August 2009

Slightly hard, just a little bit soft

After a day or arse-splitting constipation from Third Son, requiring manual extraction (oh dear God no, I can’t even write those words without flinching) and a day of arse-exploding diarrhoea from Second Son (sixth stomach bug in five weeks, it’s been such a fun summer) is it just a little bit wrong that I should [...]

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How to cope when your child is diagnosed with a serious, chronic disease

It’s six months since William was diagnosed with FSGS. I think it is fair to say that I cried every day for about five months and it is really only in the last month that I have moved on to the next stage of coping. I don’t know what the stages are exactly, only that [...]

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How to potty train your child in one hour and twenty three minutes

Ah, potty training. Third time round so I’m a complete pro now, right? So here’s my five step guide to potty training your child in a day – or more accurately, in one hour and twenty three minutes. 1) Bribery: make a potty training chart with stickers for every success on the potty. If stickers [...]

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Three years old, blue striped t-shirt, wispy hair

We push through the entrance. There are thousands of people here. ‘Stay where you can see me, boys,’ I say. ‘If you get lost, we’ll meet here – find a mummy and tell her to bring you here.’ I say it twice, the second time making them look at me because they’re already distracted by [...]

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Bad week, good week

It was not a good week: it rained pretty much every day – what happened to summer? William picked up another vomiting and diarrhoea bug, the third in as many weeks.  He’s not even in school so I’ve no idea where he’s getting them from. Oh yes: William must stop sucking his fingers. I must [...]

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