Family

Alcohol and Breastfeeding – Safe Or Dangerous?

By / Parenting Articles, Feeding

Australia is known for barbecues, beaches and beer. For better or worse there is a drinking culture in Australia. While binge drinking is definitely a bad thing, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a good glass of wine at the end of the day.  But what does this mean for you if you’re currently breastfeeding? The Australian Breastfeeding Association says “If you want to, you absolutely CAN enjoy a glass of wine, a beer or whatever it is that takes your fancy…”

Should Nannies Do Housework?

By / Family, Parenting Articles

As someone who worked in childcare, and as a nanny, for many years I have had some genuinely amazing employees. I’ve also had a couple of problematic experiences. I’ve also trawled through dozens upon dozens of nannying job ads that had incredibly unrealistic expectations. Some people are simply being unrealistic. They obviously haven’t thought it through. Others are obviously being intentionally exploitative.

How To Night Wean Your Toddler in 3 Easy Steps

By / Family, Sleep & Settling
night weaning

I think Jay Gordon’s  advice about night weaning is a great place to start.  I referred to it often when night weaning my son, however his weaning plan didn’t exactly suit our situation, so I adapted it to suit us better.

Keeping in mind my little boy was 3 and a normal night for him was being fed to sleep around 7pm in his own bed, then waking around midnight and coming into our bed to feed for the remainder of the night. Some nights he would feed continuously from midnight until 6am. When he started the day – it was very much like a “dummy” for him. He also had a single bed, so I was able to fit into his bed and sleep with him.

The main motivation for me weaning him and hopefully getting him to sleep through the night without me was I was pregnant with our second baby at the time. I really wanted him well on his way to be weaned night and day, and sleeping through the night, BEFORE the new baby arrived.

I Love Other People’s Babies

By / Baby Articles, Family, Health, Mental Health Stories

“I love other people’s babies.” Ill announce cooing over any small human that appears in front of me. And I do. So much. When friends have babies they know when I visit them to almost wordlessly pass me the baby. It’s not a discussion. They know that it’s what I’m waiting for. And I try not to ask, I don’t want to swoop in and take someone’s baby out of their arms. But I’m still itching to get my hands on them.

Look Before You Lock – Avoid Fatal Distraction

By / Family, Baby Articles

I was driving home from the shops today and heard a message on the radio from the “Look Before You Lock” campaign. “Look Before You Lock” is a campaign to raise awareness and promote strategies to prevent accidentally leaving your baby or child in the car. There’s are several great video that explains how “fatal distraction” can happen to anyone.

Bedtime For Older Kids

By / Family, Children Articles, Teen Articles
sleep for older children

Bedtimes can be a real battleground between parents and their teens. Study, sleep and socialising all seem to compete with one another.

I asked my Facebook community what their thoughts were on bedtimes for teenagers. The discussion covered what time parents send their kids to bed on school nights, weekends and holidays. Interested to hear what the outcome was?

Well, the first thing I learned is that every family is different.

Teenage Drinking Isn’t Cool Anymore

By / Family, Teen Articles
teen drinking

The results of a study involving 41,000+ young people has shown that young Australians are smoking and drinking far less than they used to. A study done in 1999, the year that I finished high school, showed around 70% of surveyed teens had tried booze. By 2015, that had dropped to 45%. Teenage drinking is now something indulged in by the minority, according to this latest survey.

NYE FOMO

By / Personal

It’s that time of year again! In the days between Christmas and New Years Eve I agonise over what to do to ring in the new year. Part of this agony is of course because that is a decision that really needs to be made before the 30th of December. By now venues are booked and friends have plans.

A trip to the supermarket isn’t a holiday

By / Family, Parenting Articles

I get the “joke” here. I totally understand the feeling of being so bound to your babies and role as their mother that any time out, even if it’s just a half hour trip to the supermarket can feel like a holiday. But I feel like I need to say it: A trip to the supermarket by yourself is not a holiday. A holiday is a holiday! Mums deserve better standards of what we should consider a decent break.

Larissa Waters Breastfeeding – The No Win Situation For Women

By / Trending, Feeding, Family, Feminism
support breastfeeding

Larissa Waters Breastfeeding In Parliament Shows the No Win Situation For Mothers   Larissa Waters does yet another breastfeeding first https://t.co/A5a18083VE pic.twitter.com/BXMh7vYH5M — Karen Barlow (@KJBar) June 22, 2017   First time I've had to move a Senate motion while breastfeeding! And my partner in crime moved her own motion …

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The Upside Of Having A Bad Sleeper

By / Family, Sleep & Settling

“What?!” I hear you gasp, at the very thought of there being an “UP” side of having a bad sleeper. Well, yeah, there are some. At least for my little boy.

