Into The Night with Ruth Crilly

As if being an award-winning lifestyle blogger, model and mum of two wasn’t enough, Ruth Crilly aka ‘A Model Recommends’ is determined to help sleep deprived mums nationwide with her revolutionary new app The Night Feed. 

Designed especially for new mums, who can experience extreme tiredness and loneliness whilst feeding their babies after dark, The Night Feed provides a safe and inviting community of like-minded individuals where mums can share their experiences.

A labour of love, born from her own experience of feeding her second child through the night, the App also not only includes exclusive content from Ruth herself, but special guest content such as talks from paediatricians, Q&As with midwives and stylists’ guides to the best breastfeeding-friendly clothes on the market.  

The Night Feed App by Ruth Crilly

Key features of app include; a feed tracker to allow mums to note time and length of feed with how much was given, sleep- sounds to help calm and soothe babies (and mums!) back to sleep, a wealth of knowledge on a variety of topics and the opportunity for users to connect via messaging, leave comments or post questions.

Keen to find out more we sat down with the lady herself to hear all about her latest venture, while gaining some tip tips on everything from babies to skincare!

Hi Ruth, Lovely to meet you and congrats of the launch of your new app The Night Feed!

For our readers that don’t know about your back ground could you tell us a little more about yourself, and the initial trigger to set up  the award winning site that is A Model Recommends?

I had been a fashion model for over a decade when I started A Model Recommends and I was also about to begin my Masters in English and Creative Writing. I wanted a way to keep my writing practice interesting, and at the same time had loads of beauty anecdotes to share from being constantly in the makeup chair. So all of these worlds collided and when the blog gained traction quite quickly, I soon realised that it could be something more than a hobby. 

You are now a mum of two gorgeous little ones. How did becoming a parent change things for you?

It made me really focus on the things that were important to me. Time became suddenly so much more limited and I realised that I didn’t want to miss my children growing up, which meant that I had to be much more careful and organised with how I went about my work. I’m lucky that I love what I do and I have a real drive to get back to my writing whenever I can, so that actually makes things easier in a way - it never feels like a chore or a struggle, though trying to balance work and home life is really hard! 

You use to run the Uphill which specifically focused on motherhood and parenting, what made you decide to bring the parenting content over to A Model Recommends?

Two reasons; one was that I felt as though readers from each site were often missing content that they would probably love, and the other was that I knew my app launch was imminent (turned out not THAT imminent, as it took ages!) and I didn’t want to have too many different platforms on the go. 

We are just loving your new app The Night Feed can you tell us a little bit about it and the motivation behind it’s launch?

Yes! The Night Feed is my biggest project and has been years in the making. I came up with the idea when I was doing night feeds with my second baby, Ted, and felt as though there was nothing really out there for me in the vast online world. I felt as though I was the only person awake on the planet, quite lonely, and I just wanted to be amused and interested and feel as though there was a place for me to return to each time I had to wake up, rather than just sitting there feeling exhausted!

We are sure many of our mum readers feel exactly the same! What were your biggest challenges developing The Night Feed?

The technical side, because it’s not my area of expertise AT all. I’m quite a control freak and I don’t like not being able to fix things myself, so tech issues really stress me out!

What kind of articles can we expect on the app - is it strictly parenting related or can we expect a variety of content?

The content has been created with new mums in mind - so people who want relatively light-hearted, amusing, interesting articles to see them through the night - but at the same time it’s not at all mum-centric. There are film reviews, beauty posts, political updates (bite-sized ones for tired people!) and fashion features, and I write on there regularly too about quite random things. Then for the mums we have new mum diaries, posts on health and feeding and sleep, loads of things that are designed to ease people through the first few months with a baby.  

Do you have any top tips or words of advice for sleep-deprived mums struggling to get through the day? 

Yes: make sure that you have contact with other people. Support and social interaction is so important, so that people can tell you how you’re doing such a good job, so that people can help you and so that you can see that other people are struggling too. It’s crucial for your wellbeing to know that you’re not alone, and so some kind of social contact is essential. That’s why we hold nightly chats on The Night Feed - online interaction can’t replace real life contact, but when you feel as though everyone else is asleep it’s lovely to know that others are in the same boat as you. 

We couldn’t agree more. Can you tell us more about your own experience as a new mum, was there anything in particular you struggled with?

I think that I was just generally overwhelmed, both times, but didn’t admit it to myself. And I found it difficult to ask for help, or to relinquish any sort of control. My control freakishness is a downfall! I also found breastfeeding tough at times, because I felt 100% responsible and the pressure was immense, besides the physical aspect of breastfeeding. 

The Night Feed App feeding tracker.

On your site you were very honest about your 7-year fertility struggle. What would you say to woman currently going through the same struggle?

I think seeking help earlier on rather than later is vital; I kept getting into the habit of just “seeing what would happen next month” and letting things drag on, but seeking help feels like a very positive step when you’re deep in the pit of despair. Suddenly it’s a problem shared. 

Many of us mums struggles with the work / home life balance post baby. How do you manage to combine such a successful career with having two small children?

I think I might actually be a workaholic, so it’s not so much of a balance as me shoe horning my work into any given spare moment! It’s terrible! My main “structure” has always been that we’ve had a nanny for two days a week since my eldest turned one; those twenty hours have been my constant work lifeline, knowing that I’d be able to just buckle down and get things done. The rest of the time I simply exist in a world of semi-chaos, completing tasks in order of priority and not beating myself up if I don’t get everything ticked off the list. I try to set myself two tasks a day (small) and then whatever else I get done is a bonus!

You have a beautiful home in Somerset and often document your interiors on your site.  Any ‘go to’ places for interiors?

Yes, I am HUGE fan of the site Vinterior, which sells antique/vintage finds, and I trawl Heals and Andrew Martin a lot! Oh and Soho Home - their beds are incredible and they have great lighting. I’m a bit of a mix of vintage/mid-century and country house, so it gets complicated. But it’s fun throwing it all together. 

We can’t let you go without getting some beauty tips.  Are there any must have products you turn to after a long sleep deprived night for an instant pick me up?

Acid peel pads for the world’s laziest facial - literally wipe over and leave - and I think layering up a serum with hyaluronic acid beneath your moisturiser is great for plumping out tired, saggy skin. There are a few really great complexion enhancers - like Charlotte Tilbury’s Flawless Filter - that add masses of glow and a slight tint, it’s like the ultimate cheat. And a dab of pink blusher works wonders on a tired, sallow face - everyone thinks bronzer is the answer but a pale pink blush swept on top really brightens and enlivens. 

What’s next for Ruth Crilly?

I’d love to get some sleep. Haha!

Ruth Crilly’s The Night Feed is available to download from the App Store and Google Play for £3.99.