parenting - Polly Jemima

Those tricky toddler days

November 7, 2022

Toddlers. I’m sure there are a thousand memes about toddlers, tantrums and surviving them. I’ve done these years 4 times already… though no two children are ever the same. I’m definitely a different parent to the one I was when I first became a Mama. Far more relaxed, far more knowledgeable and far more understanding....

FAMILY

Now I’m the Mama of an adult…

May 17, 2021

Saturday saw my eldest daughter turn 18. 18!!! I managed to raise an actual adult. As I sat writing her card the night before her birthday, I was struck with so much emotion. My baby is a grown-up. The one who made me a Mama has grown up when I wasn’t even looking. They tell...

BLOG, FAMILY

The importance of one-on-one time for kiddos & 5 tips for special time

March 4, 2020

Kiddos thrive on connection and attention. With only one child, that’s easy to figure out – when I had just one, we had so much time just the two of us. Now with five kiddos, one-on-one time is harder to come by, yet probably even more important. When adding a new sibling into a family,...

BLOG, FAMILY

Be kind to yourself Mama

November 22, 2019

One thing I’ve learned over my sixteen years of parenting is that I have to remember to be kinder to myself. Especially when I’m pregnant and have just had a baby. Society being as it is, we seem to think that being pregnant or having a newborn shouldn’t have an impact on our lives. We...

BLOG, FAMILY

When adulting sucks

June 13, 2018

Yesterday was one of *those* days. I woke up too early, tired, naggy, hormonal and just not really feeling it. I’d just poured a cup of tea when Beastie woke up and joined me downstairs. What I’d hoped for was half an hour/an hour to myself, to drink my tea and do some yoga in...

BLOG, FAMILY

Burnt toast and cold coffee

March 15, 2018

This week has been one of those weeks. The ones when the kids won’t stop arguing, you’re a huge hormonal, emotional mess, you’re super tired and stressed and everything seems too much. I don’t know if it was the weather, the moon, being midway in my cycle {I can tell I’m ovulating these days by my...

COLLABORATIVE

What sounds make your baby happy?

August 11, 2016

Those first few weeks with a newborn are exhausting, and they have a tendency to sleep 24/7 {at least mine did}. By the time you make it to the six-week mark, you’re probably shattered but in love – even more so when you get that first smile and then a giggle. I remember all four...

ADVICE

6 tips to help when you’re feeling overwhelmed

July 14, 2016

I don’t know if it’s the weather, sheer exhaustion or just taking on too much, but this past week I’ve been feeling majorly overwhelmed, a little burnt out and seriously stressed. The constant rain has meant we’ve spent more time in the house than we’d like to, we’ve all a bit of a case of...

Tag: parenting