Tag Archives: Mommy Blog

This is not a nappy review: New Pampers Premium Care

May 31, 2016 Zoe

If you follow me on Instagram, and I hope you do, you’ll have seen that a couple weeks back I went to a nappy launch. It was really weird for me – I’m so used to going to game, phone or other tech related launches. But, high tea sounded like fun and I was curious to hear what Pampers had to announce. It turned out to be their new range of Premium Care nappies – the ones in the white packaging. I went home from the launch with a demo box and a bag of nappies to try out, so once I finished the open pack Harley was using, I started trying out these Premium Care ones.

I wasn’t going to write a feature about them, nor was I inclined to do a demo of the nappies. We all know that nappies can absorb blue-colored water. Besides, I’ve been on such a topsy turvy nappy journey already, I seem to have distinct requirements. You see, before Harley was born, I was convinced I’d go the cloth nappy route. Then she came premature and I had to use disposable nappies, and the only brand that made nappies small enough were Huggies. So I became a Huggies user sort of by default, but why not give this bag of Premium Care nappies a whirl on a real baby? Continue Reading

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How much attention does my baby need every day?

March 10, 2016 Zoe

Being back at work has forced me into a balancing act. I want to do my best at my job, while also taking care of my tiny person. Harley isn’t a particularly difficult baby. Yes, she cries at times, but once I hold her, feed her and make sure she’s clean, she’s generally quite happy. But that doesn’t make balancing both activities easy, and I realized a big part of my guilt lies in feeling like I’m not doing enough with Harley.

I have these images in my head of orphanages when communism fell in the USSR. You know, the rows of cribs and babies crying for hours without any attention. These poor neglected babies who weren’t raised with love, who didn’t get the necessary stimulation, who were condemned at an early age to a life without opportunities every child should get. Now, obviously Harley’s experience is nothing like that, but it doesn’t get the mental image out of my head. I’m not neglecting my baby, but I am focusing on other things from time to time. But how bad is that? How much attention does a baby need? Continue Reading

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attention bad mother development

Coming out of the pregnancy closet

July 31, 2015 Zoe

It is weird keeping something as big as a new human being a secret. It takes up so much space in the imagination – from when I went off the pill and we were officially “trying” until it happened and then even after that when we were waiting for the doctor to give us a thumbs up. It was a massive secret for such a tiny being, and it was strange to decide which people should be in on the secret vs those who should wait until the big reveal.

Who do you tell, and how, and when? We told very few people that I was going off the pill. Of course I had the “pleasure” of thinking I was knocked up while traveling overseas. I waited for Dean to make it to America and then I peed on a stick and realized that yes, yes it was real. So, who do we tell then and who do we tell after I’m back home and have gone to see the doctor to know it’s really real? And then how long do we wait for the official announcement.

I always remembered women would wait until 12 weeks because the first trimester is rife with early miscarriages. I’ve even known women who announced and then had to un-announce after miscarriages. It’s more common than anyone would want, and I didn’t want to be in that situation. Additionally, thanks to fears about any possible birth defects or issues, we didn’t want to tell people in case the pregnancy had to be aborted – nothing like being in that situation and then having to be public about it because you’ve already gone public with the good news.

So, we waited for what felt like forever. And now the cat is out of the bag and it’s weird to see I keep telling people. My cleaning lady, the bartender in our usual watering hole, random ladies when I’m waiting in queues. It’s so strange though – it went from feeling like part of a secret circle to now sharing it with the whole world.

Similarly strange is the fact that I can no longer be offended when people ask when I’m due. It was also my terror; as a curvy woman, I was blessed with awesome boobs and butt, but that also meant that my stomach sometimes protruded, making people think I was already pregnant. This led to numerous tearful encounters, but now I’m showing because I really am pregnant – I’m not really allowed to be offended, although I do still think it’s a ridiculous question that no one should ask regardless of their breeding status.

