A Day in My Life with Two Under Two

Our day began at 7am.  Baby B had been unsettled since 4:30 but didn't wake for feed until 6:45.  C had been stirring since 6:30 but was happy talking to her cuddly toys until I went in for her.

Today was the start of my second day this week looking after both my children on my own, and the only day we didn't have anything pre-planned.  It is also possibly the last day I will be looking after 2 children under 2 on my own as C turns 2 next week.  At which point everything gets miraculously easier right?

Advice Wanted: Being a Mummy of Two

I am finding being a Mummy of 2 hard going.
I did not expect it to be any other way.
I am beginning to understand where the problems lie.
I do not however know how to solve them.

What one baby item would you not be without?

This is mine:
 

What I Love About Being A Mummy

I realise I spend a lot of time on here moaning about how difficult I have found the last 17 months, therefore I thought I would dedicate a post to listing what I enjoy most about being Mummy to a toddler...

• Kisses
• Snuggles
• Giggles
• Their little idiotisms
• Watching them develop and achieve new things
• Watching their knowledge and understanding of the world around them continually delvelop and evolve
• Watching their relationship with significant others, especially Daddy!
• Being that no. 1 person in their life

What do you enjoy most about being a parent?

A Stranger to Myself

This post was prompted by one written yesterday by BakedPotato Mummy on how her life has changed since becoming a Mummy.   It got me thinking about my own life and how it has changed, or rather it prompted to think about writing it down as it has been on my mind for a while.

On leaving university with a postgraduate degree in Archaeology, I got a job working for local government maintaining a database of all the archaeological sites in that county and providing archaeological information for developers and member of the public.  I loved my job and I loved the people I worked with.  However the reality was the pay was rubbish, there was little chance of any career progression locally until my boss retired (she was in her 30s at the time so that was not likely to happen soon), and our jobs were looking increasingly shaky with every local government cost cutting reshuffle.

A Very Late Early Birth Story

Watching someone give birth on television last night made me realise that I never actually blogged C's birth story. Although 15 months ago, I feel writing it down now might help me focus what to put in my birth plan this pregnancy.

I am sure many of you saw my tweets during labour last year and therefore are familiar with how the situation unravelled however hopefully this will piece it all together and fill in any blanks.

Knowledge is Power

Today the British Medical Journal published a new analysis of data from five previous studies which found that sharing a bed with your baby increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

The results have understandably provoked a passionate response from many on both sides on the co-sleeping fence.  Many Mother’s feel that their parenting choices are being invaded, and that more specific research is required before scaring Mothers with statements like these.

I don't want to comment specifically on this article as I have not read it in full.  I instead want to tackle the wider issue of when parental guidance becomes dictated rather than purely informative.

In the not so distant past, a mother's instinct was something that was admired.  No-one knew what was better for a child more than that child's mother.  Now there seems to be a trend towards dismissing an individual mother's opinion in lieu of medical statistics.  The needs of an individual child are overlooked in favour of generic guidelines.  A mother who makes her own decision is deemed irresponsible and is frowned upon.

This has already had the effect of mothers losing confidence in their own decisions.  I include myself in this.  My own Mother finds it highly amusing that I am unable to run my daughter a bath without checking the bath temperature with a digital thermometer, instead of trusting my own judgement about whether it is the correct temperature.   Along similar lines, if I am away from home and forget C’s room thermometer, I feel I don’t know what to dress her in at night.   If it’s 20.1’c then I know she needs a short sleeve vest, long sleeve sleepsuit and a 1.5 tog sleeping bag, yet at 21.3’c I know she needs just the sleepsuit and sleeping bag, no vest.  Without this information I feel lost.  I should have the confidence to be able to make these kind of decisions on my own!

Instead of being frowned upon, a Mother’s instinct should be embraced and used alongside medical knowledge to provide the safest environment possible for our children.  Where a child’s health is at risk, it is vitally important that medical research is continually carried out and widely circulated to help Mothers and Fathers provide the best care for their children.  The studies carried out into SIDS in the 1990s have proved invaluable in reducing the number of cot deaths in this country and further afield.  

What concerns many is the research often appears generalised and provides dumbed down advice to parents without giving them all the facts.  For example, it is simpler to tell parents not to bedshare at all rather than go through the more complicated process of explaining what variables have been taken into account in the research and more importantly which have not.  What seems to have been overlooked is giving parents the full picture allows them to make informed decisions. After all knowledge is power!  

Going one step further, there have been instances recently where decisions have been taken out of the parents hands completely.  It is my understanding all retailers selling amber teething necklaces within the UK were contacted by Trading Standards last year and asked to remove them from sale due to the potential safety of the necklaces and the questionable health benefits.  These items have been used for hundreds of years and many Mothers swear by the health benefits, yet apparently now Mothers are incapable of making their own decision on this matter.  Now I am not a particular advocate of this particular item however it frustrates me that it should not be down to the individual mother to decide whether or not to use them. 

As a parent we have to live with the choices we make therefore it is important we feel comfortable with them and not pressurised into doing something that does not feel right! As a nation we should be empowering Mothers with the knowledge and confidence to make the best decisions possible for our children; not dismissing our opinion.  It may be hard for some to accept but in some cases a Mother really can know best!

Blog History

All the posts prior to this point are "historic". They were written before this blog was set up either for my now extinct "PCOS and Pregnant" facebook page or as a personal record for myself. They chart from the beginning of my pregnancy in July 2011 to the birth of my daughter in February 2012, and a stand alone update in February 2013 to coincide with her 1st birthday.  They are posted in chronological order therefore if you ignore the posting date they should make sense.  I hope my ramblings are interesting and informative and I look forward to adding to them in the near future x

My first year a as a Mummy

This post has been an extremely difficult to write. I contains a lot of emotion and I am aware that it does come across negative. On the other hand, writing it down is helping me move forward therefore please do not judge me for it.

35 Weeks Pregnant

24th-25th February 2012 
Read from Bottom To Top