what makes you an unusual mum?

[NotThereYet]

Just wondering what things you do that you don't see other Mums doing, or what aspects of your character you don't think make you typically 'Mum-like'?

Damn, I am not unusual after all

jbcbj please can you point me in the direction of some tandem sling info? Currently use a home made wrap with ds and am pg.

Sorry for hijack op!

I'm a bellydancer, and I have a mohiecan.

Yes, I go away too. And I'm going to be away studying two nights a week come the end of the year. My husband and I are separating, but he will be at home (which we are sharing for now) looking after our DS, with the help of an au pair.

My DS also calls me by my first name, and I've decided not to ask him to call me "mummy": my DSS calls me by my first name, and so there's consistency and a sense of equality between the two boys. It doesn't interfere with discipline.

I sailed across the Atlantic when my boys were 3 and 5, gone for six weeks. At the time lots of mumsnetters told me I was an awful mother. It was a great experience for me and has done them no harm.

Those who don't close stairgates - do you have to follow your DCs everywhere? We've got a set of stairs with a small landing so have a gate which is closed unless we're ustairs.

DS can climb up no problem - going down, well his legs aren't long enough to walk despite me teaching him to crawl down backwards. He's a very good climber generally.

Closing the gate means I can let him wander about (not unattended for too long, a minute or so at most).

I breastfeed - I live in the area of the UK with the lowest bf rates, so round here that makes me a definite novelty! Certainly don't see many other women doing it in public...I like to think I'm making a tiny stand every time I do it!

Didn't have a car for many years when dcs were little, so I suppose that did make us a bit different. But we do now. So I've lost my claim to originality. Does being bilingual count? Not very unusual though, is it?

Iggly
DD1 never showed much interest in disappearing upstairs alone until she was v safe going up and down the stairs, and she did get going down backwards/on her bum v quickly, so was safe.
We live on the 3rd floor in a flat so she's done lots and lots of stair practice.
we were going to get a stairgate when we felt it was needed but we never did and now shes almost 4.
things might change once DD2 is moving though!

The thing that makes me very different from other mums is that I've never completely grown up! I love to play with my dc, act the fool, tease them and joke around but fortunately, I also have authority and I know they respect me. Thank goodness. They know how much I love them and they love me straight back.

I hope this openness lasts.

Ah Robyn - well DS took the stairs as soon as he started crawling. We also live in a flat and after he'd been walking about a month, I accidently left the door open and he ran straight for the stairs and fell down. So despite him climbing up and down stairs supervised, I cant keep my eyes off him for a second (flat is split across two floors)! I need extra eyes as it is

Bejeezus - Relatively few women cycle for sport (as opposed to cycling get from A to B), particularly road cycling, that's why the ones that do are notable exceptions - whether they are Mums or not, although even fewer women with caring responsibilities cycle, due to the time commitment. To lump all Mums together as one unit is silly but I think that's the point of the thread - to point out that Mums are not one homogeneous mass.

Moonface - i pmed you about the tandem carrying. good luck!

Cheers jbcbj you're a star.

I very rarely mention to anybody that we've been sitting dd on the potty (at bedtime, after meals, and when we change her nappy) since she could sit up, to get her used to it slowly and ease the pressure of having to do full-on potty training later on. It was my mum's idea and I believe it used to be fairly commonplace in the olden days. I thought it was a bit batty but harmless (we never 'expect' her to use potty or reprimand her if she doesn't for example) so we did it. Now at 16mo, 8 out of 10 times she'll tell us she needs a poo and go and find the potty.

In private I feel really happy with the way we roll potty-wise- but feel so embarrassed to mention it in public in case people think I'm mad.

We also use cloth nappies but I don't think that's unusual, esp not on here!

Vaguely depressed that the only things that make me unusual are related to poo!

