Steph Pase AKA justanothermummyblog #showtherealyou

I would love to indroduce you all to the beautiful Steph Pase from @justanothermummyblog. Steph shares daily Instagram posts of delicious healthy recipes, her gorgeous little daughter Harper, her #mumlife moments and also shares some fantastic make up tips. She has recently created a blog for her followers to share in more detail the topics mentioned above.

Steph is a mumma that is open and honest about what she really feels. This is a quality I love and the reason I enjoy watching her jouney.

Sit back and enjoy a cuppa or a class of wine (just like Steph hahaha) and check out this lovely ladies #showtherealyou interview.

1. Can you tell us a little about who the Steph Pase is?

I am a 25 year old wife/ makeup artist and new mummy to my baby girl Harper Rose. I am your everyday Aussie chick who loves health and fitness. Years ago I was quite unhealthy and gained over 20kgs in a year from not moving enough and eating junk. I decided to turn my life around and lost 25kgs and went to compete in Fitness model competitions and even managed to be featured in a couple of magazines and calendars. Since then I have continued a healthy lifestyle but now I have found a balance and still manage to let my hair down and enjoy life. My baby girl is everything to me and I’m just like every other mum surviving on coffee and learning day-to-day.

2. What’s the story behind your Instagram and blog? Why did you get started?

I started up my mummy blog for a few different reasons. Firstly, because I love being able to connect with other women who have the same interests as me. Also as a new mum I felt I really needed to share my experiences with other mums so we can all feel reassured that we aren’t the only ones going through different struggles and so we could relate to each other. Knowing there are other women out there who understand you really makes the tough times a little easier.

3. What do you think attracts women to your page?

I think some women enjoy my page as I don’t sugar-coat my experience I am very honest with how I describe my life as a new mum. I think it is so important for mummy bloggers to share not only the good times but also the hard. It isn’t all sunshine being a mother but it is truly an incredible gift that sometimes we need to remember what a blessing it is. But it is also important to know it’s OK to have hard days where all you want to do in stay in bed and eat chocolate. I also think women enjoy my page because I show them it is possible to lead a healthy lifestyle with a baby.

4. You openly share your first time mum stories with your Instagram, do you think this also helps to support you too?

I think social media is such a blessing for us mothers as I know somedays it can be so hard to even leave the house with a baby attached to you, so being able to reach out to other women and talk really helps us get through the tough days. Sharing my life with other women definitely helps me feel supported and not alone. We can see other women on the same journey and connect in this big mummy community.

5. Being a mum, we know it’s hard to make time to stay active. How important is it to you to continue to move your bod?

I suffer from anxiety so exercise is so important for me to keep a calm and clear mind especially now that I’m a mother. I find when I managed to even go for a 30-minute walk in the morning I’m so much more productive. Exercise really is the most underused anti-depressant. Since having bub I am unable to get to the gym as much as I used to so now I do most of my workouts at home whilst bub is napping or she just watches me (which I’m sure she thinks is hilarious). There are many ways to get your body moving with a baby. I feel like the lack of sleep feels even worse the days I am not active. It is also just as important to know your limits too. Even acknowledging that every small health/fitness goal you achieve is just as important as fitting into your pre-baby clothes. Don’t push yourself too hard and expect to back to the same fitness level right away. I’m nowhere near as fit as I used to be but I try to look at it as a new journey. I haven’t gone backwards but rather I’ve gone forward with my life and this is just a new chapter for me and my body. You have a new life now and you need to factor that in but also not use it as an excuse to not be active.

6. Favourite activewear?

I love Lorna Jane but I prefer just black leggings none of that fluro to highlight my cellulite (haha) I also love Cotton On Body and Kmart (yes I am a huge Kmart Lover).

7. It’s hard to keep out S%#t together sometimes, can you share with us one meltdown moment, that you thought how the hell am I going to get through this?

I’ve had a few of those especially in the first couple of weeks where your sore, exhausted and somehow misplaced your phone in the fridge (yes I did that more than once). The hardest moment for me was when I was 3 weeks postpartum and had milk supply issues and I couldn’t satisfy Harper. At the time I had retained product and that was why my supply had significantly decreased, It felt like the end of the world and that I had failed (even though obviously I hadn’t). My husband really had to take the reins and reassure me that as long as Bub was fed that is all that matters. I ended up getting an operation to get it removed and Bub had to have a bit of formula. Which I then realized wasn’t bad at all and I learnt to relax a little. This taught me a valuable lesson about being a mother. That sometimes things don’t pan out as you’d like but that’s just part of being a parent. As long as your baby is loved and fed that is all that matters. Unfortunately, we all put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be perfect but in reality no matter how you raise your child YOU are the BEST mum for YOUR child. Don’t ever doubt yourself and always follow your gut.

8. Share a positive #mumlife moment?

There are so many positive mumlife moments! But my favourite is when bub was first born and I was in hospital. I was so surprised how confident and what a natural mother I was soon as she was born. The midwives kept asking if she was my 2nd baby as they said I seemed to know exactly what I was doing. This totally surprised me as I was always the awkward lady who would make babies cry when I held them. SO if your currently pregnant with your first don’t doubt those amazing natural mumma instincts! Another one of my favourite mumlife moments was when I was sooo utterly exhausted from being up most the night with bub and then the next morning I brought her into my bed and I was thinking to myself “how the hell can I keep doing this I’m so tired” and then Harper looked at me and smiled at me properly for the first time. My whole heart jumped out of my chest and it totally changed my entire day it was so beautiful and it reminds you that it is all worth it.

9. Mantra or favourite quote you live by?

My favourite quote to help me with my anxiety and life is “A year from now you won’t stress about what you are right now”. My favourite mantra for health and fitness is “The day will pass anyway whether you eat healthy and exercise or not. Use your time wisely”

10. What is your favourite go to healthy recipe at the moment?

I’ve always loved a good protein ball recipe to help keep my sweet tooth at bay. But I am loving zuchinni lasagna lately it’s such a good meal to have in winter and honestly tastes so good! I slice it up and it lasts me for lunches for the week.

11. Where and who do you look for inspiration?

Instagram! I find other beautiful mumma’s and inspirational healthy women everyday and they truly help me pull my finger out on the days I couldn’t be bothered to move my body or eat well. Social media really can be used for so many positive things. Some of my favourite women I look up to is of course Alice, Ashy Bines, Sophie Guidolin and Chontel Duncan. All amazing real women who manage to live a healthy life with a baby!