I’ve felt the need to write this post for a while now. I’ve found parts of parenting quite difficult (everyone tells me I’m a natural, but really I’m not). To be more specific, I’ve found certain stages of parenting difficult, that’s not because I can’t handle the pressure, but because, unfortunately for myself and my partner, at most stages we have faced some sort of hurdle.
I won’t go into the details right now, I’ll save these for future posts (or I may have blogged about it already). The hurdles haven’t been anything serious, but I just want to reassure other parents, and myself, that no matter how challenging parenting can be, if you have a happy and healthy baby, or child, you are doing something right. Thank your lucky stars.
If you are lucky enough to conceive with no complications, or even with complications that you have overcome. Thank your lucky stars.
If you have a straight forward labour with no complications. Thank your lucky stars.
If you gave birth to a healthy baby with no complications. Thank your lucky stars.
The above apply to me, so I thank my lucky stars.
If you’re baby breastfeeds (if you want to breastfeed). Thank your lucky stars.
If your baby doesn’t suffer with colic or reflux. Thank your lucky stars.
If your baby sleeps well. Thank your lucky stars.
If your baby weans well and eats well. Thank your lucky stars.
The above is what we have struggled with so far. Lamb didn’t latch, and I wanted to breastfeed more than anything. Lamb suffered with colic until he was 6 months. Lamb is now 17 months and doesn’t sleep through. Lamb doesn’t eat much, and we struggle to get him to eat anything at all most days.
But Lamb is happy, he is healthy and rarely gets poorly, he is developing well, and most importantly he is loved. So I thank my lucky stars.
Short and sweet, but to the point. I thank my lucky stars I have a healthy boy. This is what I tell myself daily, to balance out the worries of Lamb not eating, or the stress of him not sleeping.
Yes, I’ve been faced with challenges, challenges that not all parents face, but we are overcoming them one by one and becoming stronger and happier as we do.
Finally, i’d like to say, if you have a loving partner, your child has a hands on father, and you all have a supportive family, like I do. Thank your lucky stars.
If you find yourself spiralling into a ‘dark cloud’ of worry and stress, ask yourself what good you have around you, what others may not necessarily have, and thank your lucky stars.
Alex xx
The reason for going to London wasn’t for a day out, we were actually heading to the Passport Office to fast track Jaxson’s first passport! But decided to make a day of it and have a family day out. While we were waiting for our appointment we let Jaxson run around in Grosvenor Gardens, which he loved. Although, he has no sense of personal space and decided to run around all the people napping in the park. I still can’t believe he didn’t wake anyone up!
My first tip would be to make sure you have plenty of snacks and drinks with you. We had around an hour to wait for our appointment, plus while Joe was at the Passport Office, Jax and I had to wait around as only one person could be in the meeting. We took with us 
(these are Jaxson’s fave), cheese straws and crackers, raisins and dry cereal. Sounds appetising doesn’t it, but my fussy toddler won’t eat anything else! We also made sure we had plenty of water and as a treat we let Jaxson have a Fruit Shoot.
. I highly recommend this buggy (so would mummy bear). Although, it is quite heavy, but this isn’t a problem for me. If you travel on public transport regularly with your little one then you may want something much more lightweight, especially if you are on your own.
Little Lamb has been going to nursery for a couple of months now, so I want to start incorporating more educational activities into our time together. Last Sunday was arts and crafts day. As a child I was extremely arty, and still am! So I’ve been super excited to start getting out the PVA glue and glitter!!
