Mere days or even hours after hearing those initial cries of your firstborn and it inevitably begins. Someone’s baby is “easiest”, sleepiest, biggest, the best feeder. There’s nothing like hearing other new mums around you discuss their 6 week old sleeping through the night to make you feel like a failure. One mother feels she is accused of making a rod for her own back by co-sleeping while eyebrows are raised as another is viewed as heartless for pursuing a strict routine. The competitive parenting can begin from day one and is such a shock for new parents who until this moment have gone about their daily lives without constant judgment and evaluation. Social evaluation in this highly personal but...
When I was pregnant with my first child I had so many ideas of what life as a mother would be like. 3 children later it’s not quite as I imagined…… Expectations for sleep My baby would sleep and if not I’d read a book and do some effective sleep training and they’d sleep through early. Reality Nope. I’ve not even read a single parenting book. Surely the answer is on Mumsnet? Nope. Turns out there is no answer. Only survival. Some of mine slept, one didn’t, and I treated them all the same. Expectations for feeding They’d all be breastfed but happily take bottles too so I’d be able to get my freedom back pretty fast. Reality I've...
With the recent news about teething gels being withdrawn from supermarket shelves and the potential for ill effects we thought it would be useful to give you all a few of our favourite natural, chemical fee suggestions to help your baby through teething. Keep sticks of cucumber in the fridge for your baby to chomp on. They're cool to chew on and as they consist mostly of water they're generally-considered ok before weaning. If your baby is weaning they may love harder foods such as pineapple, apples, carrots, crusts of bread. Try massaging your baby’s gum with your finger (watch our if they already have teeth though and of course wah your hands before and after). If your partially-weaned baby...
Motherhood second time round comes with a whole load of challenges you perhaps didn’t quite expect. Top of the list is the constant feeling that you are never quite managing to devote your entire attention to anything or anyone. The mum-guilt of neglecting one sibling whilst you tend to the other can be pretty overwhelming to begin with – until you learn to juggle, and then it eases a tiny bit. I took me quite a while to develop my strategies of dividing my time and ensuring one-on-one moments with each child were quality. My answer is Baby Massage. As an International Association of Infant Massage Certified Instructor, Massage in Schools Programme Instructor and mum to three children aged 6,...
Here's another schema for you to consider. Even the name makes you warm to them. Children with an enveloping schema love to wrap, cover, layer and bandage. They have an urge to envelop and be enveloped. They'd empty out a basket of clean ironing and make a den. You'll find them setting up home under the table with jigsaws, books etc. They'll wrap up anything from parcels to the cat. In the nursery I observed several patterns of behaviour that suggested an enveloping schema: Finding peekaboo hilarious long after others have moved on Reluctance to come out from under the parachute Blocking the play tunnel Making dens with sheets/coats etc and staying in them all morning Dressing up in layer...
