Tuesday, 19 February 2013
On being ungrateful
Sometimes you write a post that you think is going to split your readers right down the middle.
Some of you might be shaking your fists at me in a moment. The rest will be amen-ing me and looking for a high five. Why? Because I'm about to commit hari kari. Here goes...
Some of you might be shaking your fists at me in a moment. The rest will be amen-ing me and looking for a high five. Why? Because I'm about to commit hari kari. Here goes...
...going on vacation is no holiday when you're a Mummy.
*waits for sharp intakes of breath*
I know, I know, I should be grateful for the chance to leave our chilly shores and holiday in Florida for two weeks at Disneyworld. Disneyworld y'all! I should have been jumping up and down with excitement everyday. And believe me I did before we got there. I looked forward to it for weeks, months even, picturing our family making sweet memories to last a lifetime.
Then we arrived and reality set in and I remembered that being on holiday with two children under four, self catering, is no break. In fact it's exactly the same as being at home, just in a different location. With sunshine.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not badmouthing OH here. He did his bit, pulled his weight, tried to givd me a break. But Curly Girl and the Little Man are just more used to me being there and I'm the go-to gal for everything from feeding to finding lost toys, playing games, getting dressed, making up stories and everything in between. With the baby that's partly my fault because I'm choosing to exclusively breastfeed him. But he's also Mummy's boy when he's upset, wet, tired or bored. And yep, that doesn't leave much time spare.
Just saying. Don't hate me for it.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not badmouthing OH here. He did his bit, pulled his weight, tried to givd me a break. But Curly Girl and the Little Man are just more used to me being there and I'm the go-to gal for everything from feeding to finding lost toys, playing games, getting dressed, making up stories and everything in between. With the baby that's partly my fault because I'm choosing to exclusively breastfeed him. But he's also Mummy's boy when he's upset, wet, tired or bored. And yep, that doesn't leave much time spare.
Just saying. Don't hate me for it.
Monday, 18 February 2013
Who's really in control?
It was meant to be the holiday of a lifetime, fun, fun and more fun all day everyday. But since we arrived there our normally well behaved little girl had morphed into the demon toddler from hell and I felt like I'd spent the whole of the last 36 hours shouting at her. Of course I realised that the excitement of being here and jetlag from the journey would affect her behaviour. I thought she might run off sometimes, lose her appitite sometimes, be just downright naughty sometimes. What I didn't expect was constant defiance. With an attitude.
Unfortunately this was also the time that we, perhaps foolishly, decided to move from cooking a children's meal for her and an adult meal for us, to cooking one meal for all of us. At three and a half she's old enough to eat what we eat. She just doesn't want to. So what to do? Well we offered her a meal and if she didn't want it she went hungry until the next meal. No snacks. And so far she wasn't fussed about it at all. SO frustrating.
But I don't think it was about the food. I think it was and still is about control.
Since the Little Man arrived Curly Girl has had less of my attention and frankly lack of sleep has meant that even when baby isn't demanding all of me, body and soul, I don't have the energy to make up endless stories or run up and down the hallway for hours on end. If I were her I'd hate my baby brother for taking Mummy away but she doesn't seem to hold anything against him. She hugs him and kisses him and shows him ten shades of affection every day.
Since the Little Man arrived Curly Girl has had less of my attention and frankly lack of sleep has meant that even when baby isn't demanding all of me, body and soul, I don't have the energy to make up endless stories or run up and down the hallway for hours on end. If I were her I'd hate my baby brother for taking Mummy away but she doesn't seem to hold anything against him. She hugs him and kisses him and shows him ten shades of affection every day.
But her world has changed and I'm sure she feels like she's lost some control. Perhaps eating, or rather not eating, and the bad behaviour is her way of getting back some of that control. Or perhaps she's afraid that eating grown-up food will mean she isn't our little girl anymore. After all when she refuses to eat or acts up she gets a whole bucketload of attention from Mummy and Daddy. We push her, cajole her, plead with her to just eat one bite. I know instinctively that we should just ignore it and take the food away but every fibre of my being wants me to feed my children. It's right up there with keeping them safe. It's in my Mummy DNA. But we're not doing her any favours if we let her exist on fish fingers and orange juice (ok, a bit extreme but you get my point). She eats a lot of fruit but frankly the only vegetable that passes her lips is McCain potato faces.
