Just don’t get it.

The science has spoken. There is no debate.

No debate.

Vaccinations are the best thing for us as a community and every day people LIVE because they and others have been vaccinated.

And yet there is still this bollocks out there that people should have the “right to choose”.

Well actually, no. When you choose NOT to vaccinate then you effectively make that choice for everyone else too.

Every time a parent chooses NOT to vaccinate the child they make a choice to risk life and health on behalf of another family, another child.

And that is not ok.

Do you have genuine questions about vaccinating children? If so, please let me know and I will provide researched, fact based answers for you – I understand that some parents, especially new parents who have heard the fear mongering might be genuinely concerned. I truly appreciate that because I myself was concerned for those very same reasons. If I can help direct you to fact based information upon which to make a confident decision I would be more than happy to do that.

There are times in our life when we can’t see the things that are right in front of us – we can’t hold onto our inner strength and self assurance because somewhere along the way we have lost it and we can’t seem to find our way back to it. In those moments all we can do is hold onto to the people around us, to the truths that they hold and the words we find hard to believe. But we have to believe them, we have to hold on the belief that they know something that we don’t, that they can see something that we can’t…sometimes we have to let the people around us carry us. It’s all we can do.

When your baby cries and cries, and you don’t know how to help her, you are not doing anything wrong. Your baby does love you and need you. You can get through this.

When your baby cries and cries, and you don’t know how to help her, you are not doing anything wrong. Your baby does love you and need you. You can get through this.

When your baby cries and cries, and you don’t know how to help her, you are not doing anything wrong. Your baby does love you and need you. You can get through this.

 

The thing about parenting is that it doesn’t come with a manual, it comes with a million manuals and they all say something different. This is confusing and overwhelming and sometimes leads to a lot of judgement and angst amongst people who believe that their way is the right way.

If there is only one thing I know about parenting it is this…no one knows your baby as well as you do.

Somewhere along the way you might have lost the ability to trust yourself, to believe that you know best what your baby needs. If in that moment you don’t know where to turn, please pick up the phone and call the PANDA helpline – you don’t need to have PND to call them (1300 726 306 – Monday to Friday, 9am-7pm) and they will offer a listening ear, and gentle advice.

And for now please let me, and this community, carry you through the dark times and believe us when we say – you are a great parent, you are doing a great job and it will get better.

Much love

xx

Incoming search terms:

• baby wont stop crying

There are lots of things that I am excited and a million things I could do but that can lead to a whole lot of nothing actually happening. Increasingly I have been feeling like I want to hone in on the things that really get me fired up and pursue them with more diligence and focus – not character traits that are innate to me.  Since my darling Bluey came along I am just so busy and I can see that without stepping back and choosing to be purposeful life could easily just slip me by.

Does that sound familiar?

I loved Hailey’s blueprint for her life and dreams…

Her talk really left me thinking – how do you find your true passion?

It seems to me that it’s impossible to sift through the “possibilities” to find “passion” in a world so cluttered with noise and content. Since getting back from South Africa I have had a renewed awareness of just how distracting social media can be; there’s always a new tweet or update to read, a moment to broadcast or something “important” to respond to. I don’t watch much TV but I suspect that all media is the same…a lot of noise.

The most precious and important moments in my life, and probably in yours too, are the ones that happen right in front of our eyes. And we don’t need to share them with the world for them to be real.

I’ve been stepping back from social media recently. I regularly leave my phone in the car and am trying to check it less regularly when it is on me. I don’t have Facebook or Twitter open in the background all the time and I deliberately turn off the screens when the kids are around. In a world full of so much content, I feel like letting my mind be uncluttered is going to be a key part of this journey for me.

Today it was this…

Since becoming a Mum I have said goodbye to many lovely necklaces, either because one of the kids (I’m looking at you, Bear!) has broken them or because I too afraid they will be broken to wear them. Enter MummaBubba jewellery and Tash’s gorgeous range of child friendly necklaces, bangles, bracelets and pendants.

