Tag Archives: Parenting

Pregnancy & Parenting

Counting the days to Half Term..

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Homework. parent meetings, school trips. A variety of medical appointments. Plenty of out of school activities. A growing collection of bills. Oh,  all the germs seem to have wanted to visit us this term. This is why I’m counting down to Half Term.

While a little bit of routine is wonderful. I already miss the freedom of the holidays.

It’s fair to say that most of the stress of school days is actually my fault. Poor planning, or specifically trying to get too many things done in too few hours. I have crammed so many jobs into the last week, dashing from one place to the next. It’s led to a week of feeling utterly exhausted. Why do I do it to us? I’m not sure, but I need to change it.

Learning to pace ourselves.

My stress contributes to the mood of the children. If I’m happy they are happy. When I am stressed, they are generally grouchy. It’s time for us to stop and take a breath.

Certain things I put in place to help us all. Homework, we look at it as soon as it arrives, not wait until it is due. Music practice, 5 minutes every day is better than fighting to practice at all over the week.

Lunchboxes.. the boys empty them and leave them by the sink. I write a meal plan for lunch boxes, this helps with shopping for and packing them!

Half-term at home.

February half-term is always a tough one for us. The weather is always mixed, and money is not in great supply as it’s not long since Christmas and two Birthdays! So, February half-term is always spent at home. The first few days usually everyone wants their freedom. Then they get bored! So I always plan indoor activities to do in the holidays.

If the weather is good, we will pack up a flask and get out and about. I must admit I’m longing for Spring to arrive when it is easier being outside with all the children together!

Pregnancy & Parenting

Weaning – slowly does it.

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I thought I’d share a little update on our weaning journey with Noddy. He’s 7 months now, and by this stage his older siblings were greedily eating all the food they could grab. N though, has always had a rather disinterested approach to food. It’s really hard when your child has little interest in food. I have battled for years with a fussy eater, and it is heart breaking, so I did panic when N didn’t want to try solids at first. But, we’ve persisted.

Weaning - baby in baby bjorn high chair

We started weaning a little early on the advice of our health visitor. However, it was a disaster and we gave up, deciding to try again once he was 6 months. Our journey began with trying to encourage him to eat finger foods, but he just threw them down. So we tried pureed carrot which nicely decorated clothes (mostly mine) and the floor. We had 5 weeks of pure frustration, weaning wasn’t meant to be this hard?! Noddy was unimpressed with everything we presented him with, looking at us like we were insane. It was hugely frustrating, and I did begin to wonder if I could ever persuade him to eat. He would try a tiny bit one day, and the next day keep his mouth firmly shut. While we were on holiday he ate more, but it didn’t seem very much still.

7 months arrived, and I decided to just carry on the weaning journey introducing more to his diet.

7 month old weaning

Noddy greedily ate a big portion of pasta with ricotta and tomato sauce, yes he smothered quite a lot over his face, but a huge amount went in his mouth and was greeted with happy noises. Stronger flavours are more popular with him, we have had success with foods flavoured with herbs and spices. He likes to feed himself, though finger foods aren’t always a success. I’ve noticed that he prefers to grab the spoon and help feed himself. Though, he is no where near co-ordinated enough to do it all by himself, he does try! We have started to try things like egg on toast over the last week, which has proved popular. He also happily sits in his highchair while we eat dinner, and will have a little of whatever we are having. This has mixed success – sometimes he will just throw it on the floor and other times he will try a bit.

Drinking..

He loves his sippy cup, though I think he loves throwing the contents of it around as much as he likes drinking from it! Everywhere gets soaked! Thankfully it is only water, so it is quick to mop up! I’ve started to think that he’s having a little too much milk, but he’s such a petite baby that I’m trying not to worry. This week he has a horrible cold, and perhaps that is why he is keen to drink a little more milk than “he should”.

So, all in all, while we have had a slow start, I think we’re getting there. I just hope he continues to enjoy trying different flavours!

 

Pregnancy & Parenting

New Mama.. it’s OK.

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Someone once said.. “When a baby is born, so is a mother”. I’m not sure who it was that said those words, but they were very wise.  I’ve been referred to as “an experienced Mum”. I suppose as a Mother of 4, I should know what I am doing. However, sometimes I need the same direction as a first time parent. Sometimes, I am learning too.

