For today’s feature, let me introduce you to an amazing FilAussie mum who will share with us her journey through motherhood here in Australia. Her story and experiences will give you a bit of an idea as to what being a mum in Australia can look like.
A bit about me
My name is Mariel. I am now an Australian citizen but I’m originally from the Philippines. I migrated to Australia when I was 26 years old to be with my husband. We were introduced to each other by my late father who used to work as a chef in a cruise ship. He met Michael (my husband) through that work as he traveled to Australia and to some other parts of the world. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Starting out in Australia
When I arrived in Australia, I decided to study a course in Business Administration. I was able to secure a job soon after completing the course. We lived in my in-law’s house for four years while we were saving up some money to put a deposit and buy our own house. During the time when we were still saving up for a house deposit, I was also sending money to the Philippines to put my brother and sister through university. They’ve now finished their Bachelor’s degrees in Nursing and Psychology and are now both living in Shanghai, China.
Our first house was in Camden, New South Wales. But we’ve already sold that property and have bought a new one. There were a lot of personal things that have happened that’s why we decided to sell our first house and move into a new place. We are now living a country life here in Tasmania. It is different from living a suburban life and I do I miss a lot of things from the mainland. The property is under both my husband and I’s names. I have to say that moving interstate is very expensive.
Being a mum in Australia
The pregnancy
Oh my God, it’s been a while since I was pregnant. I no longer remember every detail hahaha! But basically, your doctor will give you a checklist and a booklet which is going to be your pregnancy record. The only thing that I’ve paid for during my pregnancy check-ups is the test for chromosomal abnormalities, but I also got a rebate from Medicare for that. All costs for ultrasounds, check-ups etc. were all covered by Medicare. It even covered the costs to give birth in the hospital. I never had a problem during pregnancy, except for my severe morning sickness which lasted for four months! I was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum (severe morning sickness).
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Working while pregnant
It was a struggle for me. I’ve been to the E.R. multiple times. I’ve used all of my sick leaves at work. And I had no choice but to take tablets just so I could still go to work. I was working as a clerical assistant in a big manufacturing company, and everything is fast-paced as it is a very busy office. I felt so terrible because of my severe morning sickness specially when I was at work.
Before giving birth, I’ve arranged my maternity payment through MyGov. If you are working, you are entitled to have a maternity payment here in Australia. From memory, the maternity payment is 18 weeks pay’s worth. The amount was based on the weekly national minimum wage rate and not on my actual wages. I think that time I was receiving $1,200 as maternity payment every fortnight. So in 18 weeks, that comes up to a total amount of $10,800. I took 6 months maternity leave from work. But when I came back to work, everything had changed so I’ve decided to quit. It wasn’t my plan to quit my job, but I had no choice at the time.
Giving birth
Based on my experience, giving birth here in Australia is very good. The doctors and the whole medical team are nice and caring. I had an emergency CS (Caesarean Section) after 19 hours of painful labor. Oh God! My baby, Michael, was 9.2 pounds. I brought a lot of things to the hospital for my baby, but only 1 clothing was used because the hospital provided everything else including the nappies etc. There was a bag of goodies too full of baby and maternity stuff. The following day after my CS surgery, I already had a shower. The nurses were very helpful and caring. I’ve stayed in the hospital for 5 days. Even the food and drinks were good as well.
The hospital will give you a baby book that you will use for your baby check-ups and vaccination records. When I was in the hospital, I’ve received all the support and care that I needed from the medical team. Coming back home was no different as nurses visited me home to check up on the baby and on my recovery from the surgery. I really appreciate that.
The hospital will give you a baby book that you will use for your baby check-ups and vaccination records. When I was in the hospital, I’ve received all the support and care that I needed from the medical team. Coming back home was no different as nurses visited me home to check up on the baby and on my recovery from the surgery. I really appreciate that.
Taking care of my little Michael
When Michael was still a baby, my husband took a parental leave from his work and he did all of the house chores. My in-laws sent home cooked meals for me. I was the only one taking care of my baby during that time. It was because my husband is not a baby person, he is scared to hold a baby. Basically, I did everything when it came to taking care of our baby.
My little Michael has eczema as well as egg and peanut allergies. This is really overwhelming for me. I must read every ingredient when I do grocery shopping, just to make sure that the food I am getting for Michael are free of eggs and peanuts. His eczema is getting better now because we live in a place with a cooler weather (Tasmania). His eczema is triggered when the weather is hot.
Schooling and socialising
When Michael was in Prep, we enrolled him in a school. The school was mindful of allergies specially nut allergy which is good. The kids are trained not to share their food. Eggs were not allowed in lunch boxes either. Lots of kids have allergies in the school. I think the generation nowadays are very sensitive in many ways.
Before the pandemic, we went to many playgroups, play dates, places and events. These activities have helped Michael’s social development. I’ve enjoyed going to the events too as they were fun. I guess when you have a child you will experience being a kid again haha!
There are also school excursions that are organised throughout the school year. Some parents would be selected and allowed to join and help the teachers. I’ve volunteered to join Michael’s school excursions before and it was fun! If a parent or carer is interested in participating, they would need to be registered to work with vulnerable people/ children. This a requirement in Australian schools
Pictures from some of Michael’s school excursions.
Disciplining
Disciplining Michael is easy. He is a good boy and has never had a bad tantrum. He is not spoiled but we do give him everything we can. I don’t smack Michael because doing so would make me feel bad, I guess. I also never use baby talk with Michael as I think talking normally would help him learn to talk quicker. And yeah, now he is a chatterbox hahaha!
Before I let you go…
Aside from my YouTube videos linked throughout the post, get to know more about me and my family through this video.
Mariel’s YouTube Channel
Mariel’s Instagram
Mariel’s Online toy store
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Authors: Mariel x My Aussie Story
About the “Your Aussie Story” series:
Immigrants in Australia, though from different cultures and backgrounds, tend to have similar experiences and common ‘struggles’ as they build their new life here in Australia. Through My Aussie Story, I’ve been trying to help out people like myself to be able to navigate the Australian way of life a little bit easier by sharing my own experiences.
I’ve always believed that every migrant’s journey would be less challenging if we learn from each other. This is why we’ve created Your Aussie Story. Your Aussie Story is a ‘series’ in our website where we feature inspiring stories of immigrants in Australia.
Disclaimer All content and information in this post is for purposes of sharing my experiences only, does not constitute professional advice and does not establish any kind of professional-client relationship.
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