I moved to the UK 8 years ago and started to work for families and now have more than 10 years working with children.
My pregnancy and post-partum were very hard. I suffered from anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and feeling low. My midwife would visit me every day to give me support and was eventually referred to an antenatal team. Nobody told or warned me about how difficult it can be after pregnancy.
I believe that when I started to heal that’s when I realized I had to do something better for my little one, give her a better life, more time together, quality time, and that was the moment Mummies Love was born.
I wanted to be my boss and decide when and where to work, but also share my experience, and help other parents who are struggling to recognize and find help.
Mummieslove's story
I grow up on a small island, I used to live with my mum, grandparents and two of my aunties in a flat, we spent the whole holidays/Sundays in a house that my grandparents have in a very small fisher town. That’s where I have my most precious memories. I used to spend the summers barefoot, fishing, playing on the beach until late, playing cards...etc. When my mother married the person, I consider my father I was a teenager and I went through many changes at one, house, and school, I was bullied at my old school, accepting that I had to share my mum with someone else, I was the hardest time of my life.
I was mentally struggling, I had and still have a lot of insecurities, and very low self-esteem that made my teenage time hell. I was having anxiety and panicnattacks, so I had to go to a psychologist. I became a rebel, I remember feeling that nobody could ever understand me, not even myself. I still feel the same way. I made myself through puberty and at the age of 18 I dropped school and started to be more independent. I’ve tried different jobs and eventually I went back to study different things, but I could not finish them, I always thought I wasn’t good enough, and my parents never support me in anything apart from when I decided of changing my life completely and come to England. Since I was little, I had some big dreams, being a mum, having my own house, and traveling. I always wanted to learn new cultures, and new languages and finally find my place in the world. I came 8 years ago with nothing but a bag full of dreams and insecurities, I tried different job until I started to work for families, I have to say I have more than 10 years of experience working with children. I did some courses, training and I got quite curious about how children develop, especially mentally and emotionally. When I became pregnant with my little one, I was even more curious, I wanted to learn how to grow a happy, secure, strong, emotional independence child.
My pregnancy was very hard, I suffered hyperemesis which couldn’t be worst if not because I always had stomach problems since I was little. This affected a lot of my emotions, I was always down, and at the end of the pregnancy I started to have anxiety attacks, worrying about things that could happen when she gets older, like falling and me not being there. When I had Kayla my emotion was like a very heavy rain all of the sudden, I was always crying, I was having horrible intrusive thoughts, could not rest at all. After a week I had enough and I spoke with my midwife, she and other midwives started to come every day to give support, and eventually, I got referred to the antenatal team and started to have some seasons with an amazing psychologist. I know I had very good support, but nobody spoke with me during my pregnancy about the afterward, what can be happened to your brain when you have a child, or what the hormones can do. I think if I had more support during my pregnancy, to recognize the issues I would have been better or more prepared for what could have happened.
After a few months, I was different, more settled, learned how to identify my emotions and thoughts, and let them go without paying attention. I believe that when I started to heal that’s when I realized I had to do something better for my little one, give her a better life, more time together, quality time, and that was the moment Mummieslove was born. I wanted to be my boss and decide when and where to work, but also share my experience, help other parents who are struggling to recognize and find help.