Sleepytime

Child Sleep Apnoea – The day my daughter nearly died.

Well, a while ago, I nearly lost my daughter. It’s funny because most of the time I forget, and that is ok. Life goes on. She is fine now. Just get over it. What people don’t know is that I will never forget that moment when my daughter stopped breathing and I could have lost her forever. It changes a person.

Emily was a reflux baby. Gosh, it was a miracle when she wasn’t throwing up all over the place. By about 7 months, it had resolved itself and thankfully we all moved on. From 8 months old, she developed this constant running nose. She was one of those ‘snotty kids’. By 10 months old, she could wipe her own nose with a tissue it was that bad. We thought about buying shares in Kleenix! This runny nose coincided with her starting daycare.

Does your child have ‘Jack-in-the-box’ syndrome?

What did you say? I said ‘Jack-in-the-box syndrome! This is a child who just loves getting out of bed to see where you are and what you are up too- all hours of the night!!! You walk them back to their bed, and before you know it they are hot on your heels.

This can be frustrating and exhausting for parents who eventually ‘give in’ and let their child either sleep on the couch or hop into their bed, just so the family can get a little sleep. This problem is very common and it usually starts around 2-3 years of age. I speak with many families whereby the dad has been banished from the bed altogether. This sleeping arrangement is not sustainable, nor is it healthy for your relationship with your partner. Your bed is YOUR bed and that is the way it needs to be so you can all get a good night’s sleep.

Perfect Parenting, is there such a thing?

Today, parents put an awful lot of pressure on themselves and each other to be these super parents who do everything and anything perfectly. When we don’t follow the exclusively breastfed, bamboo wearing, organic growing lifestyle, we are judged by everyone around us.

I came to the conclusion very early on that it doesn’t matter what wonderful things you are doing with, or for your child, someone is quick to tell you, you are doing something wrong. The media has a lot to answer for. It is a lot of pressure to conform and so I beg the question, why are mum’s so hard on each other?