My little guy turns one in June! I was treated to a pre-Mother's Day last year (hehe) which was very special. I was heavily pregnant and just so excited to meet this little person. Now we're here again, approaching Mother's Day and I'm a mum to a little ginger pocket rocket called Harry.
The first year of your first borns life would have to be the steepest learning curve there is. Holy moly, hold onto your hats, what a ride. There's nothing I could have done to prepare myself better, you just have to dive on in head first. I giggle at my preconceived notions of maternity leave, of pottering in the garden while he naps and lolling around cafes with him tucked up in the pram. (He is a terrible day sleeper and has also hated the pram for the most part of his life so far)
He arrived safely and happily into loving arms. We were totally besotted from that moment onwards. We were so certain he was a girl, that we didn't even check. So that certainly was a surprise!
Getting to know this little person has been my greatest joy. Watching him grow and develop, hitting each of the milestones has been so fulfilling. I'll never forget that first smile. His giggle is music to my ears. There's been so many laughs and smiles, our fair share of tears and I couldn't ask for more. He's starting to investigate standing independently at the moment, shooting me a look of "Look mum, no hands!" before realising what he's done and falling in a heap. Nothing has kept me more present in the moment, which is the greatest lesson of them all.
Intertwining a creative life with a bub has been very challenging. I found the book Motherhood and Creativity by Rachel Power very helpful. Reading about other creative women's experience of balancing motherhood and their need to create was inspiring and comforting at the same time. It's written by an Australian too, which also made a difference. The book is unfortunately out of print however I was able to track down a digital copy. I'm just taking it all day by day and working it out as we go along.
A big thank you to Kylee and Kirsty for manning the NM shop and all things business so that I could focus where I was needed. I returned to work gradually and having these two by my side made it all that bit easier.
You may have noticed I'm not big on sharing images of Harry, this is a choice I've made. I'm very conscious of respecting his privacy and I wanted to draw a boundary between work life and home life. Below are a few little behind the scenes moments that are very precious to me.
