I'm 35 Weeks And Not Ready For This Baby!

It was blatantly obvious to me and Big Bear last night how much things have got out of hand. I started having mild pains at about 10.30. Originally thinking it may be IBS I took some paracetamol and tried to get some sleep. Palpitations started just moments after getting back into bed and the pains were already stronger and more frequent. I’d already given birth twice before – so why was I so nervous?

10 Songs I Listen To Twice

Some songs are so moving that they will never be long enough, these are the songs we never want to stop listening to. All of my 10 touch me in a different way: they could make me relate to a particular time in my life, make me be happy, sad or just want to rock! Here are my current 10, feel free to do your own and link back!

Making Star Charts Work

So many people recommend star charts and similar reward systems as a way for you to get your child to do just about anything – a chart for potty training, a chart for kindness, a chart for tidying etc. I have seen and experienced high-minded HVs and other child professionals look down on parents for not trying these methods, or for giving up on them. A lot of parents say the same thing – they don’t work. Yet time after time we get told they will work, we’re doing it wrong! Are we?

Why Men Shouldn't Bake Cookies

Well doesn't that put a whole new meaning to cookies and cream? This was not a planned creation: being a typical man, Big Bear was very generous in the cookie size and they spread a lot more than expected. The top of one cookie basically fell off our silicone cookie sheet, creating the colour difference in the tip. From the end of one testicle to the other the cookie (or cookies, seeing as it was three cookies that merged during baking) was more than 12 inches!

 

They tasted divine, however and were the soft, chewy cookies of my dreams. This is the recipe we used:

How It Feels Being A Victim Of Domestic Violence

When I was 16, I got with a man who turned out to be very violent and abusive. Whilst still in the relationship (which lasted 2.5 years) I heard this song for the very first time and it completely epitomised how it felt to be me at that time. To this day I still have the utmost respect for what I overcame whenever I hear this song, and for every person who may be feeling the same.

Bathing Alone: When Is It Safe?

Everywhere you look, you are faced with a different opinion on when it’s safe to leave a child unattended in the bath. I attended a parenting course called Family Links a few years ago and while we were covering “Appropriate Expectations” we discussed this very subject. Under no uncertain terms I was told I shouldn’t let Goldilocks bathe alone until she was 9. I was, surprisingly, the only person in the room that was gobsmacked by this.

Why The Quit Smoking "Rules" Are Irrelevant

Too many rules create a big problem: failure. Quitting smoking is one of those situations where it's very easy to find yourself creating too many rules. You -must- set a date, get rid of everything to do with smoking the day before you quit, cram your calendar with activities that aren't smoking related and avoid caffeine, alcohol and any other situation that would make you crave a cigarette. Sound familiar?

Treating Vaginal Thrush With Yogurt

Super-cheap miracle treatment or old wives' tale?

Pregnancy and thrush, for me, go hand in hand. I got lucky with Goldilocks (either that or she just loved me a lot!) and didn't get it at all, but being pregnant with Little Bear more than made up for that - I had thrush almost constantly from the middle of the second trimester. The NHS must have kept Canesten afloat just from my own treatments!

This time when thrush began to plague me guilt led me down a different path. After all, if I can afford to treat an ailment myself (within reason) then isn't it only fair to give the NHS a break? After nearly fainting at the price of Canesten in my local Asda (£7+ for a pessary and cream I knew I'd end up buying several times by the end of this pregnancy 0_0) I decided to look up the less traditional method of using plain live yogurt as a treatment.

I was mortified when my mother informed me that I would most likely be putting the yogurt on my vulva and vagina - and found that the Internet did not give me the answer I was looking for.

70,000 People Who Need To Grow Up

Pictures of the UK 2011 riots are everywhere and they have shocked the world. Like a virus it has spread across the country and so far not enough has been done to stop it. Us British do not generally like the idea of military in the streets and pictures of water cannons and baton rounds being used do shock us, but to many who are faced with the devastation of this week's riots are looking less harsh the more time goes on.

A lot of you will already have heard of the e-petition to axe the benefits of anybody involved in the riots, some of you may have signed it. How many of you have questioned its ignorance I wonder?

Avoiding Back To School Madness!

Well it's August and that means only one thing: the kids go back to school soon. OMG. There's so much to buy - uniform, stationery, new coat, new bag - then there's the queues...

Erm, hang on - haven't they only just got out of school?

I just don't understand why everybody goes mental this time of year - it could be so much cheaper if we all learned to relax!

Here are some handy tips to bear in mind when you're close to pulling your hair out.