4 children - 3 storey house - no stair gates. Older 2 have both fallen down the stairs once each, but escaped with nothing more than a bump and a bruise and they were both walking down with us at the time and just slipped - could have happened even if there had been stairgates and in fact, if there had been one at the bottom they could have done more damage when they hit it.

All 4 of my children have been weaned off bottles and onto cups completely by 7 months - they also all stopped a bedtime drink at 7 months (milk with dinner then off to bed) which people seem to think is very cruel for some reason.

I don't bath my children every day - or even every other day - I bath them when they're grubby!

Shush that sounds sensible to me (re potty). We've got one for DS and try and get him to sit on it every now and then and I don't plan to go for cold turkey potty training wish I'd thought to do it from a younger age!

Thanks iggly. The only problem we have is that dd often just wants to sit on it and read for what feels like hours (takes after her daddy ), whilst producing nothing. She likes it on her 'poppy'.

Iggly DS taught himself to climb safely backwards down the stairs within a month of learning how to go up them (around 11/12 m.o. IIRC). So I don't supervise at all. He's since been working on walking down sideways holding onto the banisters / stairgates. I let him wander up & downstairs and roam at will (until he starts trying to pester DH in his study, that is ). Mostly he likes to sit at the top of our bottom flight of stairs and throw balls down to the bottom.

ShushBaby, have you seen this pottying site? My DS (now 17 m.o.) is modelling in some of the photos - despite not having 'performed' on the potty for about 4 months now.

I'm not planning on doing cold turkey potty training either (nor is MoonfaceMama for that matter. :)) Most people think I'm mad but I know a few fellow weirdos in real life.

I'm no different really but have diverged in my behaviour relative to that of my neighbours and acquaintances since having a child (currently pregnant with another).

I don't have any mum friends. Well, I have my best friends who are mothers, but they live abroad (as did I) and besides, we don't really talk 'kids' when we do talk. Am expecting this will change (come about organically is what I mean) when my daughter starts school.

I started teaching my daughter to read from when she was just a bit older than one. I'd never, ever, in a million years tell anyone about this in real life as they'd just make assumptions and think I was being ridiculous.

I don't have a pram or a buggy and don't intend to buy one. Same goes for a cot.

In real life I feel the weird one out as I still breastfeed a 2-1/2 year old (though never speak about it to anyone, even my mother, or do it outside the home) But on here I feel one of the masses.

I used to ride a sportsbike in flipflops and a badly fitting helmet in SE Asia up to 5 months' pregnant with my first. Looking back, not my finest hour.

I used to love drink and drugs.

Waves to Angel - I think after DS fell down the stairs I've been super paranoid although I'm not so worried about him climbing up onto things as he's very good at getting down. He was cautious on stairs after falling but that fear has gone

I've noticed we don't really dress like mummies. In particular, when DD was a baby she hated being held facing us, so she was carried around facing outwards - leading to people asking if we had just found her.

I feel no compulsion to visit a photographers studio with my DH & DS and have posed photos taken of us all laughing. Would rather just take nice photos of him.

We are also in the group of people who don't do stair gates on the stairs. We do have them over rooms I don't want him to go in.

I didn't pay a ridiculous sum of money to "teach" my 4 month old how to "swim"

I rarely feel guilty about leaving my DS at nursery to go to work. He loves it, I am much more fulfilled as a working mother. Anytime anyone asks though, I feel honour bound to say how dreadfully hard it is.

I don't have stair gates either, didn't fit the bannisters. We use them to keep him in his bedroom and the living room when necessary and supervise him up
the stairs.

No stairgate on the actual stairs here either, but do have one across the kitchen door to keep them out while I'm cooking/dishing up.

I walk everywhere and so do the kids
I smoke
None of my children have ever eaten McDonalds
I have a very black and inappropriate soh
I hate Disney
I don't give a shit about Ofsted reports
I think we should be letting our kids out to play
I don't meddle in other peoples affairs then post on here about it, expecting a pat on the back
We haven't got a wii or an xbox