Well that went quickly!
Today is the last day of my maternity leave before I return to work full time. It’s a strange moment. I’m not worried about work. Nor am I worried about Emily as she will be with her daddy. I guess I’m just sad that we have to move on. I love being a mum! It’s changed me so much. I’ve become passionate and nerdy about things I never cared about before. I’ve made new friends that have become so important to me. I’ve seen my husband grow into the new role of father and I love him even more because of it. I’ve seen my parents and parents-in-law embrace the…
Adventures in Baby-led Weaning World
Emily’s first encounter with food came when she was 26 weeks old, just two days short of turning six months. This is the recommended age to start solid food and Dan and I have always been keen to listen to the advice offered by people who know their stuff. Dan booked the week off work and I prepared all the “accessories” that I thought we need for weaning. I bought high chairs, Doidy cups, plastic plates and bowls, bibs and a selection of Tupperware. It was wonderful, guilt-free shopping! Every time the postman would knock on the door to deliver another parcel, I just look at Dan, shrug my shoulders…
Liquid gold for all!
The bottom drawer of our freezer has been otherwise out of use for a while. Well not completely, as it has been home to litres of breast milk. I’d stored it up thinking that Emily might take a bottle and that I could maybe have left her with Dan on the odd occasion. However that never really happened. Emily will take milk from a cup but she would rather not if she has a choice. This meant that my ever increasing stash of milk was sat in my freezer rapidly heading towards a date when it would be unusable. This led me to turn to Human Milk for Human Babies UK.…
My child is not a genius (but yours ain’t either)
Emily is a smart cookie. She’s an early developer and is demonstrating new skills at a younger than average age. However I am under no illusions about her. Maybe it’s just the fact that my mum is great at spotting the things she does or maybe her curious personality inspires her to learn things quickly. Whatever it is, in my eyes she’s phenomenal, but she is still a baby. Now the reason I mention this is because I have recently become acquainted with a woman who seems to have given birth to the next Albert Einstein. Her wonder child is capable of doing the most amazing things. Or so she…
My best parenting is…
When I get up without muttering (or screaming) profanities even though Emily has woken up for the sixth time in one night. When I power through the burn to lift Emily in the air one more time. When I continue with the bedtime routine and marathon feeding session knowing that my curry is getting cold downstairs. When I spend 45 minutes staring at the wall in silence because Emily fell asleep on me and I don’t want to wake her, but all entertainment is just out of reach. When I let Emily gum my jaw or chin or hand, even though it hurts, because I know it helps her…
Boobs on tour!
In previous posts, I’ve talked about breastfeeding out and about. This is now something that really doesn’t bother me. I know I’m allowed to do it and I know that it’s in everyone’s best interests for me to do it and, most importantly, I will feed my hungry child wherever and whenever she wants. I have big boobs. Therefore, being discreet whilst breastfeeding can be a bit of a challenge. If I try and expose a small bit of boob, Emily struggles to latch on properly, so I pretty much need full boob outage. I do my best to cover up a bit, mostly because if it’s sunny the glare…
Parent-at-work mother!
This week at work it is our annual summer school event. During we this week we invite any vulnerable students, who are joining the school in September, along to the school to work with a circus team. It’s a brilliant event. Anyway I’ve been going into work every day for the last three days and taking Emily with me. Honestly it’s been exhausting! So before I had Emily, I worked pretty hard. I’d do long hours, getting there at 7:30am and I’d regularly stay until 6/7:00pm. If there was a parents evening it could quite easily be gone 9:00pm before I got home. In teaching you don’t get breaks. If…
“My day”: Life as a five month old baby (Part 1)
6:40 It’s getting light now and I really need a wee so I think I’ll wake up. I’m not sure if my mummy and daddy still love me this morning though, so I better do a little cry to check. *cries* Oh they do still love me! I’ll have that wee now then.*farts* Yay! Booby time! 7:00 I like these bits in the morning when Mummy lets me roll around naked on my mat. Ooh look a rattle! I better roll there and get it. It tastes nice, just like it did yesterday. Oh no! I’m on my stomach again. Mummy! Mummy! Mummy! Turn me over! Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Oh…
Fancy a cuppa (milk)?
Emily loves the boob! So much so that she has been very reluctant to have anything else. This didn’t cause us any issues really. I was never far away so she could have boob whenever she wanted it. On the odd occasion that I popped to the shop or something though, I would spend the whole time in fear that I’d arrive home to find Emily screaming and Dan tearing his hair out. The reality was always a happy, smiley Emily and a smug-looking Dan. This never stopped me worrying again the next time I went out though. Naturally we never even contemplated giving Emily a bottle in the early…
Potty time!
Regular readers of my blog will know that we practise elimination communication on a part-time basis. Most days this consists of me catching one wee a day. On other occasions I have a really bloody good day, where I am able to catch nearly all wees and poos. On those days, I feel like super mum! Until recently I’d hold Emily out over the potty or the toilet. So I’d have her on my chest facing outwards and hold her round her thighs. Yesterday however I thought I’ll just see what happens if I sit her on the potty. Et voila! There was wee-wee. She looked so happy with herself…
