Untying of the Knot!

Posted on January 25, 2015 by natalietrew

The time has arrived. After being home for the past 4 years and tied to either myself or my mum’s apron string, Mia’s knot has been untied and she is now officially a preschooler!

This moment has been discussed and prepared for over the past few months and although we knew it had to happen, it always leaves me with an empty and sad feeling. The thought of Mia being in the care of someone unfamiliar to her and the fact that she is my baby and the last one to enter the world of education, was always going to leave me feeling an overwhelming sense of emotions.

For the past 4 years, it’s been mum and I nurturing and caring for Mia. We’ve been the ones to teach her numbers, colours and shapes. We have been the ones to encourage her to be independent, give her cuddles and kisses when she is sick, reassure her when she is scared. We’ve read millions of books, sung a trillion of songs and been there to wipe her tears when she’s fallen or become overwhelmed by her fears. We have, WE have!!!

For me this isn’t the end of this road. I’m still lucky enough for Mia to go to preschool the two days I work and spend the rest of the week at home doing what we love to do best – hang out together!! But for my mum, this is the end of the road for her baby caring days. For 14 years mum has looked after each grandchild, one by one until they reach their preschool age…Mia is the last grandchild to do this! What a huge end of an era. My sisters and I were so blessed to have our mother by our side until we went to school…our children have also been blessed to have their nanny for the same time! I thank my mother from the bottom of my heart for being there for my children while I’ve worked. Mum has spent my part-time working days nurturing and educating my children just as I would. It’s been so comforting while my babies have been little to know they’ve had the next best thing to their mumma when I haven’t been there…nanny you are one in a million!!

And so Mia’s first week of preschool is over and done with already and she’s about to start her second week! She did a lot better than I thought she would do and am very proud of her. There were tears upon drop off and she was scared and apprehensive particularly on the first day, but on her second day she was an active participant in her class. She is currently experiencing separation anxiety like her big sister, but she is letting herself embrace the life of a preschooler a lot sooner than Sienna did.

Having already gone through separation anxiety with Sienna, I’m not as worried this time. I know from experience that Mia will settle. It just takes time. I know that she has an awesome teacher and staff at her centre that nurture her and make her feel safe which makes me feel better. I’m certainly riding the karma train as I did this to my mum lol! Turning 4 next month is a big step in a little person’s life! Since coming back from America, we’ve seen a huge shift in Mia’s confidence and independence and she has already been telling me that she is 4 now lol! But she’s still young and innocent. She still has meltdowns when she is extremely tired, is as stubborn as a mule and has her own Mia idiosyncrasies, but she’s socially engaging and developing like she should which makes me one happy mumma!

So with the new school year officially starting on Tuesday, the knot for everyone will be untied. Apart from me working 3 days last week, the kids have been by my side for 7 weeks. Bay is keen to go back to school but my little separation anxiety baby is already telling me she is going to miss me! I know how she feels, it was hard to leave them last week, especially after our amazing holiday!! But everyone is ready. All books are covered, bags are packed, uniforms have been tried on and ready to go. This year will be a year where we stand on our two feet and not rely on mum as much. This will be a new challenge for everyone. But we WILL make it work – provided we work together as a party of 5! It really is the year of untying of many knots….!!

Here’s to a fantastic school year!!!

The Start of a New Era…

Posted on January 18, 2015 by natalietrew

9 years. That’s 468 weeks, 3287 days and 78 888 hours that have passed and in that time we have had a child sleeping in our cot. Friday night was the last time that our 14-year-old cot (originally it was my nephews) was to be slept in at our home.

It’s been a long time coming and was something that I planned on doing last year, but something always got in the way – it was probably mostly me not letting go of my baby making days. I’ve loved every minute of having my 3 babies. From pregnancy to birthing to brest feeding and beyond, I would do it all over again in a heart beat! When I said goodnight to Mia for the last time in her cot, my heart broke a little. I love my life that we lead now and where we are at, but a part of me will always want just one more….

When I was younger and watching my sister and people older than I having babies, I couldn’t wait for that part of my life to start!! I still remember the day Kane and I decided to start a family – absolute joy and excitement! I wasn’t scared or apprehensive at all. I just wanted to be a mum. Now 9 years, a miscarriage and 3 beautiful babies later, the door to having babies is officially closed (and padlocked as my husband would say lol) now that our cot has been dismantled and given away for good!

