Breast is Best or Fed is Best? Our journey from hungry baby to happy toddler

Infant feeding has been on my mind a lot lately as I've been working with the NHS to provide a patient story about our experiences. With many friends and family expecting babies in the coming months, I've been thinking about how we view infant feeding as a society and the pressure and prejudices surrounding feeding choices. We had a challenging feeding journey, moving from feeling committed to breastfeeding, through a…

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The ND/NT partnership: how I parent alongside my neurodivergent husband

Parenting is complicated, no matter your family set-up, but when one parent is neurotypical and one is neurodivergent, there's an extra layer of complexity. Most of my reading online has suggested to me that ND/NT partnerships just don't tend to work in the long run, because we fundamentally cannot understand how the other person thinks. Add a child into the mix and there's an extra strain, since relationship satisfaction can decrease…

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Parenting with endometriosis: why we need to talk more

Being a parent of a young child and suffering with endometriosis can be a challenge. The pain, the fatigue, the symptoms no one talks about... without adding a toddler into the mix, they can be really tough. In honour of Endometriosis Awareness Month (or Endometriosis Action Month), here is my endo story, as a parent to an 18 month-old. I'll touch on diagnosis, fertility, surgery and everyday life with this debilitating…

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Sleep like a baby: preparing a safe sleep space for your newborn

There are so many choices when it comes to your baby's sleep space. Bedside crib, cot, Moses basket, co-sleeping. This was one of the areas that took the greatest mental toll on me when preparing for our baby. I just didn't know what was right, what was safe and how to get what we needed for our budget. When you're parenting with spoons, the last thing you need is extra head-scratching…

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Read more about the article Ten low spoon activities to spend time with your toddler
Photo by Calum Lewis on Unsplash

Ten low spoon activities to spend time with your toddler

Much of the time, your toddler will have many more spoons than you do. They have boundless energy and so much enthusiasm. The day gets longer as they get older, with fewer naps for respite. Instead of getting two or three periods of downtime a day, you may be down to one or even none at all. Filling the days can be such a challenge. I'm often torn between finding the…

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Read more about the article Toddlering with spoons: a day in my life with an almost 18 month old
Photo by Cris Saur on Unsplash

Toddlering with spoons: a day in my life with an almost 18 month old

My days with my 18 month-old toddler vary hugely. Weekend days are entirely different to nursery days and they are different to days at home in the week. But even within the same day there is variance. Is she poorly? Am I? Have we got appointments to get to? Is it raining?So much affects the day to day, and this makes it hard to plan and prepare ahead, which has…

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