It’s Baby Bug Battle

Okay, so here’s a confession. I think my baby, as beautiful as she is, is a germ magnet. This morning I watched her drag her fingers along every surface she could reach, and then put them in her mouth with a gleeful smile on her face! Then, as I changed her nappy, she made sure she could touch every inch of her changing table, before taking her dummy out and rubbing it on to the mat for good measure. Just to make doubly sure that if there are any germs around, she’s got them. Now, I do follow her around with Milton anti-bacterial wipes, but it seems this is not enough. So far this year we have had two tummy bugs, two colds, an ear infection and a cough. The poor little lamb has probably forgotten what it feels like to be healthy!

I’ve looked up some advice for keeping germs at bay, and I’ve found loads of interesting products, from antibacterial blankets to fabric solution (check out the links below) but I’ve also found that there isn’t a magical cure. Short of disinfecting my baby every second step, I’ll never keep her completely clean. For now, Freya will always walk into the toy kitchen at the baby centre and proceed to “eat” the fake food, she’ll always want to share her teddy with her new playmates, and she’ll continue to learn-by-touch. All I can comfort myself with is that with each illness and infection, she is building up her immune system. Maybe we’ve just got to patiently wait for it to catch up…what do you think?

You can buy Milton Antibacterial Surface Spray from Mothercare, (£1.99) to use around the high chair, changing table and on her toys – with the comfort of knowing it’s a stong cleaner which is safe for the baby too.

If you want to make sure her clothes are super sparkly clean and infection-free you can even buy Milton Antibacterial Fabric Solution (£5.49 1l) It’s an extra cost but it does mean you don’t need to put your wash on a high temperature.

Workingmums.co.uk LIVE Exhibition

It’s nearly a year since I became a self-employed working mum, and I have to admit that several times over the last ten months I haven’t just felt a little out of my depth. More like a lone island adrift on a sea of endless questions! I’ve been completely baffled about all kinds of things from how to write an invoice, to contracts, tax returns and credits. At times it’s felt like one big minefield! So, it’s fair to say that as I gradually worked my way through each confusing learning curve, I wish I had known how many organisations, charities and agencies there are to make life a little easier.

Today Freya and I went to the Workingmums.co.uk LIVE Exhibition at the Business Design Centre, in Islington. The event, sponsored by She Magazine, is a job fare with a difference, designed to give mums a chance to find out more about going back to work, as well as starting up a new career or business and all the inevitable childcare issues too.

Our day began with a keynote speech from Fiona Phillips, who talked about the perils of trying to have it all, and whether it really is possible. There were seminars throughout the day on Working For Yourself, 7 Secrets to a Great Work Life Balance, Practical Steps to Starting a Business, Working Flexibly and so on. As we browsed the stalls, we came across organisations like The Daycare Trust, a national childcare charity which campaigns for affordable services for all, the PCG, which promotes and supports freelancers, Working Families, an organisation committed to helping families balance their home and work life, and Workingmums.co.uk – a website offering career advice, job listings, franchise alerts and information.

We were also pleasantly surprised to see that half the high street were there; with H&M, Hobbs, John Lewis, Asda, Coca Cola, Starbucks and more offering career opportunities. I was impressed to see so many big companies are so keen to have mums among their staff. Refreshing.

Freya and I came away with a bag full of leaflets and information, as well as a load of contacts which I hope will help me with my growing business. If you missed it, check the workingmums.co.uk website for more information.

SICK: that’s Sick In Charge of a Kid

I’ve been a bit quiet this week! For the second time in a year and three months I caught a sickness bug from my baby and felt so ill I couldn’t physically look after her. But, I quickly discovered, she doesn’t accept a call saying, “sorry, I can’t come in today”. Not even a doctor’s note will suffice. She can’t read yet.

So, what do we do? Luckily for me, my partner Marko (who had the bug himself but had recovered) took a day off from work as annual leave. He has a very understanding employer considering the short notice! My lovely mum even offered to come up and help the next day, plus I had the offer of my partner’s mum taking time off work. So it’s fair to say I am incredibly lucky indeed, although I still felt lazy taking to my bed! Today, I’m feeling a million times better and I missed my little babe so it seems a rest was just what we both needed.

But when I looked into what my options would have been had Marko not been able to take time off and had our families not been so helpful, I was shocked to see that many mums feel their only option is to carry on. However hellish the experience is, they have no choice but to be a soldier. No wonder mums have superhero status! If only there could be a super flexible childcare service which could take babies for just a single day or even a few hours so their mummies could rest…like a sick nanny service! Wouldn’t life be so much easier?

Today, I’m planning to take it easy…it’ll be one of the rare occasions where mummy lies on the sofa and Freya runs rings around me I think. Let’s just hope we’ve had our illness quota for the year!