Leah de Wavrin: Model, Founder of Thelma and Leah, and mother of Thelma

What has been your favorite part of your pregnancy? Any favorite moment you cherish?

The first time I felt her move to the sound of my voice

What was the hardest part of pregnancy?

the last 3 weeks suck!

From your photos, you managed to stay in shape through your whole term. What kid of work out routine did you have? Are there any specific addresses in London that you would recommend?

What about your beauty routine, what has been your favorite products to use while you were pregnant?

I tried to use mostly organic stuff, I loved using olive oil on my belly and the Weleda and NomNom products are pretty heavenly

What was your pregnant style like? Did you give up into any of the maternity brands or did you manage to work around the bump with your own pieces?

I tried to wear my own things for as long as possible (baggy and soft as key words)  but Thelma grew a lot in the last few months so I had to give in! Topshop and H&M pregnancy wear was great!

You are French born, with your family still in France, but have been living in London for a while, and gave birth there. I feel it can be hard to go through such an experience in a different country, with a different medical system, and far from the family support. Are there any advices you would like yo share with other mothers in the same situation?

Luckily my boyfriend was so good during my labour, he really was so supportive and made it quite fun so that helped. We used the NHS which is really unbelievable how amazing they are. The only downside is after all that amazingness you have to stay in the hospital for a few days amongst other crying babies and new mothers which can be a bit stressful. I cannot complain though, throughout my pregnancy and labour (which was a difficult one) the support they gave me was incredible.

Any other advice you would like to share?

I would say don’t try to imagine your labour, and don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t go accordingly to what you had in mind. I looked too much into it, and wanted a hypno-birth but I ended up v drugged up and almost had a C-section!!

What do you love the most about Motherhood?

I love waking up with her smiling when she sees my face first thing in the morning, I love dressing her up, I love that every day she is changing and learning new things. It is just the best being a mum!

What are your favorite things to do or share with Thelma.

I like taking her on walks, and bathing her. Bath time is her fave

What have you found the most difficult to adjust to?

She has become quite tricky at 6 months, it’s a hard time for both of us as she is extremely needy and can’t do anything by herself, also less time to spend with my boyfriend, late nights.

Can you describe a day in your life with Thelma in London, where she was born?

Thelma wakes up around 6am, I try to feed her and sometimes she falls asleep again around 9am. Then we go for a walk. I get a juice from Juice baby around the corner, then usually she’ll fall asleep during that walk again. Then it’s lunch time for both of us, and as she eats I get hungry so it can be a little stressful! then another walk, also this depends on whether it is too cold or not! I would make the walk shorter or longer accordingly. I do some errands then around 6pm its feeding time, bath time and sleepy time. Sadly she doesn’t do a full night of sleep yet!

You recently moved to Rajasthan in India, with your husband. What has been the most drastic changes in the routine you had with Telma back in England?

Wow, the changes are pretty huge, first of all where we are they’ve never used nannies so it was hard to find someone to help us with Thelma. The nanny has obviously got a completely different approach to parenting, there is no letting babies cry here. They are always picked up… Which makes her a bit harder to deal with but that is how they do it. It is difficult to tell them to change their whole system! I haven’t been asked so many times since having a baby : ” why is your baby crying? ” by strangers! They also put Kajal, which is eyeliner, on her. I keep telling them we don’t do this in Europe but I am almost told off if I don’t!

What has been the most challenging with this move?

The most challenging is definitely the lack of resources, especially organic things, formula, products, I couldn’t find a proper cot, only a travelling one with a very thing plastic sheet as a mattress. But our nanny we have now is so sweet and amazing!

what do you love the most about living there?

Living here has a lot of challenges, they don’t see things like we do and vice versa so it is always a bit of a fight every day, but I love their culture, I love the vibrancy, I love hinduism, and all things indian! It is quite hard every day to see poverty and humans as well as animals suffering but you know what, they have such a better way of seeing life. They are happy within misery.

In a few month, you adjusted from becoming a new mother, living in a new country, and even starting your own business. How do you manage it all, and what advices would you like to share with new mothers?

I always dreamed of becoming a mother, and having my own brand was also a dream , so I simply connected the 2, have a baby and a baby brand! I literally couldn’t do it without my boyfriend though who supports me through my (many) mistakes and errors and believes in my entirely. 

We would love to hear more about your brand “Thelma & Leah"?

Thelma & Leah was created when we were visiting Thelma’s grand-mother in Spain last summer. It was so hot she couldn’t really wear anything. So her granny gave her a little nappy cover that was very cute and received so many compliments that I wanted to get more but there was a real gap in the market so I decided to make my own! I try to source dead stock or vintage fabrics, and hope to grow to be fair trade and organic someday. We are expanding to making tops to match the nappy covers for the summer!

Any other children brand you love?

I mean Bonpoint is the dream, such good quality, I love trotters, john lewis has really good simple things you can buy in bulk (cotton pyjamas), ma petite etincelle, Stella kids, Margherita kids and I love going vintage shopping on Etsy!