Deprecated: Methods with the same name as their class will not be constructors in a future version of PHP; WP_MatchesMapRegex has a deprecated constructor in /home/withou13/public_html/wp-includes/class-wp.php on line 634

Deprecated: Methods with the same name as their class will not be constructors in a future version of PHP; Translation_Entry has a deprecated constructor in /home/withou13/public_html/wp-includes/pomo/entry.php on line 14

Deprecated: Methods with the same name as their class will not be constructors in a future version of PHP; POMO_Reader has a deprecated constructor in /home/withou13/public_html/wp-includes/pomo/streams.php on line 12

Deprecated: Methods with the same name as their class will not be constructors in a future version of PHP; POMO_FileReader has a deprecated constructor in /home/withou13/public_html/wp-includes/pomo/streams.php on line 120

Deprecated: Methods with the same name as their class will not be constructors in a future version of PHP; POMO_StringReader has a deprecated constructor in /home/withou13/public_html/wp-includes/pomo/streams.php on line 175

Deprecated: Methods with the same name as their class will not be constructors in a future version of PHP; POMO_CachedFileReader has a deprecated constructor in /home/withou13/public_html/wp-includes/pomo/streams.php on line 221

Deprecated: Methods with the same name as their class will not be constructors in a future version of PHP; POMO_CachedIntFileReader has a deprecated constructor in /home/withou13/public_html/wp-includes/pomo/streams.php on line 236

Deprecated: Methods with the same name as their class will not be constructors in a future version of PHP; WP_Widget_Factory has a deprecated constructor in /home/withou13/public_html/wp-includes/widgets.php on line 544

Deprecated: Function create_function() is deprecated in /home/withou13/public_html/wp-content/plugins/simple-share-buttons-adder/simple-share-buttons-adder.php on line 284

Home

About Me

Recent Posts

Subscribe

Without My Mum

Navigating motherhood without my mum to show me how

image1-3

On Love

May 3, 2015 Written by Helen - 11 Comments
I was reminded by a friend the other day of something I said to our NCT group when the babies were very small. I have blanked it from my memory, but apparently it went something like this: “I don’t think this baby likes me very much; and to be quite honest, most days I feel...
Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterPin on Pinterest
SONY DSC

The Battle to Breastfeed

April 20, 2015 Written by Helen - 6 Comments
On the rare occasion this poor second baby gets so much as a mention, the conversation tends to go something like this: Me: Christ! I’m 37 weeks and we haven’t bought a single thing for this baby. Let’s make a list. Ben: OK. Number 1: Steriliser. Me: Oh thanks. Thanks SO much. Thanks for having...
Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterPin on Pinterest
DSC02788

Maternity Tights (and other minor indignities)

March 23, 2015 Written by Helen - 4 Comments
I like being pregnant. Last time around I’d have gone so far as to say I was good at it. This time I am rather less so, as illustrated by the numerous ghastly afflictions from which I find myself suffering. “Glowing” I am not. I shall list them here – don’t read while you’re eating...
Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterPin on Pinterest
SONY DSC

Guilt-free Childcare?

March 1, 2015 Written by Helen - 18 Comments
I have come to the conclusion that without your mum there is no truly guilt-free childcare in the world. Only to your mum can you hand over a crying baby, close the door, climb into your bed and sleep, knowing that nobody minds. That she loves your baby as you do; that her love for...
Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterPin on Pinterest
SONY DSC

The sex: to know or not to know?

January 28, 2015 Written by Helen - 4 Comments
Not, we’ve decided. And this time around I can honestly say I don’t mind one bit. With my first baby, and in the immediate aftermath of my mum’s death, I am afraid I did mind rather, and it bothered me terribly that I minded. I felt guilty. But I wanted a daughter, and in those...
Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterPin on Pinterest

Mince Pie-Gate

January 27, 2015 Written by Helen - 7 Comments
Christmas seems like a distant memory now (thank god. Not really. Well, a bit), but I am afraid Mince Pie-Gate remains all too fresh in my mind. We were visiting family friends (i.e., not our own friends, and Manners were required). Having munched her way messily through half a Panatone, Eve demanded “mince pie.” I...
Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterPin on Pinterest

First Post – here I go

January 21, 2015 Written by Helen - 16 Comments
It’s three years since my mum was diagnosed with metastatic cancer of unknown origin. It was already in her bones and lungs and it was all too late. She died six months later, on a July day in 2012, with all the people she loved beside her. She was 63. I was 32 and 5...
Share on FacebookTweet about this on TwitterPin on Pinterest