My Lil Babe

These women are not nasty, they are not evil, they are women who were so excited to welcome their little one into this world. They are women who had a nursery set up and baby clothes bought. They are women who excitedly waited for their due date, took belly photos and updated the world on how their pregnancy was coming along. They are the women who woke up one day and felt that their baby wasn’t moving anymore. They are the women that felt in their gut that something was terribly wrong, just to have their worst fears confirmed.

They are the women who went to a regular checkup to find out that their baby is severely deformed and won’t live outside the womb, or will but only for a few days and suffer terribly the whole time. They are the women who have to make a decision to not let their baby suffer.

The remainder are performed in the 2nd trimester, generally as a result of fetal abnormality or a severe congenital defect.

The vanishingly rare 3rd trimester abortions are generally for one of two reasons:

1) the life of the mother is in serious danger 2) the fetus is either dead or dying

So no. Women aren’t just bouncing on coat-hangers at 37 weeks for a giggle, they’re undertaking a serious medical procedure for a heartbreaking reason.

If the first doctor she saw had listened to her, all that stuff might even have gotten used. But instead, the kid died that night. Her mother carried a corpse in her uterus for 3 days, running a horrible fever and coming close to organ failure.

The Bangladesh government forcefully picked up and is torturing the famous photographer Shahidul Alam for giving an interview about the protests.

EVERY TIME WE KISS I SWEAR I COULD FLY

CAN’T U FEEL MY HEART BEAT FAST, I WANT THIS TO LAST

NEED YOU BY MY SIDE

- you desperately try to keep them safe whilst they are on a one person mission to cause themselves injury as frequently as possible

- their first words will inevitably end up being “no” “shit” or “oh god” which is not exactly what you expected to write in the baby book

- changing nappies becomes VERY VERY difficult. They do not want you to change their diaper. They don’t want their diaper on. They also don’t want it off. They do want to put their hands in poop and smear it on the wall/your face/the cat

- they will say “no” ALL THE TIME

- toddlers suddenly obsess over certain toys or books. If their obsession is the latter, you will read the same book OVER and OVER and OVER again. You will want to burn said book; but can’t as toddler would be distraught. 

- they will fall over. A lot.

- they will bang into things. A lot. 

-they will be frequently bruised, scratched or marked. You will feel guilty about it. blame Daddy.

-sleeping times and schedules are so much harder - now they can stand up, move around, try to climb out of the crib, shout into the baby monitor, remove their bedding and throw it out of the cot, etc, etc

-things start to become very dramatic. Simple tasks, like putting the toddler in a car seat are MELTDOWN worthy, they will arch their backs, contorting in a way you didn’t think possible, scream (so loudly that the neighbours peer out of their windows wondering who is being murdered), cry and make things basically as difficult as possible

-your toddler will embarrass you often. Whether it is shouting, throwing food (bonus points for toddler if it hits the elderly lady on the next table), screaming (in places like the Doctor’s Surgery or Library) or throwing themselves on the floor because you won’t let them play with scissors. Try to remember that most people have been in this position before; if they look judgy its probably because they’ve tried to block out the toddler period from their memory and can’t remember the trauma, don’t worry Momma, you’re doing great. 

-everything takes a very long time. Nappy changing, dressing (a fun game is when Mummy puts a sock on and toddler takes the sock back off - repeat until mummy cries in the corner), shoes on, coat on, coat off, coat on, changing bag packed (toddler will kindly unpack things she or he doesn’t think you need; and will obviously be a disaster when you realise you don’t have nappies/wipes/bottles with you). 

-Walking. Toddler now does not want to be in a pushchair. The pushchair is the root of all evil and according to toddler should be treated as such (kicking, screaming, crying, body flailing are all vital in avoiding the pushchair). They have discovered that their little feet will take them where they want to go. Unfortunately - where they want to go; and you need to go are very different places. Important destinations for toddler result in picking up tiny stones, leaves, cigarette butts and putting them in their mouth. Other important places to explore are the busy road, shop doors and in particular the opposite direction to you.