What Georgia Jones has learned since becoming a mum

At first, I found my body changing in pregnancy difficult. Being a model, I’ve always been in control of my body and, when I got pregnant, everything changed! I put on weight and I felt bloated. It was only when I started to get a bump that I accepted my body had to change for me to have a baby. It was just doing its thing!

When I first saw Cooper, it wasn’t instantly like ‘Oh my god, you are my entire world. I can’t imagine my life without you!’ I could definitely imagine my life before him because I got a hell of a lot more sleep! I had to get to know him a bit and it took a few months before I felt that surge of love everyone talks about. The connection came when he started to react to what Danny and I said, and we could see that he knew we were his mummy and daddy. I don’t think that’s a negative thing – the connection took a little longer, but it was still really special when it happened.

Cooper was a really hungry baby and needed feeding a lot and, because he refused a bottle for the first four months, I found it hard. I felt a bit trapped because I couldn’t go anywhere and have a couple of hours to myself, even if it was just to go to the supermarket. But then, when it was time to stop breastfeeding, I found that tough, too. I was sad that this was the end of our little breastfeeding journey together.

I’ve learnt that there are going to be days when I think: ‘What am I doing?’ I know now that it is just a feeling that’s totally normal, and it will pass. That even though you know how lucky you are to have this amazing, beautiful family, it’s still ok to feel sad. Being a mum is such a learning curve, we all need to stop being so hard on ourselves.

I feel like I’m saying ‘No!’ a lot to Cooper at the moment – he crawls at such a speed and he just wants to explore everything. Especially dangerous things he shouldn’t be exploring – like plug sockets! But he’ll appreciate it in the long run… when he’s still got all his fingers and toes! And now he’s learning to walk, which is going to introduce a whole new level of danger…!

My priorities have changed. Some friends and I were looking at old photos from when we went to Vegas together, before babies. We were like, ‘Oh my god, look at our bodies!’ But if don’t have rippling abs now, that’s ok. And if I do, that’s ok, too! What’s really important now is my closest friends and family.

When I’m with Cooper, I’m never not thinking. I’m always like, ‘Right, I need to do this! I need to do that!’ But if I have some time to myself, I can switch off and relax. Sometimes I’ll just go to the coffee shop down the road on my own for 20 minutes. I’ll sit there and do nothing, and it’s so lovely. It’s absolute bliss!