Real Mums – Wave To Mummy

This feature is all about celebrating real mums. Mums are amazing and come in all shapes and sizes but sometimes we can feel alone, we can feel as though we are the only ones struggling to keep on top of things. I want to lift the lid on motherhood so we can all feel part of a sisterhood, to feel proud about our own achievements and know that we are doing the best we can!

Without further a do let me hand over to Sanna!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.

My name is Sanna, and I live with my husband and our 2 year old daughter in London. I work in Central London as an analyst and my husband is a stay at home parent at the moment.

We have just bought our first home, and are extremely busy trying to renovate our new house. It was straight from the 1970’s so has needed a lot of work to modernise it, but I am so excited about what we expect the final result to be! We are having a new kitchen, a new staircase and complete re-fit of the whole house…

Describe a typical day in your life

I usually get up around 7.30AM, make coffee and my lunch and head to work. I get to work around 9:30AM and eat breakfast at my desk. I work in an office so my days are spent in meetings or at my desk tapping away. During the lunch hour I either do gym or a yoga class, or go get a bit of fresh air. Sometimes I might go shopping or to a lunch time concert.

I head home around 6PM. After getting back home around 7PM I put the little monkey to bed and eat dinner (which is usually prepared by hubby). Then it is watching TV or blogging (OK, blogging mostly) until it is time for bed.

Weekends I wake up around the same time. I would love to sleep in, but we all know what happens when you have kids… Once we get up we usually have a leisurely breakfast and head out to do stuff as a family.

What is the best thing about being a mum?

I think it really is the whole experience. I love my morning snuggles with my girl, they really make my day. I love coming home and hearing her whoop with joy when I turn the key in the front door. I love the way she is getting more and more independent and how her personality shines through in everything she does. Most of all, I love getting to know her.

What have you found hardest about motherhood?

The lack of sleep has been the hardest. The newborn days were hard, and going to work through the teething stages was hell. Thankfully she does sleep a lot better now.

However, the lack of sleep is not always about our daughter keeping us up at night. Often I find it difficult to go to sleep at night. I miss that alone time and that quiet time I had, and I need it to re-charge. Sometimes I end up staying up late after everyone else has gone to bed, soaking up the silence and doing ‘my things’. Which obviously is not a healthy approach and makes me physically exhausted the next day.

How has your body changed?

I am a lot fatter than what I was before! My tummy is also a lot flabbier and I often look pregnant, even though I am not. I think it is the stretched stomach muscles.

Of course I would like to lose weight but to be perfectly honest, I think I just like to eat cake more. I am not majorly fussed about it, my body is a vehicle, which admittedly could be maintained a bit better, but it is not the most important thing about me. I feel fine in my body. It is my body and I love it, with all its imperfections.

Do you wear make-up? If so, what does your routine look like?

I am terrible at bothering to put on make-up, even though I am a bit of a luxury make-up hoarder (all those Dior and Guerlain lipsticks just gathering dust…). On the rare occasion that I do bother it is usually BB/CC cream, under eye concealer, normal concealer, lipgloss/lipstick, blush and mascara. It only takes about 5 minutes to do that so maybe I should do it a bit more often.

What’s in your handbag? 

My wallet, keys, lots of receipts, lip gloss, a few pens, some paperwork (either work, or home, or school governing), and often Grand Designs or another home and interiors magazine.

Currently instead of the magazine I have ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’ by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in my bag. It is a beautiful book, and I would recommend everyone to read it.

What is your relationship with housework?

I am pretty bad. Let’s leave it at that, OK!

(No, really, my husband takes care of practically everything, the only thing I do is laundry and filling the dishwasher)

How do you relax?

Blogging is one of the things I love to do when I am “off-duty”. I really love it, but it is not always the most relaxing thing to do.

To properly relax I love to light up a scented candle, put my feet up, lie down on the couch, and read a good book. And maybe even slap on a face mask.

What’s the best parenting advice you have ever been given?

That you as a parent know your child the best and you instinctively know what is right for them.

I refuse to be sucked into the vortex of defending my parenting decisions – I know my child, I decide, and everyone else can just keep their noses out of it and their opinions to themselves.

For any new mums out there, what would you like to tell them?

Have that time for yourself. Relax and enjoy the newborn stage. There is no need to rush around like a headless chicken, entertaining people, going out, and so on, trying to be just like you were before having a baby. Stay home and relax and sleep, you’ve earned it.

I’d also like to say that being a parent just keeps on getting better and better and more fun and fun the older your kids get. Yes, it is difficult, it is stressful, but it can also bring so much joy into your life it is unbelievable. Before my daughter, I could never have imagined how much fun having a child could be.

What makes you happy?

Seeing my daughter smile and hearing her laughter. A piece of sea-salted chocolate melting in my mouth. A beautiful pink sunset. A proper, hot cup of coffee. The whoosh of snow as I snowboard down a slope. A warm summer wind on my face. The perfect raspberry shade of a lipstick.

I am happy a lot to be honest. It’s the little things…

And finally, complete this sentence:

I am a great mum because….. I love my daughter and would do anything for her.

I don’t know how you manage such long days at work, no wonder you aren’t a fan of housework! I barely do any and I only do one day a week! Lovely interview, thank you so much for taking part. x

You can find out more about Sanna and her world over at her blog, Wave To Mummy.

 She is also on Twitter so go say hi!

If you would like to take part in my Real Mums series then email me at katy@whatkatysaid.com. x