Natalie & Theo
Natalie was one of the first mums to contact me following my call out for people to be involved in The Mother Village project. She works as a Psychologist in the NSW education system based locally in the Illawarra. When I visited Natalie at her home in Wollongong, her son Theo was just 3 weeks old. We sat at the dining table and discussed our recent birthing experiences, me being a first time mother to my 13 week old son. Spending time with Natalie felt comfortable. We had an easy connection, the nature of the project allowed us to share some of the intimate details of the wild ride that motherhood had been for us so far.
“All my mother supports unfortunately don’t live locally.”
Natalie’s Mother Village consists of women who reside mostly in Sydney meaning that she will be seeking local companionship. At this point in time, she is connecting with mothers once, sometimes twice per week only. She like me is starting from scratch which makes me all the more grateful to have met her and Theo through this work.
Each of the mothers involved in this project were interviewed about their experiences and connections to community. Throughout this blog, I will share some direct quotes captured in these interviews.
How would you describe Motherhood? Challenging! The first few weeks of bub’s life have been nothing like I could have ever imagined. I’ve had moments of not knowing what to do and felt as though everything I am doing is wrong but when I look at his adorable little face, I know it’s all worthwhile.
How would you describe your Mother Village? All my mother supports unfortunately don’t live locally. I’m thankful that I have both a supportive mother and mother in law that regularly remind me to do what is needed. I’m also incredibly fortunate that I have a close friend that gave birth to her third child just a few weeks before my son was born, she has been my rock. Most of the people I’ve reached out to have been new mums from around Sydney that I’m friends with however, I have very little local support as the only people I spend time with in Wollongong are friends I’ve made through work.
What do you love about your Mother Village? I love that I have a space to not feel judged. After watching countless videos online, I felt like I was doing everything wrong and was being given mixed messages from midwives which complicated things further. It helped me to hear “I just did what worked” from many mothers I’ve looked up to in the past.
Is there anything missing from your Mother Village? Local support that I can access. Face to face meet ups when I need them, especially as my son gets older.
How do you connect to other mothers? Generally just via messages. I would love to connect with new mums locally. I’m hoping that my first appointment with Porter Street will help me connect with a group however, I’m wanting to wait until Theo is 6 weeks old to do this.
Child and Family Centre, North Wollongong
Puckey’s Lagoon, Wollongong
These photographs were made on the 15th March, 2023. This shoot was my first for someone I didn’t know in over a year. It also marked my first play with the new/old (second hand) Fuji XT2.