Monthly Archives: March 2013

Gimme a break!

Your heartbeat is rising, chest pounding, jaw clenched tight, head about to explode, then a torrent of words leaves your mouth so quickly you forget to breathe, and what was it you just said anyway?

There’s never a minutes peace; you work all day, do the school run, try to referee the kids while doing the supermarket shop, home to the kitchen to put the shopping away, make tea and make tomorrows packed lunches, eat, wash-up and then……….STILL no peace!

Sound familiar? You must be a stressed out mum or dad. Don’t you just feel there isn’t enough of you to go around, totally drained by everybody? Your mind is splintered; permanently multi-tasking, even in your sleep.

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You need to ‘regroup’, get yourself back together, stabilize your mind. Continue reading

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Enter stage left: setting the scene.

The first few seconds of parenthood must be different for everybody, for me it seemed truly miraculous. Not only was I meeting the little person who had been safely tucked away for 9 months (and a bit extra, every one, obviously far too comfortable by far!) but I seriously never believed any human could experience that much pain, yet still be alive. But like parenthood, childbirth is a very individual experience. (I’m sure the babies themselves would agree.)

Luckily for me, my three full term babies were all healthy and perfectly formed, despite having suffered previous miscarriages.
New baby

How perfect they were! Completely different, yet each completely perfect. Snuggled up in their little sleepsuits, warm and cuddly with that distinct baby smell. All my senses were totally intoxicated….that is until the highs of new motherhood were replaced a few weeks later with lack of sleep, exhaustion and another erratic turn in the hormone situation.Obviously I had the karma to enjoy the benefits of three children who didn’t believe in a full nights sleep until they were about 1-year-old.

Yet still I was totally attached to this new appearance of a permanently perfect being in my life.

How proud is a new parent? Isn’t our baby better than any other baby in the world? Aren’t they going to remain that way permanently, for ever? We just know that they will be bright, happy and perfectly behaved. We love them so much, they will love us back in return and never do anything to disappoint us, never get in trouble, never be disruptive, and certainly never hurt us. Hindsight is a marvellous thing, what unrealistic expectations we can have! (more coming later)

Once we step through the door into parenthood our lives become an emotional rollercoaster…………….. Continue reading