No Sick Days for Mummy...

So being sick sucks. You feel tired and achy all over, you can't breath because of all the mucous and all you want to do is curl up in a ball and go to sleep. So if you have a job you phone in sick and have a duvet day but about if you're a mum? No such luck! What about if you're a sick mum with 2 sick children? Yep... We've all been in quarantine for the last few days. It started with Alice (I thought breastfed babies aren't supposed to get sick?) then I got it and finally Afonso got hit too. We took a trip to A&E because Alice just kept getting worse and she prescribed a nasal spray which is actually 100% sea water. Alice was not impressed. It was a 3 man job trying to get it up her nose! Most of it went in her mouth or in her eyes. My poor baby...
Not sure how we survived because it's all a blur now but it was pure hell. Imagine 2 sick clingy and snotty kids clawing at you all day and night when you're sick too. NOT FUN! But it's over now and I'm slowly starting to feel human again. If this ever happens to you make sure you have someone that can help as much as possible. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have my mum around these last few days.

Rambling on...

So not much has gone on lately. I'm still enjoying my maternity leave in Madeira - Portugal and soaking up a bit of sunshine. Afonso is still addicted to TV but dare I say, it may be dying down now. Alice is still waking 3, 4 or more times a night and I still feel like a zombie! People dream of winning the lottery, travelling the world or driving expensive cars and I dream of having an uninterrupted 8 hour sleep. Shows how glamorous motherhood is.

I read on Facebook that someone started a petition to ban ear piercing on children because is cruel and causes sever pain. I only have one thing to say to these people.... Get a life! There are many far worse things in the world to worry about and ear piercings are not one of them. Who ever thinks that ear piercing causes sever pain has probably not experienced child birth!

Alice in going to be 8 months this week so I've started trying to give her lumpy purees. They've gone down like a led balloon. She spits it all out and gets really angry with me. Guess I have to keep at it everyday but it's not going so well. I thought she would take to it well because she loves easting normal that isn't pureed like biscuits, fruit, pasta, etc. Today I made some blueberry pancakes and she ate them up like a pro. She is so confusing sometimes!

In other exciting news, I read that the new childcare scheme will be coming into place later this year. I must say I'm very excited about this. I work full time and have had my son in nursery full time and have paid just over £1000 a month for his care. Now with a second child and my first not starting school until next year, paying for 2 would make it almost not worth going back to work. This scheme pays 20% of the amount of childcare up to £2000 per child per year. I wish there was no limit because £2000 is only a drop in the ocean compared to what we pay but it will be a huge help.

I think about work everyday. I have my company phone with me all the time and I constantly check my emails. I even had a dream about work last night. Not sure why I do it. I don't even know if I miss work. I guess I must do if I'm even dreaming about it. But I do love my babies and it will be very hard leaving them after all this time we're spending together, not to mention the guilt.... Oh the guilt! But hey... C'est la vie...

Addicted to TV...

So lately my 3 year old has become addicted to watching TV. It's gone from watching a movie every now and again to a full blown obsession. If it's not the television it's YouTube videos on the tablet and then the moment the battery dies he's reaching for my phone. If I say no more or try to turn it off, he has a total meltdown. I'm not very good at dealing with tears so end up caving every time but I know this is getting out of hand.

It's gotten to the point now where he doesn't want to eat, doesn't want to play and even refuses to leave the house. Yesterday we went to visit my mother in law like we do every Wednesday. He usually sleeps over and she brings him home the next day. The moment  he walked through the door he demanded to watch TV and every time his grandad tried to change the channel he burst into tears. When his grandmother dropped him  off  today she told me he had watched TV the whole time he was there and refused to do anything else.

I've tried going out more, taking him to the park and even bought some new toys and some puzzles. He isn't interested in any of it. To be honest I don't know how I let it get this bad... I definitely feel like I've failed!

So today I've been doing some research and found out this is pretty common and a struggle many parents face. I tried looking for some useful advice but there wasn't any. I did find some people saying to just go with it and join in and watch TV together and that eventually the problem will go away. I hope it does and I guess I'll keep you updated on how it goes.

For now I'll leave you with this adorable meme (I'm obsessed with memes) ;)

Current situation

I've been on maternity leave for 8 months and have been spending this time in Portugal with my family. My husband is back in the UK and the kids and I miss him very much but we decided together that it would be best if I spent this time getting support from my family because as we all know, handling a new baby and a preschooler is no walk in the park. I'm really enjoying this time with my family and trying to make the most of it while I can. I'll be returning in about 3 months and then will be back at work shortly after. 

I miss everyone at work but I'm very anxious about returning. Firstly because the cost of childcare for 2 will be crippling and also because I worry Alice won't be ready to be away from me. She's 7 months old now and the same age her big brother was when I returned to work. He was so different though, and he was so independant so the transition for him was a breeze. Alice on the other hand is very clingy. She is breastfed and won't take milk from a bottle so has been with me all the time. Maybe I'm the one who's not ready to leave her... or both! She's also not sleeping through the night, infact, she's far from it. Some nights we are still getting up every 2 hours so working while sleep deprived would be hard. We still have some time so hopefully it'll be fine by then.