So now that we're home again and (almost) over our jetlag I'm trying to try and rewrite my internal programming and be nonchelant. When every cell in my body wants me to nash my teeth and wail pitifully, I'm going to try to remain calm and stick with the programme. And perhaps when my behaviour changes hers will to.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Saturday, 16 February 2013
And the winner is...
Before we went on holiday to Disney World *woop woop* I launched a fab giveaway with Inch Blue shoes, with a pair of their awesome leather children's shoes up for grabs.
So without further ado, the winner is....
Entry #3: Fiona L
Congratulations!
Didn't win this time? Nevermind, you can still order from Inch Blue's range of hand-made children's shoes at their website.
Saturday, 9 February 2013
Shock and awe
So it is with some shock that I found out this week that Bod for tea has been nominated for Best Pregnancy Blog in the 2013 MAD awards for mum and dad bloggers. I'm in awesome company with bloggers that I like and respect and I'm so very grateful to be standing alongside them.
You can read my journey through our second miraculous pregnancy in my and if you'd like to you can vote for me at the MAD awards website.
Friday, 1 February 2013
Green poo and new shoes
Here's another thing they don't tell you when you're pregnant; alongside "being snotted and vomited on", nestled between "being so tired you can't remember your own name let alone that of your children" and "losing any sense of dignity you once had", lies the fact that you will become an expert in poo and shoes.
There should be a set of commandments just for parents - thou shalt feel guilty for the rest of your life, thou shalt become intimately acquainted with the shipping forecast and other nightly pursuits and thou shalt become obsessed with poo and smell your baby's nappies.
Little man has green poo at the moment, every shade from puse to khaki. I'd like to say that as an experienced mummy I haven't been obsessing about it but you know I'd be lying. It's an inbuilt mechanism, part of our evolution; mothers worry. He's fine of course, although it took a visit to the health visitor to rest my mind (OH's "I told you so" is still ringing in my ears). A symptom of a developing digestion and a greedy guts who loves his mummy milk (that's ma boy).
Then there's his feet. They're huge. Well not HUGE, not giant size, that would be odd. But bigger than you'd think. And certainly bigger than the makers of most of his sleepsuits expected them to be. At 10 weeks old he's already in size 3-6 months purely because his feet have outgrown the smaller sizes. On a positive note this means that he can now start wearing the gorgeous Inch Blue baby shoes that we were recently sent to review.
Aren't they fabulous? Not strictly necessary of course, he's hardly going to jump up and start stomping around the room after all, but sooo cute. And great for keeping his socks on (what is is with socks and baby feet by the way? They're like opposing magnets pushing each other away such that they never stay on for more than about five minutes). What I particularly like about Inch Blue shoes is their quality; super soft leather, soft seams, elasticated so that baby doesn't shed them in the middle of the road, leather soles so toddling babies don't slip and, unusually these days, they are made by hand in the UK.
There are loads of great designs with cool names like Vintage Chic for girls and Beach Boy for little lads and at £18 for the 0-6 month old size and free UK delivery they made wonderful gifts for mums-to-be and new babies. They also have designs up to age 6 though so older children don't have to miss out. I know this because two of my friends bought me two pairs in bigger sizes too. Mwah!
There are loads of great designs with cool names like Vintage Chic for girls and Beach Boy for little lads and at £18 for the 0-6 month old size and free UK delivery they made wonderful gifts for mums-to-be and new babies. They also have designs up to age 6 though so older children don't have to miss out. I know this because two of my friends bought me two pairs in bigger sizes too. Mwah!
GIVEAWAY
Inch Blue shoes for babies are available from www.inch-blue.com but wait! I'm delighted that Inch Blue have offered me a pair of their soft leather shoes to give away to one lucky reader. It's easy to enter using the Rafflecopter widgety thing below. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclaimer, terms and conditions and the all-important small print: I was sent a pair of Inch Blue Baby shoes to review and a pair of soft leather shoes (not gift sets or sheepskin booties) to give away. I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own. This giveaway is open to UK residents aged 18 or over, one entry per household. There is no cash alternative. The winner will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter. The winner will have 48 hours to claim the prize or another winner will be chosen, again at random using Rafflecopter. You DO NOT have to subscribe to Bod for tea or like my or follow me on as part of your entry.
ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions
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