#mumchat - mum of one and founder of Mimi & Nunu peta Al Akawi chats her world

NAME: Peta Al Akawi

AGE: 34

NATIONALITY: British

LOCATION: Dubai

NUMBER OF YEARS BEING A MUM: 5

TELL US ABOUT YOUR KIDS: I have one beautiful daughter called Mavia who is 5, turning 6 in July.

INSTAGRAM HANDLE: @palakawi / @mimiandnunu

SHORT SUMMARY ABOUT YOU SO WE CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT YOU

I’m a British expat who’s been living in Dubai for 14 years. I met my husband Rami here and we’ve been married almost 9 years and have a 5-year-old daughter called Mavia. I work as a freelance social media & marketing consultant whilst building my own PJ brand Mimi & Nunu.

What’s one thing you wish you’d known before becoming a parent?

That your time is no longer yours. A lot of the things you want to do, work on, achieve are all still possible, but have to be planned and created in carved out, small margins of time. And also that one of the biggest challenges will be trying to navigate your own emotions and regulate your own nervous system, while teaching a tiny human how to do the same.

What’s something you swore you’d never do as a parent—but do now?

Lose my temper and be snappy. I really resonate with gentle parenting, and I try my absolute best every single day to be calm, patient, understanding…But sometimes after the 100^th negotiation of the day I do loose it. Which I’m not proud of, but I then try to model to her how sometimes we do struggle but it’s important to apologise and then try better next time.

What was the BEST piece of parenting advice you’ve received?

PICK YOUR BATTLES. Also if you’re constantly worried about if you’re doing a good job, you probably are! The best though is probably always trust your gut.

Share with us your biggest “parenting fail” – we promise no judgement here!

Hmm there isn’t one major one that comes to mind but a couple of summers ago I spent 6 weeks in the UK while my Grandad was very ill, and my husband couldn’t join us at the time and I was juggling working remotely whilst looking after Mavia and the screen time and snacks were out of control and I was constantly snapping at her. I felt enormous guilt every single day.

How do you balance life?

We have the most incredible helper Cherry who has been with us since Mavia was 9 months old. She is literally the backbone of our little family. I don’t really believe in balance, some weeks work dominates and then other weeks it’s more family focused. It ebbs and flows as is the nature of life. I strive for harmony and that looks different to everyone but truly we couldn’t do half the things we do without Cherry.

One parenting hack you’d like to share with us.

We still co-sleep and it really works for us. I know eventually she will sleep in her own bed, but we all sleep so well and we love it. So, it’s not a hack per say but I would say at the end of the day you have to what works best for your child and family. I also HIGHLY recommend packing Lansinoh Lanolin Nipple Cream in your hospital bag if you’re planning to breast feed, it will save you.

What do you hope your kids say about you when they’re older?

That she loved her childhood, she loves spending time with us as an adult and that we made her feel like she could be whoever she wanted to be.

3 words that describe #MumLife to you

Overwhelming. Magical. Pure Love.