Our resident blogger Vicki is back this week with some reflections on what it is like to literally juggle work and motherhood… a must-read!
Vicki is mummy to Alex, a little boy of 17 months, and runs For Luna, an online swimwear website with her husband, James.
The joys of taking your child into work with you….
Our website, For Luna www.forluna.co.uk specialises in retro style swimsuits and we have been around for almost four years. As its just my husband and I, we just get on and do what needs to be done. I am responsible for customer care, marketing, admin and accounting but it really just depends what needs doing on the days I work. I love it! I love the autonomy and the creative freedom having my own business gives me.
One of the many perks of having my own business is that I can bring Alex into work with me whenever I like. As you can imagine this comes in very handy and saves us on childcare costs. There are never any customers present in our office, and the only people working there are myself and James, so really it is the perfect set up. All my friends are so envious that I get to take my little boy to work with me. It is great but (you knew there’s be a but, right?) you really can’t do anything requiring any focus or concentration with your offspring around….
Baby Alex at the For Luna office with daddy!
When Alex was a very small baby (if you can call a baby born at 8lb 9oz very small at any stage) it was a breeze. We’d sit him on our packing table in the stock room and he would happily spend hours sleeping, staring into space and generally being amused by me waving tissue paper and bikini pants in his face whilst singing half-remembered nursery rhymes. ‘This is fab’ we thought, and planned to bring Alex to work with us regularly. Then major sleep deprivation hit, Alex nursed every 75 minutes around the clock which was…. quite hard (more to follow on this later!), so I spent less time in the office and more time with my sympathetic friends eating my own weight in cake every day.
So, next time I tried taking him into the office it was a whole new experience. He was eight months old, able to roll around the room and liable to put everything within reach into his mouth. He also shouted. A lot. Our offices are above two busy shops and we were paranoid about the noise he was making so we left him at home with my parents on the days I was working. By this stage he was only nursing three times a day so I would walk home at lunch time and breastfeed.This set up worked well for everyone, I had some time to myself (to pretend to be a real grown-up businesswoman again for the day), and Alex spent valuable time with his doting grandparents.
And then last week I suggested to James that we try it again, because surely now he’s
17 month old Alex at work with Mummy!
walking and able to play for a little while on his own things will be easier? Well, actually it wasn’t that bad! James made a fort out of cardboard boxes for him (what more could a little boy want?), gave him an apple to munch on and I set my iPad up to stream CBeebies in case all other distractions failed. Now, I did only pop in to pick and pack the last two days customer orders. Nothing too complex or demanding, aside from double checking I was sending the right items, so we were only there for 30 minutes. But he was very well behaved; basically toddling around the room with his (increasingly manky) apple, singing to himself – excited by the novelty of being with me in the office. So I am going to try this once a week for a little while and see how it goes.
One last thing… its just a good job we sell swimwear and not anything breakable because toddlers certainly have a fondness for throwing stuff!
Vicki will be back next week with a blog about breastfeeding and some of the highs and lows which she experienced along the way.
Arrival at Bartley Lodge did not disappoint. Easy to find, just minutes from the main M27, yet set in what feels like the middle of the forest, as the entrance to the hotel takes you up a long, winding drive… instantly you feel transported to a much calmer place!
Our room was great! We were staying in a Verderer Room, which is one of the larger size bedrooms, and just perfect for a family. Equipped with everything you could need, and even a little bunk bed tucked around the corner from the double bed where we were sleeping for the children. Bed guards were provided, as was a cot (as we weren’t sure which bed our youngest would prefer). Even with all this furniture in the room , there was plenty of space for the kids to play on the floor and for us to store our things. The rooms are also equipped through the internal phones with a baby-listening service. Unfortunately, on the night we were there, I was feeling quite unwell and opted for an early night, but it is a great option for any family who wants to put their children down for the night, and then when settled pop back down to the bar.
looked at the menu that evening and simply asked for Sausage, chips and peas – which the kitchen obliged with no problems (and they were the most delicious looking sausages I have ever seen!!!) The atmosphere was great – I was slightly worried about being in a formal dining room with two young children (who don’t sit still at the best of times!) but they were welcomed and the ambience of the dining room meant that we didn’t feel awkward. There were some teething issues with the service we experienced in the restaurant, but these seem to be the result of the change in staff teams which has just been undertaken at Bartley Lodge – and am sure these will be quickly resolved, as the quality of service everywhere else in the hotel was first class.
you can also get a family photo done.
but shows you how stunning this woman is!
We then went our seperate ways into the event, but within a few short minutes, Myleene came over to meet my daughter and say hello to my other half. This woman has an amazing memory, she remembered my two children’s names the whole day. Throughout the event she was fantastic, playing with the children and being very understanding of what it is like to try and be ‘at work’ when you have your children with you. She could relate to what it is like to be a working parent, the pressures and constant juggling, more than most people I meet.
As you can see from the photo, it is beautiful. Really gorgeous print (and looking at their website, they have some other stunners too!)
I found this comment very interesting indeed… because she had clearly formed a judgment about what active birthing was, and what it encompassed.
C Section – of massive benefit to both mum and baby. Active birthing can include ways of still utilizing position to make birth easier, and guess what, the laws of gravity still exist if you choose to have an epidural (and yes, there are other choices than giving birth laid flat on your back even with an epidural!) Active birthing gives you practical techniques to use should you suddenly find yourself in labour rather than at your planned Caesarean delivery.
still very much a baby who needed lots of supervision and support, while Willow obviously was completely dependent on me for her needs.
Having a sling was lifesaver #2. I used a pouch sling in the early days with Willow, both at home as well as out and about. It gave me my hands back when, and also allowed me to breastfeed discretely out in public – something I had struggled with the first time around.
However, although I was TIRED, that was the single hardest thing about it all. There wasn’t the big shock and life adjustment which you go through when you have your first. Everything is just… easier. You are more confident and more relaxed. You already know what to expect from life with a baby, and therefore you adjust better and more quickly.
two so close together. The lack of jealousy – Oren simply doesn’t remember life before Willow, and so we have never had to deal with him resenting her. They are best friends, they have played together since Willow was about 5 months old, and so often keep each other entertained. And they really care for each other, just yesterday, Oren let go of his helium balloon in the garden and was devasted when it sailed away… Willow immediately went to get her balloon and gave it to him to make him feel better…
It has been a real privilege seeing them both grow up together. Willow is far from being the dainty little baby now that she is 2 years old. In fact she can hold her own in any wrestling matches with her older brother! They are so similar now, they often get mistaken for twins.
Childbirth is nothing like having a tooth pulled without anaesthetic!! For a start, there is nothing natural about having a tooth pulled! It is a medical intervention!! It is the result of something gone wrong. It is something which is done TO you.
Childbirth is natural. Your body is designed to do it. Childbirth is not an illness or injury which needs treatment, there is nothing ‘wrong’ with your body! Childbirth is something which women DO themselves, not something which is done to them.