Dear Matt Hancock I am a mother, with two sons both of whom I love very much. I stand with Heidi Crowter, and I wanted to write to you to explain my reasons for this. As you know, the law in England currently allows you to terminate a baby after 24 weeks, and indeed to … More Dear Matt Hancock: I’m with Heidi
So here we are in 2020. If 2019 was a year of survival, 2020 so far seems to be a year of reflection. Following Aidan’s stint in hospital with heart failure and surgery to close his PDA, life has settled into our new, old routine. We are all at home, Aidan is growing, learning and … More What if?
Last year, we went on a family holiday to Sardinia. It was the first trip abroad we’d had as a family of three, and the first family holiday we had been on since Tom had started at nursery. For some time, we had been to-ing and fro-ing on whether to have a second child. I … More A Toddlers Intuition
When we found out about the high probability that our baby would be born with Down’s Syndrome, me and my husband spoke about how we didn’t want people to feel sorry for us. This wasn’t because we “got there” really quickly. I was really not ok with his diagnosis. I was trying so very, very … More I get by with a little help from my friends
One of the characteristics of Down’s Syndrome is hypotonia. This is a medical term for “low muscle tone”. Which still doesn’t tell you a lot. If you google “what is low muscle tone?”, the results returned say things like “your baby will feel floppy”. For me, having not had Aidan yet, this seemed confusing – … More My baby in slow motion
This week is National Inclusion Week, so today’s post is all about inclusive language. It is time for parents to teach young people early on, that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength – Maya Angelou I cannot talk on behalf of those with disabilities, so I won’t try to. What I can … More Why inclusive language matters
Before Aidan was born, we found out that he had a congenital defect called duodenal atresia. Duodenal atresia is when the first part of the intestine, called the duodenum, hasn’t developed properly and is obstructed. This requires surgery soon after birth to correct it, so that your baby is able to drink milk. It was … More My duodenal atresia warrior
… that is the question. When you are pregnant in the UK, you get offered two routine scans during your pregnancy. These are an exciting opportunity to take a sneak peak at the tiny human growing inside of you, a moment which can bring you to tears. During the first scan, at 12 weeks, you … More To screen or not to screen…
When you become a parent, one of the first decisions you make for your child is what name to give them. It’s a pretty big decision. They’re going to carry this name for their life. There are all sorts of things to think about; Will they like their name? What meaning does that name hold … More Why “the little fire”?
Let me introduce myself. My name is Máire (pronounced like soya, but with an M). I am a mother of two boys, currently on maternity leave. When I was 35 weeks pregnant with my second, I found out that he was rocking a little extra genetic material. When I found out the diagnosis, I was … More Well, hello there
Me and The Little Fire 