mothers

An open letter to the random man in the Doctor’s waiting room

To the random man in the Doctor’s waiting room,

Somehow we have both managed to be sitting in the same waiting room for the obstetrician. You are here with your partner and I am here with my entire family. We don’t live in this town you see, so we do not have the luxury of having our children minded, they have to attend whatever appointments we have. Seeing that the obstetrician we are seeing delivered both of our babies, I don’t think she will mind too much that they have accompanied us today.

You seem to be bothered though, my eight week old is happy enough but does demand some attention, to be honest what eight week old doesn’t? My sixteen month old has travelled six hours in the car and then been made to wait for an appointment half an hour longer then we had hoped. She is restless but well behaved, she wants her parents to read her stories and to play with the older children in the waiting room. She only wants to say hello and then she moves on. She is a young child, a baby even, a simple hello and then continuing on with conversation is all that is needed, not snide remarks about how close our children are.

You see, random man in the waiting room, it’s really none of your business how close they are. You do not have to have children close together, you don’t have to have any if you choose. That’s the thing with freedom of choice, its one we all have. We are parents of a young family, who are treading through the first few years of being Mum and Dad. We are happy and our children are loved, supported and provided for. Their age gap is really none of anyone’s concern, especially someone like you, someone we have never met. I didn’t need to hear your remark to your partner and to be honest neither did anyone else is the waiting room. Your partner seemed uncomfortable like she knew I had heard, but you didn’t seemed concerned at all.

I’m a strong girl, and to be honest, I really couldn’t give a shit, what others think of me or my life choices, but others may. I have bounced back from my pregnancy and giving birth well, but others may not. Words hurt random man, and I hope you think twice before expressing your opinions of another so they can hear in the future.

 

Regards,

BCM 

 

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It may controversial but..

Is it just me, or is anyone else over all the “controversial” posts everyone puts up these days? I am so over someone’s person opinion of what they feel works for their family being labelled as controversial. I don’t agree with most things I read, I have a very particular idea of how I intend to bring up my child but that does not mean I judge others for their choices. 
I haven’t breastfed my baby since she was 2.5months old, she has slept in her nursery since we came home from Adelaide (at two weeks old). She eats packet baby food, loves her dummy and sometimes sleeps in our bed. My choices probably make many shudder,  I mean who would give their baby food that wasn’t organic? But to that I say a big eff you! My choices are exactly that, my choices. If you are not hurting anyone, then really it is no one else’s business! 
To anyone who is co-sleeping, exclusively breastfeeding, exclusively bottle feeding, to the Mummas that work full time and the ones that are staying at home with their kids, I give you all, a big high five! We are all working towards the same goal to bring up wonderful children, in a sometimes shitty world! So next time you find yourself labelling someone, or judging perhaps you should shut up and try giving them a pat on the back instead!
We are all doing a wonderful job, the only way we know how! 

My achievement list! 

Okay everyone knows what a bucket list is, what they want to achieve and conquer during their life. But I present to you an “achievement list” it is a catalog of what you have succeded, participated or experienced in life that you are proud of. That you can look back on and give yourself encouragement of how far you have come, when you are feeling down or just need a reminder of how great your life truly is! 
It’s not to be taken as bragging or to show off. It can be totally private, shared anonymously or shared for the whole world (online of course) to see. 

I would love to share some of mine with you all. The rest I will keep for myself, but here goes: 


Rhemy; duh my greatest achievement in life. No other explanation necessary. 
My marriage; an equal partnership. The only way I want our marriage to be. 
My relationship with my family; we are close friends as well as blood. I have their back, they have mine. 
My study; I have completed certificates in my chosen field and out of it. I’m currently participating in a university degree. My achievement is not what I have become qualified in but the fact that I continue to learn. 
Travel; I have seen many places with some of the most important people in my life at some of the most important times of my life. Hello 21st birthday and honeymoon! I have memories and stories from these trips to last a lifetime. 
There you are my achievements, not material but sentimental. Maybe not what everyone strives for but what I hold very close to my heart. 
Share yours with me or jot them down for yourself but do it! Look back, be proud of what you have already achieved! Dreams are wonderful, hence why the bucket list exists but what about the dreams we have already conquered? Don’t be so focused on what’s to come that you forget about them. 

Review: Closer To Nature Electric Steam Steriliser 

Today I thought I would review a product that is used in our house daily, our electric bottle steriliser! 

Made by Closer to Nature and purchased from Big W here in Australia for $199.00. The steriliser came in a set that included a bottle warmer, a dummy (pacifier for our USA friends), insulated bags for a single bottle and formula containers that hold enough powder for one bottle. 

The “extras” I could have lived without and I don’t feel like we needed to spend the extra money on the set and instead should have purchased the steriliser on it’s own. A single insulated bag is a waste and so are the formula containers. I use a lunch bag which holds multiple bottles and a third party formula container which holds three lots of powder. 

We do not need a bottle warmer! I don’t know about you, but have you ever been heating a bottle at 2am and have a screaming baby who does not care for the 4min wait for the water to be warm? I’m sure a lot of you have, and a lot of you probably have more patience than me! We were done with the warmer after a week and instead use the microwave to warm up her bottles! We heat the water first, add the formula and then shake well to minimise hot spots! 

I did my research and there was nothing that showed me enough evidence to say I shouldn’t use it! (Waiting for comments to say otherwise) So I did and I have to say 15-20 seconds has been a much more reasonable wait for little miss! 

Back to the steriliser, it has been a great buy and one I do not regret making. I did a lot of research before buying (can you sense a trend?) and wanted an electric one rather than a microwave one. 

Let’s start with the pros: I like that we have the steriliser set up all the time and that it is easily accessible while being out of the way (we have a lot of unused bench space). 

It holds 6 bottles and uses minimal water (80ml) a cycle and takes about 4 minutes to sterilise the bottles. We only use 6 bottles in a 24 hour period, and because Rhemy was EBF for the first 3 months we have never needed more. It’s easy to clean out, simple to use and even to move around, if required.
Now we will move on the cons: first and foremost, it is expensive! It is not a purchase every one can make or justify. Without the bench space we are lucky to have, it could be in the way and a pain to put away and get out as needed. You also need a spare power point which we know can be difficult to find. It is a steam steriliser so can be a hazard if you have older children and they must be aware of not opening the steriliser straight after cycles have finished. 

At the end of the day, you know if you want a steriliser, you know if you want it to be electric and you know what you can afford to spend. But if you are looking at the Closer To Nature one you will not be sorry. 

I have included a link for purchase if you are interested. https://www.bigw.com.au/product/closer-to-nature-electric-steam-steriliser/p/WCC100000000005675/ (please note it is also available from Target)

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me and I will endeavour to help you as best I can! 
Feature image credit to Big W online