Are you pregnant? Or thinking about becoming pregnant? If so, the following news items will be of interest to you:

• Dieting While Pregnant - Expectant mothers who diet during pregnancy are putting their babies at risk of low IQs and behavioural problems, scientists say.  A new study found that cutting back on vital nutrients and calories in the first half of pregnancy stunts the development of an unborn child’s brain.  Read more: Daily Mail Website.
• Advice for New Scottish Mothers - A new infant strategy by the Scottish government aims to highlight how nutritional choices start before conception and do not end after breastfeeding.  The government is to advise women who are planning a pregnancy to take vitamin D supplements, and will also urge new mothers not to wait too long before introducing lumpy food to their babies.  Read more: BBC News website.

• Paternity Leave – There are planned changes to paternity leave in the UK.  The UK government has outlined plans to go ahead with changes this April, allowing couples to share maternity leave.  The change, originally proposed by the previous government, allows a father to take up any remaining unpaid leave if their partner returns to work early.  You can read more about the changes to paternity leave on the BBC News website.  The government are also to consult on a “proper” system of shared parental leave to be introduced in 2015.  You can read more about the proposed changes, and the potential impact on small  business on the Daily Mail website. Would shared paternity leave suit you?  I know that when I had my twins, Hubby used his annual leave, rather than paternity leave, as the paternity pay is a pittance!  The BBC also has a great article about being a stay-at-home dad, which you can read here.

• Parenting Lies-  According to a recent survey, many mothers tell lies about their relationships, financial status and parenting experience.  Many mothers downplay such things as the amount of television their child  watches, and exaggerate on the amount of “quality time” spent as a family.  The survey suggests that they do this because they feel under pressure to be a “perfect family”.  You can read more about the findings of the survey on the BBC News website.  I find it quite sad that mothers feel so inadequate that they cannot be honest with each other.  Sharing parenting experiences, good and bad, should be a good way to learn and develop as parents.  Spending time with other mums, who are going through the same dilemmas, should provide a good suppport network.  Why should we feel under pressure to keep up with the Jones’s, and why is there the constant need to be “The Best” at everything!?  I do know of a few mums who are prone to exaggeration and like to project the image of the “Perfect Little Family” on Facebook.  What do you think?  Do you feel under pressure to tell little white lies about such things just to fit in?  Or do you know of someone who is guilty of stretching the truth just a bit too far?  Are you able to honestly share your parenting woes with other mothers?

This week’s Twin Tuesday QOTW is:

Have you taken your twins on a road trip, yet? And, if so, any tips/tricks for making the ride smoother?

Shortly after our girls turned one, Hubby and I took them away on holiday to Wales for a week.  We stayed in a caravan site, just outside Prestatyn in North Wales.  The girls were so well behaved during the journey (which I think took us about 5 hours with a few stops).

We made sure the girls had a selection of toys to play with in the car and, thankfully they actually slept for much of the journey.

Four years on, and we went on a family holiday to Florida last summer.  Our trip involved flying to London Gatwick in the first instance, and then a long haul flight to Orlando.  The girls were patient, relaxed and well behaved throughout the journey.  They had little backpacks with story books, colouring books, puzzle books and a couple of dolls and fave soft toys, as well as some snacks. 

You can link up with TwinHappy Jen on her TwinHappy blog here or join the blog hop below.

On Twitter @TwinParenthood also posed a twin-related question today:

TwinParenthood

Twin Parents: Are tantrums worse with twins? What age is the peak? Tips to cope?

Well, I am very lucky that I’ve never had much of a tantrum problem with my daughters .  Don’t get me wrong, they have had their moments, but they’ve been rare.

When they were toddlers, we used the “Naughty Step” as a way of tackling tantrums and bad behaviour.  It was mostly used after a spat between the girls.  They often used to fight over toys! 

I have never really had to deal with a double-whammy tantrum in the supermarket or shopping centre.  There was the odd ‘wobble’ with them fighting for space in the cramped supermarket trolley seats, but that was all really!