Elliot is now coming up to four years old, and up until a couple of months ago, we had next to no routine. No matter how hard we tried to get this little guy to go to bed, and stay asleep, it was just not happening.

How To Throw A Great Children’s Party

By / Family, Children Articles
party food

Avoid food that requires more preparation than “Open packet. Dump on tray.” If you absolutely must serve something you felt like you actually put effort into, slap together a fruit platter… then you can feel like you’ve offered a healthy alternative to put next to the sea of chips, lollies, and chocolate biscuits.

Parents with Prams Parking

By / Parenting Articles

So, I’m basically the worst kind of person. I’ve done a terrible thing. I parked in the PARENTS WITH PRAMS parking and then put my toddler in a shopping trolley. I didn’t even have a pram in the car that day! When I returned from grocery shopping I found this note on my car:

Pokemon Parents, GO!

By / Family, Children Articles

We’ve been playing Pokémon Go for a couple days now, and my 3.5-year-old loves it. I can’t help but wonder if she likes it because, on some level, she’s somehow identifying with the game. She knows what it’s like to not necessarily want to be found

35 No to Low Mess School Holiday Activities!

By / Children Articles
cleaning out the kids toys

I’m sure I’m not the only person spending school holidays at home, we have no plans aside from a few play dates and a sleep over scheduled in, so I have a lot of time to fill in and a very busy 5 year old to keep entertained. I also don’t feel up to every day doing painting, baking, having paper cut up all over the floor and whatever else messy craft and activities strewn all over my floor for me to clean up. Especially when little miss two year old is pretty capable of making an enormous mess of the house on a daily basis, I’m trying to save my sanity at the same time as keeping the kids happy. Sounds like a plan, right?

In Defence of Star Wars Episode 1

By / Family, Children Articles
star wars episode I

Star Wars Episode 1 is popular in our house in a BIG way. The kids want to watch it all the time. So maybe it’s not such a bad movie after all.

One of the proudest, most exciting moments for me and a parent has been sitting down to watch Star Wars series for the first time with my kids.

My Super Nanny : A Perfect Match

By / Family, Parenting Articles

When it comes to finding the right nanny for your family it’s essential to find someone who is a good match for your families needs, values and expectations.

In my experience as a nanny that compatibility was the most important aspect of any job. It is an incredibly intimate working relationship ­ a nanny practically become part of the family.

Why Fed IS Best

By / Feeding, Family, Baby Articles
fed is best

So apparently there’s some controversy behind the simple statement: Fed is Best.

It’s a take on “breast is best” and in three little words it acknowledges all the different way we can feed our babies that might be best for our circumstances: breastfed, formula fed, tube fed, mix fed, cross fed, supplemented feeding system fed and so on…

I’m Not The School Mum I Thought I’d Be

By / Family, Children Articles
school mum

On some subconscious level I’d assumed that would be what being a school mum looked like for me. I’d be a super involved helpful parent. I’m pretty crafty, I like being helpful, I studied teaching so I assumed I’d be the first to put my hand up as a classroom helper. I imagined I’d be an organised and shining example of what it is to be a “School Mum”.

How To Support Breastfeeding

By / Feeding, Family
support breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is natural and had kept the human race going since the beginning to time, but that’s not to say that it’s easy and something we all just pick up easily the first time we do it. It’s a skill that both mother and baby have to learn.

Please Is Not A Magic Word

By / Family, Children Articles
please is not a magic word

I have a little bit of a bone to pick with the word “Please” as it’s snuck its way into my house lately and it’s getting on my very last nerve. “Please” is a nice enough word in itself, it’s reasonably innocuous, but when it’s used as though it has power, then it starts to grate on me a little.

Anxiety As A Blogger

By / Personal, Family
blogging

So, in the last month I’ve only published one thing written by me. I don’t know if anyone has actually noticed – and it’s totally okay if you haven’t – I’ve gone to some effort to conceal my “writer’s block”; frequently posting amusing memes on social media and sharing guest articles.

Being A Stay At Home Mum

By / Parenting Articles, Family
stay at home mum

Being a stay at home mum comes with both its blessings and its challenges. The things I did not realise before becoming one was that not all SAHM’s are like the ones we see on TV. All mothers make choices which cost them in different ways, this is my story and what I have sacrificed.

7 Reasons Child-free Friends Rock!

By / Family, Personal
child-free friends

Child-free friends do often get a bit of a bad press. They don’t understand what it’s REALLY like to be a parent, which occasionally leads to them giving us advice about how we should raise our children based on how they imagine parenting will be with their theoretical future children.

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