Two weeks ago, Sam tried to climb out of the cot, so we ordered a bed. The bed quickly became the touchstone for all our dreams of finally getting some sleep. We had only seen it in a picture on the internet but nevertheless, we pinned our hopes on this
So. Baby. It’s time to chat. Well, you’re not a baby, and that’s sort of the point. You’re two years, one month and one week old, and it’s two years, one month and one week since I last had proper sleep. Yes, yes, I know there was that month before
You burst into our lives two years ago, a much anticipated early Christmas present, a much hoped for healthy baby. And a boy! It was as though we didn’t know you could be a boy. Two big sisters – just two, but it could have been a dozen for how
Motherhood can be lonely. Especially the first time. When you don’t know anything much, and you’re overwhelmed by this small, soft, wriggling being for whom you have suddenly become responsible. When it’s your first child, and you have no toddler or pre-schooler to keep you busy, but keep you company
Two weeks ago, the toddler discovered television. And I am so happy. I know it’s not good for him, I know at twenty months he is too young for TV, but my happiness outweighs any anxiety or guilt I might have about this. For the first time in six years,
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you picked it up from Twitter or Facebook – it’s not news that we’re getting most of our, well, news, entertainment, information and of course blog posts, from social media. And this includes parenting information – who do parents talk to when they
It’s World Breastfeeding Week from August 1st to August 7th, and the Irish Parenting Bloggers have decided to do a Blog March to show support. Each of us will publish a post this week based on our own breastfeeding experiences, and linked to this year’s theme: Breastfeeding Support: Close to
So women are fasting and over-exercising during pregnancy to avoid weight gain – “Pregorexia”, which is a dangerous obsession with staying slim while pregnant, is on the rise, according to a recent article in Grazia. They are desperate to maintain their pre-pregnancy figures as far as possible, and to avoid putting
Mommy-wars. Or since we’re in Ireland, let’s say Mammy-wars. I can’t stand the term, but it’s the widely-used name for the phenomenon of mothers judging mothers on every element of parenting, originally coined to refer to mothers working outside the home versus stay-at-home mothers. Newspapers love the SAHM/ mothers working outside the
Do you ever do something because it’s the right thing to do, and afterwards wish you’d taken an easier, less selfless route, as your well-intentioned plans backfire all around you? I don’t mean big life choices like whether or not to take a year out to work for Doctors without
Breach of trust, on every level. Like thousands of people who watched Prime Time last night, I’ve spent the morning trying to focus on work but my mind keeps going back to the images of children being slammed down on mattresses, tiny toddlers being punished despite being far too young,
As a mother to three children under six, most of my adult conversations every day are with other parents, most of whom have kids in childcare. Over the last few days, a recurring topic is the news story about RTE’s Prime Time sending undercover researchers into two Dublin creches, and gathering video footage
It’s lunchtime and I’m under my desk having a snooze. Well not really, but that’s where I’d love to be right now, as I scribble these notes and drink my third cappuccino. My baby was up all night, and I’m beyond exhausted. OK he’s not technically a baby anymore, and it
It started on Monday morning when rushing around getting ready for work, I tripped over a basket of clean washing (it was clean, somehow that matters) and sprained my finger. Just my little finger on my left hand, but oh my, the pain, and oh goodness, the ramifications. I couldn’t
I should have been in bed, it was heading towards midnight on Sunday, and I was due up at 4am to head to the airport for a work trip. As usual I was feeling 90% apprehensive – worrying about leaving the kids, anxious that the baby would wake during the night and not understand
No matter how much you enjoy your job, and certainly if you don’t, returning to work after maternity leave is often daunting. Even if you feel “ready to go back” it’s hard leaving the little person with creche or childminder. It’s difficult the first time, and it’s no less difficult
It’s after midnight, and like any mum whose baby wakes somewhere between 1am and 5am, I’m tucked up in bed, fast asleep, getting some precious zzz’s in before it all kicks off. Except of course I’m not – I’m sitting up watching tv, finishing a glass of wine, and tapping out