Our baby days have been full of sloppy kisses, gorgeous giggles and an endless amount of milestones. We’ve had many ups and downs with the kid’s health, but it teaches you so many things in life and for me becoming a mum has made me a better person. It’s taught me how to love unconditionally, it’s improved my patience (most of the time), it’s built me a stronger character to handle things that I wouldn’t in the past! It’s put pressure on our marriage at times, but together we always work past this and end up stronger!

I’ve been spending some time while on holidays, looking through photos from when the kids were all little and babies. My gosh they’ve grown. They’ve developed not only physically and mentally, but they have become independent and have opinions (that aren’t always needed to be heard lol), they are really starting to enter the next phase in life!

Yesterday morning was ‘D’ day!! Kane picked up the girls bunks that I ordered through the week after work on Friday, so there was no turning back. Plus the timing couldn’t be more prefect. Bailey needs his own space desperately and the girls are so happy to be sharing. And Mia, she has no remorse about saying goodbye to her cot lol! She has spent the last 4 weeks while we were away sleeping in a bed so she is so happy to be finally sleeping in her big girl bed!

I’m really happy so far with how their rooms are looking. I still have along way to go to having them finished and exactly right, but we’ll get there. This year is about decluttering my life of things that don’t serve a purpose to me or us anymore. But there are some things I’ll never be able to let go of – that’s what special boxes are for:)

I’m not going to let myself be sad that my baby days are over. Instead I’m going to embrace the phase of our life that we are at and always look back at my baby days as some of the best days of my life. I feel so blessed that I’ve been able to experience pregnancy, natural birthing and brest feeding 3 times in my life time and will always be grateful for that.

Now to really put my big girl pants on tomorrow and be ready to send my baby girl to pre school for the very first time…..;(

A Moment of Silence…

Posted on July 10, 2013 by natalietrew

Shhh….can you hear that?
It’s a moment of silence!!
No one is speaking, shouting, calling out mummy!
No one is crying, debating, questioning or whingeing.
It’s in this moment of silence that I draw strength from to get through my day…

I love being a mum, the best job in the world, but it can leave you feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and a little bit moody if you don’t take the time to recharge! Being a mum doesn’t mean you are automatically invincible…we are still human and human’s have feelings, emotions and needs to be met. Our priority is our children and making sure they are being nurtured and cared for like treasure, but we as mums still need to look after ourselves so we can keep fighting the good fight each and everyday!

Do you manage to get a moment of silence?
Once the day begins it’s full of feeding, dishes, making lunches, sorting uniforms, homework, dropping kids to school or recreational activities, washing, folding, house work cooking, shopping and spending time playing with the kids! There isn’t a lot of time in there for moments of silence except when you’re sleeping – and if you have a child who is a terrible sleeper, even that doesn’t happen then! I love my moment of silence. Whether it’s for half an hour, two hours or fifteen minutes, it’s enough time for me to regather my thoughts enough to (depending on when it is) start the day or finish off the rest of the day!!

I need this time to debrief with myself over any major issues that are happening, organise stuff without little ones hanging off me or just to rest and rebuild! For my moment of silence to happen I have to be in a good routine and be super organised. It’s taken a while to establish all of this and usually when I’d think I’d gotten it down pat, another baby would come along to make it even more tricky! These days, now the kids are a little older and 2 out of three are in school, I manage a couple of hours a day for my moment of silence while Mia has her day sleep (that’s only on my non working days)! I also exercise about 3-4 hours per week which is another essential part of my life now and allows time for a moment of silence as well:)!

What to you do when you manage a moment of silence?
There are so many things I love to do when I get the chance to have a moment of silence! I’m like a kid in a candy store if I know I have some time ahead of me to myself! Time – that word in the english dictionary should have ‘precious’ next to it, as that is what time is! When I’m granted time to myself I use it wisely and try to utilise it to its maximum!

