Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.

Tuesday 27 July 2010

Health is not valued till sickness comes...

Illness and motherhood do not mix!

In previous years when illness struck me down and I was banished to my bed for a few days rest and recuperation the only people that suffered were my employers who had to manage without me for a few days.

However now that I have Emily, being ill just isn't an option! And so far I have managed really well in my efforts to avoid proper illness, however after 15 months it would seem that it is now catching up on me and dishing up a well overdue bout of sickness that in the last few weeks has included a stomach virus, swollen glands, sinus headache and now a cold and chesty cough. That's right I have endured at least 4 possibly even 5 separate episodes of illness in the last month! I'm so delirious with ill health that I have lost count. The most unfortunate being an allergic reaction to antihistamines (who knew that was even possible). My immune system is not just low, it would appear that it has packed up and gone on vacation without me! At least someone is getting a holiday this year. 

The task of looking after a child whilst feeling like death warmed up, left to go cold and then re-heated again, is not a simple one. Emily is an extremely easy going child, however she is the type of little girl that requires constant stimulation of some kind. Most days we venture out on some adventure or another and spend much of our time keeping busy until the time when she will collapse into bed and I can pass out from exhaustion on the sofa, in front of Eastenders (after I have cooked the tea of course!). 

She does not therefore understand why she is getting severely short-changed this week and feels that Ceebies is not really a suitable substitute for her mothers love and attention even if 'Something Special' has 'Mr Tumble'. All I can say is thank goodness for family, because without them this week I don't know how I would have coped. Once again I am eternally grateful for their support and in awe of parents that have to go it alone! 

Wednesday 7 July 2010

Love is a battlefield...

It would appear that my daughter, at the tender age of 14 ½ months, is learning to assert herself already. This has taken the form of refusing to eat pretty much anything I cook or put in front of her with the exception of cereal, cheese, yoghurt and strawberries! For her tea the other night she had Weetabix and banana and this was after I had offered her pork and apricot casserole, beans on toast (a former favourite) and bread and cheese spread. She would eat the cheese spread with breadsticks but I thought as a responsible mother this was hardly a suitable and sustainable meal.

My own mother has assured me that this is perfectly normal behaviour and upon further research I have found it is not uncommon in children her age. It is however extremely frustrating and wasteful. It is making meal-times unbelievably stressful for both of us and a once loved event has become something of a battle of wills. Hers mostly winning as I cannot force her to eat something that she won't but with the lists of things that she won't eat increasing daily I am starting to wonder what happens when I run out of options?! 


Gavin does not fully understand the complexity of the situation as he is yet to witness her refusing some of her once favourite foods, in fact he flat out refuses to believe me when I tell him that she will no longer eat bake beans (that's how much she loved them up until a week ago). The whole family are having a hard time believing that overnight Emily has become so fussy, this was the little girl that used to cry if you took too long with the spoon between mouthfuls. 


So I guess all I can do is ride out this latest storm and hope that it soon subsides, and when I do manage a small victory be grateful for the little things. Today she ate nearly a whole bowl of pasta and at least that's something right?!