Jenni Falconer discusses pre-baby shopping pressure

JF: “Without a doubt there are certain things I’d never give away. But it’s impractical, you can be overly sentimental. I have an ‘I’m gonna keep this forever’ box and I’ll keep Ella’s first curl when she has her hair cut, but no nappies or anything. My husband [James Midgley] doesn’t like keeping stuff.”

MFM: What are the main things you’ll keep?

JF: “The little outfits she wore when she first came home – her little booties. I remember seeing the clothes and thinking I’ve seen dolls clothes bigger than these. I will keep some of my maternity clothes so I can show her when she was a bump, this is what I wore.”

MFM: Do you share maternity and baby products with your friends?

JF: “Because you only wear maternity clothes for a matter of weeks, it’s great to swap so that you can wear nice things without spending lots of money. That's why I think Persil Non-Bio and Comfort Pure’s ‘Swishing Party’ campaign is so good. Friends often phone up to say, ‘You know that outfit Ella wore…’ That's great because things aren't cheap, so it’s good to swap. I’ve kept some key maternity things, though. If I have another baby, I wouldn’t mind keeping a few things.”

MFM: Do you think there’s too much pressure on mums-to-be to buy lots of stuff?

JF: “There’s no pressure on us, mums put pressure on themselves to buy new stuff. We want special things, particularly in that nesting period. For a start, it’s not good to tempt fate and you don’t know what you'll need.”

MFM: Did friends buy you lots of newborn baby gear?

JF: “Everyone says, don’t buy newborn stuff as your friends and family will all buy you that - and then no-one bought me newborn clothes! Some gave me presents for 9-12 months and I said, ‘My daughter won’t grow that big!’”

MFM: What are your must-have mummy gadgets?

JF: “I love photo apps, I just take photos of Ella all the time. Feeding and sleep monitor apps were really useful at the time, too.”

MFM: Have you had any mummy mishaps?

JF: “In the early stages, I had them on a daily basis – strap not up properly on my bra when opening the front door, things like that.”

MFM: You recently ran a marathon – how does that compare to giving birth?

JF: “Both are equally challenging and require preparation, but it’s not as painful to run the marathon. At least with pregnancy your feet still look good, though! I’ve lost most of my toenails.”

MFM: How did you balance being a new mum and running a marathon?

JF: “I like to be a fit and active mum and the challenge of the marathon was good motivation. It was really hard, like really hard, working full-time and running. You have to make it work. I used to take Ella with me - and the dog. The dog went on strike in the end and Ella thought it was just normal to go that fast.”

Jenni Falconer has teamed up with Persil Non-Bio and Comfort Pure to inspire women to hold a Maternity Swishing Party to swap maternity and baby clothes they no longer need, and help raise money for premature baby charity Tommy’s. Visit www.facebook.com/comfortzoneuk