Welcome to Spill the Milk, where we ask some of the UK's most famous mums and dads to reveal all about the wonderful world of parenting.
We caught up with husband and wife duo, Emma and Ollie Proudlock on life as new parents to baby Bonnie, how their relationship has changed since becoming mum and dad, and theirparenting podcast series, Help! I’m a Parent.
We hope our podcast will bring comfort and maybe a laugh
Ollie: We've actually wanted to do a podcast for a while, but we just hadn't found the right subject. When we became parents, we were thinking about what an incredible journey it was going to be as obviously, it's nothing we've done before.
Emma: We also knew that everything we were going through, other parents would be going through it at the same time too, and we'd all be going through it together. So it was quite nice to kind of not only document it but also share in this sort of deliriously exhausted hilarity of it.
Our parents have taught us so much about the value of time
Ollie: Originally, we were going to have a different guest for every episode of the podcast. That was the sort of concept in the plan. And then we had my mum on Episode One and she was just so incredible. For this beginning part, especially these early years of Bonnie, we thought it would be so special to have my mum come on for each episode, especially as she doesn't live in the UK. She lives in America so she's missing these moments with Bonnie. It's so special for her to be able to come on and talk about her memories of being a mum and the stuff that we went through as kids, so for now, my mum is going to be the guest every week and she's hilarious.
I think when you become a parent, you just want to be the perfect parent and try not to make mistakes. But there is no such thing as the perfect parent. It's important just to go with the flow. And you will make mistakes along the way, but we're all human. The most important thing is just to enjoy the process because it goes so quickly. For us, the most important thing right now is being present here with Bon, just enjoying every moment and enjoying picking up every little toy. Because it's it's so precious. I think what we've realised going through this process, is that Bonnie is a miracle. So we just want to enjoy every single moment, soak it up, and just give her so much love.
We didn’t really see children in our future before Bonnie
Emma: Not that I didn't want to be a parent. I just didn't see children in my future. But I think I kind of had the sort of ignorance of youth a little bit with for me, and I didn't really realise that I wanted that until I was in my late 20s. I didn't really imagine it until I knew that Ol was the one. I guess you kind of see your future slightly differently, but until that point, I was kind of like, it's not for me, and now I can't imagine my life without her.
Ollie: When you meet that right person, it suddenly really clicks and I was like, oh my gosh, I really want to have a family you know. And now here we are now. I actually don't remember life before Bonnie.
Now, I feel like I was born to be a mum
Emma: I just love being a mum, I really feel like I was kind of almost born to be a mum and I feel so comfortable in my own skin, more so than I've ever in my life. Someone told me that babies are the ultimate ego thieves, and they take away everything that you previously thought about yourself that was important, which actually is completely unimportant. Really, the only important thing is love, and just kind of being there for that little person. I just think she's great. She's the best thing in the world. I think we'll keep her – we quite like her!
The new sense of perspective a child gives you is overwhelming
Emma: I love fashion and I love getting dressed in the morning, but there are things that become less important, and that's kind of one of them. I'm not saying that I don't care what I look like, but I just have a little more depth. Now the most important thing is her. You only get that with having a baby or with becoming a parent or a carer. It's a new sense of perspective. Now, who I am as a mother is very different from who I was before. Your whole mind changes, obviously your body changes, and you become almost animalistic for this little person.
Ollie: She's brought me even closer to the people that really mean something to me – a lot of my family and friends. I've become a better person, I think.
Emma: She's really opened our hearts to have even more love in them. When you have someone to give all that love to it's like an overflowing fountain.
Ollie: When your heart is so filled with love, in turn, you give out more love.
During those early months we felt very much out of our comfort zone
Ollie: The beginning was probably the toughest time because you really are out of your comfort zone. You're finding your groove, the sleep is obviously minimal and she was so tiny in those beginning stages and so fragile. We've been so lucky, Emma and I, to have each other and to be going through this process together. I think once you find your groove, and you feel confident, you feel like you can do this and that anything is possible.
Emma: You're kind of just learning on the job as well, especially with the first. You're always fumbling really. All you know is that you have to keep this little person alive and I think you just kind of learn as you go and panic along the way. And the panics are actually important as well – it's nice to feel all those emotions.
Ollie: I've got so much appreciation for all the mums and dads everywhere, but especially those who are doing it by themselves. I couldn't imagine doing this without Emma.
We’ve definitely fallen more in love with one another since becoming parents
Emma: I've definitely fallen more in love with Ollie, seeing him become a dad. It's just a whole other aspect of him that he's just amazing at and he blows me away. He has the biggest heart and is so giving and selfless.
Ollie: Thank you, bub. I'm completely the same with Em seeing her as a mum. I think maybe when we first met, she probably was unsure whether she wanted to be a mum, so seeing her as a mum fills my heart. It's just another kind of love. This house is just full of love. Talking of emotions, I could cry at any point. It's unbelievable but it's amazing. Especially as a dad and as a guy, you go through life having this guard up, holding all your emotions, trying to be the tough guy. And then ever since Bonnie came into this world, that guard has just been dropped, and my emotions are just all over the shop in a really good way.
I thought I'd find it easy to slip back into my old routine but I was very wrong
Emma: I knew how much Bonnie would obviously mean to us, but it still blows me away whenever I look at her and she's just the most magical amazing thing. I wasn't expecting that I would change so much in my mind and the way I think. I kind of thought that once she arrived, I would be back to work in four weeks. And now I can't even think about it and she's six months. I thought that I would be able to easily slip back into what the old normal was. Not only is it so difficult to even think about leaving her, but also to actually leave is impossible because we don't have family or anyone here to help. I'm happy but I didn't expect to feel like such a different person.
Emma and Ollie's top product recommendations
We love thesubscription nappies from Kit & Kin. They just get dropped on the doorstep. Kit & Kin products are also by a Spice Girl so you know that's a bonus.
The Munchkin Shush sleep machine or ‘shusher’ as we call it was a favourite from the early days. We’d spent so long in the first six weeks or so taking it in turns to go into a room and manually 'shoosh'. And then we discovered that you could actually buy things that did it for you!
I couldn’t be more excited about Bonnie’s weaning journey
Emma: It’s watching someone taste for the first time. So for me, starting weaning is so exciting, as I'm such a foodie and Ol is as well. So it's very, very fun. She's taken to it really well.