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My daughter and I have many things in common, and one of them is our love of books. We just can’t have enough of them—and it’s the one thing we can never say no to when she asks us to buy them for her.

While my own book count has taken a pause ever since I gave birth, hers has been steadily increasing. And while I can’t remember the last time I was able to finish a book by myself like I used to, at least I can say I still read books everyday—even if they happen to be children’s books that I read to my daughter.

It was a struggle during the pandemic, having limited access to books, so we had to read the same things over and over until I already memorized all her books. Thank God that’s behind us, and now she has taken an interest in a wider range of topics that even we, her parents, learn so much from: Besides fairy tales and Disney, she’s into science, history, space, dinosaurs, archeology, and even Bible stories, among many others.

Whenever I get asked what’s a good gift to get my daughter for her birthday or Christmas, “Books” are also my number one answer (followed by clothes, science experiments, and something from whatever new show she’s into—Ninongs and Ninangs, take note, haha!). Books are always welcome in our household, so much so that we even started a mini library for her in our room.

So when my friend, former magazine writer and editor Elaine Natividad Reyes, told me she’s sending me a copy of her first children’s book, Mama, Interrupted, I was thrilled. I couldn’t wait to read it with my daughter!

When our copy of Mama, Interrupted arrived in the mail and my daughter B saw that it’s a children’s book, she instantly thought it’s a package sent for her, haha. I explained to her that mommy’s friend wrote the book, and that mommy’s friend wanted the two of us to read and enjoy it and tell her what we thought of it. She wanted to read it right that very moment!

And after we did, she instantly made me read it to her again. And again. And again. And every chance she got. She loved Mama, Interrupted so much! She loved the illustrations. When I told her some of the drawings were by the 9-year-old son of mommy’s author friend, she told me, “Tell her I love his drawings.”

After the nth reading, I finally asked her: “Why do you love Mama, Interrupted so much?” Her answer made my eyes water: “Because it teaches me more about Mommy.”

I had to hug her tight to keep me from bawling, and I also wanted to hug Elaine. Mama, Interrupted not only made me generally feel seen; it made me feel seen by my own child, helped her to realize what Mommy does for her in such a simple yet beautiful way that she really understood me. She even started calling Mama, Interrupted “The Book About Mommy.”

She saw her own mommy in the frazzled mama in the book who had to reheat her coffee in the microwave multiple times, who couldn’t do her business in the toilet in peace (or at least without the door slightly ajar, ready for any interruption), who had to look up and stand up mid-sentence of whatever she is writing in order to attend to her needs. She recognized what mommy does, and in her own way, she appreciated mommy more.

I told Elaine this, and asked her more questions about her book, so mommies among my dear readers will realize why you should get this book, not just for your babies, but also for yourself and fellow mommies who can relate. (I’m totally gifting this to mommy friends this Christmas—something Elaine said other moms tell her, too!) “I’ve been getting feedback from moms that they’re ordering multiples because they want to gift it to their fellow mamas. So I’m cooking up some giftable sets + packaging for the ‘Ber months,” Elaine said. Watch this page for updates on that!

Giving Birth to Mama, Interrupted

Elaine said that when she first became a mom in 2015, she had very idealistic expectations. She thought her maternity leave would be a “vacation,” one that would be filled with lots of downtime—just relaxing with and enjoying her baby. Long story short, she was blindsided by the realities of her new life as soon as she gave birth.

“It was really the interruptions,” she says, highlighting one aspect of motherhood that she didn’t expect, and something no one warned her about. “As adults, we’re so used to doing things as we please: eating at our own pace, showering for as long as we want to, losing track of time as we do deep work. Then suddenly, you’re a mom and everything changes—you can’t even finish drinking a cup of coffee.”

She admits, though, that things got easier as her son grew older. “As he became more independent, he started to need me less and less, which, to be honest, was both a source of relief and heartbreak.”

In 2021, Elaine welcomed her second child, a baby girl, putting her back to square one. As she was reminded of how crazy-interrupted life with a newborn is, she came up with the idea for her book. “I thought, ‘If this is such a universal experience—the ‘interrupted mom life’—why aren’t we talking about it more?’”

After almost two years of mulling over the little project in her head, Elaine finally launched her children’s book in May 2024, just in time for Mother’s Day. A 28-page illustrated storybook, Mama, Interrupted is inspired by her experiences as a work-at-home mom: juggling work, home life, parenting, and more while raising her two children, Lucas, 9, and Yzzie, 3. Her cousin, budding book artist Eleanor Bautista, created the beautiful illustrations, while Elaine’s son added in surprise elements through his drawings.

