Vicki Cockerill - NICU MUM Blog

Trying to live in the present again I thought I would finally take some time to update the blog on why it has been so quiet over here recently. For those that follow my social media will know that back in Dec I quit my job and became a freelance writer. Fast forward a few months and some trial and error I can also now add social media adviser to my bow. Going solo and standing on my own two feet was and still is terrifying. It is not the same as a regular pay cheque going into the bank each month. That coupled with a complete lack of confidence that I was good enough for people to pay me. A couple of months ago I also began therapy. Turns out writing about a traumatic event again and again does not mean you’ve processed it. It just means you’ve learnt the script, but instead I live in the past, missing out on the present. I also didn’t appreciate the effect Harlow’s birth had on me, and what happened in my childhood is still holding me back from being the mum I want...

Bribery. Alot of bribery. Whether you have one, two, three or six small humans that belong to you, there will come a time where you have to ride the frankly terrifying ride of parentdom alone. Here are a few observations/ tips you can use for your own survival!  1. Expect to be attached to a small human for 90% of the day. Sack of any plans to achieve anying other than perhaps having enough time to poo before the screaming begins again. Bonus points if you get to wipe before you're interrupted by the wailing limpet or invading toddler. I mean who doesn't like an audience?  2. What you plan to shower or bath? HAHAHA. Unless you time it very well this is not going to happen. My advice? Wet wipes, dry shampoo and deodrant ALOT of deodrant.  3. Pack a Bear Grylls worthy survival bag if you dare venture outside. You cannot have enough wipes and clothes everything will be covered in sick, shit and piss before you have even left the house...Ahhh the day light ...

Bedtime It seems I spend a lot of time counting down the hours until bedtime. Tea has been made, served and abandoned. Iggle Piggle has buggered off in his boat and I have fantasised about Tom Hardy reading me a bedtime story… in my bed. Now begins the battle. C Beebies goes blank and you use this to signal that it is time to go upstairs. The protests of, ‘I don’t like bedtime’, are shouted in my face (Give it twenty-five years and a few kids then let me know if you still don’t like bed kiddo). We slowly ascend the stairs and filter into the bathroom, the fun really begins. Bathroom flooded and hair washed amongst the screaming, a small naked wet toddler is now running around the upstairs settling into your bed where he leaves a huge wet patch. Military negotiations begin to convince said toddler that cleaning your teeth is a good idea, and bribes can just be heard over the enthusiastic Blippi Youtube video. After telling me twenty times that he doesn’...

I have come to a realisation recently. Elijah is ill, A LOT. He is basically a germ factory. Or he is licking everything, I do catch him doing this quite often. I even caught him putting his head down the toilet the other day.  I don't think we ever go for longer than a month or so before germs invade the house, and take us out one by one. He does not really get ill any more than a child of his age, in fact I think he is considered one of the healthy ones. He even takes his squidgy vitamin once a day which I am pretty sure is just a wine gum in disguise. But, every so often BAM! The house becomes an array of half empty Calpol bottles, snotty tissues, vomit/snot/ any other unidentifiable bodily fluid on the sofa and round the clock Disney films with three sleep deprived zombies inhabiting it. One thing that is certain he will always be ill when we have something planned, work,a night out, or for the last two years on my actual birthday.  It comes in stages, ...

I bring you yet another #mamaissue that's right two in one week and it isn't even Christmas yet! This amazing post is written by the lovely Anna who I actually know! We live in the same town! She is now starting out her blogging career but I know it will be a successful one if this post is anything to go by! Stay tuned for later in the series when Anna features again! I think by the end of this post you will evaluate if you are really raising a sexist child. We all know that our children are impressionable and we may  think  that we are watching what we say around them (most of us don’t drop the “C” bomb right?!) but what about the things that we are subconsciously saying? The throwaway comments that are planting teeny tiny seeds in teeny tiny minds. Here are 8 things that many of us have or do say and the implications that they could have down the line: 1.”Because I am a girl….” To explain something to your child using the term “because I am a girl” just shouldn’t b...

Dear Public, This is a letter just to explain a few things, I would say it is something of a public apology but I will let you into a secret…. I am not sorry. I am not sorry I chose to have a child, nor do I regret this even on a bad day. I am not sorry my child is strong willed, has likes and dislikes and is his own person. He is a little boy who expresses emotion, just like any adult. He may not understand his emotion at the time, and this will frustrate him and he will act out. I am not sorry when you are looking disapprovingly in the supermarket when he is crying as I will not buy him sweets. That I am taking my time going down to his level to explain how he is feeling. I am sorry I choose to comfort my son, I am not sorry I didn’t leave or take him outside through embarrassment. What have I got to be embarrassed about? Kicking back on the train, cue the scolding. I am sorry that he will scream, cry and kick when he goes back in the pushchair. He wants ...

Well here we are little man, your second birthday.   I am sure most parents get emotional when their child’s birthday approaches, however you don’t know this yet, but you are extra special. Not just extra special in the fact that all parents think their child is, but you have proved everyone wrong in just 24 months. You are so strong, so amazing and you do not even know it yet kiddo. This year started off well, with us not needing to see the heart consultant until Jan 2017, then you being discharged from the development clinic all together! You moved up in nursery 2 months ahead of your little friends of the same age and you have settled in and learnt so much. Wow, haven’t you? Your love of cars, motorbikes, lorries anything with wheels! Your Grandad would have been so proud.   You can say so much now! Your love of singing is infectious and I love our movie days together. I love how you look after your little babies and tuck them in at night, you are so kind and g...