Becoming a Stay at Home Mum (SAHM)

 "So what do you do?"

The questions that strikes fear into anyone, no more than a new stay at home Mum. I foudn this out a few weekends back at a baby shower for my friend who I met through one of my old beauty counter jobs.

I had recently told my work that I wasn't returning after my materniry leave. After calculatung in childcare, travel (esp. as I still do not drive), and other costs, I would of be only brining home a tiny amount and losing precious time with Bethany. I have not ruled our working completely, I do miss bringing my own income but now have the time to find something that not only suits me but also Beth.

My answer that Saturday was, "I am a SAHM for now." This did stop the conversation in its tracks, the person didn't know what to say and to be honest that used to be me. I always saw the SAHM option a blissful idea with dreams of lazy days, lie ins and no stress. The realty is far from it.

Beth still can have me up at night for 1-2 hours at a time, she needs to be fed often and that takes time in itself as she's weaning onto feeding herself. Then there stull is housework, cleaning etc. She is currenlty moving constantly, investigating everything, it's very cute but needs watching all the time not to hutr herself.

I also PA to Hubby, I deal with paperwork, bills, phone calls - anything to do with the household. There's also his part time business, and my volunteer work with the NCT where I look after member emails, social media and their website.

I'm not going to start on the number of playgroups there are...

"So what do you do?"

Anything and everything,

Bethany Update - Month 10

So close and yet so far!

Sounds the trumpets - WE HAVE CRAWLING! Granted, it is commander crawling, which looks more like wriggling in the direct she wants to go. We can go up on our knees but just flops then wriggles. She has learnt that if she can go up on her knees for a small time she can reach things a little higher so things have now been put onto higher shelves.

Month 9-10 has been more learning through problem solving, it's fascinating to watch her look at the situation and work out how to solve it. To me, for 10 months, she is really clever. I was watching her the other night go to her changing bag, open it up, take out my waller, open it and start removing the cards. Beth is also starting to understand that the short time on her knees she can climb over things too, she broke out of her barrier tonight by just climbing slowly over.

We currently love our soft stacking blocks as well as our walker, she can take small steps if you hold her under the armpits.

We are currently in the midst of her top two teeth trying to break through, the past few nights I have had about 4 hours sleep. She wakes crying and wanting comfort, I spend most of my nights watching shopping channels and cuddling her until she doses off. I haven't known what it was until I saw those little tell tale white signs that there are trying to break though. My poor Monkey.

While Beth has been growing steadily, the biggest development has been with myself. The migraines I previously crippled me have *knocks wood* been gone for over a week now. I am still waiting for my appointment with the nurse to review what to do next, due 1st December. Ironically this was on the day I was due to go back to work, this has also changed and it's been decided that I will now be a stay at home Mum for a bit longer. I have an entry about this coming next week, but it's wonderful to think I will get Christmas with my little girl with all the excitement.

I cannot believe that the next update will be days from Christmas, and it's more surreal thinking that it was this time last year that I was dreaming about my first Christmas with my child while being a huge whale with swollen ankles. Would you believe she already has her cheesy Christmas jumper?

Migraines - Please tell me it gets better from here?

The past two weeks I have been suffering daily with migraines, other sufferes will know that even one attack can knock you out energy wise for days, I have been suffering from them from the late 90's, in my teens I had symtons of a stoke while I was at home. It turns out that the numbness in the side, loss of speech and blurred vision was an aura miraine.

At first I got told painkillers and rest when an attck happens, as the number of attacks increased I was put on preventive medication called Imigran. You would spray this up your nose at the first signs of an attack, for me this failed I ended up feeling so out of it that I was sent home from work after going an a rant about the word 'nice' in my drug soaked state.

I continued to carry on for a few more years until April last year, when I suffered my worst attack. I was rushed to hospital after it was suspected that, yet again, I was having a storke this time I had all the symtoms as well as I lost my memory for four hours. I forgot what day it was, who was the prime minister and even what I just had for tea.

I was recommnded to go to the doctors and get investigated, all they did was put me on beta blockers to prevent attacks long term. He was shocked that I had no been anything long term after looking at my medical history. I was prescribed Propranolol, once a day in a low dose to help curb attacks. In the short term it did, but the side effects were the worst, I would wake up in the night screaming from nightmares. I then found out I was pregant and had to stop taking them anyway.

I took them for a short time after Beth's birth, as well as returned onto my pill, Cerazette, I started to get headaches and migraines. Being a tired new mum, I thought it was down to the odd hours I was having due to a newborn baby. Now Beth is 9 months, I decided taht it can't just be tha and saw the doctor. 

We now have a new theory that this is the tablets I am taking, so now I need to find an alternative, if this doesn't work then we try something else. For now I live everyday with the thinking that I might/might not get an attack and pray it's on the days that I have nothing important I need to do.

What's your migraine story?