My moments of silence involve me….
*catching up on my tv shows
*folding washing (I know boring but I don’t like ‘help’ with this job lol)
*blogging
*facebooking
*catching up on messages
*paying bills
*painting my nails/toenails
*straightening my hair
*relaxing on my sun lounge
*running or walking
*instagraming
*crafting

Having a moment of silence doesn’t mean you’re neglecting your job as a mother or wife, especially if it’s incorporated into your daily routine and balanced in with the rest of your crazy busy life! Remember mummas we are only human and if we don’t allow just a little bit of time for ourself each day, life will feel like ground-hog day, which after a while gets mentally frustrating and creates unnecessary angst and stress! And we all know a happy mumma is a better mumma:)!

Why I am so blessed….

Posted on May 12, 2013 by natalietrew

33 years ago, when I was placed in my mother’s arms, my life was blessed….

I’ve been so lucky to have been born to the most beautiful, caring, selfless and patient mother that I know, love and admire. I’m so blessed to not only have a great mother but someone I can truly call my best friend. From a little girl, teenager, young women to a mother, my mum has always nurtured, supported and helped me wherever possible and I’m in ore of what she does for our family! Mum isn’t the only women who I’ve been blessed with, my nana is like a second mum to me and to have two great women to lead the way in life, I am forever grateful!

Mum and nana have taught me to be the mum I am today….
They’ve taught me to sacrifice, nurture, love and the like. They’ve taught me the true meaning of being a mother and have always been there for advice and encouragement. My children adore their great-grandmother, and ‘nanny’ – well let’s just say when the going gets tough, they cry out “I want my nanny!!!”

I’ve also been blessed with two wonderful sisters who as a little one they helped care and nurture me, but as adults we are now best friends and have been there every step of the way for each other in times of happiness and in sorrow. We love each other’s children like our own and long for our ladies nights together.

And my most recent blessing in life is meeting my wonderful husband who helped me create the biggest blessing in my life…my 3 angels! Becoming a mum to Bailey, Sienna and Mia has changed the way I think, they way I feel, the way I love. I didn’t think I could possibly love anyone as much as I love my three children and just thinking about that brings a tear to my eye and fills my heart with joy!

So on this Mother’s Day, I want to thank all the beautiful ladies in my life…my mum, my nanas, my sisters, aunties, cousins and friends! I hope you’ve been showered with the love we all deserve as there is no love quite like a Mother’s love:)!

So how did you spend the day? This was my day in highlight….

Mother’s Day for me started on Friday when Sienna’s prep class put on an afternoon tea music concert. It was just as beautiful as Bailey’s two years ago. Sienna was so adorable as she sang songs to me and served me afternoon tea:)

Then yesterday I was treated like a queen – breakfast in bed, I stayed in bed until 9am reading books with the kids and playing games on the iPad. We had a beautiful visit to our local playground and we’re caught in pouring rain on the way home…2 adults running with three kids on bikes must have looked pretty funny lol! The day was topped off by a beautiful dinner cooked by Kane…and he even did the dishes:)

Today has been spent doing the things I love the most…10km run, kisses and cuddles while opening my presents, watching Bailey and Kaleb play footy. We had a great visit with nana who looked a million dollars today and had such a sparkle in her eye as the flowers kept rolling in. As I type, my wonderful husband is preparing roast meat for dinner with my family and I’m cuddling a scared Mia (from the electric knife lol) and keeping an eye on a very sick
Sienna:(…but hey that’s what Mother’s do!

Another great Mother’s Day…one of my favourite days of the year:)

A Mother’s Guilt….

Posted on January 31, 2013 by natalietrew

Why is it, that a mother spends so much of her time feeling guilty? It’s like the minute we gave birth, a pit in the bottom of our belly wasn’t filled properly and that’s where our guilt is stored. I can’t shake the feeling of guilt this week!

As you all know my precious baby girl…who will always be my baby girl to me, started school this week. It seriously only feels like yesterday that I birthed her 10 pound 2 baby body. Where has the time gone? It just doesn’t seem right that she is already off to school! When my first baby started school, he was completely ready and to be honest so was I! Bailey and Sienna are so different. Bailey has always been quite challenging and demanding where Sienna has always been my carefree sweet little pea that has been my shining light on a dark dim day! And my third baby…a lot like her brother lol!

