User Comments

reallife June 7, 2024

Life is short, if I was you, i would get back in touch with Gemma....

reallife December 25, 2023

Well said Holly! Summed up perfectly! My partner and I have been together 13 years, have one child and never plan on getting married.

reallife September 26, 2023

You are too hard on yourself. Let the guilt go and embrace your decisions.

Also you can say that you don't want to play.  My 5 year old child is an only child.  She asks me to play often. I tell her that i won't do imaginary play but that i would do crafts or play a board game. Imaginary play hurts my brain and is not my thing.  Why shouldn't we be able to say no?!  I think it's good to teach kids that the answer isn't always going to be yes!

Kids are exhausting, you're not a bad mum at all. You're a tired mum !

Sometimes i think about parenting in relation to introverts and extroverts. I'm an introvert and like to spend lots of time alone and find parenting difficult in that regard. Other people who are introverts possibly cope better with having kids around all the time? not sure...


reallife June 4, 2023

The side effects aren't great, i agree, but for me anti-depressants are definitely worth it. There is still a lot of stigma around anti depressants. I'm positive that in years to come that will be gone, as everyone talks much more openly about mental health now compared to how much they did.  I've been on and off them for 20 years and it's only now that i'm nearly 40 that i realise i need these. This time of taking them, i wish i'd taken them 3 years earlier when i was really struggling! For some reason though i endured the struggle (which is an anxiety disorder) but it really did put a dampener on all things in my life. I feel so much more upbeat and relaxed now that i'm on my meds again.

reallife June 3, 2023

I mean in this in the most sincerest way, but in regards to you wanting a girl and your below quote
"It wasn't the pink, or the dolls or the cute girl clothes that made me want this so badly, it was that enduring relationship and connection between a mother and her daughter."

I think you may be trying to re-write the past.  By having a girl child and trying to do a better job at having a connection with your child than your mother did with you?  It's just something to think about.

reallife June 1, 2023

Well said. I still have days where i hate being a mum. It's really hard work with no pay and no gratitude. So good for mums to be talking about this stuff.  

reallife May 25, 2023

Try and live by this quote “your opinion of me is none of my business.”

Because it really isn't.  Once you start believing that, it is really quite freeing.

reallife May 21, 2023

@sarahtims your response is just plain rude. This article is not just about sex, it's educating people on one prominent side effect of taking anti depressants. A side effect doctors often don't tell you about!

reallife May 17, 2023

@di_p you chose to have kid(s). You made that choice and commitment. Have you considered that some people suffer from health issues that mean they get little sleep too?

reallife May 17, 2023

@tanyan what if a child free person runs their own business, potentially has health issues are they allowed to be as tired as you? Should they give up their livelihood, is that what you're saying??

reallife May 10, 2023

@fzmclaren everyone has a different experience with pumping. At one point i was pumping several times a day and lucky to get 20ml each time

reallife May 9, 2023

@mamamia-user-556745246 Asking them to go to an early morning event IS more work for the mum so how is that celebrating mothers day? by adding to the workload...

Also what about kids that don't have mums? surely they are going to feel quite left out at an event like this.

 I know you can't please all and that everyone's circumstances are different, but perhaps giving kids the option in art or english to create or write something nice about their mum (or parent) would be a better option?

reallife April 30, 2023

So true! Your body is really nobody elses business. It would be great if one day the world wasn't so obsessed with how people look!

reallife April 28, 2023

True, it could have been a great chance to talk about a serious health condition! However, the way Megan spoke of it was vulgar which distracted us from the serious issue at hand.  Maybe making a joke of it is her coping mechanism 

reallife April 27, 2023

The blue eden or the brown linen!!!!

reallife April 20, 2023

This was a really beautiful touching read! Thank you for sharing!

reallife April 17, 2023

@gu3st agreed. It's become all about getting dressed up and 'seen'. No one talks about the music. Why does it feel like everyone is so self obsessed these days??! I'm 39 but feel so old these days. I know I'm from a different generation but sometimes it feels like a different world entirely 

reallife March 21, 2023

Would love more articles like this one! Is really great to get an insight into other peoples lives :) So interesting!!

reallife March 21, 2023

@rush Agreed. Infertility is a part of life and should be spoken about openly.  You tell your children that mum felt the need to help somebody that could not have children naturally. At an age appropriate to understand and then ask them if they have any questions.  Why does it have to be anymore complicated than that???

reallife March 21, 2023

@laura__palmer I disagree.  Friendships are just a form of relationship.   When romantic relationships don't work out people can put it down to incompatibility but why is the same not for platonic relationships??

Sometimes you might find yourself friends with someone that you have met through your children and may not be compatible with at all.  The only thing you have in common is that you both have children.  Eventually that friendship may come to an end because there's essentially 'nothing there'

Everyone has different personalities and what some people require of others may be more than a person is willing to give.  I once had an argument with a friend about the fact that when something was wrong with her (she would go quiet) i would never ask 'what's wrong' and i told her its her job to tell me what's wrong not for me to go through life constantly asking her what's wrong and trying to be a mind reader every time she is quiet!

Probably unpopular opinion here but that's my view on it.