They’re now almost six years old, and I couldn’t tell you the last time we needed to use the “Naughty Step”.  They play well together most of the time now and, though there may be the occasional wee niggle, they rarely come to blows.

I am very lucky that I can take my girls anywhere with me and know that they will behave.  I often take them to the hairdressers, beauty salon or opticians with me, and they wait patiently for me in the waiting areas, reading, drawing or playing their DSi.

I  found a twin story in today’s Daily Mail about identical twins, Ruby and Pearl (great names, huh!?):

“They are so alike that even their boyfriends struggle to tell them apart.

But Ruby and Pearl Day’s other halves can be forgiven – especially since the pair were yesterday judged to be Britain’s most identical twins.

In a nationwide competition, the 18-year-olds were deemed to be most alike in terms of facial likeness, personality and ‘dancing synchronicity’.”

You can read more about this story on the Daily Mail website here.

As a mum of twins, I like to participate in the Twin Tuesday meme on the Twin Happy blog.

TwinTuesday QOTW:

What kind of fun ideas for twin birthday parties have you tried out in the past, or have been thinking about trying?

Here’s some photos of the girls on their 5th birthday last summer.  We were at an Olive Garden restaurant in sunny Florida.  We had bought a cake from Walmart to surprise the girls, and we ended up sharing it with the diners in the surrounding tables, as a thank you for joining us in singing “Happy Birthday” to the girls! 

The girls are wearing their lovely new Minnie Mouse dresses – a birthday gift from Granny & Grandpa, purchased at a gift shop in The Magic Kingdom.

A couple of days after we returned from our fantastic Florida trip, the girls had a Princess & Pirate birthday party at Cadwinkles – a local soft play centre – with a large group of their friends.  The girls looked gorgeous in their Cinderella outfits – a birthday gift from Mummy & Daddy, purchased (again) at The Magic Kingdom.

(I had wanted to post a picture of the girls in their Cinderella outfits, but my computer is playing up this evening, and I am quite honestly ready for hurling it out the window!!)

Twins in the News

I came across this story of a lovely family of multiples in today’s Daily Mail.

Hazel Bowden is the mother of not one, but two, sets of twins, who were born in the space of 12 months. She is thought to be the only woman in the UK to give birth to twins twice in a single year.

Read more about this unusual family on the Daily Mail website here.

I like to participate in Twin Happy Jen’s meme every week, though I haven’t actually done this for a couple of weeks.

This week’s Twin Happy QOTW is:

Do you think you receive more or less help, then if you had had only one baby?

I’m lucky to have a fantastic family support network on hand to help me with my gorgeous girls.  Both sets of grandparents, several aunties and uncles and some family friends have been on standby over the past five and a half years.

When my daughters were first born, my Hubby was working away from home during the week (as he had been throughout most of my pregnancy).  This could have driven many a hormonal mamma of preemie multiples over the edge.  However, I was extrememly lucky that my mum, sister and best friend were willing to take it in turns to come straight to my house from work in the evenings, prepare dinner, help with washing and ironing, and get up through the night with me for the night feeds.  My inlaws would call round every day, during the day to help out too.  I doubt very much that I’d have coped without this support network.

I don’t think parents of multiples get enough help from the government though.  We don’t get adequate child benefit, because we don’t get double money.  We get a smaller payment for our second child, even though they are twins. 

Similarly, we don’t get double maternity pay or extra leave.  I think this is unfair.  Had I given birth to my daughters eighteen months or more apart, I would have had up to a year off for each child (albeit it partly unpaid), and the same full maternity pay each time.

You can read Twin Happy Jen’s answer to the QOTW here.

Twins in the News

A report last week claimed the parents of twins or triplets are more likely to divorce than those with single-born babies. In the Daily Mail on Friday, one woman told how having triplets destroyed her marriage. But writer Amanda Cable, who lives in South-East London with her husband Ray, daughter Ruby, 11, and eight-year-old sons Charlie and Archie, tells how the twins have made them even closer.

Read more here.

Parents of children deemed unfit are to be sent warning letters from schools.

