Daisy Lowe is savouring every moment of being a new mother, both the highs and the lows.
The model, 34, just had daughter Ivy with partner Jordan Jay Saul and has been giving peeks into the life of the family of three on Instagram, from days out together to discussing the realities of how your body changes.
Daisy, who recently partnered with Three UK in collaboration with Moonpig, has spoken on the shift from busy model to busy mother, and how ‘nothing can prepare you’ for everything that comes with it.
The design star opened up about life with three-month-old Ivy Love, despite admitting she got just four hours of interrupted sleep the night before (‘it must simply be wonderful lighting!’).
‘Nothing can prepare you,’ she admits.
‘I feel it’s the most incredible, magical, intense, nutty, pulling-yourself-in-all-directions experience. Nothing will prepare you.’
She reveals she has ‘fantasised forever about being a mum, I always wanted to be a mum,’ but ‘it’s so obviously different in practice than it is in your head.’
‘At one point there were tears, and Jordan said “You knew this was going to be really hard!” And I knew it would be hard, but it’s very different in practice. It’s a learning curve, every day.
‘Everyone says you think you’ve figured it out and then it will all change. But I didn’t think that would happen so quickly – literally within minutes. It’s like, “I’ve figured it out! Oh, no.”
The actress is as bright and sincere in person as she is on social media, where she often publishes open, honest observations on life: she just uploaded a photo of herself in a bikini as she struggled with her body image after giving baby.
And while she is sometimes targeted by trolls (‘It’s a shame, but I just have to block and continue on’), she feels it’s ‘really important to be honest’.
That said, she admits she had ‘reservations, particularly sharing the image of me in my bikini’.
‘It came out on a day when I was struggling with the way I was talking to myself. I wrote that for me, and then I thought there are so many women who must feel the same, and actually so many humans who must feel the same.
‘It’s not just exclusively for post-partum bodies, it’s universal. We’re so used to comparing and being met our entire lives with images of these perfect bodies. And the really sad thing is you look back at pictures from five or 10 years ago when you didn’t feel that great about yourself and you think “I was gorgeous then, I’ll never be as gorgeous again as I was then.”
‘And all we’ve got is this one incredible body, and I think especially through pregnancy and breastfeeding, you understand how extraordinary our bodies are.’
Daisy was whisked away to a hotel for her and Jordan’s anniversary recently, and she shared a stunning photo of herself nursing baby Ivy while lying on a bed strewn in rose petals on social media.
She laughs, however, and clarifies jokingly: ‘Breastfeeding doesn’t always look like that obviously – a lot of times I’m covered in sick.’
The model is a supporter of the calls on the government campaign, which urges the government to review infant formula legislation and allow retailers to accept loyalty points, all food bank vouchers, and store gift cards as payment for infant formula, and she appears surprised to learn that there is currently ‘no support’ for struggling families.
‘There should obviously not be a ban,’ she says. ‘Struggling families should be supported by the government. It’s feeding our babies, it’s really important to have that.’
Daisy is celebrating the festival season by learning how to make flower crowns at home through her campaign with Three UK and Moonpig, saying it’s ‘lovely to do something physically with your hands’
Daisy Lowe has teamed up with Three UK to celebrate the return of the festival favourite flower crown. Get £5 off bouquets to make your own flower crown at home via the Three+ Rewards App