Category Archives: motherhood

Bins, pumps and muslins… my mama must-haves

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

As snug as… a tiny Sonny Jim in a sling

Friends of ours are expecting twins (TWINS!!) next Spring.

We met up last weekend and after nattering all things baby for a bit, the mummy-to-be confessed that she felt totally clueless about all the stuff that she’d actually need when the babies arrive.

I was exactly the same. And there’s a whole huge industry out there preying on the ignorance of parents-to-be.

So here’s my mini list of the items I found most useful when Sonny Jim arrived. If you’re going to a baby shower any time soon, trust me, these will be a lot more helpful than an expensive newborn outfit that they are literally going to wear once… Continue reading →

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Thoughtless drivers in parent-and-child bays SHOULD be fined

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

Struggle – it’s not easy getting Sonny Jim in and out of this

Nabbing a parent-and-child parking space isn’t illegal, but using one without a child in your car could soon land you with a £25 fine.

Hoo-blooming-rah! About time too.

It comes as a new survey reveals that one in ten people now park in a parent-and-child bay even when they don’t have a child in the car because they’re not scared of getting punished.

As a mummy, let me tell you, it feels like more than one in ten. The chances of ever getting one of these spaces is always pretty slim.

And it’s not until you are actually faced with the logistics of getting a baby out of a car seat, and into a buggy or trolley, without scrapping the cars next to you, putting your back out or bashing your tot’s head on the door that you realise how much you really, really need the extra space. Continue reading →

I thought I’d be a Pinterest mama, not Amazon Prime

Posted in Katy Pearson, motherhood by
Katy Pearson, Sonny Jim, whatkatydidUK

Better than any imaginings – me and my boy

IT’S a funny thing, but becoming a parent forces you to give up on childish ideas of who the adult you might be.

Since having Sonny Jim I’ve realised that being a journalist in New York – living a Sex and the City style life – isn’t actually for me.

Since becoming a mummy I’ve known for certain that I’m never going to just jump on a plane and lose myself on a beach somewhere, working in bars by night so I can sleep in the sunshine all day.

The ship has sailed for me to suddenly become the girl with the signature red lipstick and envious eyeliner flicks. With a picture perfect city apartment.

I’m never going to grow out of being clumsy.

I’ve never been more happy in myself, but this transition from the idea of the grown up you, to the reality of it, is easier for some than others. Though no one ever seems to talk about it – instead we all seem to muddle through in our own ways, in our own little worlds. Continue reading →

I’ll do anything for my boy… even holiday in a caravan!

Posted in Katy Pearson, motherhood, Mummy life by
Katy Pearson, triplets, #whatkatydidUK

Summers as they were: Me (complete with a broken arm) with my little brothers and sister

MOTHERHOOD definitely does something funny to your brain.

When I was little our family holiday was always a week, spent in a caravan, somewhere along England’s south coast (apart from the one year we ventured to Wales, stayed in a chalet and it rained the entire time.)

They were lovely holidays – fun-filled and drama free – but I grew to hate the caravans. The fact the beds were so small that if you rolled over you rolled out. That unless it was baking hot (in which case you couldn’t get cool) then you were always a bit chilly – and everything just seemed, well, a bit damp. Continue reading →

Our sunshine… by name and by his nature

Posted in baby, Katy Pearson, motherhood by
Sonny Jim, Katy Pearson, #whatkatydiduk, #mummandsonny

Sonny Jim – our sunshine from the very start

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”

It’s a sentiment that has survived centuries – and is one of the most famous lines from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

And it’s true – expect it’s kind of not. A rose might smell as sweet, but would you want to go sniffing something that was called rotten? You’d just give it a miss wouldn’t you? It’s why pollock doesn’t sell nearly as well as tastes-almost-exactly-the-same cod.

And when you are having a baby, names suddenly seem to matter like never before. Let’s face it, it’ll be a defining piece of his or her identity for a lifetime. Often it’ll be the first thing people know about about them – and opinions will be formed on what sort of person they are, on just the moniker you have picked out for them. No pressure, right? Continue reading →

It’s thanks to IVF on the NHS that I have my boy

Posted in baby, Katy Pearson, motherhood, Mummy life by
Katy Pearson, scan photo, seven week scan, Sonny Jim, #whatkatydidUK

As a seven-week fetus – our first look at Sonny Jim

TWO years ago today I was sat clutching my husband’s hand at Bart’s Hospital in London.

After nine years of trying for a baby, five years of fertility treatments and a round of IVF, it seemed I’d finally fallen pregnant.

And two days before my 31st birthday we were waiting for a scan to confirm that it was definitely true, for a first look at our baby, to see its teeny little heart beating.

When Sonny Jim’s flickering heart flashed up on the grainy screen, I cried. He looked a bit like a prawn. Or maybe a crocodile. And it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. Continue reading →

Transition into motherhood was real shock…and it’s not just me

Posted in baby, Features, Katy Pearson, motherhood, Mummy life by
Keri Jarvix, Do It Like A Mother, Katy Pearson, #whatkatydidUK

Doing it like a mother: Keri Jarvis (centre) Photo by Petra Blacklock

“We have grown up thinking we can have it all, but we don’t realise that that means ‘do it all’. And we’ve got to look good at the same time…”

The rarely-spoken about challenges of being a mummy have inspired a hypnobirthing teacher to set up a new motherhood mindset mentoring program.

Mum-of-two Keri Javis, 32, of London Road, Westcliff, has helped more than 200 women have hypnobirths – yet grew frustrated with how the support for women seemed to end as soon as the baby was born.

She said: “When my first son was born, the transition into motherhood was such a shock. Once the initial excitement of meeting our baby had faded, and everyone else went back to their own lives, (including my husband 8am-6pm, five days a week) I felt utterly blindsided. I spent a lot of time alone with Louis, because when I forced myself out to groups, I just didn’t feel a connection to the women talking about how well their babies slept or some version of how amazing it was to be a mum. Continue reading →