When wellness entrepreneur Prudence and her partner, Jonas, welcomed their twins, Miles and Olympia, the beginning was anything but gentle. After a strong pregnancy, a C-section with significant blood loss and delayed first skin-to-skin contact with her babies tested her physically and emotionally. But the experience reshaped her perspective on recovery, presence, and shared strength in parenting.
As the founder of A Space to Breathe and 20 Four Matcha, Prudence has long been a voice of balance and calm in a fast-paced world — a guiding presence at the intersection of health, beauty, and lifestyle. She’s currently working on a book about pain in collaboration with a medical expert.
Now, in the raw early days of motherhood, she’s focusing on slowing down, nurturing herself, and embracing the chaos with softness. Life with twins has brought unexpected gifts: sharing the demands of feeding and care has deepened her husband’s bond with their children and created a more equal, grounded start to family life. Through vulnerability and self-care, she’s learning to meet the chaos with softness, energy — and love.
How has your journey with feeding your children been so far?
It’s been quite a unique journey for us. It actually started with us not being the ones feeding our babies, since they were in the neonatal unit right after birth. In the beginning, it was the nurses who tube-fed them, but very early on, we decided to learn how to do it ourselves so we could take over. That felt important—to be part of their care from the very start.
It’s been a wild ride. Definitely beautiful, but also really challenging. I lost a significant amount of blood during the birth, which affected my milk supply. Later on, I also got mastitis, which made everything harder. But from the beginning until now, I’ve been feeding them with my own milk, and we’ve supplemented with the bottle when needed.
Especially with twins, it’s been such a gift that my partner could take over some of the feeds. Having the option to bottle-feed has been really helpful—especially during times when tandem breastfeeding felt overwhelming. Going from tube feeding to tandem nursing has been a huge and emotional shift.
How did you and your partner navigate the roles and responsibilities of feeding in those early months?
We tried our best, and I think we were very motivated to be hands-on. We really wanted an early discharge from the neonatal unit, so we needed to prove that we could feed them ourselves. It was overwhelming how many different hands were involved in their care, so that was a big driver for us—we wanted to create as much continuity and closeness as we could.
It was especially important for me to be able to breastfeed. Our son was small from the start—though not as small as our daughter—and I felt this deep need to nourish them myself, even though it wasn’t always easy.
How was the emotional experience of becoming a mother for you?
It’s emotional all the time. There’s not just one feeling I can point to when I think about becoming a mother—it’s constantly shifting.
The beginning was incredibly overwhelming. So raw and intense. The love was there instantly. And watching my husband become a father—that was just as emotional for me as meeting the babies.
At the same time, it was really, really hard. I was still recovering from blood loss and couldn’t be fully present for them in the way I wanted. They needed so much support—tube feeding, temperature checks, scheduled feeds—it was intense. I felt like my job in those first days was to help them gain weight, to help them survive. It was scary. That sense of not being enough came very quickly. I think a lot of parents experience that, and it can be heartbreaking.
But at the same time, motherhood has given me a kind of calm I didn’t know I needed. These two have been the biggest gift.
How did you share parental leave, and how did it shape your daily life and connection with your children?
We’re still on parental leave now. Jonas has seven months off, which is amazing, and I’m doing my best to find balance—especially as someone who’s self-employed.
For the first time in a long while, I’ve said no to a lot of things. My work—whether it’s A Space to Breathe, 20 Four Matcha, or my personal brand—has really grown during my pregnancy and after. It’s been overwhelming at times, but it has also forced me to slow down and prioritise recovery. It’s such a privilege that Jonas has this time at home. It allows me to do the things that give me energy and keep me grounded—while also making sure I have the capacity to show up for our kids with presence and love.
You’ve used the Caramma support bottle. What made you choose it?
During my pregnancy—especially knowing we were expecting twins—I tried to be as prepared as possible. I knew that feeding two babies would require a lot of planning and flexibility. So just a week before we were due at the hospital, I saw the Caramma bottles on Instagram and thought they would be good to have in case we needed a bottle.
I had already invested in great breast pumps and all the gear, but we didn’t start using the bottles until we came home from the hospital. Around three or four weeks in—and especially when I got mastitis—they became a huge help.
Because the babies were premature, their mouths were small, and their sucking reflex wasn’t as strong. That made breastfeeding really painful at times, especially during mastitis when I also had a high fever. The bottle gave me a chance to rest. Both babies took to it immediately, and they loved being fed by their dad. It meant the world to me to have that support, especially when feeding two at once felt overwhelming.
Now, whether I’m out at a treatment, hosting an event, or just working, we use the bottles. Jonas takes over, and I know they’re still getting my milk—just in a different way. It’s been a huge support in my recovery.
Were there any special challenges or beautiful surprises you remember clearly from the early days?
What surprised me most was how big it all feels. It’s still hard to put into words. I sometimes can’t believe we’re actually parents—especially after everything we went through. There are many challenges, and it’s actually a beautiful thing to be challenged, because it leads to growth. And I have to say, these children really contribute to that. It’s like holding up a mirror that, in some way, forces you to take responsibility for yourself and your way of being in the world.
We had a rough start. The babies were small, and I was unwell. I remember one night in particular—I was in bed recovering from the C-section and blood loss, and I couldn’t move much. I hadn’t had skin-to-skin with my son after birth, and that didn’t happen until the next day. He needed CPAP support, and both babies had feeding tubes and needed to be closely monitored. They were in a crib beside me. So I spent that night just lying there, feeling incredibly inadequate, reaching up with my hands, trying to comfort them when they were upset. And it was wild – honestly, really painful – not being able to be there for my babies from the start. I felt so helpless, like I wasn’t enough for them.
During my pregnancy, I felt really well – I trained every day, ate lots of plants, and was biking around almost until the day I gave birth to the twins. So it was overwhelming and really challenging to suddenly lose my health. But it has also given me a deep, lasting gratitude for where we are now—our life together at home. Just being here, with them, is everything.
What was it like feeding your babies with the bottle in a breastfeeding position?
When you start off with tube feeding, there’s a physical distance. So being able to hold them close during bottle feeds—especially using the Caramma bottle—has helped create that connection.
It doesn’t feel like a step back from breastfeeding. Quite the opposite. It’s been beautiful to see my partner feeding them in a way that mimics the closeness of nursing. He’s been able to bond with them in a way that feels really special. It’s created a sense of balance in our parenting.
What reflections or advice would you share with other families just stepping into parenthood?
I’m not someone who loves giving advice—I think it can sometimes feel alienating. During my pregnancy, I got so many tips and opinions, and to be honest, they often just added to the noise.
What helped me more was curiosity and space to explore things in my own way. That’s something I try to bring into my own parenting now: to meet myself with softness, to forgive myself daily, and to just do my best.
There’s no one right way to be a parent. The way I’m doing maternity leave—still training, going to treatments, taking time for myself—might seem unconventional. But it works for me. It gives me the energy and presence I need to care for my babies.
So if I were to share anything, it’s this: take care of yourself. Even just five minutes of rest matters. And try to turn off your phone as much as possible for those first 40 days. Be in the moment with your babies. They grow so quickly, and the more you slow down, the more you notice. There’s magic in those little details.