Category Archives: Pregnancy

Nostalgia over my almost twentysomething {month old}

Posted in Humour, Motherhood, Pregnancy by

It’s been a big week for Tuna.

She’s exactly 19.5 months old today, which for me, is uncomfortably close to the toddler twenties. I feel like once they hit 20 months, they’re pretty much two-year-olds, which means they’re pretty much starting school and pretty much about to pack their luggage to go off to university. Big leap, but hey. A mother’s mind will go where it goes.

I’m starting to understand why some people still refer to their three-year-olds as their “42-month-olds”. There is something still cute and baby-like about having the word “month” in your age. But as much as I am loath to admit it, our days of referring to Tuna’s age in months are numbered. We are headed very much into big girl territory. Continue reading →

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Taking life at a toddler’s pace

Posted in Humour, Motherhood, Pregnancy by

I’ve always been a pro-efficiency kinda gal.

The type that walks quickly even when there’s no rush to get anywhere. My darling husband A always makes fun of the fact that I’m “racing” him whenever we’re out for a walk, while I feel like I’m merely sauntering at a leisurely pace.  I like ordering my Starbucks coffee by specifying every possible variable I would like in order to minimise the number of questions the barista has to ask me – I even stipulate whether or not I require a receipt. I will group all of my grocery items according to category on the conveyor belt so that the checkout operator can get them packed properly quick fast. So essentially, it would seem apparent that I also like imposing my efficiency on others.

Being accompanied by a toddler for approximately 97% of your errands does not make for an efficient use of time. This staggering truth horrified me upon becoming a new mother. Continue reading →

Co-sleep? More like no-sleep. 

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You never really fully appreciate the extent of your toddler’s in-sleep acrobatics until you get the joy of sharing a bed with them.

Don’t get me wrong – I have absolutely nothing against co-sleeping. I’ve just come to terms with the fact that for all my pro-breastfeeding, pro-babywearing tendencies, I simply can’t do it. I’ve tried. And speaking truthfully, my daughter coerces me into it from time to time because she has very cleverly figured out that I value a {below-par} night’s sleep above the desire to {be awake at 4am and} teach her to consistently sleep in her own bed.

Maybe I just don’t like intermittently getting kicked in the face as much as the next guy. Sure, it keeps you on your toes and sharpens your ”unagi” (à la Ross from that episode of Friends), but getting a soft little squishy foot with quite a lot of force behind it, in your eye more than once a night, doesn’t allow for the most restful sleep. Continue reading →

Confessions of a reformed helicopter parent

Posted in Humour, Motherhood, On a More Serious Note, Pregnancy by

Today it really hit me that my baby girl is no longer, a baby.

Glimmerings of this suggestion have flitted across my mind over the past couple of months, but today, it was a full-blown, feel-like-you’ve-been-hit-by-a-bus, Oprah-aha-moment, realisation.

Recently, I’ve been consciously trying to quash what I have accepted are my helicopter-parenting tendencies. You don’t even realise you’re doing it sometimes. Hovering close by no matter what your child is doing, ready to catch them if they slightly lose their balance, ready to defend their little toddler rights from other toddlers who may remotely upset them, trying to get them to do what you think they’d enjoy. I’m not trying to be self-deprecating; we all know it’s out of love and the instinctive need to protect our little people.

But the last couple of days have taught me just how beautiful those moments are when you give your child space and allow them to show you what an independent and confident little one they have become. Continue reading →

Debunking common myths about flying with a small child

Posted in Humour, Motherhood, Pregnancy by

Ah, travel. How my perspective of you has changed over the last few years.

There were those exciting trips to unknown and faraway places as a student; then there were the long-haul flights to visit my parents once a year; then there was that year or so during my job before Tuna was born where I started spending more time in planes than in any other mode of transport.

I have a confession to make. At that particular stage, I was 100%, through-and-through, one of those awful irritable passengers that saw a family travelling with anyone under the age of 12 as a threat to my in-flight serenity. Heaven forbid your child (a) sits behind me and kicks my seat mercilessly and/or seems to constantly have his/her tiny little hands rummaging through the back pocket; (b) makes a single noise that disturbs my in-flight entertainment zen, or worse, screams and is inconsolable (“are you going to do something?! Kids don’t cry for no reason, you know!“); or (c) generally does not behave. Like an adult, that is. Because that’s what cranky passengers like ex-me seem to expect. Continue reading →

Pregnancy insomnia gave birth to this blog.

Posted in Humour, Motherhood, Pregnancy by

Well, that and the apparent bowling/high jump tournaments the upstairs neighbours have become fond of at approximately 10pm every night. Ah, apartment living. They should really schedule apartment viewings around this time of day so you know what you’re really getting yourself into.

I’ve been trying to train myself to be okay with ear plugs for the past couple of nights but frankly, I don’t see how anyone doesn’t see them as some kind of torture device. Instead of being kept up by various noises, I now find myself focusing on quantifying just how much the decibel level of a certain sound has been decreased thanks to these horrible little foam contraptions.  Short answer: not enough. Continue reading →