Boy Mama to Beau and Leo, Olivia, social media mama and blogger, shares with us some very sound advice!
Could you tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do:
I am a 28 year old (almost 29) stay at home Mum of two boys, Beau 2.5 and Leo 7 months. I am also a step mum to Christian who is 12. I come from a background of media sales and advertising, however I don’t plan on going back to work as such as I will be implementing myself into my husbands business which will allow me to work in with the kids schedules better. Age when you had your first baby:
I became pregnant at 25 and had my first baby when I was 26. What was your reaction when you found out you were pregnant?
I was ecstatic as we had been trying for 6 months, but all I could do was cry because I was so scared of what was to come. After the initial shock of finding out that I was finally pregnant I began to get excited and our little boy couldn’t come soon enough. Best piece of advice you were given about parenting:
The nights are long but the years are short. Don’t wish away a season of your life that you will eventually yearn to have back just because of a few sleepless nights. Have you met any challenges being a mama in your 20s?
My biggest challenge was the birth of my second son Leo and his shock diagnosis at birth. Coming to terms with our new normal and facing the unknown has made for a considerably difficult time in my life that I never would have envisaged I would be going through at the age of 28. What has been your biggest challenge in your 20s (non-parenting related)? I think I’m in a constant battle with myself to be more appreciative of where I am and what I have in my life. It is so easy to get sucked into other people’s worlds via social media and compare your life to theirs. In my early 20s it was about being jealous of the girl with the perfect slim body who wore the most on trend clothes and had a seemingly perfect life. By mid 20s it was comparing myself to others in a work environment. Why are they getting promotions/pay rises and not me? Now that I’m in my late 20s It’s about wishing that I could give my kids the fun memories of a summer at a family bach, It’s wishing our home had a bigger yard so we could fit a trampoline and wondering how on earth people afford to dress their kids in such amazing clothes all.the.time (sorry, brought it back to parenting 😅). It’s something I am working on every day. If you could give one piece of advice to twenty-something’s pre kids what would it be? Take this time to find out who you are and what is important to you. Pre kids is the perfect time to sit back and decide what makes you happy. And then to do something about it.
Also, when going in to parenthood, try not to have any expectations. Everyone is handed a different deck of cards and you just need to do your best and play the hell out of the ones you’re holding.
You can find out more about Olivia and Leo's story by heading to her blog https://ourlittlelionblog.wordpress.com