I became a mum for the first time to Amy in 2000. I had always intended to go back to work but thought I’d give myself a couple of years of quality time with my family first. Money was tight so when Amy was a few months old, I began childminding and enjoyed it so much that I’ve been doing it ever since. Life was complete when my son Harry was born two years later but boy was he a challenge! From t
he minute Harry was born, he was extremely unsettled, always wanting to feed and only happy and content when being held in a semi–upright position – day and night!! I searched frantically, desperate for some sort of product which would emulate Harry’s favourite over–the–shoulder position, but found nothing. After each feed Harry would fall asleep on me and I would place a cushion on my lap with a pillow draped over it and carefully lie Harry down on his tummy in pretty much the same position he’d been in when I was holding him. I’d then quietly slide my hands under this comfort pillow creation, move it to the corner of the sofa ever so gently, as Harry slept contentedly then race around the house like a whirlwind trying to get as much done in the 3 or 4 minutes of peace granted to me before my little torture realised mummy wasn’t holding him and screamed the house down again! I often thought of all the other parents in the same position as me looking around their homes at everything that needed to be done and feeling completely hopeless, lonely and sleep deprived. I couldn’t go on like that any longer so when Harry was a couple of weeks old I got my hands on a very large piece of foam, chopped it into bits then layered and overlapped them until I had a shaped mattress. I then made a cover to fit the mattress and created a harness which was both safe and comfortable. I sewed on two straps to attach Harry’s babocush to his bouncer and then… the magic happened! When I adjusted Harry’s bouncer to his favourite semi–upright angle and turned on the vibration, it was like flicking a switch – my quiet life returned! Harry absolutely loved his new babocush. My house was clean again, I was able to prepare family meals and getting some sleep meant that I had the strength to be a nicer, happier, more patient person, enjoy my baby and give the best of myself to the rest of our family as well as the children I was looking after.
