“Sonny and I co-sleep so we usually all enjoy some snuggles/head-butting together in the morning.” Emma Ross (@mamalinauk) on slow mornings with her two sons, while on maternity leave from her job at Google…
Emma Ross (@mamalinauk on Instagram) lives in London with her husband Sam, and their two sons, Jack, age two, and Sonny, three months. She is currently on maternity leave from Google.
Our mornings are … S L O W. Fortunately Jack is a late riser and Sonny and I co-sleep so we usually all enjoy some snuggles/head-butting together in the morning. We’ll then meander downstairs and, whilst I boil the kettle, whack on BBC Radio 1 and make some Weetabix for Jack, he will read, and Sonny will hang out in the bouncer. We basically all do some serious “pottering”, and it’s one of my favorite times of the day.
My kids mainly wear … hand me downs from my mum! She has kept so many of the clothes from when me and my siblings were younger – some of my favorite brands are the vintage M&S babygrows and Osh Kosh dungarees. Other than that, they’re usually in hareem pants or some sort of tie dye.
I cope with clutter by … hiding everything in wicker baskets.
I never leave the house without … a flask of re-heated coffee. I have it perfectly timed so that I throw the mug in the microwave before putting kid one in the car, then before hauling kid two in, I dash to retrieve the mug before decanting into my flask.
When they’re not looking I … check my phone. I hate being on my phone too much in front of them – I always feel like they must think ‘what the heck is mum doing looking at this black box?!’
I encourage creativity by … leaving them alone! Jack plays so beautifully on his own; he is so independent, so adventurous and curious about everything and I think this is because I’ve let him largely get on with it. (I also can’t pretend that this doesn’t help me get on with the above answer.)
I’ll never be able to part with … my green Roberts radio, yoga mat, baby carrier, fairy lights … These are just some of my favourite things in life. Oops.
When all else fails we … sit on the kitchen floor and sort through a cupboard. It’s amazing how much fun can be had with Oxo cubes and Tupperware.
Follow Emma – mamalinauk – on Instagram: @mamalinauk