The Power of Mum

With a 3 am start to the day, I’ve had plenty of time to think about how we mother’s just know how to do things…

Our eldest woke in the wee hours of this morning crying out in urgency. Tim went down to see what the matter was. Over the monitor I then heard him call out for me. Our poor boy had spewed on the end of the bed. Cue the “mum-gene” or mum-instinct – call it what you will. I started calmly talking to my boy, telling him everything is okay whilst gently stroking his back. I informed Tim that I would move him into the shower to clean him up while he stripped the bed. I put Lachie in the shower, stripped him down, warmed up the shower and got him to stand under the warm water. I relieved hubby of his laundry duties (he was due to work a full-day today) and put a load of washing on (thank fully I only had to wash the doona cover). I then remade Lachie’s bed, with towels and Brolly Sheets (we used these when we were in night training, but they come in handy in these situations), got him out of the shower and dressed him before putting him back to bed.

The Power of Mum

After a quick scrub of the bathroom and ensuring everything was right with the world I went back to bed. As I lay down Tim asked “How do you know what to do?” (after the obligatory questions regarding our son). This got me thinking as I tried to drift back off to sleep…

How do we know what to do in those moments?

How do we, as Mums, know what to do in the event of a crisis? There is no ‘Parenting Manual’ when you welcome your first child into the world. So how is it we know what to do when our children are sick or hurt? Do we remember from our own days as a child? Do we unconsciously retain information passed on from our mothers, grandmothers and other matriarchal figures in our lives? How do we remain calm in times of crisis when our children are involved?

When it comes to my family being in need and distress, I become very calm and clear in my directions. My voice is quite mono-tone, soft and soothing, yet firm and informative. In the few times that my boys have been very sick (this is Lachie’s second bout of gastro) I had a flash-back to a time B.C. (Before Children).

Life B.C (before children)

Tim and I had been at one of our local dog friendly beaches with our pooches. Tim went for one last swim, but unfortunately got stung by a blue bottle. We quickly fled as he was in a fair amount of pain – he insisted we stop on the way home so he could shower. I agreed, but said we should get home so he could hope straight in a bath of luke-warm water and have an ice-block.

Despite this (and his fiance being a born-and-bred coastal girl) he thought that hopping into bed would be the best thing. At first I let him, but after 5 minutes of listening to him whine and moan, I promptly ran a bath, moved him into the bathroom, got him into the bath and gave him an ice-block to suck on. And shock horror – he started to feel better!!!!

So how do parents do it?

Since then, when either of my boys are hurt, be it a minor boo-boo or a near split head or lip, I surprise myself at how calm and concise I can be. I marvel at the wonder that we are – Parents. While my title is Mum, that doesn’t mean that those with any other title don’t possess that power. I marvel at all that parents do, all of the time, despite our own afflictions, illness and fears. I marvel at those who stay-at-home full time. Those that return to work. Those who work part-time. Those who are single. Those who have FIFO partners. I marvel at same-sex partners and those who are travelling the path the parenthood. Quite simply – parents are amazing. And we should praise one another and ourselves. It’s the most thankless job in the world – but one that I’m sure none of us would ever leave.

Want more parenting articles? Check out the benefits of routines for children, 11 things for parents to remember and becoming a mum.

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The Power of Mum

The Power of Mum

How do we know what to do in those moments?

Life B.C (before children)

So how do parents do it?

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