Secondary pupils will be forced to take an annual fitness test.

If they fail, their parents will be told they are at risk of heart disease, brittle bones and obesity. The scheme was outlined yesterday by the Government’s chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson. 

He warned that lack of exercise is placing a greater burden on the economy than smoking – costing £8.3billion a year compared with £5.2billion. But the initiative was criticised by campaigners as yet another example of Labour’s ‘nanny state’ interference in family life.

Read more on the Daily Mail website.

Sisters Tracy Raver and Kelley Ryden, took most of the photographs at their studio in Nebraska when the babies were fewer than 10 days old. 

The photos have definitely intensified my desire for a third child!  LOL

Please take a peek at the beautiful photos here.

Here’s a little snippet from the article:

“Workers will be entitled to claim paid leave to care for sick relatives under plans commissioned by Women’s Minister Harriet Harman.
All employees would also win the right to request flexible working hours to look after children and the elderly.

The proposals are contained in a report demanded by Miss Harman into the needs of the so-called ‘sandwich generation’ – working women who have to care for both young children and ageing relatives.

They are expected to be included in a green paper published by Miss Harman next year.

The proposals, revealed by Miss Harman at a think tank conference yesterday, are likely to prove popular with working women who Miss Harman has made it her special mission to woo.

But they will be dismissed by business leaders as likely to cost billions to firms who are struggling to stay afloat during the recession.”

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1233945/Harriet-Harman-unveils-plan-allow-workers-claim-paid-leave-look-sick-relatives.html#ixzz0Z6IUYWU8

As a working mum myself, I think these proposals are a good idea. I am fortunate enough to already have such leave arrangements available to me from my employer.

I appreciate we are in tough economic times, and that small businesses are struggling. However, I also know that many hard-working parents are struggling too! Family-friendly policies help to relieve stress for working parents.

I am astounded at the amount of inane drivel contained in the comments on the Daily Mail site, coming from grumpy old MEN!

Many comments bemoan maternity leave and flexible hours and potray female employees as ‘work-shy’ and ‘wastes of space’!

Taking care of a sick child or elderly relative is not just WOMEN’s work! BOTH parents should take it in turns to take time off to care for a sick child. If a man (married or single) has a sick (or dying!) parent, then surely he would want time off to look after them (sharing the burden – & time off – with any siblings). These proposals will be available to ALL employees, not just MOTHERS!

In my public sector job, I’m allowed 5 paid carers days per year to deal with family/dependant emergency obligations such as illness, injury, etc. I have used 2 such days in 5 years. I’m also entitled to Parental Leave, which is unpaid leave of up to a maximum of 13 weeks in respect of each child. These arrangements should be made available to all.

Who’ll nurse these grumpy old men, who’ve dismissed family-friendly policies, when they’re old & infirm? I can’t imagine their family members would want to! They’ll probably just hire some paid help (as they no doubt did for any offspring!)

I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on the matter. Please leave a comment here and, while you’re at it, it would be great to see some more women’s comments on the Daily Mail website too!

Pushchair maker Maclaren recalls ONE MILLION models after children sever fingers

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1226583/Pram-maker-Maclaren-recalls-1m-models-after-children-sever-fingers.html#ixzz0WRuWixwM

Please alert other parents to this article by blogging, tweeting, etc…  We have to prevent other children from being injured like this.

There’s a full page of coupons in the paper (14 offers in all), which will come in very handy for the School October Break.  Many of the offers are available until the end of November.  Therefore there’s enough activies to keep you and your family occupied during the October break and every weekend until the end of next month.

Offers include M&Ds, Motherwell, The Falkirk Wheel, Falkirk, Sea World, Oban, The Wallace Monument, Bridge of Allan  and The Dungeons in Edinburgh.

I’ve already put this page of offers aside for inspiration for a frugal school break.  I’ll certainly take advantage of the Falkirk Wheel and Wallace Monument offers, as these attractions are not too far from home.

I’ll be writing about some more school break activities in a later post.  If you have any school break tips to share, I’d love to hear from you!