For me silence is mind-numbing.

Wait. That may not be the right word for it.

There is something about silence that makes the day feel like it’s going on forever and while it’s not anxiety-driven, I do find that I’m a lot more fidgety and I need to find something to occupy my mind constantly, which is usually checking social media.

This is something that is nothing new. I used to hate working in class when we had to be silent. My mind would be half on what we were meant to be doing and half on the clock waiting for the bell to ring.

The only time when I find silence is helpful is when I’ve got writer's block or I’m reading. Otherwise, I have to have some form of noise around me.

This whole thing is one of the reasons why I loved and still love being a nanny. Didn’t matter what was happening there was always some kind of noise happening.

Mama Be Kind To Yourself

Yesterday I finally broke. 

I have been isolating at home basically since AJ was born in January. We limited the amount of time we had outside to protect her until she had her six week shots and then waited another 2 weeks. By the end of that I was ready to start getting out and doing things like going to the library, play group, etc.

But by then the COVID-19 pandemic had hit Australia's shores and the social distancing started. 

At first it was ok. I was a home body anyway. Staying at home was totally fine by me, especially as it protected myself from catching this illness that had the potential to do a lot of harm to my body as I'm an asthmatic. Then we moved and suddenly I was in a new town and knew no one except for AJ's Dad. 

So You're Going Back To Work...

Dear Mama (and Dad if you’re also reading this),

You’ve had a beautiful baby. For the past few weeks and months, you’ve been able to have endless cuddles and be loved on by that tiny human, who knows nothing about what is happening in the world right now. But the time has come to think about the future and whether to go back to work or not.

Some of you have decided that you want to be a stay-at-home Mum for the foreseeable future or are already stay-at-home Mums. Maybe it was because you found child care was going to be too expensive or maybe it was just what you feel is calling for you. Regardless you’ve given your notice and you're ready to spend your days with your baby.

But not everyone is going to find that choice is right for them. Some of you will decide to go back to work. For some it’s financial, for some you love your work, and for some going back to work is just going to be beneficial for your mental health so when you are with your kids you are a better parent. 

With that decision to go back to work comes another one - who is going to take care of them?

A Wet Valentines Day

My first Valentine’s Day as a Mum started off very interestingly. 

If I’m completely honest, I totally forgot that Valentine’s Day was coming up. Since AJ’s birth, my days have all kind of blurred together and I’ve only looked at a calendar when I needed to know a date for some paperwork. So I didn’t know that it was Valentine’s Day until I came downstairs at 8am to feed AJ and was scrolling through Facebook. I didn’t feel bad that I forgot. T and I don’t really do Valentine’s Day. I’m not one for flowers, I prefer to get a plant than cut flowers, and neither of us really feel like going out and doing things.

As I scrolled through Facebook, my sleep-deprived brain forgot about the day before and the vomit filled day we had had. For the past week or so I had been noticing symptoms from AJ that made me suspect that she had a mild form of reflux. Not bad enough to disrupt her sleep but enough that if we didn’t do certain things during her feed it would result in her bringing up part of it. However, if we broke up her bottle and burped her multiple times during it, then kept her upright for 20-30 minutes afterward the vomiting wouldn’t occur. We may have to contend with some spit up but she would look a portion of her meal. 

Goals for 2020

I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I'm not a fan of the term "resolution". When I hear people talk about their resolutions, it always seems like something that you can either succeed at doing or fail miserably at.

There is no middle ground.

It's why I prefer to use the term goals.

Goals are something that you can work towards and even if you don't meet that specific goal, the steps that you have taken along the way make it seem like all the work that you have put in was worth it and that you haven't failed.

It's why on the last day of December I stop and write down 5 goals that I would like to work towards over the course of the year. Some of them are always very obvious things, but a couple of them are usually bigger things that I need to put effort into in order to make them come true.

This year's goals are no different and I wanted to share them here to help hold myself accountable in a positive way.

I'm Back

It's been a while since I last posted anything on here and honestly I wasn't sure if I was going to come back. At the time I stopped, I had some things happening in my personal life that I needed to deal with and since then things have changed a lot.

When I last talked with you all, I was working most of the week, studying the other days and just enjoying my time off with my dogs and T. Well that's not exactly happening anymore.

I'm no longer studying psychology. I have plans to go back, but due to me missing some very important emails that went into the wrong files I am currently not enrolled for the next 18 months. I have plans to go back but I have to wait out the time. I can't blame the Uni, they did try and contact me a number of times but due to the emails going into the wrong place making me miss them and me still having access to my classes, I had no reason to contact them and see what was going on. Until I went to find out about exams.

OUR TRYING TO CONCEIVE JOURNEY Part 3: The Weight Issue

I like t think that I'm a pretty confident person. When it comes to the things that I know about and feel, I'm very happy to voice those opinions. However, like everyone, I do have those moments of self-doubt and low self-esteem.

This weekend was one of those moments when I went searching for something to wear to my BIL's engagement party. I had been looking in a few different places for something and eventually settled on a beautiful dress from City Chic.

OUR TRYING TO CONCEIVE JOURNEY Part 2: Walking on Eggshells

I think the worst part of the whole TTC process is the waiting. While I have had instances in my relationship before now when contraception has failed, the waiting there has never been as excruciating as what waiting now feels like. Mainly that is because we have always used two forms of contraception and so the chances of falling pregnant were small. But now, waiting to see if we have been successful, it feels as if the days are longer. 

OUR TRYING TO CONCEIVE JOURNEY Part 1

This is a topic that I have been going backwards and forwards on whether to write about, especially as it's really just the beginning. What is really stopping me is that other than a couple of close friends and our doctors, no one else knows that T and I are trying for a baby at the moment. 

Hi-Ya!

Hello and Welcome!

My name is Sophie and I am the creator of Le Giggler. If you've come over from my old blog, I want to say Hello! If you're new here - welcome!

Le Giggler is a place that was created so I could write more about something that I was passionate about - children and their development. I love guiding children through learning that I have made it a career choice as I'm a Nanny. However, it's not just something that I have an interest in career wise as I am also studying Psychology so I can better understand how children's minds work to better help the parents that I work with.

I'm planning to post Monday, Wednesday and Fridays on a variety of subjects pertaining to children and child development as well as things that I do in relation to my job. You will get some more personal life stuff as well, but I don't know how often that is going to be.

With my posts, you may find links to Amazon or other affiliates. They just give me a little kickback if you buy using my links, which is then brought back into the running of the blog. Nine times out of ten if I link something it's more for you to know what I'm talking about and not an actual ad for the product. All posts have a line at the beginning saying that they have affiliate links.

If you want to keep up to date with what is happening, you can find all my social media to the right or you can follow me using BlogLovin as there is a link over there as well.

However, if you want to contact me in any length sort of way, you can find all my email information right at the top of the blog.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I look forward to talking with you all.