-
Combo-feeding helped me breastfeed longer
Few things in life are as deeply satisfying as seeing your baby’s content face after they’ve been fed and burped. I mean, that’s the ultimate goal, when they are that little… you know, to get them to a place of contentness (i.e. dry, fed and burped). We do this because, well, for starters it’s against the law to starve your child. But also, we do it because when your child is content and happy, you are at peace and can finally rest. And so when I started on my breastfeeding journey with my newest munchky, Asher, I knew that something was up when I wasn’t feel this peace and rest…
-
The pros and cons of having a big family
Now I know that having a big family may appear to be very, you know, Kardashian-esque. All fun and games and bickering while eating toast in the kitchen at midnight. And yes, I’m aware that you all know the exorbitant costs of caring for many (many) children. But I sometimes wonder if I give off a false sense of “okayness”. I mean, I’m not sure that I accurately portray the fact that it’s flippen challenging to parent a lot of kids, while maintaining your sanity, career and marriage all at the same time. Having a large-ish family is not all TV sitcom moments and learning life lessons the quirky way.…
-
Safe sleep for your baby
It’s 2am. I should be sleeping but I’m wide awake, my eyes fixed on my baby, who is sound asleep in his cot. I don’t want to a miss a thing! I mean, what if he stops breathing in the middle of the night?! What if the blanket isn’t as secure as I thought it was, and he ends up with a blankey over his face? What if he overheats? Is he warm enough? What if, what if, what if?! Yep – I’ve been that psycho mom probably all four times, with each of my kids. I would check on them literally every half hour, and (here’s the “psycho mom”…
-
A swallowed coin and a trip to the operating room
There are few things in life that challenge me the way that parenting does. I mean, if you think about it, you’re responsible for keeping a whole human being alive. Easier said than done, sometimes. Well, this is what I learnt on Friday night when I heard my 2 year old gagging. Now, disclaimer: Thanks for saying my family is beautiful but here’s the (hard, ugly) truth about having three kids under the age of five… you often have to put one kid’s needs on hold, while you’re seeing to the other one. I mean, it’s not exactly ideal. So when the baby made the biggest poo of his life…
-
Motherhood: a stripping
I vaguely remember my post-birth days. I mean, how much detail would you expect a stitched up (perineal stitches are evil), overly exhausted, hormone-wrecked new mother to remember? Those days are a blur. If I were to remember anything, it would be how instant the falling inlove with my kids were. Like, immediate. The only other thing I remember, though, was a comment someone made after seeing me (and my glorious, unbrushed hair, teeth, pretty much everything), after a particularly grueling birth. It had been day two or three post birth and I was frazzled and in pain. Our visitors arrived with supper (praise the good Lord) and quietly had…
-
The big gender reveal
Well, I’m more than half way into cooking a whole baby in my belly and we have yet to reveal the gender to anyone. More so because we don’t know our little youngling’s gender either. And guess what you guys, we don’t plan to find out anytime soon. Our big gender reveal will most likely only take place when baby Williams is actually here. Yep – we’re going ‘royal family’ and will only find out baby’s gender once he/she is born. As you can imagine, this was totally and completely Hubstopher’s idea (because I have a super intense spreadsheet brain and I need to know everything all the time). I had,…
-
All stepparents are monsters, right?
Stepparenting is not for sissies. Yes, that’s my opening line. Whaaat? It’s the truth you guys. A recent conversation with a very emotional friend made me realize that the average stepparent has to deal with a lot more junk than they actually deserve. Now, allow me to add a little disclaimer: it is possible to have a healthy blended family dynamic. So the thoughts in this post may not be for you (you go girl, keep up the great work!) but I’m sure it will speak to the hearts of those who are experiencing challenges on the stepparenting front. We all know that parenting is super hard at times. And stepparenting…
-
‘YouTube for kids’ is freaking me out!
So I’m sure you guys have learnt about the freaky YouTube hacks that have been found peppered throughout some of our kid’s favorite YouTube and YouTube Kids videos. Yep, I’m talking KIDS videos… you know, the ones that are seemingly safe and harmless. The ones our children are glued to, when they are enjoying their screen time, each day. Malicious people are hacking dem videos, you guys, and adding content that basically encourages your little one to self harm, or even worse, end their lives or that of their families. Shocked yet? I know, right. Pediatrician, Free Hess, found a bunch of YouTube and YouTube Kids videos that included tips…
-
Living with teenagers can be annoying!
If you’re the parent of a small kid, or, in my case, a gang of small kids, and you’re thinking that your life is “woes” right now, allow me to bring some clarity to the situation. This level of “woesness” is nothing compared to when your tiny angels are full grown adults, who have opinions of their own. (Disclaimer, if you’ve come here for advice, move along Jackie. But if you’re looking for a kindred heart who has had to stop herself from, you know, throwing shoes and cutlery at her grown son, then welcome friend! This post is for us.) No one makes me as angry as my 17…
-
Choosing the right school for your child and other parenting headaches
I grew up in a very “colored” part of Port Elizabeth. You know, the type of suburb where all the kids in the neighborhood would play with each other, in the street, literally (because we didn’t have big yards or grassy side walks) and anyone’s parent was allowed to give you a group spanking if you misbehaved. Back then, there kinda was an unspoken rule: when your time for schooling came, you would attend one of the public schools in the area. I mean, my parents probably knew exactly which primary school and high school I would attend, before I hit five years old. There were only so many to…
