Exercise is a wonderful thing to fit into your day, it can be something as simple as a leisurely walk in the evening or as challenging as a good long run. I love it purely to unwind after a day spent meeting the demands of four small children. I find it’s a great way to process my thoughts and give me some much needed headspace which in turn leads to a better night’s sleep. Regardless of the type of exercise you go back to after having a baby there are a few things you should check before you whip out the runners and stretchy pants. After my fourth baby I went back running a few months after she was born but my whole body was weak. I ended up damaging my knee in just one run which took a frustratingly long time to sort out. Continue reading
New baby
How and why we switched to cloth nappies
It’s one of those things that has been on my mind for a long time, the volume of nappies we have gone through in the last 7 years between the ladies is nothing short of shocking. Our bin destined for landfill felt as if it was 50% household waste and 50% nappies most of the time. I had thought about going reusable when Lucy was small but then it transpired she had a dairy allergy and lets just say I didn’t have the energy or the enthusiasm for that level of washing! Continue reading
3 effective ways to deal with and treat nappy rash
There are, in parenting, a few things that are rarely avoided, like sleepless nights and sore bums. Nappy rash is one of those things that just occurs, there is usually no avoiding it that’s why the title of this blog post isn’t ‘3 ways to avoid nappy rash’ because it’s not like you can stop their teeth coming down ha!! At the moment little Miss Alice is suffering, I have no idea why, she’s not really teething so I figure it’s just one of those things that happens especially once they start on their weaning journey. And nappy rash can really hurt babies, it’s an awful thing to see any small baby suffer so I’ve put together this post which covers the three ways I deal with nappy rash to firstly make it as comfortable as possible for the baby while they’re suffering and secondly how to get rid of it as quickly as possible. I usually find I can get it to clear up within about 24 hours using these tried and tested (on four kids now!!) methods. Continue reading
Our sleep journey with the help of Lucy Wolfe
Ah sleep, it’s one of those topics that I think most parents could talk at length about. We’ve had a checkered history with sleep – the first two ladies were, in general, pretty good. Then our third lady came along and I’m pleased to say that she has slept through the night consistently now for the last week so yay…she’s two and a half!! Disaster but it’s not her I’m here to talk about, it’s the smallest lady! Last night she slept through the night for the first time and she’s 7.5 months so I am thrilled. Sure look she may not sleep through again for another month, at this age between teething and leaps and milestones it’s important we, as parents, manage our sleep expectations, sure some babies sleep all night from the start etc but lots of babies go through phases where they’ll sleep really well and then they get sick or get teeth and sleep is broken for a while. Anyway, this is a long post so I’ll get straight into it! Continue reading
10 easy DIY decor ideas for a girls bedroom
Probably one of the most enjoyable things I have done in the house is decorating the girls bedrooms. I literally went mad in there with my imagination and it was the only place my husband didn’t really argue with what I did, maybe it felt decorating in pink was just out of his comfort zone! Anyway, he left me to my own devices and I really poured my DIY heart and soul into these rooms. I didn’t do it all at once and in fact they are always a work in progress especially as they get older or, more importantly, as I get bored and need something new to channel my creative Continue reading
Pregnancy after miscarriage – 5 tips on how to worry less and enjoy it more
This is one of those posts I’ve had in the back of my mind for, quite literally, years now but October is National Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month so it feels right to publish this now. I haven’t really spoken much about what we went through because I’m not a total oversharer despite having a blog! That said, if you know me personally I am more than open about it. Miscarriage is a strange one, it happens for most very early on, before the 12 weeks when you’ve had a chance to tell anyone about it. And then if it happens it is so utterly shocking. I couldn’t even say the actual word, miscarriage, until long after Lucy was born. So it’s hard to just bring it up, hard to talk about it with friends when you need to. I think sometimes people feel then that it’s a taboo subject, like it shouldn’t be talked about but for me personally it wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk about it, I just couldn’t. Continue reading
What to expect before, during and after an elective c-section in Ireland
This is a post I feel I had better write before all the info is gone from my head, lost in the blur or sleepless nights and school runs and preparing food! I have had four sections now, one emergency and the subsequent three were elective, all in Cork University Maternity Hospital so obviously the info I give here may differ from hospital to hospital. The second which is the pivotal one really, once you have two sections for the most part you have set your future birthing options in stone you can’t go vaginal after that (in the vast majority of cases). The main reason I had an elective section second time round was based on the consultants opinion. At 36 weeks the baby was measuring around 8lbs (in fact she was closer to 9lbs at that stage!) and given the previous history of my first birthing experience it was decided to go for an elective section at 39 weeks (standard elective sections are always done one week before due date).
3 essentials for your summer baby hospital bag to make the heat more bearable
I find myself in Cork University Maternity Hospital unexpectedly in June, while the country experiences the longest bout of insanely good weather I find myself literally baking alive inside a newish building that was built without air conditioning….firstly I think that’s insane because honestly I cannot describe how hot and uncomfortable it is here on the plasticy beds with windows that only open a crack into a courtyard thus leaving me without even a whisper of a breeze….anyway, can you tell I’m waiting a long time to be seen so I’m getting cranky!? Continue reading
Wise words for the new mother I was from the mother I am now
When WaterWipes approached me to get involved with their latest campaign I was, firstly, more than delighted because I use the wipes anyway on the small ladies behind and, secondly, because the campaign really struck a chord wth me. They want to take a different approach, so much of what we see online features picture perfect mothers with glossy hair and a serene expression on their faces holding an equally serene newborn in their arms as they gaze into each other’s eyes…no dirty muslin cloths hanging around in the background, no reminints Continue reading
Cows Milk Protein Allergy – our experience
I’ll kick off this blog post by saying that this is going to be purely about our experience with Lucy and her allergy to cows milk protein. I’m not a dietitian, we haven’t even been to one yet with her so I’m mainly going to talk about how we came about figuring out Lucy’s problem and what we are doing based purely on advice I have picked up Continue reading