"A baby fills a place in your heart that you never knew was empty." “First we had each other, and then we had you. Now we have everything.” “Babies are such a nice way to start people.”

The latest stage of my life journey as a woman has been the most exciting and beautiful of all. Having been raised in a wonderful, loving home, I always knew that I would one day have children, and as soon as I met Jake (my future husband) I was impatient for us to start our own family. Pregnancy was an incredible experience – it brought me even closer to my own Mom, and gave me a greater appreciation of the shared bonds of knowledge, love and strength that unite all women.

Like all expectant mothers, I felt both blessed and excited through the 41 weeks (yes, Elijah arrived a few days later than expected!) of my pregnancy. Naturally, I also felt a little nervous, but any time I doubted myself or worried that I might not make a great mom, a reassuring kick would nudge me gently back onto my true path.

Pregnancy was a hard but magical journey, what with the hormones, joy, wardrobe challenges and occasional tears – not to mention loving the surges of oxytocin! After years of doing my best to care for my body, I now found myself sharing it with the most amazing new person – and I couldn’t wait to meet him, and just spend hours gazing into his perfect little face.

As entrepreneurs, Jake and I know what it means to create something – but this experience was on a whole new level. Running businesses should also have taught us that even the best-laid plans can go awry, and Elijah Joseph wasn’t quite as ready to enter the world as we were to welcome him.

After almost 24 hours of labour, we elected to have a C-section, and so our hairy-headed little bundle of joy made his appearance on the evening of Friday, April 13th. So much for it being an unlucky day!