Former Love Island star Montana Brown has opened up about the challenges of her second pregnancy and her worries for baby number two in an exclusive interview with HELLO!
The TV personality, who shared her exciting family news with her 1.1 million Instagram followers last month, is thrilled to be expanding her brood with her fiancé Mark O'Connor.
But Montana spoke candidly in our exclusive chat, sharing the rollercoaster of emotions she's gone through as she prepares to become a mother-of-two, and why she and Mark – who welcomed son June just 14 months ago – have decided to keep the baby's gender a surprise.
© Instagram"I feel like my experience from first pregnancy to second has been so different," the 28-year-old explained. "My pregnancy with Jude, I felt like I was really glowing. This time round, I have been a lot sicker and more nauseous, and really struggling to have an appetite at all."
Montana also spoke candidly about her experience with breastfeeding, which has added another layer of complexity to her current journey.
"I didn't absolutely love it," she admits. "From the six-month point, I found the feeding very overwhelming. I remember going on my first trip away and I was still breastfeeding, and I remember I had so much anxiety because I was worried about having places to pump. I had quite bad anxiety about that."
© InstagramTwo under two
Despite the challenges, Montana, who has teamed up with one of her favourite baby brands Tommee Tippee, is overjoyed at the prospect of having a second. She and Mark are filled with excitement, mixed in with a few nerves, as they prepare for the transition from one child to two.
"I'm really excited, I've always wanted to have more than one child, it was a dream come true. I do worry about that kind of transition because I think you love your first child so much and you're like, 'How am I going to create more love?' I'm a bit scared that the second one is just going to be total mayhem, which I've heard is a thing, so I guess there's excitement, nervousness, but mostly we're both really, really excited."
© GettyShe also shared how her fiancé has embraced fatherhood, describing him as a natural.
"As soon as Jude came into the world, I feel like he just completely took to fatherhood like a duck to water and he's so hands-on. I think he's also nervous as well, that jump from one to two is always a bit unexpected, and no baby is the same, and I think again he probably shares the same fears as I do. We're not going to have such an easy ride the second time round, but we're up for the challenge and we're very excited."
The couple are eagerly anticipating the arrival of their second child, due in January 2025, and are looking forward to spending one last Christmas as a family-of-three. "We'll have Christmas as a three, and then the mayhem will start," Montana joked.
© GettyGender reveal
Unlike her last pregnancy, where Montana threw a gender reveal party and shared the moment with her followers, this time she's decided to keep the baby's gender a surprise until the birth.
"I really want to leave it as a surprise," Montana declared. "We've both openly said we really don't care what the gender is this time round." She added: "Mark is not happy about that choice, he's like 'I want to know.' He's a little bit more impatient, so we'll see."
© GettyTeaming up with her favourite baby brand
A few weeks before announcing her second pregnancy, Montana joined forces with bottle feeding and childcare brand Tommee Tippee. "This collaboration feels like a dream," she said.
The star also revealed her "game-changer" products which she said are "lifesavers" for new parents. They include Ollie the Owl, The Dreammaker, The Portable Blackout Blind, The Perfect Prep Day & Night, and The Natural Start Bottles.
"From nine months we put Jude in a separate room, and a big thing for him was having that comfort, and something that kind of smelt like me," she explained. "I had the Ollie The Owl product, which I used to put under my top throughout the whole day so that it smelt of me, and then I put it in his cot for nighttime, and that seemed to really give him a lot of comfort for those nighttimes, especially during the first bit of the transition.
"The Dreammaker with the white noise was amazing as well, it helped him get into a deeper sleep, and he woke up a lot less, so that was a massive lifesaver as well. And then the blackout blind if you're travelling is a must-have. You never know how good the curtains are going to be or if there's going to be a blind so I just bring it with me everywhere."
All products mentioned are available to buy at tommeetippee.com