I’ve been questioning myself…why? I’ve done this before it should be easier!! But instead of being ok with Sienna starting school, I feel guilty that she has grown up so quickly and I feel like it’s my fault, because when Sienna was 2 and a half we had our third baby and life has been like a rollercoaster since! Bailey was lucky and had me to himself for 2 and a half years before Sienna was born and Mia will now have me to herself for three years before she goes to school…what time has Sienna had with me on her own? She was fortunate enough to have a month with me on her own before Mia was born! A month!!! And in that month I was diagnosed with a heart condition and rushed in to have our baby as we didn’t know what was going to happen!

So this week I can’t help but feel guilty for my precious middle baby. All these things have gone through my head…she didn’t ask to have a baby sister! It’s not fair she hasn’t had the time with me the other two have! She’s been lost in the process of us having a third baby!!! I know it’s crazy and I shouldn’t be thinking like this, but I just can’t help it!!! Sienna has always been so soft and gentle. She was the little girl in the playground getting pushed over and the precious little poppet who always needed to know where her mummy was and the touch of her mummies hand mad everything just super! She holds her own at home with family, but is so different from my two February babies – who I love more than life itself as well, but geesh lol!!!!

Sienna has always pulled at the heart strings. She is my emotional little bunny that cries and gets her feelings hurt quite easily and suffers separation anxiety! I am extremely proud of how she is handling prep though;) It was only twelve months ago, when I dropped her off at preschool two days a week, that she would scream for me when I left. It broke my heart, but I had to walk away as I knew she would adjust…eventually! And that she did. She has grown and matured so much over the past year. She still has a few tears when I drop her off at prep and throughout her day, but is becoming so brave and holds herself together which makes it so much easier for me to turn away and leave once I can see she is happy….I know this is pay back as I did the same thing to my mother lol…but that makes it worse because I know exactly how she feels! Her little “I missed you today mummy” will eventually pass with TIME and thankfully she has the most sweetest teacher who we all adore!

Every child is different and losing each child to their schooling years also feels different! For Bailey and I, him going to school was the best thing for our relationship and that has stayed as strong as ever, but I really miss my Sie Sie girl…and so does her baby sister! And once Mia starts prep, I would have been home with the kids for 10 years so I’m guessing I’ll be celebrating lol…but really I’ll be mourning the loss of not having anymore babies at home!

I think I’ll always have a guilty feeling when it comes to my Sie Sie girl, my middle child, my thumb sucker, my June 30th baby! But I will make sure I spend forever making it up to her, not that she even notices and this is the thing…WE as mothers spend our time agonising over things and feeling guilty when our precious little gems really couldn’t give a hoot…arrrr! lol…oh the joys of being a mum!

Dear Sienna,
I love you baby girl! From the minute you entered this world and were placed on my chest we formed a mother/daughter bond like no other. You are my shining star when it’s too dark to find my way and you sure know how to make me laugh. From a baby to a toddler you were such a good little poppet that never did any wrong by anyone. Your amazing smile lights up the room and you’ve always been so beautiful with your ringlet blonde hair and olive complexion. We are so proud of how far you’ve come and can’t wait to be apart of all your special occasions along the way! Be brave baby girl, once you settle and show your confidence, you have the potential to achieve anything you want!
Love Mummy…xoxoxo!

To all my fellow mummies who have had a child start kindy or prep this year be strong everything takes TIME!

“Yes I’m a mum of three children!!”

Posted on August 22, 2012 by natalietrew

It’s been 10 months now since I started my journey to regain my pre-baby body back. I choose to do this for myself, nobody else!! One thing I’ve noticed more now since losing my weight and getting fit is the surprised look on people’s faces when I tell them I have 3 children!!! “You have three children?!” “And you look like that!” is what I hear a lot! As flattering as it can be, it also makes me feel a little uncomfortable! It got me thinking….Why does it have to be a shock? And how does what I look like depict whether I fit the ‘motherly’ role or not?! Isn’t it a good thing that I’m promoting health and fitness to my children. Yes I’m a mum but that doesn’t mean I should give up on myself!!! Society creates stereotypes of specific people and roles and it’s becoming just so frustrating! If we spent more time worrying about the type of mother, father, teacher or doctor people are rather than how they look, the world would be a far more friendly place to live in!

