How it all began...

Five years ago I was sitting on our living room sofa, holding our little baby boy in my arms. He was perfect and he was all I ever dreamt of becoming.. a mother. So how could it be that I was so unhappy with my life? People used to tell me to make the most out of these early days and months because they pass so quickly. They did not pass quickly to me at that time. In fact the days dragged on and on and the worst part was that the day never ended! Whilst people would be snuggled in their bed, resting to recharge for another day ahead, I would be up trying to nurse this baby to sleep. Tired is a great understatement! No one ever prepares you for what motherhood is really all about. It was a shock and I was so upset. I loved this little baby so much and I felt so guilty that I was not enjoying it as the people told me I should.

Thankfully as the days rolled along, we began to settle down more. Liam started to have longer naps throughout the day and we would get some 2 hour sleep streches at night. This started giving me some space to try and work things out. I needed a plan.. I needed a sort of routine to help me function better troughout the day. Liam was still too young to fall into a sleep and feed routine so I left nurturing as baby requested. However, I started to incorporate three activities throughout the day when he was as young as 2 months old. The first was "gross motor time" in the morning. We would focus on tummy time and baby massage. I also introduced the baby gym where he would spend some minutes lying on his back freely. I also remember having him on me whilst I bounced on the big gym ball and sang songs. We also did some baby yoga as he got a bit older (I would follow youtube videos).

Then, after lunch we would go out for a walk in his pram. The outside air did wonders for both of us. It was an excuse for me to get changed into real clothes and Liam would have his afternoon nap whilst I got some exercise. Finally, we had story time in the evening.

Having these three activities helped structure our day and they are the moments I remember the most. They were the building blocks which helped me find joy in being a mother, specifically a stay-at-home mother. When Kate was born, things were so much easier as we had a lot of routine activities in place already. Along the years we have had messy play time, art, crafts, science experiments time, baking on sunday mornings, water play during sunny summer afternoons, quiet time activities with Liam in the mornings before he went off to school, gardening in our little balcony in Spring and more and more and more.

Sadly, we are now in a transition phase I feel. Both children are now at school which leaves little time for fun and games during the week. We do try our best but its obviously not the same as it used to be. These past years have not been easy and I have had my fair share of struggles. But its these memories of messy hands, playing out in the sun, laughs and giggles that my mind seems to cling on to. And with all the struggles and frustrations that motherhood comes with, I would go back to very beginning in a heartbeat. This is My Monkeys and I. Its here to help me create a memoire of the best time of my life with my family and I hope it can serve to inspire you that if needs be, when we make little changes, life can be beautiful xxx