Its 2019. We’re breaking into a new decade very soon and yet there still remains a veiled perception of the stay-at-home Dad, who he is and what he should be like. Strong. Masculine. In the office. And yet we consider ourselves to be a progressive and understanding society. You see, it all still seems to be about Mum when we talk about staying at home and being the primary caregiver. In todays Irish Times, I spoke to a Dad who has felt the prejudice and judgment with wanting to be the Dad at home, the one who cares for the kids 24/7. He has felt the stigma and the inward pull of his masculinit ..read more

The past few weeks have been quite a whirlwind and I’m only slowly coming down from it all. Actually no, I’m levelling out and about to spiral back up again because on Thursday I’m heading to Cork which will include not only an awards ceremony but a hot bath and a big bed all to myself! Top 100 Most Inspiring Women of Ireland 2019 It all began with being included on the The 100 Most Inspiring Women of Ireland List of 2019 as part of The Graham Norton Gin Inspiring Awards 2019. Such a cool accolade to add to my list which has left me wondering why I was added to the list. There I go again wond ..read more

Recently I spoked to Joanna Fortune and Malie Coyne about how we can help our children tame their inner bully. As Little Miss gets older I see the importance of helping her manage the negative self talk, the inner bully, which creeps in to a lot of our lives. As adults, we have learnt, hopefully, over the years to manage this. Children are learning and trying to understand their world. This is an extract from my experience with Little Miss and that inner bully from a recent Irish Times feature in the Health and Family supplement. “Negative self-talk is your internal tormenter telling ..read more

“The fourth trimester meant recovering and understanding more than the physical labour of birth and focusing on the emotional labour which is the ebb and flow of a new maternal life.” My words, from an article I wrote for the Irish Times in July.  “Parenthood will change you. It’s almost an affliction that rewires the internal mechanisms of your body and brain. Like a sometimes-instant switch, automatically flicked, when your baby takes their first breath. “Except, it’s not always the case when a baby is born that a mother is born. Producing a newfound life does not necessarily mean we autom ..read more

My recovery was a long eighteen months combining so many actions on a daily basis to keep my head flying higher than the flamingo. What did I do? Talk the Talk I talked. As much as I could. Papa Bear would get a daily report of how I was managing my day and if there were any episodes or situations which I took control of over the anxiety. Talking to him helped to keep myself focused and on track. Eventually, the conversations were shorter and less. Humour Oddly I found it much easier to laugh during these anxiety ridden days which I wouldn’t have expected. Laughing helped immensely since it g ..read more

I was once asked, on the radio no less to thousands of listeners, to describe what anxiety feels like. Where do you start? Anxiety isn’t simply a nervousness that makes you indecisive. I’m sure I’ll list off how I was feeling and any woman who has suffered will nod in agreement. It’s painful, physically painful. There is nausea, headaches and dizzy spells aside from the mental overload. It feels hopeless and it can pass before it hits you hard again. The lull and low of anxiety didn’t affect me all the time but it sure did like to linger and attack quickly. On the worst days, I suffered thir ..read more

Something transpired out of motherhood, rising from the ashes like a giant pink phoenix. It probably began earlier than I care to admit, but a few weeks after Devin was born, my focus was gone, my routine and schedule, all fragmented and I suddenly felt this overwhelming urge to blow up. It was less to do with the fact that we had a five-week-old baby and more to do with the extreme possibility I was suffering from intense postnatal anxiety and depression. This is not an easy post to write as anyone who has suffered mental health issues will know. For me, it’s probably one of the most import ..read more

I haven’t been the best blogger lately have I? I used to feel guilty over having 4+ weeks gap between posts but I’ve a new lease of life lately and my number one rule is to attempt to get rid of the guilt which likes to creep in and hover of my head and every decision I make. On top of that, I find I either haven’t had time or a good enough topic to write about and god forbid I start repeating myself. I have, however, found myself connecting with parents over on Instagram as we share the load of this miraculous and sometimes incredulous life that is parenthood. If you haven’t joined me in my v ..read more

There are days, quite a lot of them, when I don’t feel like the adult in this Momma Bear, Baby Bear scenario. Allegra crept up to me one afternoon and wrapped her dainty arms around my legs and hugged me hard. The little mite, in her tiny years and few short feet, has grown up so much but still so desperately needs her Momma’s hugs. And I hope she always will. In that instant, as her arms squeezed me tight, I thought, dammit I needed that. I needed that hug. And I also thought, dammit I’m the Mum. Becoming Momma Bear doesn’t necessarily hit you when the baby pops out and your waist line some ..read more

I like Disney Princesses. Little Miss is very fond of them, if anything for the way the dresses twirl when she spins. We’re all raised on Disney with Snow White, Belle, Aurora and Cinderella being staples in most of our homes. The stories are adventures. The songs are beautiful and melodic and the beauty is profound. It’s not our world though is it? They’re not exactly the role models we want to inspire our children, especially our daughters, to grow up with, are they? Princesses who sit in castles waiting for true love because true love is the be all and end all of a successful and happy li ..read more