Mother's Day: The magic of motherhood

Verbena Anderson with Kurteous, 6.

Last Mother's Day, Tatiana Te Kowhai was all about celebrating with her mum.

Little did she know that if she fast forwarded a year, the spotlight would be turned on her as she celebrates her first Mother's Day as a mum of two.

She gave birth to twin girls Katerina and Zipporah Grant just over 11 weeks ago and says her biggest hope for the day is a full night's sleep.

Tatiana Te Kowhai with twin girls Katerina and Zipporah Grant.

Just getting her head around the idea of one child, Tatiana admits she was taken by surprise when the sonographer told her she was carrying twins.

"She told me there was two heads, and I thought oh no!"

Tatiana admits it didn't fully sink in that she was about to become the mum to two, identical, girls until they were born on February 19.

"We found out after the first scan there were quite a few twins on both side of the family."

Both were born the same weight - 5lb 4oz - something quite rare for twins.

"It's been good with a lot of support from the family. I don't think I would have coped as well if not for my family."

Tatiana says while she's been close to her mum over recent years, having the girls made them even closer, with her mum popping by most days to give her some time to shower and eat.

"She's like a superhero. Now I understand what I put her through when I was younger. She's been my rock since I had the girls and helps me so much. She does so much for me as well, not just the babies. If she buys them presents she buys me one too, she doesn't like leaving me out."

She says the toughest part of being a mum is the lack of sleep.

On a good night she gets between four and five hours, on a bad night, it can be just one hour.

But Tatiana says her dad takes over night shift one night a week, which means she can get a full night.

And the sleepless nights are far outweighed by the positives,

"They've started smiling and they know my voice. And they're pretty good babies."

They may not be quite three months old, and others might not be able to tell them apart from looking at them, but Tatiana says their personalities are already very different.

"Katerina is a lot more demanding and if you're not paying attention to her she will scream. Zipporah will put herself to sleep."

TIGHT BOND: Genna Emery and her mum Lee have a close connection.

Genna Emery will forever be grateful to her mum for everything she's done for her.

She says without her mum Lee's support, there's no way she would have been able to study for three years to complete her Diploma in Early Childhood Education which has allowed her to work fulltime in the job that she loves.

Genna says her mum puts everyone else before herself and that was especially true when Genna was studying.

Be it lending a hand financially, helping look after her two kids and providing encouragement and advice when she was contemplating giving up, Genna reckons it's unlikely she'd be where she is today without the support.

"I don't know where I would be without her but I'm guessing I would be struggling to this day if it wasn't for her."

Now a mum of two herself, Genna says her mum has become like a second mother to her children, especially her eldest.

Becoming a mum helped her get closer to her own mum - "I understand where she is coming from now" - and she believes her mum's influence has shaped her own parenting style.

"Just that unconditional love. She's always giving advice."

Genna says while they "had our ups and downs when I was younger" they've definitely become closer as adults. Most evenings they'll catch up after work and they rarely go more than a day or two without seeing each other.

"She's everything, most of all my rock."

Kahira Olley has high standards of what a mum should be like.

But even with that to live up to, she says her daughter Verbena Anderson is one of the most amazing mums she knows.

"She's never put a foot wrong when it comes to motherhood. She's just amazing."

Kahira says not only is Verbena a dedicated mum of 6-year-old Kurteous, she's also opened her home to raise another child, taking on the now 1-year-old as her own and giving up work to care for him.

All this while dealing with losing her second daughter, Aniwaniwa Tangiata, last year during pregnancy after it was discovered the baby had severe spina bifida.

"She is always there for the children."

Verbena trained as a teacher, but the 26-year-old put her teaching career on hold while looking after the little boy she took in to give him full care.

"It was my daughter who made the decision to go and get the little boy and take him in. She is just an amazing, selfless mother."

Kahira says her daughter has always had a "protector" instinct, which is part of the reason she's such a good mum.

"She's always been motherly. It's just her personality. She would save the world if she could."

Kahira says watching the way she spends time with the children is the biggest joy.

"It's her attention to those children."

For Verbena, seeing the children "happy, safe and warm" at the end of the day is what makes it all worthwhile.

Despite her mother saying how naturally parenthood had come, Verbena says it wasn't always in the plan.

She says while she can't imagine doing anything else, the part of motherhood she struggles with is knowing that she's not perfect.

"I am a good mum but not a perfect mum. Still every day I struggle with getting things wrong."

She says the biggest boost is knowing the influence she's having on her childrens' personalities. "It's knowing this little person is going to become someone and I had a lot to do with it."

Sarah Easthope-Wilson hasn't just raised seven of her own kids, she's helped keep dozens of others safe over the years through her role with Child, Youth and Family.

SHARED EXPERIENCES: Sarah Easthope-Wilson with daughter Aleisha Stevens. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Her daughter Aleisha Stevens reckons it's not just what her mum has done for her own kids that makes her an amazing mum, but the influence she's had in the lives of her grandchildren and other children she's come into contact with through her work.

"She has the biggest heart. She's always the last one to sit down and is always putting other people before herself. Everyone says to me I don't know how your mum does it."

Now with grown-up children and 10 grandchildren keeping her busy, Aleisha says Sarah still finds time to help others.

"We have had to learn to share her with the children she's trying to keep safe through her work."

She says at one stage her mum had five children under the age of 5, but always seemed to find the time to help out in the community.

"Mum says she often used to hear people say 'there goes that lady with all the kids' but she always had ribbons in our hair and the boys were always immaculately dressed."

Aleisha says while her mum is an integral part of their lives now, her biggest memory of her mum from childhood was that she'd always turn up to events at school.

"She never said no. She would move mountains to get there and having seven children it wasn't easy."