Mother’s Day FIVE MINUTES WITH: Chloe Warmenhoven

Chloe Warmenhoven and Archie (and yes, he was named BEFORE Baby Windsor).

What three words would you use to describe be­coming a mother? Why?

Only three words! Lack of sleep. Jokes – Wonder. Joy. Love. Watching Archie learn new things so quickly and the intense love and joy I experience when I see him smile or make a new sound.

There is always a plethora of advice given to new mum’s. How have you man­aged to navigate through it all and what has been the best advice you’ve received so far?

I am really blessed to have lots of amazing people in my life who are able to offer support, and luckily I have felt supported in all the decisions I have made so far! So far when I am given advice I say thank you – and I really am thankful given this is the first time I have tried to raise a child and I’m happy to learn from others’ experience!

I then remind myself that I need to trust my instinct with our little boy and go with what Huw and I feel is right for him, so that might mean taking the advice or leaving it for now. I think the best advice I have been given so far is to take it a day at a time, and to prioritise my marriage. It’s really important to me to make sure Huw and I have a strong and loving relationship and that we are a team, because I think it’s through that relationship that we can do our best for Archie.

Have your expectations of motherhood come to fruition – has it been more challenging or easier?

I have always wanted to be a Mum and am so thankful for Archie! I did not expect that this little guy would change the way I think as much as he has! I always thought that I would be able to do everything pretty much the same as what I had done before, but so far I have found that isn’t necessarily the case (which isn’t a bad thing).

My priority is him and that means that I often spend my time just staring at him and enjoying our time together. It also takes me 4 times as long to get out of the house… One thing though that has exceeded my expectation – just how much my heart explodes when he smiles at me!

Over the next twenty years or so you and Huw have the responsibility of teaching, loving, influenc­ing and moulding your son into a grown man. What are your hopes and concerns for him and his future?

My hope is that he grows up knowing how much he is loved and through that has the confidence and space to become the man he was created to be.

Some say that motherhood is like a mirror with our children being a reflection of the best and worst of us. Do you agree?

I think that as mothers we definitely have a profound impact on our children, and certainly they learn things that we both intend, and don’t intend, to teach them. However, I also think that our children are a reflection of a lot of other things – their own values and interests, the “village” that helps raise them and broader society. In this sense I think that our children don’t just reflect, but construct who they grow up to be.