To celebrate Mother’s Day, Ollie & Leila challenged me to share my ‘Motherhood Experience’ with you.
I’m almost 9 years in to motherhood now, and recently welcomed our youngest, fourth and probably final, baby into the family – so after a five year gap we’re starting again on the baby days.
Motherhood has been different with each of my four kids, and each time around I’ve changed my approach a little bit to suit each child, and adapted things with lessons I’ve learned along the way. The challenges and the joys of parenting are constantly changing as the kids move through different ages and stages, and I’m equally proud of all of them. I really appreciate the extra time I get to spend with them each day as a stay at home / working from home mum.
It’s the little moments and the simple things each day that really warm my heart, like the little notes and cards my boys write for me, or enjoying extra snuggles and extra stories with them at bedtime and of course at the moment I’m always getting loads of baby snuggles too!
Recently I had to pick a picture that showed the meaning of mum, and I picked this one as I’m spending a lot of my time under a sleeping baby at the moment.
Baby N only sleeps on us, or in our bed. As soon as we put her down she wakes up (which the boys never did – but babies are all different!) so I’ve got quite good at multi tasking with her in my arms, but while the boys are in school I’m quite happy to just sit with her while she sleeps as I know all too well how fast these baby days go by!
That’s definitely something I’ve learned over the last nearly a decade of parenting, and I can see a difference in how I parent now compared to as a new young parent all those years ago. I’m more relaxed now and a bit more mellowed out. First time round, everything was unknown and when we faced tricky bits like sleeping problems it was so hard to see the bigger picture of how these things would resolve themselves.
One of the best things about motherhood is seeing all of my children happily together. Of course they squabble from time to time, but the majority of the time my three boys are brilliant together – they will entertain each other for hours and come up with their own little plans and games and ideas together, and now they are all so loving towards baby N too. If she starts to make any little squeaks of being upset, R would always be the first one to jump out of his seat to go and check on her, and Z is always very helpful bringing me her sleeping bag and sleep suit every night ready for her bath, and often reads her books. As the eldest he’s keen to take responsibility and help out, while T is so proud of her and always wants to show her off to his friends, teachers, and as many people as possible!
Ollie and Leila sent me this lovely necklace as a Mother’s Day gift, with each of the kids initials on it. Isn’t it gorgeous, and a really nice idea to have all the children represented on it! I will wear it with pride.
Wishing you all a happy Mother’s Day!
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.