My Parenting Confessions

Like Amanda from Motherland, sometimes I give my son dessert before dinner.

The Freelance Parent is a free service-based newsletter aimed at helping its subscribers thrive professionally and personally. If you find this week’s issue helpful, please consider supporting the newsletter by donating £3 here and sharing with your friends. Don’t forget your donation can be claimed as an expense against your business too.

Good morning lovely readers! Happy 1st of August and I hope the school holidays are going well. A bit of a light-hearted post from me today as I have mastitis, multiple deadlines and a double children’s birthday to organise. If there are typos, please forgive me and pretend you didn’t see them. Here are my 10 parenting confessions.

My personal space has been invaded

I have always liked my own personal space and run a mile from people that invade it. You know, those people who stand too close to you at parties or ask to ‘squidge in’ next to you on the sofa. So, to have two very little affectionate little boys who like constant physical closeness can sometimes be challenging. Of course, morning snuggles are lovely. I love to feel their warm little bodies curled up next to mine. My son insisting on our feet touching while we watch a film is also lovely. But a baby breastfeeding while a near-four-year-old strokes my face is a step too far and sometimes I want them to just get the hell off me. And that's ok. We all need our own space. 

I hate parenting small talk

I met a woman at a child’s birthday party recently and within five minutes we'd shared our fertility stories, deepest fears and hopes. It was deep but I loved it. 'I don't really do small talk she said,'. 'Me neither’, I replied.  Weaning and nap times are important topics but I would really prefer we spoke about them for a maximum of five minutes. Then tell me about you. 

I find it hard to make peace with the inequality of motherhood

No matter how equal my husband and I split our household chores, when the babies are ill and he's working away, things will never be equal and all the sleepless nights and stress will always fall on me. I’m finding it hard to make peace with that.

Sometimes I give dessert before dinner

Like Amanda on Motherland, sometimes I give my older son dessert before his dinner for an easy life. I’m actually fine with it.

Bodies take a while to bounce back

I gave birth nearly a year ago, and people still keep asking me if I'm pregnant. I'm not, for the record. 

Having children made me lose a few friends for reasons I still don't understand

The ones I've gained since, however, have been a real joy to get to know. Our lives change and so do some of the people in it and there's no shame in that. Letting go of a toxic friendship takes guts but everyone is happier in the long run. 

Being freelance has its ups and downs

Over the last year, I’ve had weeks of feeling like the luckiest person to be able to do what I love while caring for my baby, and weeks of feeling thoroughly fed up when it takes clients three months to pay me. My cash flow is the worst it’s ever been and sometimes it can be really stressful.

I crave solitude and secure attachment in equal measure

I crave time to myself but have a really hard time letting go of my children. It’s a really exhausting conundrum.

This newsletter is very important to me

While you may not hear from me quite as often as you used to, feeling connected to you, my readers, has really helped me navigate the difficult parts of freelance life. I hope I continue to bring you comfort too. Thank you for continuing to open my emails.

What are your parenting confessions? Let me know below. 

---

My Top Summer Holiday Tip

If you’re struggling for ideas of things to do over the summer holidays, you should consider going to the newly opened Hobbledown Heath in Hounslow. We recently spent the day there and the boys loved exploring the multiple outdoor villages, farm animals, and amazing indoor play barn. The food is pretty great too! We’ll definitely be going back.

Before you go, I have a small favour to ask. If you enjoyed today’s newsletter, please share it on your socials or forward by email to your friends. The Freelance Parent has a lovely following but I need your help in growing it. You can also buy me a virtual coffee here if you fancy it. Thank you for opening and reading today and I wish you all a great week with lots of work and minimal tantrums.