How Social Media Saved Me During Maternity Leave
Imagine it: you’re a thirty-something young professional, career-driven and live by the motto: ‘work hard, play harder’, is it any wonder us mamas completely freak out when we are suddenly thrusted into this crazy world of motherhood?
Now, I honestly don’t think that maternity leave was a shock because of having twins. I had never had babies before. If there was only one… or 4 little ones to look after, it was going to be a challenge. But no, this was not the reason why I found it hard.
Identity Crisis
I was used to working 12–14 hours a day, under pressure and to many deadlines. A lunch break meant frantically scoffing humous-covered carrot sticks whilst running around to the next task and never switching off at the weekends. It was demanding, but my brain enjoyed the workload.
Life Changing
Fast forward to the babies making their arrival and life was unrecognisable. Gone were the days of getting up at 5am and getting home at 7pm. There was no need for my brain to work in the way that I had been used to for the past decade. Now, I was living life in three-hour intervals, on little-to-no sleep and consuming such a dangerous amount of caffeine I was worried I’d give myself a heart attack. It was relentless. Of course, caring for my two beautiful babies is something I will forever cherish. Newborn cuddles will be one of my most treasured memories I ever have. However, cleaning up yellow poo, getting through two loads of laundry a day and forever being covered in breastmilky baby sick soon wears thin. My brain craved stimulation.
After the initial shock of becoming an overnight twin mama and recovering from the trauma of child birth (you can read my Twin Pregnancy Story here), I needed something for my brain to focus on. But what? I wanted to find something that I could do within my reality of being a new parent. That’s when I thought: perhaps I could start documenting my adventures of motherhood. It seemed like the perfect solution. And what’s more, working on a project like this would mean I’ll have captured our memories for our babies to one day enjoy too.
Social Media
But where to start? I was a semi-regular user of Facebook, but that was as far as my social media usage really went. Friends and family commented on how organised I had been with our babies and then it came to me…how about I capture how I manage with two little ones? Being an educator I naturally love to help people, so the thought of showing other show I was coping seemed to fit well. It seemed the best social media platform to showcase my twin anecdotes was Instagram. And that was how our Foxfairy Twins Instagram page was born.
I reveled in sharing our twin lives in tiny little squares. However, I found with so many different experiences to capture, it was limiting to fit it all into the perfect pixelated box with a small amount of space to write. I wanted to give details, explanations and opinions. And then I stumbled across ‘blogging’.
Blog Blog Blogging
Now, going into this unknown territory was like trying to make your way through wet sand. I had only just got my head around Instagram, now I was starting at the bottom again, this time in the blogging world. It was like joining a club where everyone knows what they’re doing, except for you. You’re just the bystander. Awkward.
Now, if you’re anything like me, I don’t like to do things by half. If I was going to blog, I wanted to do it properly. After researching for tips and tricks into the blogging world, I found the fabulous Aby Moore from You Baby Me Mummy and I was hooked. Her passion for helping others to gain skills and confidence in their blogs won me over. I signed up for one of her courses and, as they say, the rest was history.
A New Adventure
That was when The Foxfairies was born. Finally I had found a way of stimulating my brain, expressing myself and capturing my motherhood adventures. Although I still have a ridiculous amount of studying to do, I am so unbelievably proud of what I have achieved over the past 3 months with my blog. Whenever my babies are napping I desperately try to squeeze in another lesson to extend my blogging knowledge or write another post to publish. Although spending time with my beautiful babies is everything, it’s great to have something to remind myself of who I am too. I am mama, but I am also Haley.
Have you entered the wonderful world of blogging? If so, how did you venture into the blogging world? ❤
You can read more from Haley on her blog and also follow along on her Instagram for snap shots of her daily Motherhood adventures as a twin Mama.
Follow our blog, Motherhood: Breaking the Looking Glass, for more stories on Motherhood from mothers like you.
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