I was introduced to MummaBubba at the same time by two different women I admire and thus it sparked my interest. I now am the delighted owner of two necklaces (one I bought and one I was gifted by my lovely friend Alli when Bluey arrived) and the only reason I don’t own more is because I can’t decide which one to get next!

Tell me how MummaBubba came about? What sparked the dream? When my baby was about 5 months old I would take my bangles off for her to hold while I changed her nappy. Of course the first thing she would do with the bangles was put them into her mouth. I suggested to my husband someone should make Jewellery that would be safe for babies to chew on, which he responded “That’s a silly idea”. I then researched the market and thought that I could make a contribution with my designs and ideas.

What’s your vision for MummaBubba? My vision is to take MummaBubba around the world. We have already expanded to New Zealand and we have Japan and the UK only weeks away from launching. I hope mums continue to find our products an essential part of their wardrobe.

Can you take us behind the scenes and tell us a bit about what a typical day looks like? Our  morning is usually full of chaos. I have two little girls ages 2 and 5 so by the time I drag them out of bed at 7.30am we do the usual morning routine that I’m sure every other mum has to go through.  After school drop off  I then head to our office/warehouse where I spend the rest of the day either on the phone, skype or email talking to our factory, our stockists and our customers! There never seems enough hours in the day to get everything done and I generally have to log back on at night after the girls go to bed.

What do you love most about running MummaBubba? I’m a creative person, so I find the design process of my business the most rewarding. I love playing with pantone cards and drawing up samples and ideas for our next release. The best part of all is when I see a stranger walking in a shopping centre or out and about wearing my jewellery. I still get so excited and run up to them like a crazy person.

———

I am more than willing to put my hand up and say that my MummaBubba necklaces are an essential part of my wardrobe, so that’s one person you have converted on your way to global domination Tash! I have previously listed MummaBubba as one of my top buys for new mums and continue to rave about them. They are fresh, fun and durable and it’s so great to be able to add a safe accessory to the mama wardrobe each day!

Tash has offered to share the love with one lucky Louisa Claire reader so today we are giving away a necklace and bangle set of your choosing. You can enter easily via the Rafflecopter box below (note: this is the first time I have used Raffelcopter so if you have any feedback on how you like it then I’d love to hear from you!)

Incoming search terms:

• mummabubba
• enter rafflecopter australian

I cried…am crying.

I am ashamed, so deeply ashamed that this beautiful country, my home, could have made a decision so ungenerous and inhumane.

A couple of years go members of the local and national Australian community came together through this blog to raise funds and goods for people in detention. Last week Bliss' school did one of their regular collections for the Asylum Seeker Refugee Council and next week our church will do its monthly collection for the same center.

Almost everyone I know abhors the way our government and the one before it treated asylum seekers. Almost everyone I know would love to help, to see change. But where can we even begin in the face of an issue so big?

Removing the emotion from the equation, how a Labour government could have made this decision, taking even further the actions of John Howard is…confusing. Why do they perpetuate the lies, the fearmongering when they have a chance to do the opposite, to truly lead.

Have they forgotten who their voters are? Who they represent?

I am but one person and all I have is this one little blog…but I'll be damned it I don't use it.

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For those with more than 5 minutes…

Last week I wrote about spending a night away from the older two kids – The Architect & I in the city – a great dinner, a nice hotel, yummy brekkie. A chance for us to have a proper conversation and spend some quality time with our newest bub. It was such a treat! As I read the comments coming through on the competition to win a similar date night, I saw a common theme.

Mums tired

Mums messy

Mums thinking about their family, not themselves

And it took me right back…

When Bliss was born I was given a PANDA magnet as I left the hospital. I brought it home and dutifully stuck it on the fridge.  I would occasionally look at it and whenever I found myself at my wits end I would think about that magnet and PANDA. No matter how overwrought I was, I never thought PANDA was for me – surely what I was going through was normal? Surely…

The few times I seriously considered calling were outside of their operating hours – back then the helpline was only open Monday-Fri, 9am – 4.30pm (currently the helpline runs Mon-Fri 24/7 9am-7pm). I don’t know if I had postnatal depression with Bliss but I do know that I isolated myself to the point where I lost a friendship. That I didn’t lose more friends is simply a testimony to how amazing my friends are. I withdrew, I didn’t return phone calls let alone initiate them and I felt like the biggest failure on earth.

