It’s every parent’s nightmare isn’t it – a tearaway kid – but if I’m honest, I can’t control my child. I often find myself worrying what others think about my lack of parental control. I’m sure it’s a fear of mums everywhere, but sometimes I worry that, as a single mum, the judging will flow more…
Motherhood
A Letter To My Mum On Mother’s Day
Dear mum, We’re a funny old pair, me and you. I bring the funny, you bring the old – obviously. We’re no good at affection – not to each other anyway. There have been so many times when I’ve waved you off with little one and said, “do you want to tell nanny you love…
Everyone Hates Me
“Everyone hates me,” I sobbed through the phone. It was 11pm on Sunday evening and I’d called my mum because, let’s face it, who else can you call at 11pm when you’re a blubbering mess*. “Don’t be stupid” she said. It didn’t help. As I write this I want to say I didn’t used to…
The Why Phase With My Toddler
We’ve been in grips of the why phase for some time now. “Why didn’t we run for the bus?” “Why have you got lines on your face?” “Why don’t some people have beds?” “Why did I wear a skirt?” “Why is daddy ill?” “Why do you want to go to bed?” These are just some…
Toddler Talk: Funny Things My Toddler Says
Toddler talk is hilarious, I’ve been keeping a track of some of my favourite sayings from my toddler over the last year. What funny things does your little one say? Toddler Talk for Science/ Maths “Mummy I don’t have a shadow, it’s too dark, I‘m not here!” I can’t see my eyes. Is the sun made of…
10 Ways I’m Raising A Feminist Son
As a feminist I’m all about equality – equality for girls and boys; men and women. Here are some of the ways I’m raising a feminist son and passing on my feminist zeal. 1. Teaching consent. My son is a cuddly little thing, sometimes he asks first, but he often just dives right in and, let’s be honest, some…
Motherhood: The Art Of Mothering
Mother – it’s a word we hear and use nearly every single day. So what is mothering? Is there a way we all mother? Is there an art it? What shared experiences bring us together on our motherhood journey? Some of us go down the breastfeeding route, others bottle feed, some of us cry it…
Single Parent Support
Like most, I found becomming a single parent isolating and challenging. The best advice I received was to find a single-mum-best-friend locally. But how? I was going through a divorce – my most important connection had failed – the idea of making new ones felt impossible. I wish I’d known how to connect with the single…
A Letter To My Rainbow Baby
To my rainbow baby, Rainbow baby – I only learnt the term after your birth and it felt so apt. I smiled to picture you as a rainbow. That is exactly what you are – a colourful beam of joy, appearing at the end of a dark and dismal time. I’ve talked about my miscarriage before. Finding…
The Miscarriage
Trigger warning: This post goes into details of miscarriage. There are support links at the end of this post. Baby loss awareness week starts today. Like many women, I’ve suffered baby loss. At the time I felt like there were so few stories of baby loss out there that no-one knew what it meant –…