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Motherhood: Unfiltered ~ Roberta

In an age where social media and technology provide us with constant opportunities to take and retake photos, add filters, edit flaws and present an often unrealistic image of ourselves and our lives as mothers, we set out to create a series of real-life motherhood moments – without the filters, without the edits, but with all the beauty.


This is Roberta.

YouTube link

In her words:

I married my husband and was blessed to become the stepmother to two amazing boys three years ago, ages 7 and 11. However, we wanted to have a child of our own, and so we underwent IVF to have our daughter, Aava. I have (as does most of my family) Fragile X, which is a genetic disorder that affects the X chromosome and can produce autistic-like characteristics in people. As a result, my egg supply was very low, was of very low quality and most carried the defective gene. After many tests, the likelihood of being able to conceive my own child, with my own eggs, was estimated to be 1%. My sister, Marika, is the only female in my family who does not carry the defective gene. At age 20, my sister underwent the process of donating her eggs so that I could have a child of my own. After several attempts, we finally became pregnant in September of 2014 and had our daughter in May of 2015. Without my sister, my family would never have been able to be. Words cannot express my gratitude towards her for doing this for me.

What is your biggest challenge or concern as a mother?
I think my biggest concern is that I want to make sure that my kids are getting what they need to grow up to be successful human-beings. I worry about their emotional well-being, I worry about being able to support them through university or through whatever endeavours they wish to pursue. I worry that the world seems to be so different than when I was growing up and that I can’t protect them from all the crazy things out there.
How has your experience as a mother shaped the way you experience the world and/or shaped your life?
I think I worry more now than I used to pre-children. I didn’t have many worries pre-children and now I watch events on the news and they have a more personal tone for me then they would have had before. I often see something and worry about what if it were my child involved or what if that happened to me, what would happen to my children. It makes me appreciate the good moments with my children that much more.
What makes you a good mother?
I hope that I am a good mother. All I know is that I am trying my best. I do what I think is right at the time for my family and I give my kids as much love and support as I can.
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