In honour of Mother's Day we wanted to feature an amazing mum doing her thing. Hannah Jeanneret is a 20 year old Brisbane mum slaying mother hood and showing girls everyday it is possible to be both a young mum and successful. She inspires young mums with regular posts in the ever so popular Girls Advice and also runs her own YouTube Channel where she has opened up about her new life as a mum.
We sat down with Hannah recently to see what it's like being a young mum and if she has any advice for other girls going through similar things.
How old were you when you found out you were pregnant?
I found out I was pregnant in June 2016 when I was 19 years old.
Were you in a relationship with the father of the baby
at the time?
Although I was in a relationship with the father prior to finding
out I was pregnant, we were not together when we received the news.
If no, how did he take the news and are you together
now?
Sean (my son’s father) was even more shocked than myself when I
told him we were going to be having a baby. Since we weren’t together at the
time I left it up to him to decide whether he wanted to be involved or not.
Thankfully he chose to support me and stay to help raise his son. We got back
together at the end of my pregnancy and are now happier than we ever have been.
What was your due date and what date was the baby born?
At my first scan I was informed that my due date was the 15th
of January 2017. A couple of weeks later at my next appointment they were able
to provide a more accurate date and it was changed to the 13th of
January 2017. Funnily enough, I gave birth to my son right in the middle of the
two, on the 14th of January 2017.
Was the sex of your baby a surprise?
Although I was originally hoping for a girl I had a feeling that my
baby was a boy. He was always a boy in my dreams. Also, I had a lot of people
tell me that my symptoms along with how I was carrying were common when
carrying a little boy. Obviously my instincts were correct as I now have a
beautiful 4 month old son.
How did you come up with his/her name?
I was always drawn to names that I had never heard; however Sean
was quite the opposite. I remember going through dozens of suggestions every
single day yet there were none that stuck to him. One day my younger sister
told me how she loved the name “Fletcher”. I didn’t like it as much as some
other names and was certain Sean wouldn’t like it so I put it in the back of my
mind to suggest it the next time I saw him. I think a week or two went by and I
remembered that my sister had suggested the name so I brought it up with Sean.
To my surprise he loved it! As time went on it grew on us both and we didn’t
even consider other options. That was probably half way through my pregnancy so
we decided the name quite early on.
What sort of birth did you have? Was it painful?
I feel like every birth is painful in some way whether that is
mentally or physically. Since I did not have any pain relief, for me it was
both. You can try imagine the pain and have it described to you prior to labour
but there is honestly no combination of words to describe the severity of it.
Having said that I would go through it all again tomorrow- holding your baby at
the end of it all is worth every second of pain. I was extremely lucky to be
blessed with an 8 hour labour from start to finish and was only in severe pain
for 3-4 of those hours.
What was the most difficult thing about the pregnancy?
For me it was adjusting to the fact that I was gaining so much
weight. Growing up I have always had a naturally small frame and I struggled to
remind myself that the weight gain was normal since I was growing a little
human. I was lucky to not have severe morning sickness or any complications.
Besides the weight gain I really did enjoy being pregnant.
What are the most expensive parts of being a parent and
how much do you spend roughly per week purely on your child?
At the moment Fletcher is really not expensive at all. I think the
fact that I am breastfeeding contributes to this a lot, as we don’t have to
worry about buying formula. We also don’t go through as many nappies and wipes
as I thought we would. I would say they cost us roughly $50 a fortnight but it
really depends on the amount we buy. Luckily we have not yet run out of bath
products and lotions as we were given copious amounts at my baby shower.
Obviously these expenses will increase as he gets older, but right now it is
very affordable.
If you could give any advice to girls going through
something similar to you, what would it be?
My number one advice to young Mums (or first time Mums in general)
is that it’s okay to be scared. It is completely normal to not feel like you’re
“glowing” or for your fear to outweigh your excitement. There are so many
individuals on social media these days that portray parenting and pregnancy to
be such a breeze and the most amazing and exciting time of your life. While you
will feel like this sometimes, parenting is very challenging and at times can
be very overwhelming. Just remind yourself that just like the millions of
mums/parents around you, you will be okay and get through it. All the obstacles
aside, being a mum is the most rewarding job there is and I am beyond blessed
to be experiencing it with the love of my life.
