EXCLUSIVE: Snezana Wood on mum life in lockdown – homeschooling, toilet training and tantrums!

The coronavirus pandemic has changed all of our lives in some way.

Right now as Victoria is in Stage 4 restrictions to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases, mum-of-three Snezana Wood is currently in lockdown with her family in Melbourne.

Needless to say, Snezana, 38 and her husband, Bachelor star Sam Wood, 40 have a lot of their plate as they homeschool, 15-year-old Eve, toilet train two-year-old, Willow and chase after one-year-old, Charlie.

Snezana opens up to Bounty Parents about motherhood, 6am starts, struggling with homeschooling, nailing toilet training and so much more.

How are you coping with life in lockdown?

It has been interesting but we’ve been in isolation for so long that it is kind of the new normal for us. It is difficult having the kids at home while we’re trying to work and being restricted from going to the park and playing, but it’s what we have to do to beat this and we all have to do it together.

Hopefully sooner rather than later it will be all in the past and something we can say we lived through.

Tell us about your morning routine?

On a good day it starts at 6am when Charlie wakes up. She will start running around the house screaming and waking everybody else up and at that point, I make my coffee. We then get Willow up and we have a little play and start to get ready for Sam’s 9am live workout.

By this point it’s probably about eight o’clock and I’m on my fifth cup of coffee. I make that many but drink none of them because I am constantly running around.

Then, I need to try and wake Eve up for school. Being a teenager she’s not very good at waking up in the morning, so I spend about half an hour trying to get her teenage butt out of bed.

And then we get on to the live workouts. We generally try to give Willow and Charlie breakfast when we’re about to do the workout so they are contained in a high chair or in the pram. But, there’s still a lot of me running out of the workout when one of them is yelling or wants more food.

There’s a lot of craziness and chaos and you see that in the live workout.

How are you finding homeschooling Eve?

It’s been difficult. Homeschooling is really tough on the kids. The teachers have been amazing but it’s a whole different ballgame when the kids have the teacher right there in front of them and are able to ask questions.

It’s been tough on Eve and she cannot wait until school is back full-time. It’s also tough on the parents who are trying to juggle work with helping their kids, especially when I can’t remember half the stuff she’s learning.

Trying to help a teenager with her homework is my worst nightmare, they definitely don’t listen to you like they would a teacher. It’s more like, ‘You’re my mum, what would you know!?’

How do you keep Charlie and Willow occupied during the day?

It’s about constantly bringing out new things to keep them entertained. This morning we started with blocks and moved on to playdough, and then painting. Then, I’ll give them a snack and we’ll have some quiet time where they can read a book or watch an ABC Kids show.

It’s all about bringing out something new to do every half hour because their attention spans are not that great and they get bored very easily.

That’s the plan anyway, but it doesn’t help when little Charlie runs in and grabs a toy and then I have to try and separate them and get them to share. It’s a juggling act.

How are you going with toilet training Willow?

We are now back onto it. We started before Charlie was born but it was too hard because I was too pregnant to get down and help her.

So we’ve started again and Willow has been really good all week. She took to it well because she’s older now and she understands more. She has a little chart and she puts a sticker on it every time she goes to the potty and washes her hands.

Eve was toilet trained at about two and she didn’t wear a nappy at night either, so she was different to Willow who is almost three and just starting to get the hang of it. Each kid is different and they will get there in their own time.

Does Willow still nap during the day?

She has been great, up until today! She didn’t have her nap today and was very over-tired and hyperactive earlier. I was like, ‘Oh god no, please don’t start dropping this nap’. I live for that nap and the little break. I’m sure she will hit a wall around 4.35pm and be absolutely exhausted.

Happy birthday to Charlie who turned one in July. What’s her personality like?

She’s just the cutest, cuddliest, most determined little girl. She’s a million miles an hour and has been since she started walking at nine months.

She loves trying to keep up with both of her big sisters, regardless of the age gap. She’s very cheeky and playful and even though she’s younger, our little Charlie is definitely not a wallflower.

How would you describe Willow and Eve?

Willow is very articulate and very curious, our little adventurer but she’s super clumsy – she gets that from me! She also loves an audience.

Eve is very creative and quirky. She’s also in the middle of that moody teenager stage. The three girls are all quite different.

From babies and toddlers through to teenagers, what’s your favourite parenting stage?

I love the curiosity of Charlie’s age, where they start to talk and discover new things. I absolutely love seeing their faces light up when they discover they can do something.

Toddlers have their tantrums and you are always trying to explain that they can’t do everything they want – it’s basically like a teenager!

Both toddler and teenager stages are quite challenging and everything in between is fun.

How would you describe your parenting style?

You tend to relax more with each child that comes along. With your first you raise them perhaps according to a text book or what other people say and then you start to trust your own maternal instincts and you know what’s best for your little one.

One thing hasn’t changed throughout my parenting is that you want the best for your kids and with that comes using the best products on their skin, like the Klorane Baby range which is eco-friendly and all natural.

I loved seeing Charlie’s face when she worked out she could pump the moisturising lotion into her hand, it was one of those moments that melts your heart.

Do your girls have sensitive skin?

All of my girls have had sensitive skin so the Klorane Baby range is perfect for them as it’s dermatologically tested. We use the moisturising lotion on a daily basis and Charlie sometimes gets little dry red patches her face from the wind, so we use the moisturising face cream.

Tell us about the bath time routine with the girls.

Willow and Charlie have a bath together and Willow insists on washing Charlie’s hair. We use the Klorane Baby shampoo and it’s tear-free which is great. After their bath I put on the moisturising lotion and rub it all over them and they both smell so beautiful afterwards.

What do you do for self-care?

What’s that!? By the time the day is done, Sam and I will collapse on the lounge. At the moment we are watching re-runs of The Sopranos.

That is my ‘me time’ to just chill and relax. I’m not allowed to do laundry or cleaning up, it’s my time to stop and not doing anything at all, which is really hard to do.