'I refuse to discredit my effort as a mum': Sheila Sim says raising 2 healthy and loving daughters isn't just luck

Being a mother can be a tiring but rewarding experience, and second-time mum Sheila Sim knows the highs and lows of it.

"It's so strange how being a mother can make you feel so absolutely scared, tired, loved, grateful, frustrated, smelly but beautiful all at the same time," she mused in an Instagram post yesterday (April 16).

The 38-year-old actress and model wrote that she was "blessed to have two beautiful and healthy girls who, at this point, are so loving towards each other" but added that it was not merely luck, as some may call it.

"Yes, I am lucky, but I also refuse to discredit my effort as a mum," she wrote.

In the video she shared, Sheila can be seen lounging in bed with her daughters Layla and Skyla. Layla kisses her baby sister on the forehead and imitates Skyla's movements, and the mum and daughter share laughs together.

"No one prepared me for just how much love I would have for my children," she wrote in the video.

She elaborated in the caption that it wasn't luck that her older daughter Layla, who turns three this year, could be open with her emotions.

"I started reading and talking to her about emotions way before [Layla] could speak. Today, she is able to recognise, verbalise, and sometimes self-regulate her difficult emotions," she wrote.

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Another thing that took effort on Sheila's part and could not be written off as luck was having Layla "welcome her sister with open arms."

She explained: "The moment I knew I was pregnant, I started explaining to her what it means and what to expect in months to come. I bought her books about being an older sister. I drew examples from the people she knows to teach her about what it means to have a sibling."

When it comes to food, Sheila described Layla as being "adventurous". Behind the scenes, however, it was the result of hard work from the mum, who put effort and time into "researching recipes the moment she turned six months old".

"I set a goal for her to try 100 items before she turned one, and when she did, she had tried about 120," she wrote.

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After Sheila gave birth to her second child in February, the trials of motherhood may not feel like a "novelty", but she said Skyla "deserves every bit of effort, love and time" as Layla.

The post resonated with Sheila's audience, with some calling her "powerful" and a "supermum." One Instagram user even wondered how she could have achieved so much with her packed schedule.

One comment read: "Well said! So many times we try to be 'humble' but being a mum is such a herculean task and many of us learn on the job, well done Sheila! You've really aced this."

"It's not luck for sure. The time, effort and love you put in nurturing her equals getting the 'result'. You are doing great, keep on it," wrote another Instagram user.

ALSO READ: Sheila Sim drinks before movie Geylang's kiss scene 'to boost her courage'

drimac@asiaone.com

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