Tell us a bit about yourself?

My name’s Emily and I am a stay at home mum of two boys and a girl, Rex (7), Maritza (4) and Conan (almost 2). My husband and I have been together for 10 years, married for 3 and I have lived in the Canberra region for 18 years now.

What were you doing before babies?

Before babies I was in hospitality. I loved the fast pace and constant pressure of the industry, and I enjoyed having regular customers. Even after 8 years away I can still remember their orders!

How did you come to be a mum?

I found out I was pregnant a week after getting engaged. It took us a little while to figure out my cycle the first time. I had a miscarriage in late 2016, and after that we fell pregnant pretty much as soon as we decided to try again.

What has your feeding journey been like?

My feeding journey has been really easy. I breastfed my eldest until he was 3.5yo, and I am currently tandem feeding the 4yo and 2yo. I have never had any latch or supply issues and I feel very lucky for that. If I breastfeed my youngest for as long as his siblings it will be almost a decade of non stop feeding. I am so amazed my body can do that!

What has sleep been like in your house?

Sleep has always been a bit contentious in our house. My eldest never liked going to sleep! We ended up co-sleeping from about day four. My daughter also slept with me from the beginning, now she starts in her own bed and will make her way in to ours at some point. The baby has always preferred to start off in his cot but it is not unusual for us to wake up with at least two in bed with us.

The hardest bits…

One of the hardest bits has been my journey with post partum anxiety. I was diagnosed with anxiety pre kids but after I had children it just escalated with each subsequent baby. I worried about everything, to the point where it was getting hard to leave the house because of all the bad things that could happen. It was a huge strain on my relationship as well. That was really the catalyst for me to seek professional help. I see a therapist regularly and it is one of the best gifts I have given myself.

The best bits…

The best bits are definitely just how funny my kids are. Honestly they crack me up every day! My 4yo is constantly pranking her dad and sometimes she gets him a good one! I love having a loud noisy house. My kids bring me a lot of joy each day.

How do you make time for you?

This is one of the hardest things for me to do, the mum guilt is real! Besides therapy, I meet up with a girlfriend for a kid free walk and talk once a month. We often joke we need to find a bigger mountain because we can never fit all our chat in. I also love to read, and I love to talk about books but I struggled finding a Bookclub that suited my life as a mum. So I started my own! We have a longer time between books because we are all busy women, and once we can meet face to face again our catch ups are kid friendly.

What’s next for you and your family?

After a bit of thought we decided we are done having babies, which was a little bittersweet. We are looking forward to more family holidays, less nappy changes and really getting involved in our local community.

A piece of advice for our readers?

Just remember you’re not alone, whatever is happening to you at that moment, it’s been experienced by someone else. I always found that thought comforting when my toddler was melting down in Coles!