I am a firm believer of the phrase ‘each to their own!’ Like I stated above, I look the way I do for myself, nobody else and being the shape and size I am doesn’t define me as a mother. The love in my heart for my children, the sacrifices I make and the way I parent is what defines me! I don’t for one minute expect other mothers to exercise how I do or eat what I eat, everyone is their own person and makes their own decisions in life! Ok so I agree not all of us but a lot of us put weight on during pregnancy. Some of us find it easy to lose it after our babies are born and some of us don’t! Some of us find the motivation easily and some of us need more encouragement and some of us are just happy as is! But why can’t that be good enough? You lose weight you’re questioned. You don’t lose weight you’re questioned. And it’s not just the weight issue, it’s the age you are when you first become a mum, how you discipline, if you breast feed, where your baby sleeps, arrrrrrr feels like you just can’t win!!!!!!!

I feel mums are stereotyped more than dads are too! If a dad is fit, slim and healthy no one questions them. It seems to be dads can just be as they are and not many people question them at all! It’s not enough that just being a mum is such a busy 24/7 job, but we are always made to feel like we have to live to these high expectations all the time! Not for me anymore! Society is creating a selfish and nasty place out there now and it really disappoints me that people behave the way they do. I’m happy to say that I’m a mum because I want to be and I take my mum job seriously. I’ve seen such a huge shift in mums over the past 6 years of being a mum. When my first was born, I use to go to play groups and Gymboree and met some lovely mums along the way. We would talk about our babies but mostly we would just talk. Now when I go to playgrounds or play groups you over hear a lot of conversations about those high expectations I was talking about! Why are some mums so competitive, judgemental and spend more time worrying about what others think?!

You would think a room full of mums and their children would be such a lovely place to be, but in truth it can be the opposite sometimes! I love meeting new people and being a mum is such a popular thing to have in common with someone, therefore should be easy to strike up a conversation or relate to each other, but it doesn’t always seem to be! The sad thing is, mums can be hard work! Being a teacher, I meet and see so many different mothers and some are so easy to communicate with and relay information to and others not so much! As a mum we are our children’s advocates I get that well and truly, but sometimes some mums go a bit too far! Is it because so much pressure is put on us to create perfection? The sad thing is while parents are trying to mould this ‘perfect’ child, the real basic and important fundamentals that should be taught are being missed.

Life just seems so full of high expectations, ideal ways and competitiveness and while some of this is important at times, I think we need to go back to some of the old fashioned ways of living life for yourself and not how other people perceive you should! My Party of 5 is the most important thing to me! Being a mum and wife is the most important role in life. What I do I do for myself and my children not for anyone else! I have opinions but know when to state them appropriately. With each child I’ve learnt to chill out as a mum and not get caught up in the controversial issues that come with being a mum. I will continue to be myself for myself and no stereotypical way of being a mum will stop me from looking the way I do! So to answer the question I’ve been asked so frequently lately….”yes I’m a mum of three and I’m very proud of it!” No matter who you are, being your own person is far easy than being someone that everyone else thinks you should be!

Quality Time….One at a time!

Posted on August 15, 2012 by natalietrew

It’s been over 6 years since I was pregnant with my first born baby. That pregnancy was my favourite. Not only was it my easiest, but I had the time to relish in everything that comes with being pregnant. I could put my feet up and lie down whenever I wanted to, sit and enjoy the movements of my growing baby, shop in peace for baby items, enjoy time with my husband and sleep as much as I wanted to!!!! Then after my first baby was born it was so lovely spending all my time bonding with my little man. He went everywhere with me and it was just beautiful being able to share this time together and me be there for every waking moment and milestone that he achieved! I would take a billion photos of him everyday and had his first year scrapbooking album completed by the time his first birthday rolled around. First children are the lucky ones really because they not only get a large quantity of time that is purely revolved around them, they certainly get the most quality time spent with them!

Since having my first baby I have gone onto having two more children and nothing is like having your first baby. Now you can’t only dedicate your time and effort into one child, you have to share yourself around. Although one child is easy, it’s nice to have more than one. Giving my first born a sibling/(s) was so important to me as I grew up with two sisters and I couldn’t imagine life without them. Even though once you have more than one child you give up that one on one time with your children, you then get to enjoy watching your children interact and form a sibling relationship. Things change, but I think for the better. I love being a mum of three. It’s certainly fair from a walk in the park, but I love a challenge….apparently lol! One thing I make sure though, is that each of my children get to spend one on one time with my husband or myself. It was our choice to have children and to keep adding to our family, so I believe that every child deserves some individual attention every now and again.

