2020-06-01_Mother_&_Baby

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

T


akea deepbreath– I bet
yo u feellikeyouneedit
ri ghtnow!Howareyou?
I’ m giving you a virtual
hug (if you don’t mind, ha ha!).
My last column was written just
as lockdown began and, as I write
th is, we are now over a monthin...
The world has changed so much.
It ’s hard to believe, isn’t it? School
is cancelled, jobs are furloughed,
most travel is banned, socialising
is n’t allowed, and every single
f ll h f l h

effectsof the‘newnormal’– even
ourlittleones.
So,thismonth,I justwantto say,
‘I’m with you’. This is hard in so many
ways, and though I’m sure we’ve
heard it said a thousand times, we
really are all in this together. By the
time this magazine goes out, we
may still be in lockdown, or perhaps
things will have eased a bit, but the
likelihood is life will still be restricted.
I thought I’d share some things
I’ve been doing to keep my spirits
up, because
motherhood is
hard at the best
of times, let alone
when you don’t
have your arsenal
of soft play, baby
groups and
mummy friends
for cake and
catch ups!


  1. Go for a walk every day. I know it’s
    a bit boring, but the fresh air and
    change of scenery will do you and
    the children a world of good. Try
    to make it fun for little ones by
    collecting leaves or petals or sticks,
    or talking about what you can see as
    you push the buggy. I’m not a fitness
    person (understatement of the year!),
    but gentle exercise is proving really
    worthwhile for my mood.

  2. Accept the new pace. I usually like
    to bulldoze through a lengthy to-do
    list, and feel accomplished when I do
    lots in a day. But I can’t do that now
    with Darcy needing home-schooling
    and having no help with Pearl. I’ve
    had to make the to-do lists much
    shorter and, actually, when you give
    in to the slower pace of life, rather
    than fight against it, it’s much easier.
    You can only do what you can do.

  3. Dig out all the toys! You know all
    the old stuff in the shed that needs a
    good hose down? Bring it out! Make
    washing it a game and give it all a
    new lease of life. We have a lot of
    baby toys, but we’ve bought them all
    out to let Pearl play with them in a
    different way now she’s so mobile. It’s
    worth taking a few minutes to see
    what you have stashed away that you
    could make exciting again!

  4. Eat good food. Again, I’m not
    usually one for super-healthy eating,
    but now I have a bit more time, I’ve
    actually been enjoying cooking
    simple, nutritious recipes. There’s
    a wealth of great recipes online,
    or you could just see what you
    have in and make something up –
    at your own peril, ha ha!

  5. Stay connected. Technology is
    amazing and you can talk to almost
    anyone in the world. I’ve been
    scheduling in video calls so that
    I have something to look forward
    to later in the day, rather than just
    calling at random. It’s
    helpful to have a bit of


ise

Pentland

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LOUISEPENTLAND

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