Former model and TV presenter Anna Reeve with her partner, radio host Jay Reeve, are the parents of twins Hunter and Oscar, aged 3. Her website about parenting is AnnaReeve.co.nz
Describe your relationship with your own mother and what it's like to now be a mother yourself.
I was lucky enough to have Mum help with the twins a lot through their first year in the world. They had colic and reflux and I don't know how Jay and I would have survived without her. The last time I spent that amount of time with her was before I started school. We already have a close relationship, but it's even stronger now.
The boys have completely turned my world upside down and taught me so much about myself. I struggled with post-natal anxiety and depression during the first year of their lives, but we got through to the other side where I could finally relax into motherhood and experience how rewarding it really is.
It’s tough, relentless and exhausting sometimes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. The love they show you and that you feel is the best thing in the world. I’m a better person for them being in our lives. Jay and I are extremely blessed to be the parent of those little dudes.
Fondest memory of being a parent so far?
The first time the boys told me they loved me unprompted was pretty special. You put so much love and energy into these little people that it's lovely when they understand and comprehend it, and share that back with you. It also fills my heart with pride when I catch them using good manners among themselves, or cuddled up and "reading" a book, I feel like I have done something right when I see that happening.
The “most defining” moment may seem weird but it was the first time I packed the boys up in the car then out at the other end and into the pram to make a successful trip around the shops with them on my own. They were about 4 weeks old (we had been home from NICU for 2 weeks) and when I first brought them home I couldn’t comprehend how I could possibly manage to do that on my own, so I was proud when I did.
What made you start your website about motherhood?
I used to work in the realm of online so it wasn't completely foreign territory to me. I kept being asked by people and those in the industry to start one and I was hesitant at first, but then I caved and I'm so glad I did. I've covered things that I really struggled with, that I couldn't find anyone talking about in my real life or online in an open and honest way. It was all so clinical.
So it was quite therapeutic and I have since had many pregnant women and mothers email to say thank you. It’s very rewarding knowing that it has helped even one person sort through their own emotions or relate to something I went through and made them feel less alone, as that’s exactly how I felt.
It’s weird that, as women we are all so different, but motherhood is one thing that we can have in common and relate to each other with. Yet it can be one of the most isolating and scary times of our lives.
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Advertise with NZME.One piece of advice for mothers?
That there is no normal, especially when it comes to emotions. We are all trying to make it though motherhood in one piece and doing the best we can for our children, so don't compare yourself to others — all of our experiences are unique.
