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“How do you get so much done?”

I give answers like “well my house just stays filthy” and “I get my ideas in order while mothering then smash them out when I get time”, but really what I want to say is this:

1. A lifetime of white, middle class, cis-gender, heterosexual, generally mentally well, neurotypical, sans-physical disability, local family, partnered, non-traumatic life experience-related privilege; and
2. My partner parents.

If the first point sounds like you, and you have a partner an…

🤔Lately my criticism of certain sleep training practices has been met with a type of defensiveness and anger that I find difficult to name.

🤰The same has happened in the past when I have criticised the birth and maternity care system.

I’d like to make something clear here:

👉Nothing I say on this platform is a direct criticism of you, your loved ones, or your parenting.

🏨Yes, on a systemic level, I am concerned by the medicalisation of birth and the fear mongering that goes along with it.

🏕O…

“Fine. I’m leaving you behind”.

The mother walks away from the boy, all of 3 at best. He is wailing on the ground, she is swearing under her breath.

My daughter watches them. “Cuddle him. Crying. Cuddle his mum”, she says. She is stuck halfway up a ladder, transfixed by them.

“Nooo don’t leave meeeee”, the boy squeals.

I can feel my daughter’s distress rising, and my body closing down too.

My heart hurts with the sound - “just go to him, Mama”, I urge her silently.

Before long the critical…

[Following on from the image above]

What alienates us from our gut feeling as parents?

👉Traumatic or disrupted birth experiences or health system interactions that leave us feeling disconnected from our bodies and our babies

👉Social structures that prevent us seeing the breadth of normal infant behaviour before we have our own babies

👉A pervasive sleep training culture and lack of access to quality resources around how to make co-sleeping safe

👉Individualistic culture that leaves parents ex…