I’ve been following Louise Pentland videos (aka Sprinkle of Glitter) for a good few years, and her defining characteristics are definitely her happiness and positivity. Do I sound mushy and lame? Maybe. But when there’s already so much agro in the world, it’s something to appreciate. I’m not disappointed when I meet her IRL; she’s as warm and friendly as she seems when she’s vlogging to her 2.18M YouTube subscribers (IKR). Not only that, but she’s racked up 1.34 million Twitter followers, 1.6 Instagram followers, just finished her sell-out country wide tour, ‘LouiseLive’ and last week realeased her first book, Life With A Sprinkle Of Glitter. But you know, NBD.
The Debrief: Big congrats on the book, it looks great! What’s your favourite chapter?
Louise: I think the dating one is really funny, but I also like ‘Bonding with Baby’ because of the sentimentality of it.
Yeah I loved your dating stories! The baby chapter is really lovely. What was it like having a baby in your 20s? [Louise is 30 but was 25 when she had her little girl, Darcy]
At the time, I didn’t think it was a young age to have a baby. Now when I look back I think, ‘Gosh that was quite young’. I feel like if I had a baby now, I’d be more equipped to deal with it. Darcy was a planned baby but the birth was a lot more traumatic than I thought it was going to be and I struggled a lot afterwards because I suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It really affected me so when I have my next baby, I’ll be a lot more prepared for that. I don’t think people prepare you for that kind of thing.
Absolutely, that sounds awful. Did any of your friends have babies at the time?
No. This is where I think I would do better for the next time because none of my friends had children and I didn’t really have any mummy friends. I joined a lot of local groups but I didn’t really like them because I felt like everyone was a better mum than me! So I dropped out and I felt quite lonely without that ‘mummy support’. But also not lonely because I was at home with this beautiful baby and I had all my family who were really good. Matt [Louise’s husband who she’s now separated from] was, and is, a really great dad. He was super hands-on and did so much for me. For the first week I couldn’t use my hands because I had a reaction to the drugs, which made my fingers swell up, so he did it all. I was very lucky to have his support.
Are there are tips you’d give to a new mum whose friends don’t have babies?
Try to make friends with other mothers and don’t give up and think that they’re all better than you, because I bet they were probably thinking the same thing about me. We were probably all sat there feeling insecure!
Definitely! At the beginning of the chapter you say that when you were little and people asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up, you’d answer ‘a mummy’. You also call it your ‘biggest life wish’. I found this really interesting because this idea of young girls wanting to be a mum when they grow up, is sort-of frowned upon right now. Did you ever get negative reactions?
Yeah! Once, I went out for a Sunday roast with one of my friends and her mum, and I said ‘I’m going to be a mother when I finish my A Levels’, I didn’t mean straight away but that’s what I wanted. Her mum was really derogatory about it and was like: ‘Oh, you can do so much more with your life!’ I just think, ‘I know, and I will, but that’s the thing that matters most to me’. So, each to their own. Some women want their careers first and some women want their children first; I just got lucky that both of mine came at the exact same time but it wasn’t planned that way. I was going to have a baby first.
Did you get many of those reactions? Or was that a minority?
I think that was a minority. I think most people aren’t rude enough to say it!
Do you get feedback from other girls identifying with your decision?
Yeah! I’ve had a lot of people comment on my videos saying it’s nice to see, and they can’t wait to be mothers as well. I think that there is this thing where you’re not a feminist if that’s what you want to do, but I’m a feminist. I want equal things for men and women but being a feminist as a woman you can choose what you want to do, free of judgement. I chose to have a baby in my 20s and if another woman makes that choice and it’s all her own choice, then more power to her, I say.
**Definitely! In the book you give your 16 year old self some boy advice - what advice would you give to your 20 year old self? **
Just to chill the eff out a bit! I was so desperate to do everything in my 20s! I remember being 23 and thinking, ‘I haven’t got a career, it’s too late now! Everyone I know knows what they’re doing. I don’t know what to do with my life!’ You’re still so young in your early 20s and it’s still your forming time. Just chill out, don’t worry about it! Do all the things you can’t do when you’re in your 30s, because you’ll have children and a mortgage and stuff. Go travelling, try your hand at loads of jobs, go on a million dates! Just enjoy yourself.
Perfect advice! I’m 24 and myself and a lot of my friends feel like that. They call it a ‘quarter life crisis’!
I definitely had one! I was 23 and I went to Ibiza but I got there and hated it so much I got another flight and came home! I was really upset all the time because I left university and I got a really boring office job and I was like ‘Is this it? Is this my life?’ But don’t worry, it’ll all sort itself out!
Totally. Thanks, Louise! You’ve been amazing!
Like this? Then you might also be interested in:
We Played Beauty 'Would You Rather' With Beauty Vlogger Tanya Burr, And Yep It Was Fun
We Chat Snapchat Addictions, Emojis And Spirit Animals With Bella Thorne
Follow Chemmie on Twitter @chemsquier
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.