Newbie Tuesday roundup: New beginnings

September has been the month for starting school, and lots of you have packed your children off to a room full of strangers with mixed emotions. Both Mummy Shire and Make me an Earth Mother have written about the start of school. But they’re not, as you might imagine, lamenting the loss of their babies to the big wide world. Rather, Make me an Earth Mother declares what she hopes her child will learn at school – and it’s a nodalong kind of post – whilst Mummy Shire stands aghast as her child races off to school without giving her a second thought! Sound familiar?

On the other hand, You’re So Mummy is talking schools and how to pick them – or rather, how to not get yourself in a panic over picking them. Or maybe, actually, getting yourself into the panic you never imagined you would. This post about school choice stress made me giggle, but I can totally see myself in there, despite protestations to the contrary!

Rewind a few years to the new baby stage, and Yummyblogger tells us about the things she wishes she’d known before having her first baby. I’m always nervous to say too much to first time expectant parents. Would I really have wanted to know quite how little sleep I was going to get, how many muslins I’d wash every day, or not to give a spoon to your child in case she sticks it down her throat and throws up all that carefully stowed puree? But Heledd has a nice practical list of helpful advice that won’t scare anyone heading down that path for the first time, so if you’re new to the deal, it’s worth a read.

Staying with the newborn theme, I loved this post from 3 Princesses and 1 Dude about alternative uses for baby items. I totally agree that baby wipes are a mainstay of the household even today, and my youngest child is 7. Although I’m not sure I’d use them to curl my hair!

And going even further back in the process of parenting, Laura and Amy’s Making a Baby Adventure discusses infertility. Not something which is openly discussed or blogged about frequently, infertility nevertheless affects many of us before we get to the proud bundle stage, myself included. This post does a great job of highlighting that each couple’s experience is so very personal, and different from another’s, and not something that can possibly be understood by those not going through it, irrespective of their own experiences. It’s a humbling read.

And finally, I’m going to highlight a blog which has given me so much strength in the last few weeks. Some of you will know that my baby girl was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes recently. I say baby, she’s actually almost 10, so would not thank me for that tag, but aren’t they all our babies, even when they’ve flown the nest? Extraordinary Chaos is a normal parenting blog, but I connected with it because Sarah sometimes writes about her son Jack’s Type 1 Diabetes. To see his story, and to know that his life is every bit as full as every other child’s, despite a condition we are finding very scary right now, has been an inspiration. People’s Misconceptions of Diabetes says it exactly right – it is a massive thing to deal with, way bigger than I’d ever imagined, and so unfair on a child. But if GG handles it the way Jack does, she will not go far wrong at all.

That’s it for this month, do add a comment and let me know if you have a new parent blog. Or come say hi on Twitter @actuallyblog.

About Helen Wills

Helen Wills is a mum of 2 children in primary school and blogs at Actually Mummy on parenting issues, school, travel, and life according to the kids. Since starting her blog in 2011, Helen has won 2 national awards, and puts a lot of her success down to the amazing online community of bloggers at BritMums. As her children grow older, her writing is increasingly influenced by their opinions, and her blog reflects this drive to get the most out of family life. Helen works from home in copywriting and social media. She is on Twitter @actuallymummy.

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