How could it be that I didn’t take to motherhood like a duck to water? I found all the tasks easy, and we were pretty relaxed on the things that made other new parents anxious, but the emotional transition completely took me by surprise. I had always wanted to be a Mum, a full time stay at home Mum at that. I loved my daughter but I was scared and tired, so very tired. Well meaning comments meant to make me feel less alone, a la “that happened to me too” only left me feeling more isolated, more lost.

More than anything, I felt embarrassed.

A large reason I don’t feel embarrassed today is because I know that this is a really common experience and I know that because other people, including a lot of bloggers, have told me through their own stories. If in sharing my own journey just one person feels less alone then it is all worthwhile.

5 years and 2 more children on and I am incredibly clucky. Incredibly! With each child it’s been easier and with Bluey, I have finally taken to it like a duck to water. I love having a baby in the house and easily want another (our bank account currently does not agree with this sentiment). Yes having 3 children has been a total gamechanger and I have never felt busier, but I have also never felt clearer – like I have finally figured this thing out. I think that’s why I have the idea of another baby in my mind…I have finally gotten the hang of things, I’m not ready to stop!

Last year I started working with PANDA as a charity partner through Brand Meets Blog. I identified with their mission and shared their desire to make support services more available to the public.

Around 48,000 women will be diagnosed with post natal depression this year and PANDA (the Post and Antenatal Depression Association) is the only national helpline that offers counselling for struggling families. Currently they are only able to help 7% of mums each year through operating their helpline Mon-Fri 7am-9pm.

Through my work with PANDA I have learnt that the PANDA helpline offers more than just phone counselling to people who call. PANDA actually take responsibility for making contact with the callers as often as required, for as long as required to ensure that the caller is able to access local support services. PANDA also offer in home visits for people in situations that require it – I find that completely amazing!

But 93 out of 100 mums and thus, their kids, are missing out on help they desperately need.

So often stats like that can feel completely overwhelming. Thankfully, this is not a stat that needs to overwhelm. You can help with 2 clicks and your postcode!

Visit www.millionmums.org.au and complete the epostcard to your local MP to help PANDA take their helpline 24/7. We all know that parents don’t struggle just during business hours!

Today is the day you can make a real difference to the lives of Australian parents.

As a mother, I found it full on. I missed her, I was worried she would miss us and two nights feels like a really long time when they are little.

But my anxiety was unfounded, she returned having LOVED it and so full of confidence. It made me feel so proud, and also so glad that I hadn’t let my fears and my anxiety impact her experience…or even let it stop her from having the experience all together.

While she was away I shared my anxiety on social media and in doing so was met with a lot of surprise that a child of her age would be off on school camp. What really shocked me was the stories that were shared about parents who don’t let their children attend school camps even at the older ages of 8 and 9. Children who miss out on being with their peers and of learning the inner satisfaction of growing up and into some independence.

Education choices are very personal and I definitely realise that a 5year old going on school camp is outside of the norm in Australia but I can tell you that it was an entirely positive experience for Bliss and for all the other kids. I think it was probably also good for me and my journey as a parent.

I can also say that the one reason I was willing to send her to camp was because I do trust her school.

It’s the issue of trust that stood out to me as I heard the stories of children not being allowed to attend camp. If you can’t trust your school to send your child on camp with them isn’t there a much bigger issue at play and a much more terrifying situation for our children?

Or am I misunderstanding this situation….??

Do you have a motto or a word for 2013? My motto is that this will be my year of fun a year of embracing the moment, saying yes to opportunities and living like I am 32. Sometimes being 32 with 3 kids leaves me feeling quite a bit older, and more dowdy, than I am and I am seriously dusting off that attitude this year.

Last weekend, like a few other bloggers around the traps I was treated to a night out by Berlei. They invited me to go on an Ultimate Date Night remember what it feels like to be young, carefree and in love! This fits VERY well into my 2013 motto and what a great night it was!

