Lisa Shearon, The Notorious M.U.M.
My favourite mum moments are possibly the moments that others might rate their worst. And yes, at the time they were all fairly disastrous. But! It’s these moments that I remember, and which still make me laugh, a couple of years on. These are the moments that remind me that my children are – if nothing else – characters, and that parenting can be quite good fun, once you’ve figured out how to remove Sudocrem from your best rug.
1.There was the time Alice packed her own lunchbox, and I opened it to find a packet of Tim Tams, a juice box and a Chupa Chup. All the food groups covered, right there.
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2. There was the time the kids got into the Sudocrem while I had a shower, with “hilarious” consequences. I locked them out while I cleaned up, and their faces were a picture.
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3. There was the time the kids got into my makeup. And my wardrobe. With “hilarious” consequences.
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4. Not to mention the final inspection on the house we were selling a couple of years ago. We went outside to demonstrate the finer workings of the pool pump, and came back inside to find Alice and Frankie – naked as the day they were born – dancing on the kitchen table with banana willies.
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5. Plus that time I made the big parenting mistake of roaring with laughter when my son swore the first time. This led to more swearing. “Can we go to the f***ing park?” “I’ve dropped my f***ing biscuit!” Sigh.
Laura Mazza, Mum On The Run
I was always told how hard it was going to be having two under two, and when my daughter was born I really felt it. I was stressed to say the least. But however watching them grow together has been one of the greatest things in my life. Here are my favourite moments.
1. One particular moment was on a bit of a stressful day. Everything that could go wrong had, I was in the other room cleaning up spilled milk, and literally crying over it when I heard two little giggles. The giggles grew louder and louder and I walked in I saw my son tickling his sister, they were both staring at each other so lovingly with two big grins, and he then said to her “I love you Fia” (her name is Sofia) and she leaned her forehead into his as if to acknowledge his love and say it right back. Needless to say I was then crying even more, and the spilled milk and bad day were distant memories.
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2. I had postnatal depression with my son and I never thought I’d shake off the darkness of it… but now my son is truly my best friend. One of my favourite times is before bed, he likes to stall going to bed so we are always playing games, and even though I should wind him down I can’t help but encourage it. He’s learned how to chant and pump his fist in the air, and his new line is “let’s get daddy!” So we chant it together and we get my husband and we tickle him. We are a tickle family.
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3. Another proud moment is after having such a traumatic labour with my son, and fearing birth, was the moment they put my daughter on my chest after having the birth I needed to recover. I held her for so long and cried because I finally felt those love feelings and the relief of having a great labour (if that’s possible) overwhelmed me. I still remember how perfect she looked and felt and I would have a thousand more if I could relive it.
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4. When I admitted I needed help and I got it. It was hard for me to understand that there was a way out of depression. But when I admitted I was struggling and sought help, I started taking medication and I’m a happier person on it. I don’t have to be the perfect mum. I don’t have to break my back rocking my son to sleep so the invisible audience that’s judging me will know I’m doing a good job. What will make me a good mum is remembering to love myself, and meet my own needs, and make self-care a priority, so I can be the best version of myself for myself and my children.
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Chrisi Reardon, Mumma Do Good
1. When my son was three months old, we took him to Europe to meet his family. No, this isn’t what you’re expecting, I’m not going to tell you a smug tale of a fab European vacay. It was a travel nightmare including six flights, eight hour drives with a teething screamer, respiratory infections, and an up-the-back poo explosion just as we’d dressed him in the last onesie we’d packed for a fifteen hour trip. But the look on his grandparents faces when they saw him, the overwhelming love, made the entire fiasco worthwhile. There is nothing as beautiful as seeing your loved ones with your most loved one. I’d do it all over again for them.
Picture: Mumma Do Good
2. One awful day, I had spent the morning in tears because I felt like such a failure. I couldn’t breastfeed. My son wouldn’t stop crying. He was vomiting every feed and he was destroying every piece of clothing we dressed him in. I hadn’t slept in what felt like an eternity. And then, as I rocked him to sleep in my arms, he looked up and he smiled for the first time. He smiled as he fell asleep and he smiled while he slept. I have never felt as much peace and contentment as I did in that moment. I finally realised I wasn’t failing at all.
Picture: Mumma Do Good
3. The day my partner went back to work, I was absolutely terrified. I was convinced I’d somehow manage to burn the apartment down, break the baby and destroy the entire world all in one eight hour block. When he walked back through that door and we’d successfully made it through our first day alone together, I felt like I was nailing motherhood.
Picture: Mumma Do Good
4. The first time I left him alone with his father for five minutes. I left them peaceful and serene, an adoring Daddy with his peacefully sleeping baby, and I emerged to a shirtless Daddy, a poo covered baby, a vomit soaked bed and a pee covered floor. I’m still not entirely sure what happened. Was it a beautiful moment? No. Was it absolutely hilarious? Yes.
Picture: Mumma Do Good
5. There is no feeling like the first moment you lay eyes on your newborn baby. You are in awe, you’re terrified, you’re exhausted and you are overwhelmed with joy all at the same time. You touch their fingers, their toes, you marvel in their eyes and you swear to them that you’ll do your best. That on the best days and the worst, you will never stop trying. In that moment you are no longer just a woman. In that moment, you also become a mother.
Picture: Mumma Do Good
