Postpartum Series: Paige

Written By Olivia .

In our fifth interview for the postpartum series, I am bringing you an interview with Paige Burton. Paige is a mama in her 20’s who lives in New Zealand.

We discuss all things postpartum, and Paige shares her advice for new mamas.

Hi Paige! Thank you so much for joining me in an interview about your postpartum experience.

Let’s start by introducing yourself and your little family…

Hi I’m Paige! I have been with my partner Tom for just over 3 years now and our son Hudson joined our family in August 2020.

Hudson is 16 months old now. Time has flown by so quickly! He is NZ European and English. Hudson’s middle name is Arthur which is named after his great grandfather on Tom’s side. We loved the idea of having a family name for his middle name and a name that we found and loved as his first. He is a very cheeky, happy boy always wanting to make people laugh and play. He can be very busy and full on at times but mostly very laid back and a real mummy’s boy which I definitely will never complain about… He is extremely social and loves the water, getting messy and spotting dogs to pat.


Can you tell us about giving birth to Hudson, and your subsequent postpartum recovery?

I had a fairly straight forward pregnancy with Hudson, but I was high risk for preeclampsia due to high blood pressure. Toward the end of my pregnancy my blood pressure started to creep up so an induction was booked in for 40+4 weeks.

At 39+5 weeks I woke in the middle of the night to contractions, which really excited Tom and I as we thought that things were starting on their own before my induction. Unfortunately after a few hours they stopped, and they continued to start and stop throughout the night for 5 days. After 5 long nights of no sleep, we went into hospital.

At 11am I was given a drug called Pethidine to help me sleep. Unfortunately, it didn’t help a lot but at around 5pm I was checked again and I was 3cm. A decision was made to break my waters and help get things moving. By 6pm I was in active labour and having very intense contractions. At 8pm I had my epidural, Hudson’s heart rate was decelerating and I was getting very tired and unhappy. I also had heavy bleeding throughout my labour which was believed to be an antepartum haemorrhage. Therefore, I was closely monitored for both the bleeding and the decelerations, with a lot of back and forth talk about a caesarean.

Luckily, we were able to have a blood test done off of Hudson’s head to check his oxygen levels, as well as a clip placed to get an accurate reading of his stats. The decision was made that we were both stable enough to avoid a caesarean.

At 3.30am I was fully dilated and started pushing. Hudson was born at 4:22am 6th August 2020. I was so happy to have our little boy earth side after a long week!


Are you happy with how much support you have had after giving birth? What do you think we, as a community, can do, to support new mamas?

I am lucky enough to say I felt extremely comfortable with being a mum straight away and things came very naturally to me… We went to Birth care a few hours after Hudson was born, but didn’t really enjoy it (unpopular opinion) and really wanted to be in our own space. We left early the next morning.

I’m lucky enough to have an amazing and supportive family; my mum is a midwife and actually delivered Hudson. Tom was amazing in his support, and I have a lot of friends with babies of similar age. I found that so helpful, also even if it was just to vent or ask questions!


In your opinion, what is the best thing about being a mama?

My favourite part about being a mum is watching my favourite little human grow and learn and develop his personality. He really is my greatest achievement and being his mama fulfils me so much.


What has been the most difficult part?

The most difficult part would be adjusting to this whole new version of yourself.

You really do become a new person once you become a mum, and you give up a lot of the things that you did before. Finding time to fit everything in can be overwhelming at times, but it has helped learning to slow down when I need to, and reminding myself that some things can wait.


The Mum Club is an awesome community for mamas, I love that you organise meet ups too! What was your inspiration behind creating The Mum Club, and how are you hoping it evolves in the future?

The Mum Club is a little side venture that a good friend of mine Gemma and I decided to start up. I met Gemma through social media while pregnant and joined a local coffee group. We bonded quickly, finding comfort in having somebody else going through the same thing we were and realised how important having your village of mums around you really is.

The Mum Club was born in the hope that we could help mums connect with other mums in their area. We did have weekly meet ups throughout New Zealand, however with lockdowns and adjusting to new rules around Covid-19 we haven’t been able to have them running lately. We will be looking at our meetups heading into the new year and seeing how we can accommodate this to the new Covid-19 system. 

In June 2020, we hosted our first Mum Club Retreat where we had a morning of Pilates, guest speakers and lunch while networking with other mums.

It was a lot of fun and we hope to plan another event in the future!


That sounds amazing! How can mamas get involved in Mum Club meetups or other events?

We have an Instagram page (@themumclubnz) where mums can connect with us and keep up to date with meetups and events we will be hosting. We absolutely love seeing our community grow and anyone and everyone is welcome whether you are pregnant for the first time or have kids at any age.

Gem and I have had a wee break while I started up at a new job and Gem finished her studies but we are excited to get back into things in the new year and plan some exciting things for 2022!


It’s 2021, and the juggle is real for mamas and work. What are your plans around work/your career and motherhood? 

I went back to work after my maternity leave finished when Hudson was 6 months old.

It was a huge adjustment going back to full time work, but Hudson adjusted well and loves his daycare family. I moved jobs in July this year and recently decided to take Wednesdays off for mum and Hudson time. He is in daycare while I am in the office for the rest of the week.


What relationship advice would you give to couples who have a baby on the way or have recently had a baby?

I think communication is key!

Having a child really adds a whole new dimension to a relationship as amazing as that is, it can also be tough. Add sleep deprivation to the mix and it all gets a bit overwhelming at times. Tom and I have always tried to keep an open and honest relationship and I have had to learn to accept help where I needed it. 

It’s also important to make sure you both make time for yourselves as well as each other.

Baby free date nights are a must!

What will be your essential newborn items if you decide to have baby number two?

For baby -


For mama -


Do you have any other advice to give new mamas trying to navigate postpartum life?

You are all your baby needs, and to them you are perfect! Remember to reach out when you need the support. All the hard stages are temporary and will pass so be kind to yourself during them, and celebrate the wins when they come too. Trust your gut and soak up all the time with them because it really is true when they say they grow way too fast.


Paige’s instagram: @paigeburton_

The Mum Club instagram: @themumclubnz

I want to say a huge thank you to Paige for sharing her postpartum journey with us! I really enjoyed learning about her postpartum experience and she offers some excellent advice to other mamas.

I loved hearing about Paige’s birth story and recovery… Also completely agree with her comments around birthcare - it wasn’t for us, either. We loved being in our own space and figuring it out for ourselves. Hudson is such a beautiful boy - Paige and her partner Tom are doing an incredible job!

Paige and Gemma have created The Mum Club - an amazing space for mums from all backgrounds, ages, and cultures. It is so important for mamas to have a supportive network and a place to connect with other mamas without judgement. Their retreats also sound amazing and I hope I can get to the next one!

I really appreciate Paige taking the time to do the interview, between working full-time and being a mama, I know time is precious and we hope that other people enjoy this interview, too.

Also… I think schnuggle baths are officially one of the most essential items for bubbas!!

Thanks again Paige x

Olivia .

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