We spend most of our time together as a family of 5, but there are times when we do things with one child at a time depending on the activity. Recently our eldest learnt how to ride his bike without training wheels, so once or twice a week Bailey and I go for a bike ride. We have so much fun and I can focus on just him and his new found love of bike riding. Bailey also plays football and my husband is the assistant coach, so going to training twice a week with dad on his own without his little sisters has been cool for him. In the past I would take him to swimming lessons at 5pm while my husband had the girls at home and when Bailey achieves something special, one of us take him out for ice-cream or to the shops to buy him a little something!

I keep a closer eye on my middle child. I’ve already written a blog about middle child syndrome and that it does exist in our house. We have been blessed with a fairly easy going middle child in Sienna, but being a four year old she can be emotional at times and feels the pinch of having an older brother who is always achieving and a baby sister who is a toddler therefore needs lots of attention! I feel the worst for Sienna. She will miss out on the most quantity of time with me. She has had me to herself for a whole big total of 5 weeks! Bailey got me for 2 and a half years and my baby will have me for 3 years to herself after this year. I feel I have a lot to make up to Sienna. Like with Bailey we take her out and treat her if she achieves something special. Her time with us on her own is when Mia has a day sleep and Bailey is at school. Often we’ll just cuddle on the lounge or read a book together. On the weekend I took her out to dinner and ice-cream as Bailey had spent all day with his best friend and we missed out on going to the Ekka as my husband had to work all day. Not once did that little girl complain and taking her out was so worth the happiness that covered her beautiful little face!

Mia being the youngest and our baby, has lots of moments in time where she gets to have one of us all to herself! Often I’ll take her out with me while Kane has the older two or vice versa. And while she is 18 months now, she was breast fed for 15 months, therefore she had lots of me to herself and those moments were the most precious! Just recently I had a week off work while she was sick and was able to spend two whole days with her while Bay and Sie were at school….we had a ball together and was an insight into how life will be once Sienna starts prep next year!

I love going on family outings all of us together. They are the moments I live for during the week, when you’re not having the best week, you know the weekend will make up for it…spending time as a family. But I also think that it’s vital that each of our children can have our full undivided attention every once in a while. I’d hate to think that one of them or all of them felt like they were never being heard or fussed over. I try my hardest as a mother to make sure when we are altogether that my attention is evenly shared, but there are days when I feel like its not enough, which is why I feel so much more content when I’m able to spend quality time, one at a time with each of my precious babies!

Teacher By Profession….Mother For Life!

Posted on July 18, 2012 by natalietrew

I’ve been a teacher for almost 11 years now…longer than I’ve been a mum! Before I had children of my own, my life was teaching and my children per say were my students! Pre-children I loved being a teacher! I would go to the ends of the earth to create a unit of work or innovating activity for my students to gain a learning experience from! I would spend my days being not only a teacher but a surrogate parent to some, nurse, psychologist and the like! I planned excursions, camps, multicultural events, coached netball and made many a phone call to parents regarding their child’s well being!

Then I became a mum. My love of teaching never left me, but something did change and that is the way I think now! I’m not for one second trying to imply teachers who are mums are better than teachers who aren’t, but since becoming a mum, I look at things differently now and am quite a different teacher than I use to be! Pre-children I was such a control freak really when I think about it, but it worked and I always got the best results out of my students academically and behaviourally! I would ring a parent or refer a student for a problem and it didn’t affect me as bad as it does it does now!

For the past few years I’ve been teaching in special Ed or behaviour positions so I’ve found myself in many situations where my heart has ached for a child…I’ve become such a softy and even though I’ve always been an empathetic person, now I’m a mum my empathy has changed if that makes sense?? I always think now imagine if that was my child or me receiving the phone call! I tread so lighting around parents now and how I approach a subject as the child in discussion is their baby just like I have babies!

