Recently I keep stumbling over blog posts or comments in parenting forums that keep referring to a topic that bothers me massively; Uninvited Parenting Advice. Obviously it comes in all shapes and sizes, grandparents, your spouse, your siblings, heck even strangers. What I want to know is when am I allowed to be offended and annoyed and when do I need to learn that it's okay and that I probably need to chill the eff out?
Maybe I'm too sensitive but FOR EXAMPLE if I have given instructions to a family member to please slice Jacob's grapes before giving them to him, that has to be listened to right? Or is it okay to wait until I'm not looking and give them to him whole (because apparently they've never heard of having to slice grapes for a toddler before?!!) FOR EXAMPLE If I've said to not use the massive duvet for him because it swamps him and could they perhaps use the cot sized one, is it okay to come home, check on him and find him with the masssive single size duvet? And of course, FOR EXAMPLE is it repeatedly okay to just undermine/correct everything I say, every opinion I have and to tell me repeatedly that toddlers "Noooormally do it this way or Noooormally do it that way" to the way that Jacob is doing it.
In my opinion, No, it isn't okay....but I'll never say anything. It's well meaning isn't it? They don't mean any harm, they're just trying to help, trying to install their parenting pearls of wisdom on my own seemingly clueless shit parenting.
And what annoys me the most is when their own child/ren aren't exactly shiny gleaming examples of their parenting skills, why is it okay to question mine?
The truth is, yes these niggles are by people close to me and yes I'm clearly becoming annoyed by it which is why I have written this blog post but I know in my heart they care right? Unless they are just mean which is highly unlikely, I know they are just trying to help, really I do! I just wish people knew that being uJndermined makes you feel small, a bit silly and well a bit useless really. If everyone just learnt to inflict opinions a little nicer with some tact them we all wouldn't be so bloody defensive and pissed off. On some of these parenting forums (*cough babycent...cough*) their are some mothers that seemingly go on there just to have a fight, I shit you not, if they've not made at least one new mother cry then their work is far from done.
Anyway, on a lighter note, I've made heaps of mummy friends thanks to the help of Canberra Mums FB page. I'm off to meet one of them at the playground tomorrow. I feel like I'm going on a bloody blind date!
The first time I ever met a Mum via an FB page (Streatham Mums Network, thank you) I trudged wearily towards Morrisons Cafe with trepidation in case she turned out to be a nutter with a perfect baby who would put my screaming whinging choc- monster to shame, luckily she was ACE with the most adorable (very smiley but so god damn cute she was forgiven) daughter and we became very good buddies, so here's to hoping!
Wish me luck x
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments
Sunday, 21 April 2013
Thursday, 18 April 2013
Where is my sleep?
Now, I know what your thinking "Please not another whingy blog post from a parent with self inflicted sleep deprivation!"
Yes, yes it is... But not a whinge as such, more of a plea. Jacob does not sleep very well, well, being the biggest, crappiest, most exhausting understatement in the whole wide world. He laughs in my face at bedtime, bath done, jimjams on, dodgy side parting from combing his hair, book read, milk drank. laughs. HAHAHAAAHA. FUNNY. *NOT*
We have always had a good routine for him, he sleeps relatively well during the day and will nap in his cot or in his pram quite happily if we're out and about, but as soon as night time comes it's like sleep just doesn't enter his brain. Last night he woke from 1.30am until 4am bringing Mike and I to our wits end with exhaustion. Without being dramatic, it is ruining our relationship, it causes us to argue and bicker and snap at each other plus the fact that we never ever get any time alone together because Jacob is always in our bed, this may say more about our relationship than Jacob's behaviour but right now I feel it is the sleep deprivation causing it. I hate the thought of blaming my child for anything, let alone this, so I know that its us, we as his parents that need to own up, take responsibility and tackle this now.
On a small, unsufficient amount of sleep Jacob is a monster. He screams, yells, kicks, and whinges all day long, until I'm on the verge of texting Mike and begging him to come home from work early, just so I can lock myself in the bathroom with a bottle of wine and some earplugs.
I need help and fast, I need a solution because today I have almost reached the end of my limit. We have been in Australia for 3 weeks now and I miss my sisters, my mum and my dog, I'm getting homesick and lonely and I really do not need to be exhausted amongst everything else. Luckily, Mike's parents are going away for 3 weeks very soon so we are going to try and tackle the problem with some controlled crying ish tactics (I will go in to his bedroom, but I will lay him back down, give him back his dummy (which normally gets flung across the room) and then leave) I'm totally aware this is going to be all night screaming for around a week but I'm ready. If Jacob doesnt learn to sleep properly now when will he?
Butter wouldnt melt
If anybody has any tips at all I shall forever be in your debt?!
Ps, This homesick lark has been great for the blogs, writing posts almost daily!
