Mama Crush: Marine Delorme

 Marine Delorme/Film student/Los Angeles

​What is the most rewarding thing about motherhood?
Seeing a little human being grow and flourish into a complex, creative, multifaceted individual. Their ability to learn and mimic is awe-inspiring!

​Where has motherhood pushed you to grow the most?
Becoming a mother is the ultimate test. Nothing will ever be more challenging and rewarding. So now, no matter how “hard” a project or situation may seem, I always remind myself that I birthed my daughter at home!

What are your top 3 best tips for a new mama?
1. SLEEP. And if you can’t, figuring out why and what you could do to help should be your priority.
2. Ask for help. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your community, family and friends. It takes a village to welcome and raise a child. We are not wired to do this alone. Allow others to be of service in this transitional time. Even if someone can only stop by for one hour, let them. Ask them to clean your dishes, to do your laundry, to hold your baby, to take baby on a walk. 
3. Surround yourself with other mamas you feel connected to. Find other women who have older children and also women who are welcoming their little ones. 

What has been your biggest challenge as a parent?
I am a woman, a mother, and a filmmaker. Integrate all these different aspects of myself as a whole has been my biggest challenge.

What is your parenting philosophy/approach? 
All I want is to provide my daughter with all the love and support she needs to grow to her full potential. But I am not perfect, so I mess up A LOT. When I do, I always talk it through with her. Open communication is everything. And overall, I want to lead by example. I want to be a role model for my daughter while also showing her I don’t have all the answers because I am growing too. Her guess is just as good as mine.  
One other thing is that I always tell myself to behave as if someone was watching me. I want to be on my best behavior with my daughter. I’m a child myself and I can easily throw a tantrum too, but doing it in front of her just isn’t ideal! So imagining that people are watching me helps me keep control of my emotions.

What has been your biggest surprise about motherhood?
The biggest surprise about motherhood was how much it changes your life. No one can ever be prepared for it. Your priorities change, your friends change, your schedule changes, your sleep changes, your hobbies change, everything changes! It truly is the adventure of a lifetime!

What is your approach to food and raising a child?
I don’t allow Ama to have sugar, sweets, or processed foods. Outside of that, she can have anything she wants. I trust that her body knows what she needs and I do my best to present her with foods that I know are good for her based on the information I have. She loves fresh young coconuts, frozen berries, dates, gluten-free pasta, toast. We’re working on the veggies! She also have been having cow’s milk since I stopped breastfeeding her.

What is your approach to disciplining your child?
Clear and open communication and explanations. If my daughter shouldn’t/can’t do something, I want her to understand why. But I also feel like I have to discipline myself mostly! And by that I mean keeping my calm and acting rationally in front of my daughter.

4 tips to finding balance in motherhood?
Surrounding myself with mothers I admire and whom I can call or spend time with when the road gets bumpy
Taking the time to be off mommy duty to follow my passion, which in my case is going to school three days a week while Ama is with her dad

Top 4 lessons you wish to instill in your child?
1. She has the superpower to LOVE
2. She has the superpower of INTUITION, that little voice inside her heart that knows
3. SKY’S THE LIMIT, she can be and do anything she wants in life, her imagination is the limit
4. She has to protect and respect her Mama Earth ​​