Raya Abirached Gets Real About Motherhood, and Gives Parenting Advice!

Motherhood is a beautiful thing; it's truly a blessing. It might be hard, it even seems impossible to survive sometimes, but it's definitely worth it. A new mother experiences many feelings while expecting her little one to arrive, like joy, happiness, worry and excitement. That’s why we had to ask someone famous and loved like Raya Abirached to tell us about her experience as a new mother.

Raya Abirached just gave birth to her little baby girl Lola last July, and we had a quick Q&A session with her to give every new mum tips on how to survive the first few months.

What was your biggest challenge in the first few days as a mum? And how did you overcome it?

My biggest challenge in the first few days was adapting to a whole new feeling, the feeling of being responsible of the well-being of another human, a tiny one! I became constantly worried if everything is being perfectly done for my little baby. That she’s sleeping well, breathing well, and so on. It’s a huge responsibility! You cannot avoid these feelings, but you learn how to adapt to it, it’s normal.

Of course there were many preparations before giving birth to your little baby girl! What was the best thing you did that helped you so much after, and what did you do that you found completely useless?

The best thing I did was getting over with all the preparations before delivery. The preparations, the cleaning and everything else related to the baby’s arrival. But I made a mistake, I bought too much clothes for her, babies don’t wear much in the first three months. I probably shouldn’t have done that.

How were you able to get back to work so fast after giving birth?

I get a lot of help, and my husband is always around to help me, this is why I was able to get back fast to work. The first two months after delivery, I stayed in London, because it’s the travelling that consumes most of my time. My job was strictly limited to interviews, and then I ran back home again to my baby. The most important thing is time management, because going back to work right after giving birth is not meant for everyone, and I don’t recommend it for anyone! But for the ones who have a job that requires their existence like me, it’s very hard to stay longer at home. I present a show called ‘Scoop with Raya,’ I have to be there in person!

Is there anything that you overdo with baby Lola?  

I kiss and hug her a lot; I think she got bored of me! I am really in love with her, she’s too cute. As for her health, I always make sure that she’s fine, and that her daily routine is going well.

What’s the best advice you ever got before giving birth? And what’s the worst one?

When I was pregnant, everybody was giving me advice. What I should and shouldn’t eat, how I should deal with the baby, and many more. And because I am very stubborn person, I decided not to listen to anyone and just do it my way. Besides, the person who was helping me had a very wide experience with children, so that helped a lot!

Tell us about how your style changed before and after delivery?

I really don’t know if my style changed or not, but right now I am waiting for body to get back to how it was before pregnancy. My body has changed a lot since then, and I am finding a very hard time losing the weight, but I am trying to be patient and to give my body the time it needs. I don’t think that my style has changed, it’s just that I try to wear something that would suit my body now.