Mothers Day 2024- Canberra mums give advice to their younger self, and other mums too.
Category
đź—ž
NewsTranscript
00:00So one thing I wish I'd known when I was younger was that breastfeeding wasn't the be all and end all.
00:06I felt like I had so much pressure put on me to make sure I could breastfeed my first child and, you know, really it didn't make any difference.
00:14I was, she was so skinny and she just needed formula and breast milk.
00:21And, you know, when you think about being in a kindergarten room, you can't look at those group of kids and know which one was breastfed or bottle fed.
00:28At the time, I think I wanted to be this independent mum who could do it all herself.
00:34And looking back, I would like to give the advice that if somebody offers to help you, take it, whether it's to cook dinner, clean the house, hold your babies.
00:43If they're just there to support you, I think, you know, taking people up on those offers can really help you along the way.
00:50Just don't freak out. They're just babies.
00:53My sister rang me one day when I was right in the middle of one of those sort of chaos situations.
00:57You've got one baby crying, you've got a toddler in the lounger having a complete fit.
01:00And I said, look, they're just babies.
01:02You can pop her into bed, let her cry for a while, have a cup of tea.
01:06They won't hate you tomorrow.
01:07You know, the world will continue.
01:09I wish I'd known more about neurodiversity because as I've got older and my children have got older, we've realised we have that in our family.
01:17And I wish I'd understood that from a younger age because I think I could have helped my kids more when they were at school and even in social situations.
01:26One thing I've learned as I've gotten older and as they've gotten older with me is they model your behaviour.
01:33It doesn't really matter what you tell them, but it's what you do that matters.
01:37So if they see you freaking out, they see you having a complete meltdown, that's what they'll do.
01:42Relax. Nothing lasts forever. And make sure you ask for help.
01:48Everything is solvable when you've got a little bit of a tribe around you.
01:52Whether it is your mum or your mother-in-law or a best friend, but nothing lasts forever.
01:57And your kids will grow up and be amazing humans that you love to hang out with.
02:02It really will get easier.
02:04Being a first-time mum and a second-time mum, I think from the first time I learnt a few things which helped me for the second time.
02:13But I think there is more awareness now that babies can learn in the womb.
02:19If you start reading to them inspirational stories, it will help them develop from the womb, which I learnt later.
02:26But I think if I knew that earlier, I could have imbibed those virtues in my kids from their birth.