Being Mama: Quentin Jones
By her own account she’s an unfussy and fun mom but one thing is for sure – Quentin Jones has more artistic flair in her little finger than most of us have in our whole body.
The model, filmmaker and illustrator has used her creativity to celebrate the delights of her 4-month old son Grey every step of the way.
“I was shot for Tod’s [fashion campaign] while nearly eight months pregnant,” she tells The Tot. “I love the picture from it. I made a book for my boyfriend at Christmas called “A Grey Book”, which has all the photos from the pregnancy and weeks after the birth, including that image, as well as scans, and pictures of Grey when he was just minutes old. I can’t believe it all happened in one year when I look through the book!”
That’s not the only wonderful way Quentin is adding her creative touch to Grey’s life. After running out of time to paint a mural in his bedroom, the busy mom of one is now going to wait until her son is old enough to choose a design so they can experience the project together.
If you’re thinking, like us, that Grey is a beautiful name then you might be surprised to know Quentin and her partner just stumbled across it. “It was going to be Casper but somehow Grey just stuck,” she says.
Luckily for Quentin her whole pregnancy came about in the same relaxed way. After falling pregnant much quicker than she had anticipated, Quentin went about preparing her body for the changes it was about to undergo as best she could.
She loved the Mama Mio range, particularly the Tummy Butter Rub, Ortigia bath oils for soaking at the end of a long day and oatmeal baths to ease her itchy skin. The only thing the 31-year-old wishes she had done differently was not eaten so much sweet popcorn!
As for the birth of little Grey, Quentin puts her “quick and uncomplicated” experience down to pregnancy yoga, reflexology and seeing renowned birth guru Dr. Gowri Motha.
“I think the way Gowri gets you mentally and physically ready for the labor keeps you very calm and allows your body to easily let the baby out,” she says. “I was never against having any pain medication if I needed it. I didn’t want to put any limitations on myself. I just looked into different ways of thinking and then make my own mind up on the day.”
Quentin’s labor was four hours long and by the time she arrived at hospital she was already 8cm dilated. “The pain went from 0-10 in about an hour and a half and the intensity of the contractions was making Grey’s heart rate drop dramatically so that was being monitored,” she says. “We were really relieved when he came out and started breathing!”
Since then every day has been a blessing, although, Quentin is honest about the challenges of nursing a newborn. Her advice to other first-time moms? “Don’t feel badly if it takes a while to fall completely in love with your baby. The first week (or even longer) is such a hard time physically that it can take a little time for emotions to catch up.”
Now little Grey is four months old and the family has just been on a magical trip to the Maldives where Grey had his first taste of non-dairy coconut ice-cream. “He looked like he was in heaven,” she says.
Speaking of coconut, coconut butter was actually one of Quentin’s favorite products for herself and her tot following the birth using it on everything from diaper rash to sore nipples and birthing wounds thanks to its natural disinfectant qualities. That and La Coqueta clothes for Grey which Quentin says are beautiful and practical.
So what’s next for this artistic mom? Well, she’s back at work busy creating everything from swimwear designs to fashion commercials and of course, having some fun on the side. “Having a baby doesn’t have to change how much fun you have,” she says. “You just need to be much more organized about planning it.”
