Motherhood can be a thankless role, writes Kate Wattus, so it’s lucky that priceless moments come along every so often. Do you remember what it was like before Annouk was born?” I asked my six year old recently. “Yeah. I could read in bed with my lamp...
Anna Brasier is frustrated by those who believe that parents of children with disabilities or special needs must always look on the bright side. I now know that parents of disabled children aren’t the mythical, magical people who I had read about or imagined. They...
Everyone assumes she wants children, but Erin Stewart is still contemplating the question. For no apparent reason, I am pressured into talking and thinking about kids. Granted, I am in a long-term relationship, but it doesn’t explain people’s curiosity. It’s surprising how often the topic of...
Kate Triglone believes that no parent should feel guilty for asking someone to look after their children while they catch up on some sleep. Last week I asked my mum to babysit my three-year-old son so I could have a sleep. My husband was a little...
Family photos lead Tobi Raj to reflect on her experience of postnatal depression. Which came first – the crying, unhappy baby or the crying, unhappy mum? I still don’t know. My mother claims my depression set in while I was pregnant. We were having a beach holiday,...
Elspeth Ives explains to her five-year-old employer why she chooses to stay home with him and his siblings. “When did you decide you didn’t want to be anything, Mum?” my five-year-old son asked me on the way home from school. My very purpose and many everyday tasks...
Inspirational stories from mums juggling it all by Steph Adams and Samantha Brett. (Penguin Random House Australia, softback $39.99) The expensive cover of this softback coffee-table style book looked promising, covered with the head shots of some of the interviewees the authors canvassed about their life juggling...
Maria Jensen opens up about her experience with chronic morning sickness and suicide. June 2009. Two pink lines on the stick. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was pregnant with my third child – a child I swore I would never have after hyperemesis gravidarum (chronic...
Women who have suffered a pregnancy loss need to be kind to themselves, even when others aren’t, writes Michelle Hayward. I am a mother and a survivor. I am currently ‘recovering and healing’ from a pregnancy loss – a miscarriage at 10 weeks – and I...
While Nicole Hall received an earful of unhelpful advice, her son’s hearing problems went undiagnosed. My son Sam is five years old. He has auditory-processing difficulties and social-skills problems – and I believe the situation was preventable. I was constantly on guard, ready to leap in and...
