Pain
When our bubs are babies, there’s nothing more distressing than not knowing why they are crying. Being a new mom is so overwhelming for so many different reasons, but when our little ones starting picking up colds, flus, and viruses, our anxiety, sleeplessness, and feeling of helplessness kick into overdrive. Thankfully, by age one or […]
A Leap of Faith
If you’re the parent of a newly diagnosed kiddo, you’ll recognise and relate to the incredible stress you feel when it comes time to choose early intervention therapies for them. It feels like a fearsome responsibility to do all the research and choose wisely on their behalf, knowing, that the wrong decision could negatively impact […]
Hand Leading
One of the cutest things Aidan does is come get you to take you somewhere. That is, provided you’re not in the middle of something like cooking, cleaning, or using the bathroom! But I try to see it as his way of nagging mom to do something, get something, or facilitate something for him – […]
Hangry
Aidan is one hundred percent a carbon copy and paste of my husband, Monty. Worst group project, ever y’all! Thankfully, they’re both super cute, so I’ve made my peace with it! But they have more in common than just their good looks… they both get moody as all hell when they’re hungry. With Monty, I suspect it’s […]
Over Sensitive
I’m not sure if any other special needs parents would call themselves over sensitive, but I definitely would. I think my neurodivergence makes me hyperaware of, and affected by, the words and actions of others. I have made a habit of reading people closely, in order to anticipate their motives, movements, and moods. I think […]
Happy Mother’s Day!
Mother’s Day is a beautiful opportunity to celebrate all the loving moms who give so much of themselves to their families everyday! Around the world, flowers are being bought, cards are being made, and kids are getting up early to make their moms breakfast in bed! It’s a day that brings joy to lots of […]
The Bumbo Chair
I think one of my most exciting milestones was when Aidan weaned from milk formula to solids. We were so keen to begin making homemade purées, that I went out and got a recipe book of them! I flipped through it for hours, popping post-its on all my favourite sweet and savoury recipes. We didn’t […]
Screens for the WIN!
This is one of those ultra polarising subjects! It’s right up there with “breast is best”, vaccinations, and whether ABA is good or bad. But I feel it’s worth a post, and welcome any discussion that may arise from it. It is generally accepted today that too much screen time is a very bad thing. And […]
Sleepless in Cape Town
Our three-year-old son is diagnosed as moderate to severe on the autism spectrum. Many of his sensitivities, rigidities, and behavioural issues have led me to believe that he is profoundly impacted. Some people would describe their child’s autism as a “different ability”. I describe my son’s autism as a disability. It can hijack his central […]
Absolute Silence
Autumn is gusty in my part of the world. And the strong, Cape south-easter brings weather with it. As clouds rolled in this afternoon and the breeze stiffened, I felt a familiar pang of anxiety. Because wind disturbs Aidan’s sleep. A lot of autistic children struggle with sleep. As of yet, nobody knows why. But […]