Before she started her family, Jools Oliver, model and wife of chef Jamie, always longed to be a mum. But first there were some problems to overcome.
“I’ve always wanted to be a really good mum,” Jools says. “From early on I wanted to find a husband and settle down. When I was a model, I knew the job had a short shelf life and I thought, ‘Good, it’ll be over soon and I can be a mum'.”
The Olivers had a few disagreements about names for their children before they settled on Poppy Honey and Daisy Boo. Their third child, a daughter called Petal, was born in April 2009.
“I love the name Poppy. I decided I wanted a little girl with that name when I was about eight,” says 30-year-old Jools. “But we had to fight over Daisy’s name a bit. We had around five choices each, and about an hour before she was born we agreed on Daisy.”
Help conceiving
Despite her eagerness to be a parent, starting her family was not entirely straightforward. “I conceived just over a year after we got married,” says Jools. “I was trying a bit before the wedding because I thought it would never happen. I’ve always had problems with my periods and I had polycystic ovaries [a condition that can make it hard to get pregnant]. That’s why I wanted to start early.”
After several months of trying, Jools was prescribed a course of Clomid, a fertility drug that regulates periods and helps you to ovulate. “Luckily, I got pregnant within three months of taking it. The next step would have been IVF, and I was quite worried about that,” she says.
Once they’d had Poppy, Jools and Jamie had no difficulty conceiving Daisy, who was on the way four months after her sister’s birth. “We didn’t try at all. I didn’t think anything would happen because I was breastfeeding, and I’d had so many problems before,” she says.
The births
For Jools, the birth experience was different both times. With Poppy, born in March 2002, weighing 3.57kg (7lb 14oz), contractions started several days beforehand and, because she felt so excited, she didn’t sleep.
“It was about three days’ worth of drama. It wasn’t a natural birth, which is what I’d wanted originally,” says Jools. “I had an epidural, but I was happy with the end result. I really enjoyed Poppy’s birth because I didn’t feel any pain. I didn’t want an epidural, but I didn’t realise the pain would be so powerful. In the end I just thought, ‘Bring it all on’.”
With Daisy, who was 10 days overdue, Jools visited the doctor and was given a 'sweep' (very similar to an internal examination, usually done by your midwife) in an attempt to bring on the contractions without the need for her to be induced.
“I came home and felt the contractions straight away. I was hanging about at home, having a laugh with my sister when the doctor rang and told me I should be at the hospital. I said to Jamie, ‘Here we go again, another three-day labour’, but within two hours I’d had the baby.” Daisy was born in April 2003, weighing 3.74kg (8lb 4oz).
Jools felt strongly about wanting to breastfeed her children, but says, “With Poppy it was easier. At first my nipples cracked, but after a couple of weeks she was a real joy to breastfeed. With Daisy I had recurrent mastitis [a painful condition which makes your breasts sore] and I really had to force myself to carry on for six months.”
Motherhood
Now Jools has her hands full looking after the girls, she wishes she’d taken advantage of the free time she and Jamie had before the births. “If I had one piece of advice for mums-to-be it would be, ‘For God’s sake, rest now! Take time out with your husband or boyfriend’. Jamie and I were very excited about the birth and he did his thing and I did mine and I really wish now that we’d spent more time together and gone on holiday somewhere. Because it’s all full-on from the moment you give birth.”
Despite that, Jools found time to keep a diary of her experiences, and her book, Minus Nine to One, was published in 2005.
Jools admits that she and Jamie have very different parenting styles. “I love the girls and I’m with them from the minute they wake up until the minute they go to bed, but when it’s the evening I get quite selfish because it’s my time, so I’m very disciplined about bedtimes. Because he’s working, Jamie wants to have them with us, and sometimes he’ll bring one of them down from bed, which drives me mad. It’s our only big bugbear.”
Jamie spends a lot of time with the children at the weekends. “I go shopping with my mum on Saturday mornings and he stays home and bakes bread with them,” says Jools. “I’m better at reading and he’s better at messy games, which the girls love. Jamie’s an entertainer, I’m more of a cuddler.”
“Parenting is an ongoing battle of wills and I never thought it would be this hard. But they’re so funny – they constantly make me laugh.”
So what’s the best thing about being a mum?
“The first time they say, ‘I love you, Mummy’,” says Jools without hesitation. “Nothing in the world beats it.”
