Hannah Cooper-Dommett has admitted husband Joel Dommett is bearing the brunt as her nesting instincts go into overdrive ahead of the birth of their second child.
The model and podcast host, who shares two-year-old son Wilde with the comedian, said she has been putting her husband firmly to work as they prepare for the baby’s arrival.
“I’m driving him insane with this nesting list,” she told the Standard. “One of Joel’s jobs this week was to change the batteries of the LED church candles [we’re using for the birth]. We communicate best with a to-do list.
“If I say it to him, his days are so busy, I might have to say it three times, so I just use a Sharpie pen to write a list and hope for the best.”
Despite the growing list of jobs, Cooper-Dommett was quick to praise the Celebrity Sabotage star’s parenting, joking that his career has made him perfectly suited to fatherhood.
“The best advice I’d give to people is to marry a comedian because they’re essentially a children’s entertainer,” she said. “I didn’t realise that until Joel became a dad. I was like, ‘oh, this is great, I’ve married a clown’.
“He’s got so much energy, so much animation and imagination — it’s a blessing,” she added.
The couple’s son Wilde is already excited about becoming a big brother, although she admitted his enthusiasm comes with a catch.
“He’s very excited that he might receive a gift from the baby,” she said. “I think he’s viewing it as Christmas Day.”
Cooper-Dommett added that while she has enjoyed her second pregnancy, the experience has been very different this time around.
“The first time round it was definitely more of a luxury,” she said. “You realise how much you read about pregnancy and birth. This time I just haven’t had time. You don’t even have time to nap with a toddler.”
She also spoke candidly about the realities of early motherhood, admitting she felt unprepared for what comes after giving birth.
“I read so much about pregnancy and birth, and then read nothing about after,” she said. “The fourth trimester is something we don’t really talk about.”
The 37-year-old said she now feels more comfortable asking for help, something she believes is often misunderstood.
“Sometimes you think asking for help means you’re not coping,” she said. “But actually it’s the opposite.”
Her comments come as research commissioned by MAM Baby suggests many new mothers are facing increasing isolation in the early days of parenthood.
A survey of 1,000 new mums found women go an average of 2.4 days without human conversation after giving birth, with nearly one in 10 saying they went a week or more without any in-person interaction.
Nearly half, 46%, believe previous generations had stronger support networks, while one in 50 said they felt they had no one to turn to at all.
The study also found that while traditional support networks may be shrinking, many new parents are turning to online communities for advice, with one in 10 saying they have relied on AI for guidance.
Cooper-Dommett, who is supporting MAM Baby’s “Be the Village” campaign and its WhatsApp support channel for new parents, said her own experience reshaped how she views support after her mother was diagnosed with a brain tumour and later suffered a stroke ahead of the birth of her first child.
She has written about the experience as part of the campaign, describing how her “picture-perfect village” was “shattered”, adding that while her mother is now “stronger”, “life is slower”.
“I always imagined my mum to be a pivotal member of my village. Suddenly I was left rebuilding it from scratch,” she said.
“But you quickly realise you’re not meant to do it all alone, and sometimes the most beautiful support comes from people who show up when you least expect it.”
Now just days away from welcoming baby number two, she said she is trying to approach the experience with more perspective, even if the sleepless nights are already looming.
“It’s not perfect,” she added. “It’s OK to say, ‘I’m finding this really hard.’”
The MAM Village WhatsApp channel is available to join now at themamvillage.com/join, to find out more about MAM Baby, please visit www.mambaby.com.
