The familiar scampering footsteps. I know who it is. He runs everywhere, and his first hop out of bed each morning is no exception. A chink of light as he pushes the bedroom door open, then more running. All the way around to my side of the bed - it's always my side of the bed. ...
There are some platitudes that annoyed me as a new mother more than others, though I think it often depended on who the platitude-giver was and how little sleep I'd had the night before. My personal blood-pressure-raising one was "sleep when baby sleeps". I wanted to cry every time I heard it, and ask how that would help when ...
Monday morning 5.10am Pitter patter. Toddler footsteps. All the way around to my side of the bed. "Is it morning mummy?" "No, it's not morning, I'll bring you back to your bed." 7.33am Same footsteps, more resolute attitude. "Me getting in your bed now mummy, it morning-time." Resistance is futile. 7.42am A skipping sound. That's Emmie. She's five so she skips ...
I’m afraid to say it out loud, so I’ll whisper it: My baby is sleeping through the night. It’s been happening for a few months now, but saying it, or even thinking it, could tempt fate, so I’ve told myself it’s just a phase. But this morning I realised that I couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken ...
Hello from the fugue. Or the fog. I don't know which it is, and I'm too tired to work it out. I'd forgotten what this feels like. I've had six months of sleep now - not non-stop of course, but six months where most nights, most children slept through. And before you hate me, I ...
Down you come, bump, bump, bump, step by step, laughing hysterically each time you crash into me. Then back up the stairs to do it again. I make a slight move towards leaving my half-way-down-step, and am told "No mummy! You stay!" Then down you come again, stair by stair. Crash. Burst of laughter. I ...
Today's Independent reports on a survey carried out by Dr. Aisling Garvey of Our Lady's Hospital in Crumlin, which shows that about 30% of parents are medicating their children to get them to sleep, using over the counter paracetamol and ibuprofen - or as we know them, Calpol and Nurofen. I wonder if some of this is down to interpretation though? For a start, it's ...
"It is exceptionally hard but people still do it. Other than hormones, there must be a reason people make the choice to become parents multiple times" I had a very interesting, eye-opening conversation today with someone close to me - I'll call her Claire because I know she'd like to have a blog name. I had ...
Drink eight glasses of water a day. Take the stairs. Put the phone away when the kids are around. Be on time for work. Be on time leaving work. Pay attention during homework time. Eat five servings of fruit and veg a day. Don't let the kids watch too much TV. Get seven hours sleep. Don't eat red ...
As part of lovely Learner Mama's linky, I've put together ten random things I've learned about parenting. They apply to me; they may not apply to everyone. But I wish my pre-mother self had known some of them. Or maybe that would take the fun out of it... 1. Nothing you can buy or do will ...