Life coaching for women

big decision

In 1951 I was born at home - in those days around 50% of us were. By the time I had my third child at home (the first two were delivered in hospital) the rate had plummeted to 1%. Now it is gradually creeping up and is over 2% in many places in England and well over 3% in Wales.
The plan is for my grandson to be born in his mummy's bed at home - if this were to happen I think that, following back through his mother's maternal and paternal lines, none will have been born in hospital, which must be a bit of a rarity these days.
I've bought Nicky Wesson's Home Birth for my daughter to read. Fascinating stuff. And controversial of course. But that's the offspring of baby boomers for you. :)

a bargain

Back in the day we had prams and buggies - these days they have travel systems and strollers. I've commented before on the strange way that babies 'stuff' gets bigger and bigger, so am delighted that we've managed to find a 'travel system' that actually folds down quite small is only (!) 10 kg and can be both a pram and a pushchair.

Our 'about to pop' friend took my daughter and me on a fact-finding mission to Mothercare and Mamas and Papas. In fact she's already done the research and I know her well enough to be sure that whatever system she'd chosen would be the one that would suit M too. So, no surprises when we happened on the M & P's Pliko Pramette. It does the job beautifully, but is somewhat beyond the means of my grandson's mummy; in truth it's somewhat beyond the means of his granny. But where there's a will ...

shock of the news

It took a while to get used to the idea when I found out I was going to be a grandmother.  My children haven't yet reached the stage where I felt a need to drop hints about 'getting on with it', so it  did come as a bit of a shock, my impending grandmotherhood. 
I mean an actual physical shock, a surge of some kind of chemical around my body that made my lips feel numb, and I forgot to breathe for a few seconds.  But then slowly, and with the need to show my daughter every kind of support, first of all I faked it and then (within minutes) I made it!  I am now utterly delighted and eager to welcome this new little person into our lives.

learning

I've been greatly  taken with Tanya Byron's approach to child-rearing in 'The House of Tiny Tearaways' - and though she isn't talking specifically about tiny babies her ethos is stunning. I want to find out and know more. To understand how best to relate to my tiny grandchild who's due to put in an appearance next spring.

I learn so much from my close friends who are the parents, or soon-to-be parents of small children. I want to know more about the way they do it. Not to try and make my daughter approach things in the same way (not my style at all), but in order to help me enjoy being a granny. And to help me be a better granny than I was a mother of young children. I'm a pretty good mum now they're grown - but back then ... Tanya, where were you!

groovy granny

I found out quite recently that come next April I'm going to be a granny. It's fair enough; I'm 55, my children are all grown up - but it's still sooner than I thought.
I mean, I'm one of the baby boomers - and we like to think we invented being young and free, liberated in every sense. Which sat OK with being a mum, but being a grandmother ... now that's something else!

We're the generation that demanded change! We're young (!), vibrant and radical. We are earth mothers, hippies, super cool. Well, yes, that's true to some extent in my case - perhaps not the 'cool' bit - but the harsh truth is we're also the new generation of grandparents.

Now I don't know about you, but my brain pops up a picture of a granny who is very definitely old, hair held securely in a net, long baggy knickers (handy for tucking a hankie in the leg, as I recall!) and a great big pinny that wrapped round her twice. I think I've morphed both my grandmothers into one, but I suspect this image will be familiar to many other baby boomers.