My first Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers who follow my blog. First of all, I wish a very happy day to my own mother, without a doubt, the best mum I could have ever wished for. I hope to be at least half as good as my mother, and that would already be an amazing achievement. Mum, you are my real model, thank you for all your love and everything you have taught me; my life wouldn't be the same without you. I value the new role I am in and love being a mummy to sweet baby Emilia. And then, of course, happy Mother's Day to all my beautiful girlfriends who make the role of being a mother easy, cool and refreshing every day. You are just the best. And special wishes to all the mothers to be, you are in for a great ride; yes, it's hard at times, but there is nothing better in the whole world! 

My day started with Emilia waking me up with a sweet card in her hands; she was holding that card with such a cheeky smile on her face, it really seemed that she knew what she was doing. In the card Emilia listed all the reasons why she is thankful to have me as a mum. Every day I tell her that now I look after her but one day she will have to take care of me, perhaps even change my diaper (I hope not, but you never know what comes with seniority!) and then I will be grateful to have her with me. It's the circle of life. I also got beautiful flowers, Peppa Pig cookies and four of my favourite magazines to read on this relaxing Sunday. What a lovely day I had. I can't wait to celebrate more Mother's days and I'll work hard to be the best mum Emilia could wish for! Being a mother is the most challenging, yet most rewarding job in the world and I am in for the challenge and the joy.

Grand and Great

So this morning my mum and grandmum left. Thankfully their flight was very early in the morning and when their taxi came to pick them up at 5.50am we were still pretty sleepy to have the time and energy to cry. However, we were all quite sad. Ten days with them were simply amazing for all of us: Emilia received all the love and attention she needs and Rob and I tasted a bit of life pre-parenthood, which was very nice. Once they left, I went back to bed and tried to sleep some more. Then Emilia woke me up at 8.45 for her feed. The day started well: I fed and changed Emilia and then I put her in her bouncer while I enjoyed a nice cup of tea and a good slice of homemade vanilla and walnut cake. We then played for a good half hour on the couch and when she got tired I put her in the pram for her morning nap as my mum used to do. However, after 20 minutes things changed. Emilia started crying (=screaming!) and stayed upset for three hours. What a change! I was so frustrated I didn't know what else to do. I wish I could have just called mum for help one more time. Thankfully, the afternoon was a bit better and she did have her afternoon nap. Not for two good hours but she was down and peaceful for an hour and a half. Rob came back from NYC early today and I was hoping to have a nice evening with him, however we didn't manage to put Emilia down to bed until 10.00pm, so a bit later than what my mum used to do, which means we had to take turns to eat dinner. Hopefully, though, she will sleep for a while now. Time will tell. 

Today, I don't mind saying it, I was so down and lost that I started questioning what I do wrong. According to Rob, Emilia was simply missing her grandmum and great-grandmum. I am not sure it is possible at this stage, she is too little, I think, but perhaps she could sense all the love that she received in the last few days and something was missing in her daily activities today. She had gotten into a very nice routine with my mum and hardly cried for a week straight. I am sure there will be good days and bad days and today was just a bad one but I need some reassurance that I am a good mum and am doing things right. Mum, grandmum, I miss you so much! 

Here is a picture of grandmum strolling with Emilia. I hope I will be as energic as her when I'll be 83 years old.

Time to say goodbye

I don't like goodbyes, in fact, I hate them. I always have a hard time saying goodbye to friends and family when I depart from them but this time was particularly painful. My parents left London and headed back to Pescara just an hour ago. It has been wonderful having them here for so long. So many things have happened in the last three weeks. When my mum arrived on the 20th of August I was still heavily pregnant. She took great care of me and Rob, cooked for us every single meal, baked our favourite cakes and biscuits, did all the laundry, ironing and cleaning. And then, when Emilia came, having my parents with me was just what we needed. Not only for the help but also for all the love they gave us. When we got back home from the hospital the flat was absolutely beautiful, so full of flowers and baloons. It was the perfect welcome back for us and welcome home to Emilia. 

I knew they had to leave one day and I knew it was going to be tough but nothing could have prepared me to the way I felt. Let's just say: lots of tears. 

Here is to my parents. Thank you very much for all your help and love. I don't say it that often but I do love you very much and I feel very lucky and blessed to have you.

Mum and grandmum's visit

Mum and grandmum have now left. They arrived last Tuesday morning and left this afternoon. Their company and help have been invaluable. During their time here they have cleaned the flat, hand-washed all Baby O's clothes and bed linen for the Bugaboo and crib, ran loads and loads of laundry, ironed, washed the curtains (which I had never done since we moved to the new flat!), stitched curtains and tea towels, embroidered bibs, and most of all kept me company. I am now officially on maternity leave and the flat is empty without them. I miss them already. 

Here are some pictures of them in action:

And a close-up of all the bibs they made. I can't decide which one is my favourite...

Aren't they adorable?

Mum is the Word

 

I am excited to tell you that valeasc products will be displayed and on sale at The Create Mother's Day pop-up shop this weekend. Saturday the 26th and Sunday the 27th make sure you head to Bethnal Green for some mother's day shopping. Your mum deserves the best!  See you there!