 

Continue reading New Mama.. it’s OK. →

Pregnancy & Parenting

Competitive parent V. The School Project..

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Competitive parents, you are the bane of my life, as you spark my competitive side and that’s not always a good thing!

My eldest son is in year 3, and he came home with a school homework project a few weeks ago, which he was delighted to have. I went through the project and explained he needed to take ownership of it. He decided how and what to do, and we were all set. Then, at the school gates it all changed..  Continue reading Competitive parent V. The School Project.. →

Pregnancy & Parenting

Does feeling “broody” ever stop?

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Does getting that broody feeling ever stop? Do you ever wake up and know that you don’t want anymore babies? Or is it more of a gradual thing where you learn that you have your family and in reality it’s quite big enough? Being surrounded by ladies with babies, or glowing Mums to be, I’ve started to wonder about having another baby. Yes The Mumington Post, your baby photos have really not helped! Continue reading Does feeling “broody” ever stop? →

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Help! I’m Lost! (Lost in parenting!).

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Help, I’m lost in parenting. Every morning, there is the same routine, I get up and make breakfast, make packed lunches, battle to get the children dressed, then realise I am still in my pyjamas.. I throw on jeans and whatever jumper is nearby and dash out of the house with my hair pulled back into some kind of top knot. Yes, I know I sound gorgeous right?  Continue reading Help! I’m Lost! (Lost in parenting!). →

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Is there ever a ‘right’ time to have another baby?

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Given that today has been hellish, with both boys testing my Mummy skills to the limits with tantrums galore, it seems odd that I’m writing a post about my desire to have another baby. My hormones are raging, I am ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ over ever teeny tiny baby and looking at baby bumps with envy, is this Mother Natures way of telling me the time is right to try again? or am I just feeling this way with thoughts of Boo starting school in September filling me with that fear that my babies are all grown up?

Sensibly, I sit here and think to myself that I couldn’t possibly even consider trying for another baby for at least another 12 months as there are so many things we need to do first. I’m so lucky to have the two beautiful boys I have, I should enjoy them and follow wherever the parenting/life journey takes me. But then another part of me sits and wonders what if I can’t get pregnant this time? What if I wait too long and can’t cope with the sleepless nights and general exhaustion a newborn brings? 

I’ve also started to worry about the practicalities of having more than two children, space in the car, supervision when we go swimming that sort of thing. OK, so it sounds ludicrous but at the moment we have the luxury of one child to one parent ratio! I’m from a big family, and I wonder how my parents managed when we were small! 

So what do you think? Is there a ‘right’ time? Or should you just go with the flow and see where life takes you?





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Teething, biting, tantrums and tears…mostly mine.

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E is teething again, it’s those awkward canines at the top and all he wants to do is chew his hand or indeed anyone else’s hand, arm or foot he comes into contact with. In addition to this Boo has started to have tantrums of epic proportions, mostly I assume as a result of him feeling that he’s getting less attention than he deserves. In truth I am funding it hard to divide my time as they are refusing to be content with time with us altogether, it feels like they want one to one attention all the time and short of finding a way to cut myself in half..


Last week I was bitten by E and slapped by Boo. I sat down and cried hysterically while they looked on in horror. Boo walked up to me and swung his arms around me, clambering up onto my lap with a kiss on my cheek he tearfully said he was sorry. I felt like a failure as a parent, how have I got to this stage where the children are making me cry?! I had visions of needing to call in Super Nanny, and have her gasp at my inability to control my children, sitting me down and peering over her glasses with one eyebrow raised..(yes I have thought about it far too much).


After a run in the torrential rain, which ended abruptly after I almost slipped faced down into a muddy puddle (possibly a cow pat filled one) I realised that I needed to get a grip! I took a deep breath and approached home realising that I am only human. So Boo lost his temper resulting in a major tantrum and flayed his arms? It wasn’t exactly the intentional slap I have made it out to be. E is teething so the bite which reduced me to tears is a reminder to chill his teething toys and be armed with one at all times! Since last week, E’s teething is causing him to wake in the night and I’m desperately tired, but as he sits playing happily with Boo trying to repeat words like ‘arstle’ (castle). I can’t help but feel I must be doing something right, and even though I’m sat here wishing I could have a little nap, I’m smiling! Being a parent is undoubtedly the toughest job in the world, but one cheeky giggle later all the exhaustion is forgotten.