Motherhood – the most wonderful thing that could ever happen to us as women. Growing a life in our bodies, birthing them and then bringing them up into the human they grow up to be. Pretty amazing right?

It’s not always rainbows and sunshine, as a mother myself I know this for a fact – but beyond all of the hard times comes pride and joy that can’t even be put into words! 

Before you know it your babies grow up and the time truly flies by so quickly–once you experience how fast the time goes by, it makes you realise how precious every moment spent with them is and capturing those memories is the perfect way to remember them.

As a motherhood photographer, I believe that one of the best ways to make the most of motherhood is to capture milestones on camera, however, there are certainly many other ways to make the most of motherhood, so let me tell you…

5 Ways to Make the Most of Motherhood

• Self-care
• Practice gratitude
• Embrace the imperfect
• Find joy in the chaos
• Capture motherhood on camera 

Self-care

One way to make the most of motherhood is self-care and it is much more than soaking in a hot bubble bath. How we treat ourselves is strongly tied to our self-worth, and the more self-worth we have, the higher our happiness levels are! 

This refers to the acceptance of your own needs, feelings, and opinions, as well as the willingness to make choices that meet or validate them. 

Many of us associate loving our family with suppressing our own feelings, needs, and desires. Instead, while many around us are happy, we are fatigued, overloaded, angry, and snappy – we don’t want that.

When you’re not living on the edge, life is so much more joyful. Imagine how your child’s perception of their own value would change if you overlooked their basic needs. Their self-esteem would suffer, just as yours would if you ignored your own.

Your energy feeds onto your child. So, take care of yourself so your child grows up to be the best version of themselves too.

Self-care can be as simple as going to the bathroom when you need it, rather than rushing around the kitchen to grab your child a drink! It could be getting some exercise, phoning a friend when you’re down, going to bed earlier, or validating a fleeting emotion.

Practice gratitude

Gratitude is a brilliant and powerful approach to bringing more happiness into your life quickly. It shifts our attention away from what could go wrong and towards what is excellent and going right in our lives.

Changing ‘I’ve got to’ to ‘I get to’ is a great way to shift your mindset and make the most of motherhood and what it throws at you. 

That dreaded feeling of how much washing there is to do especially with a child, well turn it into a positive–clothing worn by your children, who you consider to be a blessing. Plus, it’s a blessing that you have access to a washing machine to provide clean clothes for you and your children!

Embrace the imperfect

Our children are a mix of sweet and sour and even the best parents will experience a combination of angel child vs the devil themselves! Sweet, as in your baby decides to take an extra-long nap, giving you the opportunity to have time to yourself or get some housework done.

Combined with sour, as when that baby is still sleeping, your toddler’s nursery calls to inform you that they are ill and that you should come to get them right away.

Loving motherhood does not imply enjoying a tantrum-throwing kid or the disruptions they may cause. To make the most of motherhood, you must be able to keep the tantrum in perspective and move through it with ease. It’s understanding that in these moments, even supermum can’t avoid a tantrum.

Therefore allowing your day, or even your next 30 minutes, to be wrecked is a waste of your time and energy. Understand they have emotions too just like you, validate their feelings and help them work through it, rather than making them feel guilty for having those feelings.

Find joy in the chaos

A great way to make the most of motherhood is to find joy in the chase!

Don’t panic if your child asks for a million things as you walk down the toy aisle in the supermarket. Instead think to yourself: do I understand why they want the toys? Maybe its because they’re children, and toys are the most exciting thing to see when you’re little! 

Instead of being frustrated, ask them about their favourite toys and listen to them. For every moment of difficulty that a child presents, there is an equal opportunity to enjoy them. So look for those opportunities.

You don’t have to buy them that toy but you can turn it into a discussion of interest and show them that you understand how exciting it is to them!

Those little moments are the big moments to them. We sometimes miss the most crucial aspects of motherhood because we are focused on the wrong things. As a mother myself, I feel that the perfection of children lies in their imperfections.

Capture motherhood on camera 

Motherhood photography is the perfect way to capture the milestones of your family life. 

From the moment you are pregnant–maternity photography is a great way to remember the life you created and the moment you always dreamed of.

Newborn photography to remember the moment they entered the world and how tiny they truly were.

Newborn photography in my photography studio in Hampshire is the perfect way to capture the sweet moments and their adorable features during their first moments of life.

Then, all of the moments as they grow older–their features change and so does their personality. Family photography is a great way to capture the nostalgic and authentic moments of how your family relationship was.

As a family photographer in Hampshire, I find the best way for families to feel relaxed and to fully enjoy the moment so I can capture natural moments is through a shoot on the beach!

You may think that you can capture all of these moments on your phone, but realistically how often are you in the photo? It’s important to have photos of you with your children as they will appreciate this so much when they’re older.

Are you forcing your child to smile for the photo? During my shoots, I encourage you all to be your playful selves for those natural smiles and giggles.

Plus, investing in a photographer who specialises in this can provide you with high-quality images that not only capture the real moments but they’re clear, artistic and perfect to print off and hang on the walls of your home.

Are you ready to embrace motherhood?

Now I have given you 5 ways to make the most of motherhood I hope you go away and reflect on what motherhood is all about and how you can be the best version of yourself, for your children.

If you’re ready to enquire about your motherhood photography, then I’d love to chat to you!