Being a teacher can be a good thing and a bad thing when you are a mum! We have a good knowledge of so many areas that can benefit our own children, but then we know too much about other things and the worst thing a teaching mum does is diagnose their own child! We spend so much of our time hoping and praying that our children aren’t going to struggle at school, when provided we allow a safe and supportive environment from the day they were born, we sometimes just have to realise we don’t always have control over this!

Then that day finally arrives for your own child to start school and your professional role has to take a back seat while your mummy role takes precedent! It was weird at first being a school mum. You feel as the ‘teacher’s’ child, they should always be the best role model and doing the best in the class! I soon let all those feelings go because I didn’t want to put my child under anymore pressure than what kids are already under these days!

My son is in grade one now and up until last month I haven’t been in the position that I as a teacher have had to corner a parent during drop off or pick up! It was those handful of words that you dread to hear from your child’s teacher….”I need to speak with you!” I’ve been waiting for this moment though. You see my son Bailey has always presented a lot of behaviours on the spectrum and although he is perfect at school and leaves those behaviours and melt downs for home, I’ve been waiting for the call to let me know those behaviours have been presenting at school.

Of course I expected the worst and any experience of being a teacher didn’t matter at all, as this time I was the mum being delivered the information. Thankfully it wasn’t anything relating to his behaviour. This one moment that a teacher took to speak to me though has led to a chain of events. She was concerned about his hearing and understanding what she was saying, we had a meeting with Bailey about this and things improved a little. I then took him to my GP to see if he needed an auditory processing assessment done, he noticed Bailey’s ears are full of fluid again and after having a hearing test, we found out that Bailey has a complete blocked ear and one that isn’t very flash! A trip then to our ENT ended in us now having to wait to see if the fluid will drain otherwise he will end up with his fourth set of grommets!

My poor boy has obviously been sitting in class and not hearing things as clearly as he should. The mum in me wants to hug him tight and wrap him up in cotton wool, but the teacher in me is working hard to make sure he is in a learning environment that can cater to his needs at the moment! Thankfully Bailey goes to a wonderful school with a very supportive admin and his teacher is just fantastic! This situation has highlighted even more to me how important a teacher is in our children’s lives and more importantly how important it is a parent and teacher work together!

We have been through so much with Bailey and even though my professional job deals with children like Bailey all the time, nothing prepares you for when things happen to your own child and the shoes on the other foot. I am so
proud of his achievements so far and as I read his first report card yesterday it brought a tear to my eye how awesome our son really is! I am a teacher by profession, but I’m a mother for life and I try everyday to make sure I distinguish between the two roles as best as I possibly can!

End of an Era:(

Posted on May 22, 2012 by natalietrew

The time has come. I knew it was approaching. I knew it wouldn’t last forever. I knew it would be a sad day………….

6 years ago, when I became a mum for the first time, I took to breastfeeding like a duck to water. I always hoped to breastfeed, but I also had an open mind that it may not work or I may not be suited to it, but I was! I loved everything about it. The bond I shared with each of my babies was one like no other and the fact that I was providing all of their vitamins, minerals and nutrients was always a great feeling. It was the one thing that only I could do with my babies and I feel so blessed that I was able to experience that with each of my children!

One of my first breast feeds with Mia!

It wasn’t all smooth sailing though. The first couple of weeks of painful attachments, grazing, bleeding, cracks and blocked milk ducks. The first few days when your milk comes in and you suddenly wake up to these human watermelons that start from under your armpits! The night feeds and wishing and praying for more than three hours sleep at a time! Or the times when you feed, settle and put down and within a blink of an eye you were having to turn around and do it all over again. But I wouldn’t have traded that for one minute. That is the reality of breastfeeding!

Such precious memories…..drunk on milk!

I am a huge advocate of breastfeeding, but also believe that breastfeeding isn’t for everyone. It can be one of those controversial issues, but at the end of the day, as long as a baby is being fed adequately for their age then there shouldn’t be any controversy….breast or bottle, it’s all food! You see so often women left feeling guilty over not being able to, not giving it a go longer or even attempting it! Breastfeeding doesn’t define you as a parent, it’s one small factor in the whole big picture! And please don’t get me started on breast is best for health….3 breastfed babies, 3 out of 3 chronic middle ear infections…..where was the benefits of my breast milk while this was happening??? But again I wouldn’t change anything!

