baby

What a "WAG" really does all day.

“WAG”. It’s a word that conjures an image of extremely thin women drinking champagne in shops. Of luxurious mansions stuffed with nannies, of women who have nothing to do all day but curate edgy-but-cute outfits for their baby to wear in today’s Instagram post.

What you don’t think of is a woman sitting up at night wrestling with Internet CMS code, or worrying about shifting boxes of stock out of the hallway, or stressing about reflux and sleep-training inbetween meetings at the office.

So it is with Nadia Bartel. She is that particularly modern creation – a fashion blogger entrepreneur with a lifestyle site of her own, Chronicles Of Nadia –  and she is wife to Geelong’s Jimmy Bartel and mum to eight-month-old Aston.

And if you have ever wondered what the hell a fashion-blogger-lifestyle guru REALLY does all day, you’re in luck, because Nadia spilled it all on podcast I Don’t Know How She Does It this week, including who cooks in her house:

ADVERTISEMENT

And look, you might not have that awesome coat she rocked up to our studio in, but in other ways, Nadia’s life isn’t THAT different to yours…

Like you, she wakes up early and reaches for her phone, while feeling guilty about it.

Like you, she fits her work around childcare – two days a week Aston goes to her parents, others he goes with her wherever she goes, or stays home with dad.

Like you, she’s worried that she wouldn’t feel the same way about work after she became a mum.

Like you, she says having a baby has taught her not to sweat the small stuff, but she doesn’t always pull it off.

Like you, she worries that she and her husband are so busy with life, sometimes they forget to make time for each other.

Take a wander through Nadia’s Instagram pregnancy pics:

Unlike you, she has to deal with keyboard warriors judging everything she does, from the size of her body, pregnant or otherwise, to how she came to date a footballer.

“For the past five years I have learned to leave [the negativity] there… I’m putting it out there, posting pictures of my bump or whatever… so it is what it is. But since having Aston, I care even less.”

So listen up to what life for a WAG is really like. And for a very refreshing answer to the question of what advice she would give a young woman who looks up to her: 

9 to Thrive is far from your average expo. Presented by Business Chicks, it’s two days of inspiring panels, keynotes and workshops with some of Australia’s most influential women like Zoe Foster Blake, Michelle Bridges and Donna Hay. It will also have pop up shops, food trucks and over 100 exhibitions to keep you entertained between sessions. So saddle up and get your tickets here.

9 to Thrive is excited to be giving all Mamamia readers an exclusive 20% discount on all tickets. To claim your discount, simply enter the code MAMAMIA20 at the checkout.

00:00 / ???