28-year-old Hannah Bradley, a former makeup artist is mum to nine-month-old Nami Aerwyna Elizabeth Takano. While the young eco mum initially thought she wasn’t cut out for motherhood, she soon discovered it is one the most fulfilling experiences of her life.
“I must confess that I have always been a career person, and didn’t really think about having a baby. However, after meeting my partner Ryotaro Takano, I understood the emotional connection of wanting a child with the person you love,” says Hannah about the momentous decision she made.
The new mum admits that she wasn’t really prepared to be a mum as she thought it would change her life completely. “I wasn’t overly excited about getting pregnant,” she says.
But after getting past that rollercoaster of emotions, she started to get excited about the new journey she had taken on.
“I was very lucky and had the most amazing midwife and birth experience which makes looking back at the early days, one of happiness. Now I can safely say that seeing my baby happy and enjoying her blossom every day, makes being a mum, one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done.”
Hannah says she wanted to be an attachment parent (a parenting philosophy that promotes attachment of parent and infant not only by maximum parental empathy and responsiveness but also physical closeness) and breastfeed, but also does things as natural and eco-friendly as possible.
“When it comes to sustainability, we use reusable diapers, wet cloths and buy second-hand, which makes things so much cheaper in the long run! There is nothing that Nami has new, except for the presents she received,” says the eco-conscious mum.
“After being a make-up artist for nine years I am now enjoying being a stay-at-home-mum (SAHM) whilst doing furniture refurbishing as a side business.”
Talking about how they chose a baby name, Hannah says, “My daughter’s name is Nami, which in Japanese translates as ‘Wave’ but her Kanji (Japanese symbol writing) means ‘Summer Seed’. We chose her name for many reasons, one of them being that the balance of earth and water will help make her a very fluid and yet a grounded person.
“Being from both, the UK and Japan we speak to her in both languages so that she can become bi-lingual.
“Now I can happily say that having a child is the most beautiful experience, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in this world.”
