Are We Becoming Over-Reliant On Online Friends?

Making friends is hard enough when your not the most outgoing person, making friends as a mum, that's a new ball game all together. After falling victim to anxiety and taking a big knock in confidence after having my son, putting myself out there and making new friends has been difficult, or rather, it just hasn't happened. When I fell pregnant, I imagined maternity leave spent at Baby Sensory, on play dates or out for coffee: needless to say, I hadn't taken into account that this can be fairly difficult if you don't have the friends to do it with. My antenatal classes were fully booked when I discovered my pregnancy late on, and I'm yet to buck up the courage to walk into a Mothers and Toddlers class. Instead, I've relied heavily on the friends I've met online. My online friends.

5 Days With A Baby Who Won't Sleep | The Sleep Diary

Sleep deprivation is like nothing else - for the past few months I've gone through phases of being in somewhat of a trance, when Harrison is not sleeping and therefore neither am I, and phases were he's been good, and I've been able to grab a solid 5 hours sleep in a night and feel like an entirely new woman. At one point, we went through a week where he woke once or twice per night, and I swear I felt on top of the world. That feels like a long time ago now, despite it being only a few weeks, and I can't remember the last good night sleep we had. This week, with Harrison finally outgrowing swaddles, it's probably only going to get worse..

Being a Mum is Not As Easy As People Make Out

Quick note: I started this post two weeks before Christmas, and I was in a completely different post when I finished it two weeks later, and I think the change in the way I talk is pretty obvious. Pre warning for anyone wondering why the hell it sounds like two different people writing it...

 I always knew that having a baby wouldn't be easy, that much is obvious. I'm now entirely responsible for another person, another life, someone that relies on you for absolutely everything. How could that possibly be easy? What I didn't expect though was the change in my personality, I'm sad, I'm frustrated, I'm anxious to leave the house, and I have absolutely no motivation whatsoever, for anything. I've gone from being someone who had their life in order, who had plans and goals and who knew what they were doing, to someone who feels like they have absolutely no control over anything, but with the added pressure of having a baby to provide for. I'm not writing this because I want sympathy, I can tell you right now that I don't deserve any - I have an amazing life, an amazing child and all of my successes still to be had - I'm writing this because I'm sick of feeling sorry for myself. Having a baby is not simply a matter of milk, nappies and love. My life has been flipped on its head, and whilst it is entirely for the better, right now I'm completely lost and I'm trying to find my feet again. I love my son, and I couldn't imagine life without him now, but that doesn't mean I don't miss how easy everything once was.