So now that I’m telling everyone, it’s feeling even more real, and I’m finally realizing the range of emotions that I’m feeling. I know a lot of it is hormones, but geez, I seem to oscillate between excitement and terror on an hourly basis. I suppose that’s normal. Also, who knew how many strangers felt entitled to give you advice or pass judgement until you get pregnant – I didn’t realize that the whole world thought they knew everything better than me…

1 Comment Pregnancy

Announcements Coming out Mommy Blog

A peek into my future, maybe

July 30, 2015 Zoe

I got invited to a fun event today. It was time for Disney Africa to showcase what we could expect to see in the coming year, as well as some projects that are a bit further down the pipeline. It’s always a fun event, they have one every year, and usually I just twiddle my thumbs and troll twitter until the Marvel and Star Wars stuff comes up. However, this time I actually paid attention to the kiddy crap – in not so many months’ time, it won’t be kiddy crap, it will be part of my life.

Part of my joy about having a kid is imagining all the cool things I can introduce to him/her (still not 100% which it is yet). Will it be a Star Wars or a Star Trek child? Only way to find out is by showing everything. And what about all the games to play? I think I want to start off with the classics and build up to more modern gaming just so that he/she can see the progression… not that he or she will care either way. Still, I’m looking forward to watching Don Bluth films, reading all those classic fantasy and sci-fi kids books (and some of the new ones, too), and playing with the incredible range of toys-to-life games out there that I know I will love, even if the munchkin doesn’t.

Still, it’s not just about what I think is cool, and I’ve already accepted that as soon as I become a mom everything geeky and awesome that I know and love will become totally uncool to my spawnling. So, what sort of content will the little one enjoy? Am I going to spend my future watching Doc McStuffins all day? Or will I be watching the same movies on repeat until I can recite them all from memory? I remember adoring The Land Before Time as a kid, even though it made me cry every. single. time. Will The Good Dinosaur be a replacement? And how do I explain to a small child that the fun adventure flick that they want to watch three times a day is actually really sad as you get older and understand the deeper messages?

I’m not going to stress myself out about it too much. At least I’ll get to see the new Star Wars film before the little one arrives. I wonder if it will be my last outing to a movie theater for many years. I’d better eat all the popcorn and candy while I still can.

1 Comment Movies, TV

Disney Doc McStuffins Future

A bun in the oven

July 29, 2015 Zoe

So I’ve finally gone public with the whole “bun in the oven” thing after 13 weeks. It has been a strange few months, carrying around a secret quite literally. I did tell some people along the way, but only people who could understand why I was waiting so long to tell everyone.

Dean, my wonderful husband, had the fear. After living in Holland for many years, where women often wait well into their 30s and even 40s to start having kids, the rate of birth defects felt rather high. He was worried about there being a problem with the little peanut growing inside me, and wanted to wait until scans could prove that everything was healthy and normal. So far, so good.

I’m now 14 weeks in, and getting to the point where I feel like I can start making plans. Yes, I do know that all plans are useless because who knows what I’m going to get – more than worrying about the kid’s gender, I’m just hoping that it’s a SLEEPER. But until I know what I’m getting, I’m enjoying buying adorably geeky kids clothes, and daydreaming about the books, games and movies I can introduce him/her to. How early is too early to start A Wrinkle in Time or Tetris?

I’m also finally letting myself feel all the things that I’ve been feeling along the way. Now that it isn’t a secret that I’m knocked up, I can acknowledge all the fears, ideas and emotions that go along with the process. And, as a video game journalist by day, what could be better than becoming a geeky mommy blogger by night? Right? RIGHT?

So, this is my welcome blog, I guess. I will be blogging about the whole journey and my conundrums along the way. I have ideas about nappies, breast feeding, parenting philosophies, gaming for kids and all sorts of other things. I reserve the right to change my mind many times. Hopefully, you all enjoy following me from my debating and planning phase all the way through to carrying things out and realizing what does and doesn’t work.

2 Comments Parenting, Rambling

Geek Mommy Blog Parenting