50 days of River

Fifty days of River: Connection, isolation and everything in between.

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  • This blog post feels muddled because it is muddled. It was written over a few days, in snatched moments, and honestly that mirrors how my head has felt. The hotel is huge, a maze of elevators, tunnels and dark pockets of fake volcanic rock. It’s built into a castle, which sounds magical, but mostly means Read more

  • So here we are. Day 50. When I started writing back in July, it was less about telling a story and more about surviving one. Seven long weeks stretched ahead of us with no Nursery, two children at home and me already tired before we’d even begun. I wrote one day at a time because Read more

  • Day 40: Back to Reality

    I woke up a bit disorientated after an odd night’s sleep, not used to not being in my bed, I guess. A text message from Sainsbury’s at 7am woke me telling me my delivery would be between 6pm–9pm that day. Thanks for that. I went back to sleep and woke up to my alarm at Read more

  • Day 39: A Night Away

    The weekend started as it always does. Kike gets up first as he takes Summer to Jiujitsu. They leave and River hops into bed with me. “Mummy not sleeping.”No sweetheart, I’m not sleeping.“I’m very hungry.” OK, that’s my cue to get up, even though I know Kike would have already given him Breakfast Number 1. Read more

  • Day 38: Forced Rest

    Morning Adjustments Kike took the day off so I could start recovering. When I’m in a flare (that’s when everything simply stops working), there’s not much I can do except rest. He managed to get River up and give him breakfast but last night caught up with him too and he went back to sleep. Read more

  • Slow Morning Recovery Well, I was broken. I stayed in bed till 11:30am, leaving the kids to their iPads and snacks, only getting up to make them lunch. I slowly worked through the chores: dishwasher, kitchen, laundry – the usual. I was determined to preserve my energy, as I had plans later. River entertained himself Read more

  • Day 36: Running on Empty

    Morning Whistle Chaos The tiredness is not going away. I slept again till 8.30am but still feel awful. My spoons have well and truly run out. Summer and River were on their iPads for the morning while I did my usual clean-up and second breakfasts. Summer went to make her bed and found an old Read more

  • I asked Kike to get River up this morning. I was just too tired and knew I’d need my energy for the day ahead. Those two extra hours in bed were pretty nice. When did 8:30am become a lie-in? It’s funny how parenthood completely resets the definition of “rested.” A Pyjama Day I took the Read more

  • The Promise of a Slower Start It’s Saturday, so that means one thing: Kike is not at work!River woke up at 5.45am. I listened to him for a bit, but by 6am I nudged Kike –  today, I needed some time. A little breathing space. Summer and I had a haircut booked, something I was Read more

  • Sleepless Nights & Empty Fridges We both had a bad night’s sleep last night. Kike was tossing and turning and we both woke up unrested. River, however, seemed a bit brighter, settling happily into his fruit-heavy breakfast (at least it’s healthy, right?). I looked in the fridge. Empty. Again. Stupid holidays. Thank goodness for the Read more