Until relatively recently, it was believed that ‘Morning Sickness’ was psychosomatic.  It was a hysterical reaction by hysterical women to a situation that they were suddenly quite frightened off. The cure was getting the hell over it. Fortunately we know a little more these days but there is still sometimes a feeling that the discomforts of pregnancy are something that women should forebear with a smile.  I understand, there...

Here’s a funny thing. There was a time when having more than one child was so normal that the decision not to have a second one needed to be defended. I know, I grew up, an only child, in that era. This week I announced that I was pregnant with my second and have been told that I am ‘brave’, even ‘crazy’. Parents with one have commented how busy they already are, as if to say that the whole thought of having two children is terrifying. It...

A friend of mine told me that Ashton Kucher, in an interview, said something to the effect that for the first year of parenting you are trying to keep them alive and for the second, you are trying to prevent them from actively killing themselves. Babies are fearless. The world, to them, is packed full of exciting things to discover and adventures to go on. They are eager just to get out there and explore. They have not yet learned the hard...

Wow. A year has passed by incredibly fast and little Kitty Rose has gone from a tiny dot, underweight for her height to a walking, pointing, babbling little character who knows exactly what she wants and is anything but a featherweight. It’s not always been easy, I’ve had my melt-down days and I have learned a tremendous amount. Here are the biggest lessons I have learned, or rather, am still learning because it’s all a process. My advice...

There is no way really to describe the massive impact that childbirth has on you emotionally and physically.  Quite apart from the explosion into your life of a small human, the reality of which is very different from your imagination, there are a host of emotions that you need to process with regard to your own personal journey through labour and into motherhood. I didn’t have the birth that I had hoped for.  Kitty turned into a...

As nervous as I’ve been I woke up this morning with a feeling of excitement.  It felt like it was Christmas or my birthday or something for a few moments there.  Some part of me expected a special provision to be made, maybe some special food eaten, and my husband to be home from work. Of course none of those things happened.  It’s just the due date,  it is highly unlikely that anything significant will happen today. Due dates...

I understand that at this stage in pregnancy it is usual to be excited.  I must admit that I am significantly more inclined towards feeling nervous.   I am nervous about labour and birth because I don’t know what’s going to happen or when its going to happen.  I’m nervous about having to spend time in hospital because I suffer with white coat syndrome and I’ve never had to stay in a hospital before and I fear that...