Kylie Orr's blog
Be honest, who's your favourite child?
KYLIE ORR My favouritism towards my children is variable and completely transient. My love, however, is solid and given freely and unconditionally, to each one of them.
Kylie Orr's blog
Has a midwife (or MCHN) ever made you cry?
KYLIE ORR Kind words, empathetic smiles, patient instruction and tender advice all got me through those vulnerable moments. Thankfully the great midwives outweigh the substandard ones.
Kylie Orr's blog
How can a marriage survive a baby?
KYLIE ORR Little prepares you for when you take that miniature bundle of noise home. When the solid waste hits the rotary blades, tempers often result in some less than loving exchanges between partners.
Kylie Orr's blog
Reinventing your childhood for your children. Can it be done?
KYLIE ORR My children don’t know what playing in the street is. They are not permitted past our driveway. Although not a main road, our street is used as a thoroughfare and despite speed humps, we still attract bogan hoons on the odd occasion. Not odd enough to let me relax my parental leash.
Kylie Orr's blog
Is it greedy to want a large family?
KYLIE ORR I am still in limbo-land about how many children we will have. You may have read a blog I wrote a year ago about not having that "finished" feeling. I was hoping it would creep up in time, when the newborn bub became a screaming toddler. Well, he’s here - in his climbing, hitting, yelling and non-sleeping glory - but the feeling is not.
Kylie Orr's blog
Ever used the "threat" of Santa? A little poem...
KYLIE ORR Ever used the “threat” of Santa? What tricks do you have up your sleeve to survive the silly season?
Kylie Orr's blog
Teaching religion in public schools. Why bother?
I support an education in religion – open the young boy’s eyes to the many different belief systems in the world; teach tolerance and understanding and perhaps he will find something that rings true for him.
Kylie Orr's blog
Smelly boys and pretty girls: smothering stereotypes
KYLIE ORR Girls who won’t wear dresses, who prefer to roll around in the dirt and drive cars through the sandpit and smash them into the walls, are still girls. Boys who like to sit still and colour in, concoct imaginary games with dolls and teddies and mime to the latest pop music still qualify to be boys.
Kylie Orr's blog
Do high achievers find parenting more difficult?
KYLIE ORR I recently took a personality test. Love those things. It came back with a nice neat label for my kind of people: Perfectionists. Are you a high achiever (or are you married to one)? Did you (or they) find parenting a difficult adjustment?
Kylie Orr's blog
Snotty kids don't attract sympathy
KYLIE ORR Somehow I slipped through the cracks when they were handing out the sympathy gene. I must have been standing in the impatience line, because I sure got an overdose of that.
Kylie Orr's blog
Spoilt rotten: do our kids have too many toys?
KYLIE ORR Do our kids need all these toys? What happened to imaginary play where a costume could be fashioned from an old sheet and some stockings?
Kylie Orr's blog
Is anyone getting any sex?
KYLIE ORR It was inevitable this topic was going to rear its horny head. I’ve been avoiding it, seeing as my folks, husband and friends read this blog and the topic is rather personal.
Kylie Orr's blog
Do parents have a right to be more tired?
KYLIE ORR It’s not a competition, but if it was, we would win. Us parents. Yes, this is one of those topics that creates clear division. Before you roll your eyes, yawn and head for bed, hear me out.
Did pregnancy and its aftermath ruin your body?
As I look down at my sad and sorry excuse for a cleavage, I try to remember that babies are miracles that enhance our lives.
Are your kids too skinny or too fat?
I got me a skinny one. In fact, I got three skinny ones. They were solid newborns - 8lbs through to a hefty 9lb6oz - but then they stretched without porking up.
