On being "different"

We’re having such busy days I don’t know how I’m still holding it together. It feels like living inside a tornado. Let me catch my breath, oh bright and colourful world…

I have been exceptionally lazy, for which I feel pretty bad all things considered. This has been the second day that Morgan has barely had two hours out of nappies – I’m so all over the place and so chicken I don’t dare let her naked in the sling and we’ve not sat down for more than a minute.

On the upside, we’ve learnt just how brave I am with nursing her in public. How good I can be at being discrete. How determined I can be at spotting at least THOSE cues and not letting her have to cry about it! Today she had two of her feeds in the middle of… wait for it… a Dad’s conference. Which I was only attending because the Surestart team wanted to meet our new arrival. Either no-one noticed or they were too shy (or nice) to say anything!

After the meeting and the play session, we took the girls swimming with Chloe (and her family). They were horrified that Morgan was going in the water, and took great pains to tell me just how horrified. Isn’t it better to be safe than sorry?

I didn’t broach the wider subject of vaccination – that my children won’t be spending time around them next week after Aiden has his jabs (better safe than sorry lol). And that Morgan won’t be having her first lot until, not two weeks after him, but four *months* after… I also really wanted to comment (but didn’t) that it’s mad to be happy for him to swim after just his first set of jabs since he probably won’t be protected until the third dose. That’s why you *get* repeat doses!

Well there are two reasons I’m shutting up. Firstly I don’t want it to turn into a “you should do things the same as us” because we are different people with different babies. I don’t even think that they should do many things the same as us – I wouldn’t advise them to co-sleep as dad smokes and drink heavily and Aiden is on formula now too so mum sleeps more heavily.

But also secondly, and even more importantly, I can’t persuade myself that any of it is important enough to lose friendships over. If they ask me my reasons, or directly comment on my parenting, I’ll explain myself as far as I’m able. But why push it in their faces? They’re happy the way they are. :)