Diary of an (ex)London mum

I come from a close knit family of four and our modus operandi has always been that we would help each other as much as possible when necessary.  We stay in close contact, always talk about events within our own lives, and try to solve problems together through discussions and offers of support.  Naturally my parents and sister wanted to help me as much as they could with the pregnancy and then with Sprog.  My parents live abroad and my mother came to stay with us to help with Baby.  She arrived a week before the birth, was one of my birth partners and then stayed on for two months to help look after Baby and me.  We are very grateful for her help throughout this period and to be honest I don't think I would have recovered as quickly if she hadn't been there.  It was good to have her for company while I was adjusting to motherhood.  Her presence also made enough time and opportunities for me to do little chores at home and the occasional thing for wo...

I recently had the opportunity to leave the house to do some chores and leave Baby at home with Daddy.  This was a nerve-wracking experience; I trust my partner but it would be the first time that he would be left with the care of Baby entirely to himself.  To be fair he does a lot to help us even though I am on maternity leave and should, theoretically, take on the bulk of the care of Baby over the next few months.  However, my partner wants to be part of Baby's life and being involved, as much as possible, in Baby's everyday care is important.  After all that is a way to spend time with Baby and to ensure he recognises one as a person that is integral to his wellbeing and fun to be around. The chore involved me being out of the flat for three to four hours.  This meant that my partner would have to be involved in at least one feeding and nappy changing session entirely on his own, very probably with a crying baby on one or more of those occasions.  ...

People told me that going out with a baby makes you a prime target for conversation with other mums and random people who want a chat.  I didn't quite expect the frequency with which this occurred; we are in the U.K. and the British are allegedly more reserved.  Not it seems when it comes to babies, which is actually rather endearing. I expected to chat to other mums who are out and about with their babies.  We are in the same boat, so to speak, and that kind of gives you the right to at least smile at each other in mutual understanding.  I have spoken with a number of mums about their sprogs and what they were out doing and as a result gotten some useful information.  For example, I found out from one wet-looking mum and baby that there was a pool nearby offering Aquatot (baby swimming) classes.  I had searched online but not found the one they were at; this is hugely convenient because 1) its closer than the one I found, and 2) there are sessions ev...

Like most mothers I have been told by the medical professionals that breastfeeding offers Baby the best possible start in life.  I have read the literature and believe that the evidence for this is indeed strong and so decided that I will breast feed.  After the inital difficult sessions to establish good feeding rapport between Baby and I, breastfeeding in the comfort of one's own home became a very natural thing to do.  It was great to spend time with Baby and the fact that I was providing him with food helped cement our relationship very early on in his life.  I was wary of breast feeding in public and devised a plan to help me ease into it gently. I have been keeping an eye out for women breast feeding while out and about in the weeks leading up to the birth.  I have seen people who were quite unfazed by having to breastfeed on show, others who hid their babies and breasts from view using large scarves, and others which bottle-fed (not sure if it was b...