We Chat to Marvellous Marina Fogle
Founder of The Bump Class and mum of two, Marina Fogle juggles family and work and is married to TV adventurer, Ben Fogle.
It was New Years Eve, 2012 when the idea for The Bump Class was born. My sister and business partner Chiara Hunt, a private GP, sees so many pregnant women who need support. She met women who felt they’d failed if their birth wasn’t what they’d planned. Motherhood is hard enough without feeling guilty, too! The courses are led by a team of experts to give women advice on all aspects of pregnancy.Before I had kids, I ran an event company. It was my baby – but once I became a mother, it was impossible to do both, so I sold it. It continues to thrive and I’m proud of it still.The Bump Class is great because I wanted something that would fit with my primary job as a mother. No two days are the same – one day I’m meeting a journalist, the next speaking at The Baby Show, the next taking a class. I can sneak in lunch with my children and I try to take Mondays and Fridays off, although sometimes it’s just afternoons! I often wake early and will get a head start on my emails before the kids are awake. Some of my most productive hours are between five and seven am!
“London with kids is great – there’s so much you don’t need to book or pay for. We love exploring the parks”
The Bump Class is great because I wanted something that would fit with my primary job as a mother. No two days are the same – one day I’m meeting a journalist, the next speaking at The Baby Show, the next taking a class. I can sneak in lunch with my children and I try to take Mondays and Fridays off, although sometimes it’s just afternoons! I often wake early and will get a head start on my emails before the kids are awake. Some of my most productive hours are between five and seven am!
My New Year’s resolution is that when I’m with my children, I switch my phone off. It’s easy to quickly check emails or tweet but that’s not fair on the kids, who notice you’re not totally engaged. Although Ben is in the public eye, going out as a family is not as hard as it could be because the press actually aren’t that interested in us! I would hate to live in a gilded cage like the Beckhams. I think people who like Ben realise that he gets to spend limited time with us and that makes them a little more respectful.
It’s such a cliché but my family is the most important thing for me – my extended family. Both Ben and I come from close families, so there are often seven children at our house for the weekend. I’m so lucky to have both our families close to us – they’re my backbone when Ben’s away. I spend a lot of time alone but it’s doable, because Ben is such a great support. He just spent five weeks in Russia and before he went he created an ‘absent calendar’, filled with little notes and presents. And when the children felt sad, we would go and have a look at what was inside. He suffers the most when he’s away, because he misses us so much – but when he’s back, it’s amazing!
I love my dishwasher – or should I say dishwashers. We put two in our kitchen as there are always loads of kids around and there is always one running!
To find out more about Marina Fogle’s The Bump Class at www.thebumpclass.com
