Slipping into a figure-hugging sparkly dress and belting out songs on stage for a headline show just two months after a Caesarean section wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea.
But singer and actress Pixie Lott is one of the hardest workers in showbusiness, and with mum-of-five Sophie Ellis-Bextor as her inspiration, she's seen how balancing a pop career with children can be done.
But her real secret is making her job a family affair, with her parents joining her at every gig - removing any maternal guilt.
'I don't have any help other than my mum and dad,' reveals Pixie, 35, who has son Bertie, two, and their as yet publicly unnamed other boy, who's now six months old, with husband Oliver Cheshire, who she met when she was 19.
'My parents come with me to everything and there's no way I'd be able to do it if they weren't there. Nobody sees how crazy it is backstage.
'Bertie's running around spilling sweets, there's been a poonami so we're washing the babygrow in the sink, I’m warming up, having my make-up done, breastfeeding - then I’m on stage and they’re watching me from the side.
'But it’s memory-making and inspiring for the kids to meet so many different people - if they want to go into music or if they don’t.'
Pixie Lott has revealed how she was able to slip into a figure-hugging sparkly dress and belt out songs on stage for a headline show just two months after a Caesarean section.
Pixie's parents Beverley and Stephen can also be credited for the fact that their daughter is one of the few child stars of her peers to not go off the rails.
Raised in London and Essex with her older brother and sister, the Italia Conti student was on the West End stage as a teenager, but achieved her dream of launching a singing career when she was 18.
Her debut album Turn It Up, released in 2009, hit No 6 on the UK Albums Chart and gave her two No 1 singles, Mama Do and Boys And Girls.
'I started so young that having my family around me was important,' she admits. 'I was protected from all that comes with fame. It would have been really hard to navigate otherwise.'
While several X Factor contestants who became famous around the same time, such as James Arthur and some members of One Direction, have struggled, Pixie has continued to flourish.
Four studio albums, Strictly in 2014, a stint as Holly Golightly in the West End in 2016, being a coach on ITV's The Voice Kids and starring in recent movie Christmas Karma - Pixie keeps adding more to her repertoire.
She even opened a stage school in Chelmsford, The Pixie Lott Performing Arts Academy, which is run by her mum.
For her latest acting project, movie thriller Past Life, she plays Claira, the pregnant wife of Aneurin Barnard's character.
He's a traumatised war reporter who becomes haunted by memories of a serial killer after being hypnotised in a TV show stunt. Pixie was pregnant herself at the time.
'I was in the early stages and nobody knew except for Aneurin,' she smiles.
'I was having morning sickness so it was strange to be playing a pregnant person having this fake bump and actually having a bump underneath it. Not feeling well hopefully added to the performance.
'Bertie and my mum came up to Manchester while I was filming for two weeks, which was great. Unlike theatre, TV jobs are short periods I can work around, so I’m always auditioning.'
Past Life, which also stars Jeremy Piven and Tim McInnerny, is darker than anything Pixie has been in before and that's something she's keen to explore.
'It's different to bouncing around on stage,' says Pixie. 'I'd like to do more as it's not what people expect. The script of Past Life was a real page turner and I'm always drawn to strong women.'
Pixie proved her mettle on Strictly, topping the leaderboard four times before losing out in a dance-off.
She's still in touch with her Strictly dance partner Trent Whiddon and his wife Gordana Grandosek, who danced at her wedding reception in 2022.
She's also in a WhatsApp group with all the female contestants and still desperately misses Caroline Flack, who won that series.
'I loved Caroline,' she says. 'We were really good friends when we did Strictly. I went to see her in the West End in Chicago, where I saw her shining. I still hear her laugh.'
Pixie has toured with Rihanna and worked with Stevie Wonder, Lionel Ritchie and John Legend. 'To work with people you really respect; I feel lucky to have those memories.'
Pixie, 35, has son Bertie, two, and their as yet publicly unnamed other boy, who's now six months old, with husband Oliver Cheshire , who she met when she was 19
Jessie J, fellow coach on The Voice Kids, is someone she has lots of time for, too. 'She had her baby not long before I got pregnant and was giving me all these great tips,' she reveals.
With Sophie Ellis-Bextor as an inspiration, it's not surprising that Pixie and Olly, 37, who live in Essex close to her parents and siblings, are keen to add more to their brood.
'I'd love to,' she smiles. 'I know it all feels crazy now. Why not just make it even crazier? Sophie's inspirational; she's got five kids and is killing it.
'I'll keep doing acting projects that seem right and my main focus now is going to be releasing the music I wrote before I had my second child.
'And then a summer of festivals again, which is Bert's favourite! We've just got to hide the sweets!'
Past Life is on digital platforms from Monday (Amazon, Apple TV, iTunes, Sky Store, Rakuten, Google).