I broke 5 cardinal rules of parenting (and this is what happened)

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Congrats! You’re a parent! And now, tread lightly, because you’re about to enter a volatile minefield of unsolicited parenting advice from just about everyone — your parents, parents-in-law, that distant aunt you only see once a year… yes even the random, gnarly old man at the bus stop. Bring your child up this or that way and there will be hell to pay! The sweet little babe will metamorphosise into a conniving, manipulative brat who drinks the tears of your parental anguish for sport! Everyone else seems to know better than you, it seems. It’s easy to feel shaken and…

5 things my painful breastfeeding journey taught me about parenthood

Categories: Breastfeeding · ParentingTags: Leave a comment

The first thing that hit me when my baby latched onto me was a raw, searing pain in one of my most delicate, sensitive regions, as a hot little mouth tore away hungrily at my flesh. For many new mums, breastfeeding is brutal, animalistic, and stressful — worlds away from the angelic, sanguine depictions in hospital brochures of beaming, bashful mums with their cherubic babes swathed in pure bliss. “Breast is best”, they say, but no one prepares new mums and their not-so-lovely-anymore lady lumps for the painful slog breastfeeding is. When I started nursing my son, I didn’t think…