Category Archives: Katy Pearson

Sonny Jim is still my best ever present

Posted in baby, Katy Pearson, motherhood, Mummy life by
Sonny Jim, Katy Pearson, #whatkatydidUK

My boy: Sonny Jim

For years and years, the only thing I wished for at Christmas was a baby.
Though I couldn’t put it on any list or casually throw it into conversation while at the office water cooler, falling pregnant was the one gift I yearned for – and the one thing I feared would never happen.

Having children for some women, some couples, just happens.

For others, it never does.

And for others, it takes time. Lots of time. And doctor’s appointments. And hospital visits. And tests. And needles. And months – years – of heartache.

I was one of the latter. And even though this Christmas will be my little boy’s third, I still have moments when I can’t quite believe it.

When my tot smiles with delight as we put on our matching festive pyjamas, then says “Sonny one, mummy one” while patting our candy-cane clad legs, I could almost cry. Continue reading →

Scheme may end cold-calling on our maternity wards

Posted in baby, Katy Pearson, motherhood, Mummy life by
Katy Pearson, Sonny Jim, #whatkatydidUK

Hours old… and already being mined for his data

A while back I wrote a piece questioning why Bounty reps were allowed to cold-call mums on our maternity wards.

Picture the scene, I said.

You’ve just pushed a baby out. Or basically been slashed in half to birth your little one.

In your arms is the most precious thing you’ve ever held – and you have no idea what you’re doing.

You’re in a state of complete exhaustion/elation. You’re an emotional wreak. You’re in pain. Parts of you that you didn’t even know existed are hurting. You have no real idea what day/time it is. You’re in a total just-given-birth-blur. And then, at the foot of your bed, is an unsolicited, cold calling sales rep, wanting to take your baby’s photo and mine you for their data.

It hardly seems ethical. Should this really be allowed?

The response I got at the time surprised me. Continue reading →

Preschool has left me an emotional wreck!

Posted in Katy Pearson, motherhood, Mummy life by
preschool, Katy Pearson, Sonny Jim

First day: Off we go to pre-school

So, last week was the week.

The week I’ve been dreading. The week I’ve gotten tearful about more times than I’d like to admit. The week I’ve been so tempted to push back. To put off. To ignore until I can’t ignore it any more.

Last week, Sonny Jim started pre-school.

It was only two mornings. A grand total of six hours. But it has left me something of an emotional wreck.

On his first morning, I was stunned in the best way, when my rather shy boy shed not one single tear when I left. Simply gave me a kiss, a big wave and a reminder to be “back soon mama.”

It didn’t last.

Continue reading →

Why have I not realised the boon of family pubs?

Posted in Katy Pearson, Mummy life, Today I'm loving by
Zach Willsher, Benfleet, Essex, Katy Pearson, Sonny Jim

Living the life: Sonny Jim at the Zach Willsher

I made a bit of a discovery last Saturday night.

My brother was celebrating his 30th birthday at the Zach Willsher in Benfleet.

And, as most of my family were going to be there, including rather a lot of my cousins we don’t get too see that often, I decided we’d head along too.

Nevermind that it’d be a late night for Sonny Jim and he’d probably be rather grouchy on the back of it come Sunday.

His daddy was out at the football, so we’d give an evening at a pub a whirl.

What I hadn’t accounted for though, was the brilliant little play area at the Zach.

Continue reading →

Why cousins are so important

Posted in Katy Pearson, Mummy life by
Katy Pearson, Sonny Jim, family, wedding, cousins

Giggles: At the last family wedding

LATER this summer, Sonny Jim will be flying to the south of France to attend a family wedding.

My second cousin once removed (or is it third cousin?!) is getting married and while I HATE flying and am dreading the 4am taxi with toddler in tow, I really wanted us to go.

This cousin was one of my best playmates when I was little. There’s just six weeks between us, and a mere couple of years between us and her older sister, and almost all of my favourite childhood memories feature them in some way or another.

We didn’t live especially close (me on Canvey, them in Goodmayes) but every school holiday we could be found at each other’s houses.

Continue reading →

Alfie’s Ball will help so many others…

Posted in Katy Pearson, motherhood by

Alfie's Ball, #AlfiesBallNot long before Sonny Jim was born I went to lunch with one of my best friends.

Strangely she had turned down the offer of a lift, meaning she wouldn’t be drinking either.

The reason was soon revealed. She was pregnant too. It was very early days, but that didn’t stop the two of us giggling together about our little ones being friends and working out just how much of our maternity leave would overlap.

Soon after I had my baby boy. And she had her dating scan at 12 weeks. I got to grips with life as a new mummy. And her pregnancy progressed.

Until 21 weeks. When her little boy, Alfie, was stillborn.

As I laughed watching my son start to work out how to roll and giggle, she was looking at her son lying silently in a cold cot in Southend Hospital’s butterfly bereavement suite. Continue reading →

You, before you had your baby… remember her?

Posted in Katy Pearson, motherhood, Today I'm loving, Today I'm trying by
Katy Pearson, Pole Dancing, #whatkatydidUK, Essex

Not just a mama: At my first pole dancing class

Often when you have a child, a big chunk of your identity gets lost.

Overnight you become the most important person in the world to someone else.

You’re their food source, their comfort, their safety…. You’re their mum. And everything else in the world is secondary to that.

As they get a bit bigger they obviously don’t need you quite as much – their neck can hold the weight of their own head for a start.

But still, being a mummy can be the thing that defines you.

After waiting for nine years for my boy, and undergoing fertility treatments galore, I can hand on heart say that being Sonny Jim’s mummy is the best title I’ve ever had. I’m a work-from-home mama for the sole reason that I want to grab every minute that I possibly can with my little lad while he’s growing up. I never actually realised I’d love “mummying” as much as I do. Continue reading →