Motherhood Rising: The Tenth Stories

a new series in partnership with ACCLAIMED photographer, Susheel Schroeder

We’re proud to launch a new editorial series in partnership with acclaimed photographer Susheel Schroeder, celebrating the resilience, renewal, and identity of mothers in the postpartum journey. Through intimate portraits and personal stories, this series shines a light on the quiet power of motherhood and the beauty of recovery.

In our first feature, we sit down with Laura Wills of @thefashionbugblog, mother of four, to explore what it was like transitioning into motherhood.

What would you want other mothers to hear or know? 

I would want other mothers to know that it’s really important to take your time with recovery and rest. I am generally not very good at accepting help and have this stoic mentality of wanting to do everything but I think what I learned more and more with each baby was that in order to be the best possible mother you have to be able to rest and accept help whenever you can, to allow yourself to be vulnerable and accept that you have some days which are tougher than others, otherwise you end up spreading yourself too thin. That there is no timeline for how you feel, I felt differently after each of my births. I vividly remember a day when my fourth baby was a few weeks old and I was trying to be everything for everyone and the chaos and noise was so full on. So I think mothers knowing that they should take ALL the time they need is really important.

How did becoming a mother affect how you saw yourself, both positively and negatively? 

All in all I had a hugely positive experience. Pre having children I had suffered with anxiety for a few years, and having a true meaning and focus in my life literally took away that anxiety overnight (I know it can be the opposite for many women) but I saw myself in a very positive light, I felt like I was being the best version of myself by having children that I could devote my love and attention to. On the negative side, I guess your body changing is always challenging. I’ve always loved exercising and was so unwell with 3/4 pregnancies that I didn’t have the energy to regularly exercise and I always found that I sort of lost myself for a while after each baby. But I think it’s so important to remember that going through pregnancy and childbirth is a HUGE change both physically and emotionally and you do eventually find yourself again.

What helped you reconnect with your identity outside of being a mother? 

I think working for myself and having a job that I love (I never really took time off) always helped me to find myself again. Also having a really great group of friends and being sociable helps too. After my third daughter was born I became really insular for a while and stayed at home most of the time and I think it’s so important when you feel ready to actually get back into social relationships even if it’s just having a coffee with a friend. It’s always really useful to open up to people whether that’s friends, family or a professional.

If you could write a note to yourself in those early days after birth, what might it say? 

Give yourself grace!

How did you find balance between caring for yourself and caring for your baby? 

I think it’s so tough to find the right balance, we as mothers always feel guilty for something! But I think because I was lucky enough to do it four times it got easier each time. I do wish as mothers we would really understand that we can only give from a full cup and that self care is just as important as caring for your baby.