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Podcasting and "wet wipe baths": A real day in the life of Sarah-Marie Fahd.

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Thanks to our brand partner, Huggies

Sarah-Marie Fahd knows a little something about the juggles of motherhood. The former Gogglebox star is a mum to two boys, Malik, 4, and Lyon, 1, as well as the new host of Mamamia parenting podcast, This Glorious Mess. 

When she spoke to Mamamia, she was holding the phone with one hand and giving Lyon a bottle with the other: an apt metaphor for a mum who's literally doing it all. 

As any parent of multiple kids knows, the shift from one to two can be a shock to the system, not to mention adding a lot of complexity to a family's morning routine. 

Her two boys have similar personalities, Sarah-Marie said, but her second son Lyon has still surprised her in all the ways he differs from her older son, Malik. 

"Malik was an angelic sweetheart who would just sit in the pram all day," Sarah-Marie shared. "The first baby tricks you! Lyon is more of a bruiser. He’s a tougher baby than Malik was, and more adventurous — if his older brother has something, he wants it."

Listen: Sarah-Marie, Tegan and Annaliese tackle the conversation around money, career and family. Post continues below.

One of the best parts of expanding her family has been watching the boys interact. "Lyon and Malik are so obsessed with each other, they absolutely love each other."

But adorable brotherly love aside, getting her boys out of the house in the morning is no small feat. Sarah-Marie's day normally starts around 7am. If it's a weekday, she jumps straight into action getting Malik ready for preschool. 

"I sleep in the bed with both my kids so I haven’t had a sleep-in in years," she shared. "You can’t just sleep in when you’ve got two kids to get ready for the day — it’s not just about you in the morning."

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When asked how different mornings look now to her life pre-babies, Sarah-Marie just laughed. "I’ve gone from waking up early every morning and doing a cycle class at the gym, starting my day when the sun was barely up. Now I need to have everything extra organised, and there’s a lot of juggle every morning."

Image: Supplied.

"I need to make sure Malik's bag is packed, make some breakfast and I need to get dressed in something clean," she said. "Most of the time for preschool drop-off I’m just in survival mode. When Malik’s preschool teachers see me, they normally see me before I’ve brushed my teeth!"

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The biggest challenge in getting the boys ready for the day is staying on top of organisation. Sarah-Marie's best advice is to get prepared whenever you can, be it the night beforehand or before the kids wake up.

"Get really prepared, pack a nappy back in advance, pack the nappies, pack the wipes — it’s too hard to do when you’re juggling the kids too," she said. 

And of course, knowing the products that work for your kids is the key to making sure you can have everything ready well in advance of a busy day. "I'm over the moon Huggies launched their new Nappy Pants, they're the best at keeping Lyon dry and I use them for him one hundred per cent of the time. Lyon has had sensitive skin since the moment we brought him home from the hospital. Honestly his bum goes red pretty much straight away if we use anything else — in a single day with a different nappy on you can see that his skin is really red."

Image: Supplied.

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For an active kid like Lyon whose skin is prone to irritation, Sarah-Marie said the nappy is super-fast at absorbing wetness which is important to help keep his delicate skin protected. "Huggies just works — we wouldn't change it."

Image: Supplied.

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Once preschool drop-off is done, Sarah-Marie and Lyon spend the day at home together, with Sarah-Marie squeezing in work while Lyon naps. Her top tip for managing a day at home with a young baby is to learn what time of day they're best at occupying themselves and aim to get any life admin or cooking done then. "I have very simple dinners I can do while Lyon plays in the afternoon," she said, "where I can just chuck everything in the pan or pop everything in the oven. I try to never spend more than an hour on it."

At 4pm, it's time for a quick "power tidy" of the house before going to pick up Malik from preschool. Once everyone is home again, it's go time: dinner, bath and get to bed. "If they’ve been dawdling on the way home from school I sometimes even skip the bath," she revealed. "Clean pyjamas and a couple of Huggies wipes will do them!"

For a bedtime routine, the two boys will read a book together and play with finger puppets until they're drowsy. Lyon normally falls asleep by 7.30, with Malik following around 8pm. 

Despite the fact that her days can be hectic, Sarah-Marie "wouldn’t change it for the world".

"I try to remind myself, when I'm having one of those days, how much I love watching them grow. Something as small as an 'I love you Mummy’, the love they give to you, it’s just amazing."

"The way their brains work is just amazing. And knowing that it’s your kid? You get so proud. I just love it."

Shop Huggies Ultra Dry Nappy Pants from your local supermarket.

Feature Image: Sarah-Marie Fahd.

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Huggies Ultra Dry Nappy Pants feature new Rapid-Dry™ Technology, for superior dryness to help keep active bubs delicate skin protected.
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