Struggling ADHD Mum of (likely) ND toddler
Hi Em (and Michael, Chella, Ben etc.) I was diagnosed with ADHD about 18 months ago at age 32, after struggling enormously for over a year with the mental load of parenting and severe PND. It’s obviously been an amazing discovery that has made my whole life make sense and made things easier for me now. My son has always been a “difficult” baby/kid ie struggled with sleep, feeding etc. He is the absolute light of our lives and is completely magic, and (said very humbly) is clearly bright with language well beyond his years and an astounding memory. Based on his behaviour and sensory issues I have no doubt he is ND. The problem is that he still struggles so much with going to sleep, and staying asleep, and eating as well. We have tried it all I reckon, and what will work for maybe a few weeks then stops working. He’s currently working through dropping his daytime nap and is in daycare 3 days a week when I work which complicates things. Some days I have the patience and spoons available to be totally on the page with him and take it all in my stride with energy to spare at the end of the day, some days I can manage but have zero left after bedtime to be able to cook, clean, work or engage with my husband in any way. And then some days I am going into bedtime already running on empty and I just cant handle it - everything he does will overstimulate or trigger me and my rage and distress all build up until I explode or meltdown. Should probably add that my husband works insanely long hours and is rarely home for bedtime. And when he gets home he has no mental capacity left for the household stuff either… further causing angst and distress for me. I see a clin psych weekly and have a lot of help from my parents, but still I am just so close to the edge of total burnout and breakdown at the moment and have no idea how to prevent it. Sorry, long ADHD explanation. But I guess my question is: How do you manage? How do you get through bedtimes etc. with Elio and manage to stay regulated yourself? Do you have any tips for parenting an ND toddler (particularly around sleep stuff)? Thanks. I appreciate all that you do to support and advocate for the ND community, especially us Mums. ❤️
Tops, Bottoms and Meta
Hi Em and Michael, Two questions for you. Michael, is Dale a top or a bottom? How far did he go at the work xmas party with the bloke he woke up with? Em and/or Michael, Meta is now restricting access to "political" content on instagram and maybe facebook. This would mean people couldn't promote rallies or discuss things to an audience such as healthcare or bad policy. What are you thoughts on this? PS, I don't have a crush on Michael, I just enjoy the idea of gay men in speedos.
F1 questions
Hey Em, fellow F1 fan over here! What is your favourite F1 track? And what is your absolute dream driver pairing? I heard a rumour that Alonso is trying to suss out Red Bull, would love to see him there. Love the pod, have been listening since the beginning and will be here as long as you’re making it 🩷
Reuben Kaye - entertainer or sing-er?
Hi Em, I want to start by stating I LOVE REUBEN KAYE! Loved hime before I knew you were friends. I went to Apocaliostik literally the night before you and found myself next to an fellow Emsolator i. The second row, ready to go to church ;) She was new to Reuben and in awe of his performance and the show. At the end, she posed the question: is he an entertainer or a sing-er? As a Reuben fan, knowing his background and training and seeing him live a lot, I have a strong view but, well, she disagreed. I won’t disclose our views BUT I want to know - and yes I know thwy’re your friend - but what is your view?