If one thing’s for sure, when you become a parent, there is no shortage of advice that comes your way! The key (in our opinion) is to listen to all of it (or what you can bear) and then make the decisions that feel right for you. Using your own parent’s intuition, we know you’ll find the best way forward for you and your family.
At tooshies, we’re a team of parents so we’ve heard it all and experienced it all with kids from newborns through to teens and young adults. So, for Mother’s day this year, we decided to ask some of our tooshies mums key questions about their parenting experiences.
Question One: What do you love most about being a mum?
Growth, hugs and learning seems to be what our tooshies mums love most.
Lynne: The moments and memories shared with my children, especially the chats at every age!
Mae: Watching them grow and share all the precious moments in their lives.
Chanra: Getting cuddles and kisses and “I Love you” from the kids. Doing special things for the kids and watching them be happy.
Olivia: For me it’s the hugs! Also the wonder of all the things your child learns for the first time – how one day they only scoot or crawl and then the next day they start walking.
Bec: Watching her learn and take in so much and getting to know this completely unique and wonderful personality that didn’t exist before.
Catherine: Their hugs and their smiles
Question Two: How do you get through the challenging days?
The theme here is balance – laughter, exercise and your food (or drink) or choice!
Lynne: I just remind myself that I am only human and can only do so much in a day. I also tend to laugh at the ridiculousness of some days! Better to laugh than cry!
Mae: Treat myself with whatever I fancy (donuts and ice cream in my case), and sleep, remembering it is just a phase and tomorrow will be a better day.
Chanra: Try and deal with the problem as soon as possible, make sure I always have “de-stress” time for myself. Going for a walk or exercise or eating spicy ramen 😊
Olivia: Wine. Just kidding. I tell myself that no matter how bad things are in this moment nothing lasts forever especially with babies and young children and tomorrow I will have forgotten about this difficult day and I will looking forward to the next challenge.
Bec: Deep breaths... 😊 Ensuring there is a balance, some time for me and reminding myself that everything is a phase. Leaning on my support system.
Catherine: That tomorrow will always be a new day.
Question Three: If you could go back in time, what is one piece of advice you'd tell yourself as a new mum?
Stress less and go with the flow… 😊
Lynne: Don’t let my 3rd child get away with so much!
Mae: Don’t compare your child to others, children grow at their own pace.
Chanra: Be patient!
Olivia: Don’t try to do everything perfectly. It’s OK to mess things up, make mistakes and do everything in the wrong order. Cut yourself some slack and go with the flow!
Bec: Trust your gut – you know your kids best. Savour every minute – they grow up too fast.
Catherine: It’s okay to say no to others and yes to your kids more often.
So, at tooshies we love to see our kids grow and take those smiles and cuddles when we can. We make sure to be kind to ourselves and make time for us too and overall be patient and enjoy the experience while it lasts!
We’d love to hear your answers to these questions too!