Yes, yes it is... But not a whinge as such, more of a plea. Jacob does not sleep very well, well, being the biggest, crappiest, most exhausting understatement in the whole wide world. He laughs in my face at bedtime, bath done, jimjams on, dodgy side parting from combing his hair, book read, milk drank. laughs. HAHAHAAAHA. FUNNY. *NOT*
We have always had a good routine for him, he sleeps relatively well during the day and will nap in his cot or in his pram quite happily if we're out and about, but as soon as night time comes it's like sleep just doesn't enter his brain. Last night he woke from 1.30am until 4am bringing Mike and I to our wits end with exhaustion. Without being dramatic, it is ruining our relationship, it causes us to argue and bicker and snap at each other plus the fact that we never ever get any time alone together because Jacob is always in our bed, this may say more about our relationship than Jacob's behaviour but right now I feel it is the sleep deprivation causing it. I hate the thought of blaming my child for anything, let alone this, so I know that its us, we as his parents that need to own up, take responsibility and tackle this now.
On a small, unsufficient amount of sleep Jacob is a monster. He screams, yells, kicks, and whinges all day long, until I'm on the verge of texting Mike and begging him to come home from work early, just so I can lock myself in the bathroom with a bottle of wine and some earplugs.
I need help and fast, I need a solution because today I have almost reached the end of my limit. We have been in Australia for 3 weeks now and I miss my sisters, my mum and my dog, I'm getting homesick and lonely and I really do not need to be exhausted amongst everything else. Luckily, Mike's parents are going away for 3 weeks very soon so we are going to try and tackle the problem with some controlled crying ish tactics (I will go in to his bedroom, but I will lay him back down, give him back his dummy (which normally gets flung across the room) and then leave) I'm totally aware this is going to be all night screaming for around a week but I'm ready. If Jacob doesnt learn to sleep properly now when will he?
If anybody has any tips at all I shall forever be in your debt?!
Ps, This homesick lark has been great for the blogs, writing posts almost daily!
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
A splash of colour!
This beautiful canvas was made by my thirteen year old aussie niece Madison.
All it takes is a blank canvas, 2 packs of crayons, glue gun and a hair dryer! Simple. Beautiful vibrant colours with a grown up twist, perfect for a playroom thats set in a front room or of course, the children's bedroom. I'm making one for Jacob's bedroom tomorrow.
Madison has written a step by step guide to perfecting your own gorgeous crayon canvas;
What you are going to need:
- Blank canvas
- Crayons
- Hot glue gun
- Hair dryer
- plastic tarp
Step 1
Sort out your crayons to the colour pattern that you want. ( I think it looks better if you do it in lightest to darkest. But it is up to you. )
Step 2
With the hot glue gun, glue the crayons onto the canvas, pointy side down. Leave till dry.
Step 3
Put the canvas on the plastic tarp. ( when you start to hair dry the crayons the melted crayon will spray everywhere. I did mine on a big plastic bag in the bath tub. ) Get your hairdryer and hold it facing down 1cm away from the point of the crayon. The crayons will start to spray down, and you just keep doing it until you are happy with the result.
Enjoy
All it takes is a blank canvas, 2 packs of crayons, glue gun and a hair dryer! Simple. Beautiful vibrant colours with a grown up twist, perfect for a playroom thats set in a front room or of course, the children's bedroom. I'm making one for Jacob's bedroom tomorrow.
Madison has written a step by step guide to perfecting your own gorgeous crayon canvas;
What you are going to need:
- Blank canvas
- Crayons
- Hot glue gun
- Hair dryer
- plastic tarp
Step 1
Sort out your crayons to the colour pattern that you want. ( I think it looks better if you do it in lightest to darkest. But it is up to you. )
Step 2
With the hot glue gun, glue the crayons onto the canvas, pointy side down. Leave till dry.
Step 3
Put the canvas on the plastic tarp. ( when you start to hair dry the crayons the melted crayon will spray everywhere. I did mine on a big plastic bag in the bath tub. ) Get your hairdryer and hold it facing down 1cm away from the point of the crayon. The crayons will start to spray down, and you just keep doing it until you are happy with the result.
Enjoy
Monday, 15 April 2013
Ear infection.
Tired. Grumpy. Lets all yell at the top of our lungs....
"Hurry the F**K up antibiotics"!!
...or just scream into a pillow.
....and breathe.
"Hurry the F**K up antibiotics"!!
...or just scream into a pillow.
....and breathe.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Little Moonwalking Man.
My precious little lunatic is now 18 months old. He is coming into his own like you wouldn't believe. His level of speech and cleverness is ridiculously good (to me anyway) he's smart, aware, charismatic, seriously funny and generally still has this silliness about him that I hope he never ever loses.
His favourite trick is to moon walk backwards whilst pointing his fingers in the air, if he gets a laugh he'll add a twirl at the end. Don't get me started on the twirls!
He dances all day long, in the car, in the shops, on the street, if he hears a beat of any kind, he's moving!
