Mummy and Me
DO YOU AS A MUM, EXIST IN PHOTOS WITH YOUR KIDS?
Help us to raise money for Gidget Foundation Australia.
A $50 donation from every session will be donated to the Foundation to help support
the emotional wellbeing of expectant and new parents to ensure that those in need receive timely, appropriate and specialist care.
Our Mummy and Me Project is the opportunity for you to capture special moments with your children. We want to capture the special relationship that you have. The project is aimed at mums with their kids, no matter what the age. So whether you have a newborn, baby, toddlers, kids or teenagers, we would love you to be part of the project.
The sessions will take place in our studio at Gordon, on Sydney’s North Shore.
MUMMY AND ME SESSIONS
Motherhood is an experience that’s often glamorized and sanitized. You don’t have to look hard to find magazine spreads of mamas with the perfect blowout and a caravan of happy kids in the background. And you don’t have to watch T.V. for long before being subjected to commercials of jolly babies in perfect white clothing free of spills or drool.
The reality of motherhood can often be very different.
Did you know that 1 in 5 women will suffer from postnatal depression ?...We have all been touched by it in some way, whether it be a sister, friend, mother ... we would love your help us raise awareness for Gidget Foundation Australia.
Gidget Foundation Australia is a not for profit organisation supporting the emotional wellbeing of expectant and new parents to ensure that those in need receive timely, appropriate and supportive care. 1 in 5 mums and 1 in 10 dads will experience perinatal depression and anxiety in Australia. Gidget Foundation Australia provide FREE psychological support services for pregnant women and new parents suffering perinatal mental illness.
Our aim with this project is to give mums the opportunity to share their stories and to help other mums see it’s ok to talk about this.
We will be creating a digital exhibition including an image of mums with their kids, and their story of challenges around raising their kids.
It can be about your post natal story, or about the challenges you experienced when raising your kids. We want to help mums realize that we all face challenges, and the best way to deal with these is to talk to others about them.
“A mother is your first friend, your best friend, your forever friend – Unknown”
Why are we doing this project?
This is our owner Kate’s story about her personal battle with postnatal depression:
My 2 boys were born 20mths apart. When my oldest son Felix was born I struggled with breastfeeding. Before I had him, I always believed that breastfeeding just came naturally to women. But for me it was very difficult. I never had enough milk, and I put so much pressure on myself to succeed. I watched my friends successfully feeing their babies, and I felt like such a failure as a mum. I felt so much guilt. I ended up comp feeding him, and then switching to bottle-feeding when he was around 6mths.
All through this time I struggled with feeling down every day. I felt unhappy, even though I was so grateful for my gorgeous little boy. Each day seemed such a struggle just to get out of bed.
Then I fell pregnant with my 2nd son Max. When Max was born my life turned into a blur. With 2 little boys under 2, a super busy toddler who catnapped during the day & then slept at night & then a new baby who would sleep for hours during the day and then be up half the night, life became a blur. I learnt why they use sleep deprivation as a form of torture. I remember waking my husband up in the middle of the night to argue with him. I felt so unhappy. It was such a battle in my mind that I should be grateful for my 2 beautiful healthy boys and yet I just couldn’t seem to enjoy being a mum.
When Max was around 15mths I woke up one day & couldn’t explain why suddenly everything seemed & felt different. it was literally like the world had changed overnight.
It turns out that I had been suffering from post natal depression for the past 3 yrs & had never realized it. My husband Chris had thought I was struggling with being a mum of 2 little boys after having a high stress career. I had chosen not to return to work while they were little, so he was under the impression that I was super happy being a stay at home mum.
When I look back at that time, there were no photos of me with them. There were so many days when I struggled to have a shower, let alone put on any makeup or blow-dry my hair. So whenever Chris went to take a photo I told him not to. Now I wish I had the memories captured. I would love a picture with them the they would cuddle me with my on the couch, and look up at me with adoration in their eyes.
I started the Mummy and Me Project to help with raising awareness about post-natal depression, and helping women to learn that there is support out there for them & the signs to look out for.
We would love your support to help us raise awareness for Gidget Foundation Australia, a not for profit organization supporting the emotional wellbeing of expectant and new parents to ensure that those in need receive timely, appropriate and specialist care.
How does the Mummy and Me Project work?
To apply, complete your details below: