Emily Rhodes

Tell us a bit about yourself?

Hi, I’m Emily. I am a Mum to Charlie (3) and Harper 1 and a half. We live in Yass with my husband Mathew. I am a teacher in a Catholic school and work 4 days a week on Year 3. 

What were you doing before babies/children?

I was working full time at a Catholic school in Canberra and living with Matty locally. We spent most of our time back in Yass visiting our friends and family so it only made sense to move back here eventually. 

How did you come to be a mum?

Matty and I got married in April 2019 and we found out on our honeymoon that I was pregnant. I was really unwell for most of the trip, when we got home I ended up in hospital where we found out we were 7 weeks pregnant. We moved back to Yass 6 months later and had our beautiful boy Charlie almost 2 weeks later than his due date, on the 18th December with the south coast fires burning and the smoke clouding our view from the hospital windows. 

10 months after having Charlie in our lives we found out we were pregnant with a little girl who was born just before the big lock down in 2021. Harper’s birth was very different. After 48 hours of labour I opted for a cesarean. We now have two beautiful children and although 2 under 2 was challenging I wouldn’t change a thing. My kids adore one another. 

What has your feeding journey been like?

Charlie’s birth didn’t go to plan, we ended up having two failed vacuums and a forceps, he had a big gash on the back of his head and a bruised eye. I lost 2.5 litres of blood and his jaw and neck were out of alignment. Feeding was really challenging, he wouldn’t latch and I felt really overwhelmed by the different advice I was receiving. The nurses at the hospital were beautiful and everyone helped me out but finally someone asked us if we would be willing to try formula and that allowed me to focus on enjoying him instead of stressing about feeding him. He eventually took to breastfeeding but wasn’t gaining weight and we were sent back to the hospital 5 days after being discharged. In the end my sister got me onto a lactation consultant who did a lip and tongue tie on Charlie and he started latching really well and I was able to exclusively breastfeed him for 12 months. 

Harper latched as soon as she was placed on me and I had no issues with her. She exclusively breastfed for 11 months. 

What has sleep been like in your house?

With Charlie being our first we just rolled with it until he hit 8 months and my husband and I had a string of nights where we couldn’t get him to bed, he was waking a lot and no one was coping. I called my mother in law and she took over at midnight (she’s a gem) the next day she got us onto a sleep program and we haven’t looked back. Both our monkeys were sleep trained easily and quickly without any stress. Charlie slept through after one night of training and Harper started sleeping through at 6 months. She is definitely a little more strong willed than him and needs some cuddles which we still love to do. I think because both Matty and I really didn’t cope with limited sleep it was important for us to do what we could to make sure we were happy, healthy and well rested. Our children love going to bed and are great sleepers.

The hardest bits…

- sleep deprivation. ( when we have rough nights? 

- when the kids are unwell. 

- Covid sucked 

The best bits…

- my kids love each other and i feel like we have them each a best friend. 

- all the mum friends I’ve made along the way. 

- grandparents

- Watching them grow, learn and form friendships 

How do you make time for yourself?

I do Pilates twice a week and I walk everyday. My husband plays squash when he can.  We just make it a priority. It’s important that we both have time to ourselves here and there 

What’s next for you and your family? 

I think we will just continue to enjoy all the beautiful moments with our two kids. We are finally in a place where we feel like parenting has gotten easier. I’m enjoying working more days and our kids are loving their days at daycare. 

If you could talk to your pre baby/kid self, what advice would you give? 

Don’t take things too seriously, don’t sweat the small stuff and lap up every second with them because time is a thief. The best is yet to come.