The help you keep saying no to

togetHER  ·  MUM PROFILE

Carli is a mum of two — a three-year-old and a sixteen-month-old — living in Brunswick, VIC. She’s on maternity leave from her federal government role and pouring her heart into MOTHERING, a podcast about doing this work differently. Her quiet dream: to mother in community, the way we were always meant to.

THE HARDEST PART

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The hardest part isn’t the mothering itself. It’s the environment we have to do it in — relentless, day in, day out, and so often alone.

WHAT MAKES IT WORTH IT

The children. You know the feeling — watching them master something they couldn’t do yesterday. A toddler saying “I love you.” The wonder on their face as rainwater runs down the curb. The pure joy of watching them run and laugh together outside.

Nothing in the world even comes close.

WHAT SHE WISHES EXISTED

Not big favours — small, regular ones. Someone dropping in for an hour to play with her eldest, hang the washing, or simply keep her company while she mothers.

A handful of people who show up often enough that nothing needs scheduling. And real, accessible science about what happens to our bodies — ideally before the baby arrives.

HER MESSAGE TO OTHER MUMS

People already offer — a meal, their time, their company — and we brush it off. It may not come at the perfect moment, but it’s exactly what fills you up.

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Stop saying no. Start saying yes.

The people in your life truly want to help. Let them — and if they don’t offer, ask.

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I’m constantly dreaming about what this would all feel like if we mothered in community.

Carli dreams of mothering in community. So do we. togetHER is the new village for mums — a place to meet, connect and restore, with room for the small, regular kindnesses she is describing.

Follow Carli — MOTHERING, the podcast(launching 7 August)
Instagram: @bymothering
Website: bymothering.com

#togetHER #MUMPROFILESERIES #MATRESCENCE #ITTAKESAVILLAGE #MELBOURNEMUMS

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Originally published on Substack.