[MODEL MADHOUSE] Sussan Mother's Day 2020

I love my job and I love my babies so any opportunity to shoot with them or bring them to set is the absolute ultimate. And being a breastfeeding mama it’s also extremely practical to have my little koala on hand for a feed. In fact, that reminds me of the time I had my first job after having Valentina and Georges was on daddy daycare duty. I completely forgot that I would still need to express and left my pump at home. It got to 2pm and my boobs felt like rocks and as if by some miraculous mind reading phenomenon Georges surprised me by showing up with Valentina. Talk about paternal instinct. Will not be making that mistake again….

A snapshot of Siddy during most of the shoot…..

Except for when she was required to perform. And sadly for her we had to wake her from her slumber for her first shot. On the flip side she didn't need to get changed as her outfit perfectly (and by complete chance) complimented my PJ set. Poor thing didn't last long and after about 5 minutes she passed out on my shoulder. But Georges being the magician that he is made it work and even when asleep she still knew how to work the camera (see below for the final image).

Here she is again sleeping…….

Surprise, surprise, still asleep….

Ok Siddy, there’s sleeping on the job but this is just ridiculous. What are they paying you for baby girl??? I won’t be surprised if a get a call from her agency.

With Siddy being such a little munchkin it’s compulsory to have a registered nurse on set. The beautiful woman helping me look after Siddy was hired through a company called Nurses on Location who specifically work with children on TV, film and commercial productions. She was absolutely amazing and made me feel so comfortable in leaving Siddy in her care. And judging by the picture below I’d say Siddy felt pretty comfortable too.

So it’s not just me who loves having the girls on set. Who says men can’t multi-task. Cradling Siddy in one hand and clicking the button with the other. He is one proud papa and would hold, cuddle, carry Siddy at every opportunity. I can’t imagine it will be too long before Siddy gets a taste for the other side of the camera. Which would suit Valentina very well because as far as she’s concerned there’s only room for one diva in our household.

Click, cuddle…..

Cuddle, click…..

It was such a privilege shooting the mothers day campaign for Sussan’s but even more so to be shooting with my fellow mothers. All at different stages of motherhood, it was a beautiful, authentic collection of women standing side by side. And especially now, with the world in the midst of isolation I feel as though the motherhood tribes have come together in the virtual world to share their stories of struggle and confusion in looking after tiny humans during this unusual pandemic or the anxiety of bringing new humans into the world during such an uncertain time. Knowing that I’m not the only one who has fed their child Weetbix for breakfast, lunch and dinner………on the same day, or had the television, iPad and iPhone on loop for 24 hours is quite a relief to say the least.

Mothers Day this year for me is all about celebrating the little achievements and recognising that I am no where near a perfect mum but I am perfect for my kids. To all the mums out there, being a parent is hard and it’s not always fun, it’s not always easy, it’s not always enjoyable and it’s not always what we want to be doing. And with the added pressure of being “locked” inside our homes it can make us question our parenting skills and abilities. Just remember there is no rule book or instruction manual to becoming a parent. As long as we are creating good, kind, strong, healthy, happy children then we are doing our job. And a bloody good one at that.

……not my first helping of dessert. Thank goodness for breastfeeding.

It was a pretty big day for Siddy. Sleeping for 2 out of the 4 hours she was on set must have really taken it out of her…..As most mums of more than one child will know, it can be difficult trying to balance the amount of time and attention with each child. I’ve found myself overindulging in Valentina’s wants and needs because she’s more able to openly express them and poor Siddy gets unintentionally sidelined. So even though it’s work, I’ll take any opportunity for some quality, one on one time with my littlest baby.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Follow me @model_appetite on Instagram to keep updated on my blog posts x