The decision to have children has enriched my life. Being a mother has given me a capacity to love and protect that I had not known before. If only I could put the title 'Mommy' on my résumé, for the simple reason that the experience has taught me a great deal of responsibility and copious new skills.

My first challenging experience of motherhood was dealing with colic. My son, Nathan, had very bad colic. This included extremely lengthy crying episodes. He could not be consoled. My husband and I tried every remedy known for colic, but nothing worked.

After weeks of fatigue, a friend told us to put one drop of peppermint oil in eight ounces of water and put small portions of it in his water each day. Voila! His colic disappeared. Nathan was a much happier baby.

My daughter, Naomi, showed signs of colic when she was just a few weeks old and we gave her the same mixture. Again, it worked its magic. Peppermint oil is the best-kept secret to combat colic.

Like everything in life, motherhood has its ups and downs and the experience has been both fun and challenging. Nevertheless, these are the best times of my life. I realise that I will never be perfect at motherhood, but the welfare of my children demands that I always do my best.

- Sophia Campbell