“I really wanted it to be a children’s book because my hope is that it would be something that both moms and kids can enjoy together,” Elaine says, adding that she and her children also love reading stories at bedtime.

It also turned out to be her “love letter” to all the parents and guardians in the thick of raising little ones. “It’s my way of letting other moms and parents know that they’re not alone in this crazy journey that’s filled with so many stops and starts, so many pauses and breaks,” Elaine says. “I know how hard it is to get things done with our kids going, ‘Mama! Mama!’ all day long. But it is what it is, and we just have to accept that this is our reality now.” She adds, “One day, the interruptions will no longer be there, and we’ll end up missing them.”

As for her favorite part of the book, Elaine says it’s the ending. “I didn’t exactly know how to end it when I first started writing the story, and somehow it just came to me. It perfectly sums up how I feel about being a mama right now, and probably forever.”

Read on for my Q&A with Elaine below.

Trixie: Please tell me more about what led to creating a book that’s for mamas as much for their little kids.

Elaine: It took me two years to put my thoughts into words and pictures, and now Mama, Interrupted is here. I really wanted it to be a children’s book because I wanted it to be something that both moms and kids can enjoy together. (My son also loves reading, and it became our own little creative project.) What I didn’t expect or plan was it becoming a “mama book”—“a book for moms disguised as a children’s book,” as my editor friend Frances Sales put it. The biggest compliment for me is when mom readers tell me they feel so “seen” by my book!

TR: Can you tell me more about the process of creating the book: selecting who will illustrate, the decision to self-publish, etc.?

E: From the start, I knew I was going to self-publish. I had previous experience helping a client publish her children’s book—No-Hair Mama, Don’t Care by the late Jaymee Joaquin (a book that aimed to explain cancer and its effects to children)—and so I already knew that it was doable. I also didn’t plan to print a lot of copies; my target was just 100 copies for the first run, to keep costs manageable. (I ended up reprinting because the 100 copies were sold out in less than a month!)

I’m not going to lie, though: It would’ve been awesome if I had a publisher to back my book. But I knew that shopping for one or pitching my little project would take some time, and there were no guarantees of acceptance. So I went ahead and took the DIY route.

As for choosing the illustrator, it was a no-brainer. My talented cousin, Eleanor Bautista, is an ICU nurse who moonlights as an illustrator, and she’s already done art for two children’s books before (including the one by Jaymee). Her style also captured the look I was going for: cute, clean, and relatable. I decided to bring my son, Lucas, on board, too, since he loves drawing. He ended up creating the doodles on the back cover and some of the surprise elements inside.

TW: Who did you write this book for? Who did you envision would buy the book and read it?

E: To be honest, I really just wrote this for myself initially. I wanted to put into words my feelings, my experiences, and my story as a “mama, interrupted” while I’m still in the thick of it—because I know one day, this season will pass and I might forget about it. And I don’t want to forget about it. As exhausting and (sometimes) frustrating as this season may be, I also love the craziness of it. I think every mama does.

That said, I also wrote this for every single mother or guardian who’s in the same boat as I am: up to their necks with childcare, not even able to pee or shower in peace, seemingly trapped in an endless cycle of bathing-feeding-nursing-entertaining. I wrote this for my mom friends whom I hardly ever get to see, because they’re also very busy and preoccupied with mama things. And I wrote this for moms who love to read books with their children, hoping that when they read it, they can see themselves in my pages—the mama, seen for all that she does and how she feels; and the kids, for how they fill their mama’s days and, let’s be honest, her whole life.

TR: Do you have more books in the pipeline that we can look forward to? Will you work with the same artist? Do you still plan to self-publish?

E: I don’t want to jinx it but all I can say is that this won’t be my last book! I’ve also been receiving specific requests for more stories on other relatable mama topics—we’ll see what happens.

I also love how other readers’ kids (like B!) have been responding to the book and to the illustrations. I really hope it inspires them to create something of their own—to write their own stories and draw their own characters. It’s also part of the reason why I wanted to include my son’s drawings. I wanted him to know that he can create and do anything.

I’ve also recently started my mama IG account @thecontentmama, where I hope to post more about my life as a freelance/work-at-home mama and other mommy projects. You can follow me there for updates!

Mama, Interrupted (P399) is available via direct order through this link: bit.ly/readmama. You may also message the author directly through her biz Instagram account @thecontentmama.

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