’ve had the baby and the only solution is getting a heavy fringe (I’m still sporting my bangs eight years on!)

I couldn’t have survived the first three months without… Marmalade on toast, like minded friends who didn’t want to discuss their actual babies and dvd box sets.

I wish I’d known before that…those expensive baby groups are a waste of money and I wish I’d just gone and eaten cake and met a friend for coffee rather than talking in that awful competitive way new mums do ‘oh we’re doing lots of tummy time this week’ BLUGH!

It used to drive me mad when people said…‘Isn’t she small, does she feed well?’ Ergh no I just thought I wouldn’t bother feeding her anything apart from water and air.

The best present anyone gave me was…Food and their time. A good friend came over with a lasagne, took my baby out for a walk so I could have a bath and nap. I cried.

Our first holiday was…a trip to my parents place in Spain, and we got engaged!

The most important that I’ve learnt is…it doesn’t matter what feeding/sleeping routine you do all babies are completely different and will all get there in the end.

I wish…I had worried less, not wasted money on baby groups and spent it on more fun stuff for me and stopped listening to the conflicting advice from health visitors. Second time around I never took her to baby clinic or baby groups and we had so much more fun together. Plus I had nicer clothes. Win win.

I want my children to know that…if they’ve lost something 99 per cent of the time it will be down the back of the sofa; when I put healthy nutritious food in front of them I’m not trying to kill them if it contains a chickpea; and every night before I go to bed I go and sniff their sweet little faces and kiss them and tell them I love them.      

Blog: gasandairblog.com
Instagram: midwifeyhooper
Twitter: @midwifeyhooper