
I’m a mum of 7-year-old twins and I run my own business from home, so unfortunately I know stress a lot better than I would like to. I think a lot of mums do.
Starting any business is stressful. It’s a mix of ups and downs, highs and lows and everything else in between. I decided to undertake this journey at the same time as my family was growing. Why did I choose to juggle the stress of being a new mum (early morning breastfeeding starts) and that of starting a new business (answering a phone call from a potential new client before 8am)? Why did I force myself to experience the anxiety and feeling of not being good enough to strike that elusive ‘work-life balance’? Because I wanted to. And that was enough.
I wanted to… because it allowed me the freedom to pick the kids up from school.
I wanted to… because I yearned to connect with other mums.
I wanted to… because I wanted to make a difference.

I run an online support service that helps families with multiple births, called Twinfo. I started it as a new mum, working on practically no sleep (my twins didn’t sleep through until four-years-old) and it was born out of a frustration at the lack of services that catered to those with twins, triplets and even more children.
I know I’m not alone in my stress and that my day mirrors that of a lot of other mums. In fact, findings from Amcal's 2018 Heart Health survey show us mums came in within the top three most stressful professions. Like many women in Australia, my day starts before the sun rises. I’m up at 6am with the mad rush to get two breakfasts, lunches, piles of homework and occupational therapy exercises done and get two kids out the door to school by 8:30am. I’m exhausted just writing this.
When I get home a little after 9am, I zoom around the house on clean-up duty, hang out a load of washing and get myself in front of my work desk. There are emails, social media to schedule, you name it – it’s normal for me, like many others, to work through lunch because I’m short on time.
Top Comments
My biggest issue with mums on the phone at the park is that they often aren't watching their kids properly and this can cause issues when they are being naughty. I've had several experiences where kids have been bullying other kids or putting themselves in dangerous situations and there's mum, sitting over there on her phone, oblivious to the whole thing.