Parenting the Shand Princesses

I am writing this blog post to give an insight from a male partners point of view of seeing their partner suffer with Postnatal Depression. I am hoping partners and those suffering with Postnantal Depression feel they can talk about this more openly. It is not a taboo subject and there is so much support out there. Since the birth of our second child Zenayah I began to notice a change in Mics mood when it became hard for her to have that spark that she used to have. At first, she put it down to our living situation and I thought as soon as we move into our new home it will get better. But in the back of my mind I had a feeling it wasn't just the blues. Having two girls that want your attention 24 hours a day can take a lot out of the best of us, but what made me realise this more was how Mics hardly wanted to go out. Mics has always been outgoing like me and for her to act like this got me thinking this may be Postnatal Depression. I always try to give Mics an opportunity to have...

This post is about me realising I wasn't just stressed, I have Postnatal Depression. It's also a post that I am hoping will show others going through this, that they are not alone and it's okay to talk 💗 "Postnatal depression is when you have feelings of sadness, hopelessness, guilt or self-blame all the time for weeks or months after you’ve had a baby."  (Taken from Tommy's Website) I guess you could say this started from my antenatal depression. I was 7 months pregnant and our landlord had decided he wanted to sell his house, serving us eviction papers. Imagine that. 7 months pregnant, a nearly 2 year old, Christmas was a month away and I was now being told we would be evicted. Obviously I was stressed! I wasn't having a smooth pregnancy as it is, I did not need this on top of everything. OJ tried his best to keep me calm, but I could see the effect it had on him too. We spoke to our local council who said there were steps the landlord had to take befo...

It's no secret that Covid-19 has, and still is, having a massive effect on all of us. For someone who suffers with anxiety and worries a lot, this "lockdown" has been quite difficult. Don't get me wrong, we have absolutely great days! Mayarna's speech has developed so much. She is now starting to form sentences, her fine motor skills are getting stronger as she learns to stack things neatly and she enjoys helping with housework, such as putting the clothes in the washing machine and putting things in the bin. Zenayah has also come on in leaps and bounds. At 4 and a half months she is now reaching out for things and has mastered how to pull off her scratch mitts (cheeky!). Mayarna loves playing with Zenayah, and Zenayah loves watching her play and laughs at her, which is too cute! But it also comes with difficult days. Mayarna is in the terrible 2 phase (yes it's real, I didn't believe it existed) where she kicks off for the smallest of things! I opene...

This week May-May reached 2 years old and I can't believe how far she has come with her development. She has got a cheeky personality and she dances to anything randomly. For her birthday we got a first words book. She has managed to recite most of the book by memory and whenever she sees any of the items, she shouts out the word.  For her birthday, me and Mics took her out for the day to Eureka Museum , which is a children’s museum that gives them a real-world experience. She absolutely loved it there! Her favourite room was the Sensory Section. It was a huge, dark room and the walls were an interactive magical kingdom. The floor was an interactive under the sea and when May-May stepped on certain areas, sensory eels would swim towards her feet. There was also a M&S store for children with plastic fruit and vegetables. I adored how she was pushing the trolley as if she was shopping. She then had a go with the cars as well, pretending to drive and making the e...

The next few blog posts are going to be based on pregnancy and the obstacles we have to face not only during pregnancy, but conceiving and even after giving birth. My guest for this post is Danielle from My Mummy is a Bookworm  She has decided to share with me her journey to becoming a mother. "We got married. I came off the pill. I thought it would be that simple. Boy was I deluded. It started with absent periods, months went by and I had nothing, I did pregnancy tests and they always came back negative. I went to see my GP for advice, and they sent me for some blood tests. The result came back and I found out that I had Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and that this may impact on my ability to conceive. I was shattered, the reality of having a baby suddenly felt so far away and I felt that it was completely my fault. I couldn’t give myself or my partner what we so desperately wanted - a family. I was referred to a specialist at St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester ...

This week will make it 33 weeks of pregnancy and the closer the date gets, the more excited we get. I love the kicks and movements the baby makes and all I keep thinking is why can't it be January so we can meet her! When we had May May, we had a birth plan and as soon we got to the birth centre that went right out the window. This time around we will go into this thinking that whatever happens we will go with it. I have even been doing a lot more reading about babies and I still feel like I want to know more. We have also decided that we want a water birth this time around as this will help with the delivery of the baby. I just can’t wait for the day to come so I can hold her in my arms and see her beautiful eyes looking at me. Th is may be the second time but I still have those butterflies in my stomach, which makes me anxious about the birth. All I want is for Princess and Michaela to be happy and healthy for the labour with no complications. I. May May seems very ...

What a journey this has been! Currently 32 weeks pregnant and it's fair to say this pregnancy is totally different to when I was pregnant with Mayarna. For a start, I have been extremely nauseous from the day I found out and it has continued throughout my whole pregnancy. I have gone off so much food and drink and can't plan meals ahead at all. I can't complain though as my BMI has gone down and I have lost a few pounds!  What has been nice is feeling her movements. She's been super active from about 17 weeks (yes she made her presence aware from then!) and has got stronger every week. I now feel like I'm growing a baby octopus inside me as I feel kicks all over, some of them that leave me speechless. However, there is no better feeling than a baby's kick. It reassures you that baby is growing well and is strong. As you can see, I don't have a tiny neat bump! This picture is of me at 25 weeks and I look ready to pop. I am praying that I am carry...