The Bravery of a Friend

I have been privileged enough to know a certain young lady from Halifax for the last 20 years of my life. We have laughed together, cried together and had more than a few thousand beers together and she holds a special place in my life.

Unfortunately a few years ago, Charlotte developed a brain tumour, luckily it was benign and surgeons were able to remove it. One of the side effects of the operation was that she was left susceptible to epileptic fits. There have been a few blips along the way, but with the aid of drugs she has managed to remain virtually fit free.

Five weeks ago Charlotte had a major set back. She went on holiday to Goa, developed a stomach upset and this decreased the effectiveness of her epilepsy medication. On her return she suffered two seizures one after the other resulting in a stroke.

I went to see her this week in hospital. She amazed me with her courage and determination to get well. At the moment she is paralysed down one side, can’t walk and can do little for herself. Despite this she laughed with the Physiotherapists, spoke of her determination to learn to walk again and vowed that she would not be a burden on her disabled parents. She is 39 years old.

I think that when something like this happens, it puts your entire life into perspective. We can dwell on lack of sleep, lack of money and other minor issues in life. When something like this happens to someone close to you, the fact is that your health and that of those around you is the only thing that is truly important.

Potty Training!!!!!

I am having a real picnic at the moment trying to potty train my twins. There are enough wet patches on my floor to form a shallow pond. However, my dilemma has turned out to be a really good way of cheering up my sleepy parents who have purchased the Baby Sleep System. I will recount my experiences so far to see if you think the catalogue of disasters is as funny as my knackered parents seem to.

Day 1

7.00 - Feeling full of resolve I don my 2 small boys in a pair of big boy undies.

10.15 – Appoint Ben and Caitlin as wee monitors. I had to resort to offering Ben and Caitlin a £1 prize to the first one to see a twin starting to have a wee.

3.15 - 1 X sacked twin from the potty training (cried every time he weed on his feet so have decided to concentrate on 1 at a time)

5.30 - 2 X sacked wee monitors - Ben and Caitlin proved to be easily distracted. Then they decided to make Ewan sit permanently on the potty so as to guarantee the £1. As you can imagine this went down like a lead balloon!

Tally for the day

3 X puddles
1 X poo on kitchen floor
2 X wee wees in the potty. Hurray!!

Day 2

Hub has been involved in the potty training this morning so consequently no wee has gone in the potty and all of it has gone over the floor (oh and Caitlin who was weed on while she was watching tv on a bean bag - she was unimpressed). Carl has decided that it is the potty's fault and not his so he is going to purchase a new one this afternoon!

Day 4

12.00 - We seem to have made a bit of a break through in the potty training - only 1 pair of wet trousers today. Yesterday Ewan did a huge, slimy yellow poo next to the see saw in the park though. It was worse than scooping my dogs deposits.

5.30 - Potty training gone wrong again - sloppy number 2 in undies.

Day 5

Potty training has improved a little I think. Ewan does now come and find the potty occasionally, usually after he has weed. Was at the park this morning and heard a little boy shout ugh dog poo. Ewan poo I thought and was again scooping for Britain, trying not draw anyone’s attention to it. My friends were suspiciously quiet! I am determined not to give up though.

Day 6 - Today

Potty training is in the hands of my mother, who minds the twins on a Wednesday and Thursday so I can work (I work part-time from home as well as running my website). Last I heard Ewan had done a dump, mum had trodden in it without realising it (no glasses on, she said) and had walked it around the house. Bit of a whiff in the air now! Not giving up though.

To be honest the only thing that is keeping me going is how I would tell the members of the Forum that I had given up! I really think that they are getting a bit of satisfaction from seeing me suffering along with them. My reputation would be in tatters if I gave up now!

One or two of them have even suggested that I use the twins as guinea pigs to use as material for a potty training guide. I certainly won’t be writing one, but I might buy one that somebody else has written!

Publicity and Me!

Aggghh I really hate being in the media. Last month is was Practical Parenting, not too bad because most people in my village don't seem to read it. This month though was a different story - I was in the local paper.

I am a lucky woman because I really enjoy running Baby Sleep Answers. However, I harbour no desire to become a local celebrity. This is a small village that thrives on gossip. Somebody who appears in the local rag, really is famous for 15 minutes here. The phone has not stopped ringing and people keep calling to me across the street. I have started to adopt a low profile. Fortunately its the school holidays so I don't have to brave the playground!

Talking of fame - I have a new cute face on the website. Little Isobel who lives in West Yorkshire, is the subject of the latest sleep story. Her parents are now getting a lot more shut eye as a result of implementing the Baby Sleep System . Isobel's story can be found by clicking here .