INTERVIEW | REBECCA JOBSON
Rebecca a Jobson is a well-travelled model and blogger, but most importantly, she's a proud mama. Well known in Australia from her time on Australia's Next Top Model (she made it to the final 6 back in 2008), she now spends her days in the beautiful Yallingup, WA with her almost one year old Arabella and partner, pro surfer Taj Burrow.
She recently launched her own website, People Places Plates, which explores people, reveal and food- basically a dream combination in my eyes! Here, we chat about raising girls, the best place she's ever visited and how to make travelling with a bub as stress-free as possible.
A quick google search brings up 'Rebecca Jobson - Australia's Next Top Model 2008 and 'Taj Burrow's girlfriend', but we all know the internet only scrapes the surface on who we are and what's important to us, how would you best describe yourself?
I hope to think I'm a little more complex than those two labels. I'm a very proud mum, currently residing in a wonderful little beach town in WA called Yallingup. I'm part of a small tribe of three, myself, Dad (Taj) and baby (Arabella). We're lucky enough to be a travelling family and we get to see many beautiful corners of the world. I recently started my website called People Places Plates which lets me combine my love for writing, travel, food and people.
A mum to the gorgeous little Arabella, how would you describe your parenting style?
A constant learning curve. She is our first child and I am forever grateful to have so many mums around me to lend me a helping hand. Whether it be a literal hand or some great mum-to-mum advice. A lot of people comment that they think we are very relaxed parents and I can only attribute that to having so many helpful people around me and, touch wood, an incredible daughter. She definitely has her moments but she makes being a mum a dream and I consider myself very lucky to have her.
As a mama myself, in the lead up to my birth, a wise and beautiful friend told me not to fear a pain I've never felt before. What advice would you give other mum-to-be's?
The only advice I can give is to put trust in yourself and your body. The female body is an extraordinary thing and once you witness childbirth I think you really appreciate that to its full extent. Go into birthing with an open mind because there are so many variables and things that can happen and things don't always go as planned, you don't want to feel disappointed or stressed in that situation. Only you know what is best for you, and just remember that we're lucky enough to have super hormones that make you forget it after it happens anyway! All I know is I wrote a two page birth plan, made three different playlists and had essential oils ready to go and when it got down to it, I didn't think about them for a second haha!!
Has there been any 'parenting' advice that you have personally taken on board?
A friend once said: "The baby is coming into your life, you aren't coming into theirs" and it's always seemed to stick in our minds. We've tried to keep our lives as normal as possible, minus the late nights out. Parents need to keep their sanity and you can't keep yourself locked up all day talking to the baby or you'll lose your mind.
With your daughter's first birthday approaching, how would you sum up this past year?
Well they say time flies when you're having fun, but wait until you have a baby! I cant believe it's been a year already, it doesn't seem real. It's definitely been the biggest challenge of my life but it's the most rewarding thing I've ever done. You don't know a love like this until you have children of your own. I didn't think it was possible to love someone so much. She's such a character already. It's pretty unreal to go out with Taj and this little nugget that we made together and watch her learning and growing up so quickly.
I don't know about you, but there are times I feel fearful of raising children in today's world. With the rise of social media, online bullying and kids who seem to grow up so much faster than we did in my day, what do you most want to teach your daughter?
I feel like it's especially scary having a little girl. I swear my generation never did anything like what I see teenage girls doing now. I guess that's a big generalisation but it's just scary knowing that it's out there and happening. I can't even tell the age of a teenage girl these days, if you asked me to differentiate between a 13 or 18 year old, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. I guess you just have to teach your kids to be confident in themselves and their abilities, and that they don't need approval or attention of others to be happy with themselves. That it pays to be nice to people and that eating a slice of humble pie will get you a long way. I love the idea of having her grow up in a smaller town because I feel like it's much easier to teach her these things - and she has a lot of good role models around her that she will hopefully learn from.
According to your instagram, Arabella is already well-travelled, was this a conscious decision or something that has happened organically?
It happened quite organically. Travelling is part of our lives. We are lucky enough that Dad gets to travel a lot for work and he gets to bring us along. We're actually so excited to get some more time at home with Bella to get settled. Maybe going on camping trips nearby and seeing some more of the beautiful West Coast of Australia.
Speaking of travel, you've recently launched your own blog - People, Places, Plates - how did this come about?
I'm so glad I finally did it, it's been something I've wanted to do for years and just never quite got around to it. I love to write, and I used to do it a lot but since having a baby it's hard to find the time. I go to so many amazing places in the world, eat so many delicious dishes and meet so many inspiring people that I felt like it was silly not to share it with everyone.
Where is your next destination?
We are throwing up whether or not to go to Tokyo. Dad is already scheduled to go for work but it falls right before Arabella's first birthday so we might stay a little longer and go to Disneyland. That might be just be more exciting for Mum than it is for her but I guess everyone wins.
Where's the best place you've visited to date, why?
It's so hard to say because everywhere is so different, I guess it's what kind of experience you want. We recently went on a trip to the Maldives and stayed at the Four Seasons on the island of Kuda Huraa. It was like something out of a Pinterest dream destination board. It was honestly breathtaking, I didn't even know places that beautiful existed. We got completely spoiled rotten and got to do it with a bunch of our friends so I guess those are some memories that I'll cherish forever.
Any tips for travelling with a bub?
- Be over prepared. Do as much research as you can before you leave. Sometimes you don't need to take all of your baby accessories because the places already have them or they have places where you can rent items so you don't have to take the whole house with you
- Make sure the destination is kid friendly so you don't have to spend the whole time stressing or not being able to go everywhere because children aren't permitted
- Get a good baby carrier so you have your hands free to do things, and speaking of hands keep a couple of good natural hand sanitisers in all different bags so you always have something to keep those germs away from you and your bubs
Images: Supplied by Bec Jobson.
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