Interview with Surviving Motherhood AKA Amy Ransom!

Hello and welcome to Wednesday Morning! Today I have an interview with Surviving Motherhood aka Amy Ransom aka the inventor of The New Mum's Notebook! 

I was very pleased to tie Amy down for some questions and find out how she fits it all in plus juggling motherhood too!! 

This is the interview my lovelies;

Hi Amy, thank you for answering some questions for Bad Mum magazine.

Congratulations on the success of The New Mum’s Notebook! I am hopelessly addicted to stationary and this book is enough to make me want another baby! Before my partner kills me, please tell me there is another one coming out for Mum’s with toddlers? Or even just for Mum’s in general…I want one!

So many people have asked this! There are two more notebooks on development for not new Mum's for 2017. Watch this space! P.S I am a stationary geek too...obviously! 

What made you want to make the notebook and how did you even begin?

I wanted to get some reassurance to new mums in those early weeks after having a baby, when you can spend a lot of time on your own, doubting yourself and feeling quite lonely. I thought that if new mums knew how normal it was, they might feel better supported. The Notebook sort of created itself. From a 16 page booklet it just grew and grew to the 304 page colour journal it is now. I was very lucky to have some brilliant friends who just happen to be talented too! So I had a designer on board from the start, a stylist to help oversee the project and tell me that, 'No. I shouldn't have animal print ALL over the cover,' (she was right) and a graphic designer/web developer to make sure someone could actually buy it.

Have you been pleasantly surprised with the positive response you’ve received so far?

Yes, it's only been two months and I can't quite believe how many people have bought it. Not because I think it's rubbish, I should add. But just because, wow, people are actually buying something I've made. I've had quite a few messages from women who've said it's helped them confront some anxiety or PND issues and that was very humbling to hear. I felt very emotional when I read those.

These days our time is very stretched and us Mum’s become experts at multi-tasking! How are you finding being a parent, running a business and everything else life throws at us?

I really like having lots to do. That said, some days I'm not very good at it! My mind gets frazzled, I can't think and we all end up in Mc Donald's because it's time to call it a day and I don't have the energy to cook. We're mostly muddling through but I'm OK with that most of the time.

Just from looking at your website and Instagram account anyone can see you are one busy lady! What motivates you and what is next on your To Do list?

Opportunity motivates me. The world of social media has basically handed opportunity on a plate to anyone who wants a piece of it. I'm not short of ideas, but I'm short of time! And storage, ha ha. Next on the list are two more notebooks in the range and possibly some other merchandise, related to the blog.

On Bad Mum, I represent the real face of parenting. Do you feel it is important that the real day to day life of parenting is shown on social media to make it more realistic and assessable for parents?

Yes, I do. Most of the comments I get on my blog are from people saying what I've posted makes them feel better. We basically all want to know we're 'normal' and that we're not alone in our struggles or thoughts. I do think that there's going to be a backlash against some forms of 'honest parenting' in the not too distant future. Where people get fed up of seeing mothers posting selfies drinking wine and it just all becomes less funny.

We all know how bloody hard parenting can be sometimes and apart from reaching for the wine, how do you cope (or survive) the really bad days?

I'm actually trying to be good with the wine and gin these days. I've mostly cut it out during the week because sometimes I find it makes that 5-7 PM bedtime slot even more painful, as I take my eye off the game and it takes twice as long! Sleep is how I cope now. I've just discovered that going to bed at 10 PM and getting 8 hours sleep makes a real difference to how I cope with the kids. I've even started leaving my phone downstairs so I'm not tempted for 'one more scroll' through Instagram!

Lastly, everyone must leave us with a parenting confession they have never told anyone before? Go and do a shot then write it down!

Now, this one might be a problem for me. Mummy blogger. Over sharer. Goes with the territory...there isn't much I haven't confessed!

Thank you so much for your time and I wish you continued success with The New Mum’s Notebook plus everything you achieve in the future! I'll let you off the confession this time...ha ha! 

To see Amy's full profile and details please visit the Bloody Truthful Mama's section above.