When Timmy and I were prescribed antibiotics after being exposed to a hospital worker who contracted whooping cough, the hospital neglected to inform me a possible side affect of the drug for infants is gut surgery, while adults may only have a more mild response of puking until they...
I’m caught up in fierce political warfare. It turns out that typical loyalists of either demand feeding or schedule feeding are not content to regard their strategy as a preference — it’s the right way, and mothers in the other camp are foolish, inefficient, and worst of all, wrong. Demand feeding...
Just when you think all is right with the world, the sky falls down. It must have been naive hope that had me thinking a dummy would solve all of my problems. For a while though, it seemed it had. While not on a strict schedule, Timmy’s feedings had...
My son is making a liar out of me. I’d confessed that behind my polite happy face (the one I’d use with customers at work; the one that smiles and would say ‘I’m fine, thanks’, even if a jet engine fell on my house), I really wasn’t coping with...
Wow. The last week has lasted a hundred years. Despite my fears that Bump was getting prepared to settle in utero for the upcoming winter (I’d been experiencing no pre-labour signs as his due date approached), so would be forcibly evicted by induction, he arrived on his own terms...
It seemed manifestly unfair (albeit unsurprising) that my resolve to Stress Less about all matters regarding Bump would be tested so soon after deciding it. I’d been booked in for another ultrasound at the hospital, two weeks after the last. This was just to make sure that Bump was...
I’m sure the perky endorsement ‘Stress Less!’ wasn’t invented by my former flatmate (who will never die of a high blood pressure), but I attribute my own introduction to the words, to her. She would often say it to me when I was worked up or anxious over something...
Every now and then I get hit with a nostalgic mourning for a nicety of the past. If I’m lucky, it’s a fond remembrance of a pleasant triviality — like the Pumpkin and Kumara Stack with pesto that used to be served at Breakers restaurant. (I’m of the opinion...
I’ve been able to ascertain a few facts about Bump already, even though we haven’t met yet. Clearly, he’s part ninja, having no respect for physical boundaries. On numerous occasions it’s felt like he’s trying to punch his way out. This, partnered with his frequent restlessness, tells me he’s...
Baby shower gifts tend to follow along the same line: bibs, onesies, toys… So when my imaginative sister contemplated unconventional alternatives, it didn’t take her long to come up with the idea of a belly painting — essentially, commercial face-painting. Except for the ‘face’ part. I’d heard of such...
