Mom Diary

THE BALANCE BETWEEN AMBITION AND BABY:

Julie Zangenberg's honest story

After becoming a mother, Julie Zangenberg experiences firsthand how motherhood turns priorities upside down. She shares her honest thoughts on freedom, expectations, and finding peace in her new role.

September 11, 2026

THE BALANCE BETWEEN AMBITION AND BABY:

THE BALANCE BETWEEN AMBITION AND BABY:

Julie Zangenberg's honest story

September 11, 2026

Julie Zangenberg became famous at just 12 years old when she played the lead role in Klatretøsen. Since then, she has had a career that most can only dream of, with acting, entrepreneurship and a life in the spotlight. But when Julie became a mother, it became clear that both career and motherhood required compromises.

“When we had Leo, I worked right up until the day before my scheduled C-section, checked emails the day after the birth, and was back in the office three weeks later. It was my own choice because my company was in crisis, but it was anything but a classic maternity leave.”

Julie is currently pregnant with her second child and mother to her four-year-old son Leo. She is married to Andreas, with whom she shares both everyday life and parental responsibilities.

<p> The conversations before Leo and a maternity leave on your own terms</p>

The conversations before Leo and a maternity leave on your own terms

Even before Leo was born, Julie and Andreas had many conversations about how they wanted to divide parenting. Julie was very clear that she did not want a classic division of roles where everything rested on her shoulders.

"If you have children with me, then it's the two of us who will have a child together - but with a little more responsibility and complexity than you might see with your friends. Because I have both other obligations and my own wishes, which we also have to take into account," she remembers saying to Andreas.

Still, she admits she had a hard time believing he was serious. “He kept saying he was ready, but I had a hard time believing it. It wasn’t until I got into it that I realized he really meant it and that it was actually true.”

And when Leo was born, they stuck to the agreement. The maternity leave was far from classic, but Julie and Andreas chose to create their own model amidst the chaos of running a business and opening a restaurant. They shared the responsibilities equally, even if it meant sleepless nights and taking the baby to meetings.

"We kind of ran the village model where several people helped, and my husband and I shared the maternity leave 50/50. I pumped, so he could give a bottle, he changed just as many diapers as I did, he took Leo to meetings, I took Leo to meetings."

For Julie, that experience was confirmation that you can go against expectations and still create a happy start as a family – just on your own terms.

Even with a clear agreement and an equal distribution with Andreas, it wasn't always easy. Julie experienced that old ideas about motherhood quickly crept in, and she noticed how both her own and others' expectations could trigger a constant guilty conscience.

<p>Guilt, expectations and finding your own path</p>

Guilt, expectations and finding your own path

Even though Julie and Andreas had agreed to an equal division, she couldn't escape the inner struggles. Like many other mothers, she experienced both a guilty conscience and constant pressure to live up to the image of the "perfect mother."

"After the birth, it was actually difficult for me to ask Andreas to take over. I felt less like a mother and a woman if I didn't do it all myself. It's so deeply ingrained in us what a good mother should be," she says.

Over time, however, she found that she had to challenge those expectations, both her own and those of others. She and Andreas sleep-trained Leo, shared nighttime bottles, and found solutions that worked for both of them. She also let go of breastfeeding when it felt wrong for her.

“I stopped after four months because I got upset and nauseous when breastfeeding. It was a difficult decision, but I found peace in the fact that closeness and love could be given in many other ways.”

For Julie, it was an important realization that you can be a present and loving mother even if you don't follow all the traditional ideals.

“I try to share my experiences, even the things some might call 'not super-mom-like.' Because I think we need a less judgmental culture where mothers can find solutions that fit their own lives.”

<p> Second maternity leave - and a conscious choice about age difference</p>

Second maternity leave - and a conscious choice about age difference

Unlike the first time, Julie and Andreas have chosen a completely different approach to maternity leave this time. Where she and Leo quickly returned to work in the midst of a company crisis and restaurant opening, she has now deliberately slowed down. She has closed a business, cut back on her working hours and planned a longer maternity leave period where both parents can be more present.

"It feels like new territory, but also like a maturation process. I feel a new softness in myself that I probably didn't give room to before," she says.

The decision to have four and a half years between the children was also deliberate. “We wanted to wait a bit so Leo could be more independent and understand that I can’t carry him and a baby up to the third floor. It gives us a different kind of peace in our everyday lives.”

For Julie, it is a great joy to see how much Leo is already looking forward to becoming a big brother. He talks to his tummy every day, stops strollers on the street to show his mother the equipment and asks curiously about everything from diapers to how the baby will be fed.

<p> That's why the choice fell on Tuttelu</p>

That's why the choice fell on Tuttelu

When Julie became a mother to Leo, she quickly realized that the classic diapers on the market did not meet her expectations. She missed both better quality and a more thoughtful choice of materials.

"I really thought the diapers were of poor quality when Leo was little. Every time I used one of the classic brands, I was annoyed that no one had thought of using other materials. You use so many diapers, and just a small proportion of natural materials would make a difference," she says.

This prompted her to do some research, and that's when she came across Tuttelu. For Julie, it was the combination of the bamboo material, the subscription model, and the whole spirit behind the brand that made an impression.

"I loved the universe and the spirit behind it. It was clear that Tuttelu is not only aimed at mothers, but at modern parents in general. And I was a huge fan of the fact that they thought about making the diapers softer and more natural, while making everything easier for parents with the subscription solution. I was so happy that I not only signed up as a customer, but also contacted Tuttelu to say that this message needs to reach even more people."

For Julie, Tuttelu was therefore not just a practical choice, but also a solution that suited her belief that everyday life can be made easier without compromising the children.

"Having children shouldn't mean starting a hard and mean life. For me, it's the opposite, my life has become much more beautiful and richer. Yes, it's hard in some ways, but the things that make it difficult are often things we can actually challenge."

<p> Advice for expectant mothers</p>

Advice for expectant mothers

When Julie is asked what she would like to pass on to others facing motherhood, she has no doubts. She wants to challenge the narrative she herself feared in her 20s, that children mean goodbye to freedom and career and hello to a life of deprivation.

She emphasizes that love and presence are not about living up to a perfect facade, but about finding solutions that make sense in one's own family.

"I think we need to be better at letting go of expectations, both those we place on ourselves and those we encounter from the outside. You can be a fantastic mother even if you don't do everything by the book. The most important thing is that you yourself are in one piece so that you can be there for your child."

With those words, Julie sends a clear message: motherhood is not a fixed recipe, but a journey where you set the framework yourself, and where you have to choose both in and out along the way.

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