Sleep is always a good option after a belly full of milk!

I never put a time constraint on how long I would breastfeed for. My only goal was to get them to 6 months and on solids and then I went with the flow and let them dictate what they wanted. 3 children, a boy and two girls and all such different feeders! Bailey self weaned at 7 and a half months, Sienna I stopped at 13 months and my last baby, which brought me to writing this blog, Mia who had her last feed 3 days ago at 15 months!

My last baby to be fed….Miss independent just finished at 15 months:(

I knew the day that signified the end of breastfeeding forever was always going to be an emotional one. It’s reality that I am never going to have a newborn again and experience all that goes with it. It only feels like yesterday I was experiencing it all for the first time, now 3 children and 4000 plus breastfeeds later, that part of my life is over:(….it really is the end of an era!

Mother’s Day……

Posted on May 13, 2012 by natalietrew

Mother’s Day….one of my favorite days of the year!

But they can’t all be perfect….

My day started at 3.48am when Mia decided she wanted to play ‘boo’ with her teddies! Even though I was thinking ‘what the’ it did bring a little grin to my face, until 4.30am when she starts to scream! She is teething so I gave her panadol, fed her and back to sleep she went! I crawled back into bed at 5am…Sienna wakes! Poppy stayed over last night and slept in Bailey’s bed so she was super excited to wake to her poppy! I’m still awake at 5.30am Bay comes in after having a camp out in the toy room, which he loves and asks to go to the toilet! 5 minutes later things settle again and I finally managed to go back to sleep, even amongst the roaring sound of Kane’s snoring! What felt like a 5 minute sleep turned into me looking at the clock and thinking ‘oops we have to leave for footy in an hour!’ Then the busy day really began….

Like our usual tradition, the kids bought all their beautiful presents to me in bed and we opened them, read the cards and got photos taken! Once I got out of bed and my feet hit the ground, they began running ALL day! We wanted to leave at 7.55am and we were driving out the driveway at 7.56am, so we were happy with that! Bay’s footy match started at 9am and he had a wonderful game. Scored 4 runaway tries and had his first attempt of a conversion but just missed! He ended up getting player of the game:)….so proud of that boy! Then we had to have morning tea with Kane’s mother and on the way home we stopped in to watch my nephew play the second half of his footy game, who also played well!

I’m so blessed to be their mother:)

Finally at 12.30 we returned home for nap time for Mia and rest time for the older two! In that time groceries had to be picked up and a few other things had to be done….between Kane and I we had it all done in an hour or so. 3pm I finally got to see my mummy and my nana! Poor nana has had gastro for a few days and is only just getting better so my wonderful mother has been staying there, hence why poppy had a sleep over last night! We had a lovely visit with nana, which continued up the road at my sister’s house for afternoon tea! The kids had a ball playing with their cousins and I had a lovely chat with my mum and my sister! We finally arrived home at 5.15pm where the witching hour of bathing and feeding began!

I finally got to sit down and relax at 7pm and started to reflect on the day which made me a little disappointed at how rushed and busy I felt all day, but then I pulled my head in and thought it couldn’t be too bad if….
I received beautiful handmade gifts and cards from my children.
My $1 million dollar gift was revealed – a mobile phone accessory:)
I got a beautiful pearl bracelet with a love heart on it.
I got to see my son score 4 tries.
I had lots of kisses and cuddles from my kids all day.
I got to see my nana smile and watch Mia pat her head like she knew she was sick.
I got to see the joy on my mum’s face when she opened her presents and cards.
And the kids played so nicely in the bath while Kane and I were running around doing dinner and getting ready for school and work tomorrow!

I’ve been blessed with the best mother in the world!

Yes I missed out on running the Mother’s Day classic, going out for brekky, lunch or dinner like we normally do, but things don’t always pan out the way you want them to, so you just have to roll with the punches! At the end of the day I was most satisfied with helping my mum out. Mum has been putting together a footy album for each of her 3 grandsons and because she was looking after her sick mother, I made sure I got to the boy’s matches to take the photos for her! My mum sacrifices so much for us, so sacrificing my fun run or meal out was worth it….that’s what Mother’s day was like this year and I’m happy with that:)!

My children….my world!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful women in my life…xoxoxo!

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