'In my daughters eyes, I am a hero. I am strong and wise. And I know no fear. But the truth is plain to see. She was sent to rescue me. I see who I want to be, in my daughter's eyes.'
- Song by Mart'na McBride
My baby girl is called Katelyn. She is now the middle child and turns 7 next month. It seems to be going so quickly.
My pregnancy was pretty tough with her. I had severe morning sickness for over 6 months of the pregnancy, it was awful. Honestly I don't even know why they call it morning sickness, it was day and night! Thankfully the birth was easy enough, as far as giving birth goes anyway.
I had a very bad experience with my first child so when I went into labour with my daughter I stayed away from the hospital for as long as I possibly could. The time came and I knew she was ready to come into the world. I phoned the hospital, told them I was about to give birth. They asked if my waters had broken, I told them no. Their response was, get a bath and take some paracetamol. Thankfully because she was my 2nd I knew what was happening otherwise I'd of given birth in the bath!
We made our way to the hospital, everything was going smoothly but I did start pushing as soon as I was in the delivery room. At this point my waters still hadn't broken, the midwife said that they don't pop the waters at this hospital, guess today was the day they would break procedure. Katelyn was born in her amniotic sac, the midwife had to leave the room to get something to pop it haha.
Old folklore says that being born in the water sac is a sign of good luck. Only 1 in 80,000 babies are born in their amniotic sac. At the time I wouldn't have agreed it was a sign of good luck but 6 nearly 7 years on I'd say Katelyn has brought some good luck to us in the way of bringing happiness to our lives.
I won't lie, she can be a little monster at times (another myth about being born in the water sac is the child will become a vampire haha seems fitting) but over all Katelyn has a huge heart, she is so loving and caring. She is a very emotional child, which could be seen as a bad thing, but with the world being so hard hearted these days I am glad she is in touch with her emotions. As like majority of children, Katelyn is very different to her siblings, but I think the uniqueness of each child just makes being a Mother to them all that more worth while.
She is a leader, she is sporty, loves the outdoors, loves running around with her friends, she also loves art, anything crafty and she wants to be involved. At the moment theses traits are not seen as a good thing by her school, which does make me sad. She is expected to fit into a box that the school see as what a child should be, thankfully she keeps fighting this.
I love my daughter very much, just as much as my other children but with her personality seeming to be an issue at the moment at school she needs me now more than ever.
She is polite, isn't disrespectful, she just struggles to sit quietly. She struggles to be a sheep simply because deep down she is a shepherd.
I'm actually crying typing this, crazy isn't it how emotional you get as parent trying to protect your child from such a cold world.
Right, so now you know a bit of the background of my baby girl I'll get back onto 'Mother Daughter Time'.
Parent and child time is important for every single child in the world no matter the circumstances, but for today I'll just be talking about my Mother Daughter time and I hope you are all able to take something from this.
With Katelyn going through the struggle of not fitting into the box society wants her to fit in at the moment, it is difficult for her and I have now realised the importance of one on one time more than ever.
Your child needs to feel special.
Your child needs to feel loved.
Your child needs to know you will make time for them.
Your child needs to know you think they are awesome.
Your child needs to know that you have their back.
It is our job as parents or guardians to tick all these boxes and make our children feel so loved that nothing and no one can stop them from being who they really are.
Quick note - Just to be clear always remember you can be your child's friend but remember that first and foremost you are the parent and do need to set boundaries. As you will know your child better than anyone else, you will know what boundaries to set that will keep them safe but also not stop them from growing as a person.
The above things I listed are obviously things we need to be doing everyday but one on one time is needed now and then just to have a catch up and make your child feel that extra bit special.
Katelyn and I had some Mother Daughter time last Thursday night and Friday day. I didn't go and spend a fortune on her by spoiling her with new toys or clothes, yes that's nice but not always needed. Instead we had a girly night.
My eldest son had gone to his Grandad's for the night and my youngest was in bed so me and Katelyn had face masks, a bit of junk food and painted our nails. She loved the attention and boy did it help her open up. I couldn't shut her up haha she was telling me way more than usual.
You know what kids are like. You ask them what they did at school and get the same response most of the time, 'I don't remember' or 'nothing.'
The next day we were rebels and had McDonalds and did a little shopping. Just this little bit of one on one time made so much difference. She was a super star! She seemed happier, was listening better and opening up more. Over all it was a success.
I try to have one and one time with each child but unfortunately it isn't as often as I would like. After seeing the change it brought in Katelyn this time round, I will definitely be making sure I book in the time with each child to do something just with them.
I hope you were able to take something away from this post. Do you already make sure you have one on one time with your child? Do you think maybe you should make more of an effort to fit it in? Do you have any ideas on what to do? Or maybe experiences you'd like to share? I'd love to hear. Leave a comment or direct message.
Love your babies and enjoy parenthood! :)
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