News — Story

Immediately after announcing a pregnancy or giving birth, after the obligatory oohs and aahs and coos have been inflicted, there will inevitably come the slew of unwanted advice … from every person you’ve ever known. A few of my friends have been pregnant or had babies recently, and, though I was dying to spew out advice about every aspect of parenthood from every orifice for seventeen hours, I told them I’d only offer them advice if they asked for it. Perhaps they had specific topics in mind, but I did feel compelled to share with them the thing I believe...

I need to accept that it's actually okay to want something for myself, that it doesn't mean I love him any less. And that my novel might take a little (a lot) longer to finish, but these early years pass so quickly and I need to be present and make the most of them before they are just a distant memory that I wish I could get back. Or should it be 'Being A Present Mother Whilst Trying To Build A Career'? I'm not sure. I know which one has to come first, of course, but it doesn't make putting...

It didn’t take long to get pregnant the second time around unlike our first, so when I got that digital confirmation telling me I was 3 weeks pregnant I will be honest…I shit myself! I didn’t mentally prepare myself quick enough that unfortunately, this would mean giving birth again! My reason for being scared is that even though my labour with my now 3-year-old daughter was as good as a straightforward labour could have been, my problem was getting rid of the placenta which turned into needing a manual removal, this is where your placenta isn’t playing ball and doesn’t...

IVF is a gruelling process. It is impossible to grasp just how gruelling it actually is unless you have been through it. Physically, emotionally, financially; it drains you. The good news, however, is that there are plenty of ways we can be proactive in helping our bodies through the process. Firstly, to cope with the side-effects of treatment, and secondly, to assist in a successful outcome. My body reacted so badly to our first cycle that I couldn’t walk by the second week because my ovaries were so large and painful, and I ended up in the hospital for 5...

Hello, I’m back! When I first blogged over here, I was sharing the story of my journey to become mum first time around, and how we found out we were expecting our second baby, due in early December. My first trimester was full of anticipation, nerves and some anxiety, I have to be honest, as having experienced a miscarriage last year, we were far more cautious this time around. We had extra, private scans early on to be sure everything was going ok and it was nice to finally reveal to everyone our happy news when all the signs looked...