Meet Cape Town Mommy: “I absolutely love being a mom now, but it was a rough start.”

Today we meet South African Mom Blogger Jaclyn, who blogs at Cape Town Mommy.

1)What do you normally get up to on an average day?

I work in the property industry and am currently working mostly from home. I have also just completed my degree in marketing management. I have a 2 year old daughter, Allegra. She keeps me on my toes and is very busy, but she is the absolute light of my life. We love getting outdoors, whether hiking or going to the park, beach or away for weekends. 

2) How do you feel about motherhood – what are your struggles and joys?

I absolutely love being a mom now, but it was a rough start. I had a difficult pregnancy, suffering from HG, and my daughter was born prematurely at 32 weeks as I suffered a placental abruption. It was a traumatic birth since it was unplanned and my husband couldn’t be present or even visit me in hospital due to lockdown regulations.

Our daughter was in the NICU for a month and visiting hours were limited to one hour a day and we weren’t allowed to visit her at the same time so had to go separately. As a result I struggled bonding with my baby and 3 months after she was born I was diagnosed with post partum depression. Fortunately I was treated by an amazing psychiatrist and soon started feeling myself again. Amazingly through it all I managed to express breastmilk and eventually breastfeed and although it was never the plan, I am still breastfeeding after more than 2 years. 

3) Tell us about your kid(s).

We named our daughter Allegra which means ‘Happy’. It’s the perfect name for her because she is such a happy little girl. She loves to sing and dance and once she gets to know you she will show you tons of affection. 

4) How did you start blogging?

I started my mom blog and Instagram page while I was on maternity leave. 

5) Share with us a valuable blogging tip you’ve learnt. (or more).

Focus on a niche and connect with your audience. 

6) If you make money from your blog, give us a breakdown on how you do it. Give us some of your methods on how to get started on this, or any tips or advice.

I initially joined The Salt agency and got my first paid campaign after a few weeks. Since then I have had a few more paid campaigns through them and also lots of private campaigns. Often brands will send me free products to try and post about them, or vouchers for experiences. Recently I have started approaching brands that I’m interested in working with. I’m always happy to do exchanges if it’s something that I feel fits my personal brand. I have turned down some campaigns because it’s not something that fits my brand. It’s more important to promote businesses that I believe are relevant to my audience. 

Blog Link: https://capetownmommy.com

Instagram Link: https://www.instagram.com/capetownmommy 

Facebook Page Link: https://m.facebook.com/capetownmommy