His favourite song at the moment is 'Silent Night' and sings the end word of every verse and then the screechy bit at the end. He also loves twinkle twinkle little star, and Waltzing Matilda.
He's very very cheeky and watches me as he's about to do something he knows he's not allowed to do, once he has my attention he makes moves to do it, then stops, then moves, then stops. Keeps me hanging as I'm unable to tell him off as technically he hasn't done it, he just stays looking as though he's about to. Smart kid.
He is obsessed with planes! On our recent flight to Australia he was an absolute angel the whole 23 hour journey (this coming from the boy that can't even do 20 minute bus journey without screaming the bus down) and all because he was on a plane! He stared out of the window and shouted "pain pain" (plane) he's also been pretty good so far on the trip although we settle in Canberra this week so will have him back into a routine asap. Right now, we are at the Coast in NSW in a gorgeous little caravan park next to the beach, he is loving the water and did a mega walk up the beach yesterday playing in the waves and having an awesome play with Daddy. He's never slept better.
He still has the level of grumpiness of an old man, and Jacob wouldn't be Jacob if he didn't whinge at least 45% of the time.! He's loud, he doesn't talk, he shouts. He's enthusiastic and his laugh is a throw your head back really dirty belly laugh! His smile is fantastic and crinkles those gorgeous little greeny- brown eyes of his.
He's still rockin out his animal noises. Crab and Octupus being new additions. He tells the dog off if he barks, and is obsessed with shouting at Talking Tom on the iPhone. He's still very affectionate and kisses and hugs people constantly, I hope this stays!
He's afraid of noisy birds but brave enough to feed a big kangaroo yesterday. He shouts 'wow' at all food even though he barely eats anything I make him! He just wants biscuits and blueberries. He still loves his patchwork quilt and his RaaRaa lion. His coppery red hair has developed streaks of blonde (he's still definitely not ginger as he stood next to a ginger kid yesterday, and looked positively brunette in comparison)
He still hates shoes and hats (except costume hats - the little fecker) he's still clumsy but is learning the ability to laugh at himself.
He screams if he doesn't get what he wants and generally has melt downs when he doesn't understand why I've said no (show me a toddler that doesn't)
He's a pain in the arse, stubborn little munchkin who has taken to head-butting me in his sleep.
Thank God he's cute.
His favourite trick is to moon walk backwards whilst pointing his fingers in the air, if he gets a laugh he'll add a twirl at the end. Don't get me started on the twirls!
He dances all day long, in the car, in the shops, on the street, if he hears a beat of any kind, he's moving!
His favourite song at the moment is 'Silent Night' and sings the end word of every verse and then the screechy bit at the end. He also loves twinkle twinkle little star, and Waltzing Matilda.
He's very very cheeky and watches me as he's about to do something he knows he's not allowed to do, once he has my attention he makes moves to do it, then stops, then moves, then stops. Keeps me hanging as I'm unable to tell him off as technically he hasn't done it, he just stays looking as though he's about to. Smart kid.
He is obsessed with planes! On our recent flight to Australia he was an absolute angel the whole 23 hour journey (this coming from the boy that can't even do 20 minute bus journey without screaming the bus down) and all because he was on a plane! He stared out of the window and shouted "pain pain" (plane) he's also been pretty good so far on the trip although we settle in Canberra this week so will have him back into a routine asap. Right now, we are at the Coast in NSW in a gorgeous little caravan park next to the beach, he is loving the water and did a mega walk up the beach yesterday playing in the waves and having an awesome play with Daddy. He's never slept better.
He still has the level of grumpiness of an old man, and Jacob wouldn't be Jacob if he didn't whinge at least 45% of the time.! He's loud, he doesn't talk, he shouts. He's enthusiastic and his laugh is a throw your head back really dirty belly laugh! His smile is fantastic and crinkles those gorgeous little greeny- brown eyes of his.
He's still rockin out his animal noises. Crab and Octupus being new additions. He tells the dog off if he barks, and is obsessed with shouting at Talking Tom on the iPhone. He's still very affectionate and kisses and hugs people constantly, I hope this stays!
He's afraid of noisy birds but brave enough to feed a big kangaroo yesterday. He shouts 'wow' at all food even though he barely eats anything I make him! He just wants biscuits and blueberries. He still loves his patchwork quilt and his RaaRaa lion. His coppery red hair has developed streaks of blonde (he's still definitely not ginger as he stood next to a ginger kid yesterday, and looked positively brunette in comparison)
He still hates shoes and hats (except costume hats - the little fecker) he's still clumsy but is learning the ability to laugh at himself.
He screams if he doesn't get what he wants and generally has melt downs when he doesn't understand why I've said no (show me a toddler that doesn't)
He's a pain in the arse, stubborn little munchkin who has taken to head-butting me in his sleep.
Thank God he's cute.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)