One of the things I like the most about a mini break is that I don’t have to think about getting anyone else organised. Am I dressed? YES! Am I packed? YES! Have I gone to the toilet? YES! And then, amazingly, I only have to get myself into the car. Even having Bluey with us it still felt oh, so easy!

In choosing a restaurant The Architect wanted to go somewhere you can’t book – simply because with kids you can NEVER go anywhere that doesn’t require a booking – the kids can’t sit at the bar and wait or eat and a table takes around 2 hours to get. With that in mind we headed into Chin Chin in Melbourne’s CBD and enjoyed the most delicious dinner going. Nevermind it is located a stones throw from where The Architect and I spent our first night out together, talking away until 5am in the morning. Memories!!

I am going to admit that getting into stockings was a bit of a mental hurdle for me as I am most comfy in my jeans and normally put a ladder in any pair of stocking I own within 10minutes. Would this really work?

I am happy to report that the Dig Free stockings that the lovely people from Berlei sent over are amazing. They are comfortable, flattering and surprisingly hard to wreck (definitely a bonus!) AND I’m also going to say that putting stockings on, instead of jeans, is really a good ego boost.

The Dig Free range hold in all your wobbly bits, and sit high enough to keep things looking neat and tidy (good bye mummy tummy – well, almost). I really found these stockings incredible comfy and love that they come in a sheer ($14.95) and opaque ($19.95).

In the last 5 years The Architect and I have spent a grand total of 4 nights away from the kids. For us, those 4 nights have been such a treat! The Architect and I used to love heading out to dinner in the city and a mini break was (and still is!) pretty much my favourite thing to do! Like most parents, finding the time, money and babysitters to do it over the past few years means that it’s a very rare treat.

I am sure I am not alone in this.

Berlei would love to give one lucky blog reader the chance to win their own Berlei date night! This will include dinner, limousine transfers and a night in a hotel in your nearest capital city to the value of $1000.

To enter, simply leave a comment telling me what you do, or would like to do, to make yourself feel desirable.

This is a game of skill and there are opportunities on a number of blogs to win this experience with one experience being up for grabs. Entries close on Friday May 24th. The Terms and Condition of this competition can be found here.

Incoming search terms:

• win a night

You know those moments that stick in your memory as clear as day?! One of my stranger ones is around Bliss and nappies. She used to HATE having her nappy changed and would wriggle and squirm and scream and it was so frustrating and, well, demoralising really. Eventually we figured out how to approach it so that it was less of a nightmare for everyone involved but before we managed it, I have this really clear memory of The Architect changing her on the couch. She was calm, so calm, and I felt really ripped off because while I had to do the lion’s share of nappy changing during the day and deal with the screaming, somehow he managed to do it in this completely serene way.

Somewhere along that way with Little Bear I dedided to give Huggies Nappy Pants a whirl. I can’t remember why, but I’m glad I did because suddenly nappy changing was a whole lot quicker and easier. My only gripe about Nappy-Pants is that you can’t buy them in boxes!

(Note: Nappy Pants are not toilet training nappies – they are fully absorbent just like a normal nappy, however you put them on the child like you do a training pant/undies ie. they step into them)

I still love the Huggies Nappy-Pants and if you think they might be for you, you can ask Huggies to send you a free sample

Huggies have a great competition happening at the moment – they are giving away a  Cubby House to one lucky person. It’s not just any old Cubby House either, its a PlayCubb Koalia Blue Cubby House which will delivered and installed directly into your backyard and is valued at just under $5000! Each week they are also giving away $100 Westfield Gift Card plus the first 500 valid entries will receive a free pack of Huggies Nappy Pants.

To enter you just need to create a short video of your squirmy baby and upload it via the Huggies website. If you’d like to see some of the entries that have already gone up you can find them here.

If you are wondering why I am telling you all about this it’s not just because I use Nappy Pants but because Huggies have invited me, along with Christie from Childhood 101, Kate from Kate Says Stuff, Glow from Where’s My Glow? and Mandy from A Little Space Like Home to judge the competition.

Do you have a wriggly squirmy baby? How do you manage it?