User Comments

chrisandalex August 15, 2023

@Guest. I agree. It sounds like they both went in with very high expectations of what their perfect birth will be, but then things moved much quicker than anyone expected. Agnes probably should have shut her mouth and shown some empathy, though.

chrisandalex June 6, 2023

I had an MCH nurse tell me I was feeding my 3 or 4 month old baby too much formula. He wasn’t even rolling over at the time! I ignored her advice, as he wasn’t even having the top amount recommended for his age. If my baby is hungry I’m going to feed him. As he got older he would get quite chubby around the middle before he would shoot up. He’s now 18, all but 6 foot and quite skinny. You would never know he was around the 90th percentile for his weight for most of his early childhood.

chrisandalex April 15, 2023

@dee dee it is so so difficult trying to juggle your children when one has complex health needs. My youngest was born with multiple issues, and it feels as though every time he gets discharged from one clinic he gets referred to another as something else crops up. My marriage ended when my youngest was only a few months old, but I was extremely lucky that I could take my boys and move in with my parents. This meant that I could leave my youngest with them, while having one on one time with my eldest. It got a little easier when the youngest was able to start daycare at nearly two. I made sure I had one day just for me and one day with my eldest at home for one on one time. There have been tough times and easier times, but we’ve made it through. My boys are now 18 and nearly 16. I really hope my eldest has felt seen and heard over the past 16 years. 

chrisandalex March 20, 2023

@jules75 I’d be interested to know that too!

chrisandalex March 13, 2023

@babble in high school they’re required to have an iPad or laptop anyway, so they still have access to technology for learning. These devices can be connected to the schools wifi, whereas phones usually aren’t allowed, and limits the websites and apps that can be accessed while on school grounds. If absolutely necessary an email can be sent by the parent or child to the other. 

chrisandalex March 13, 2023

How absolutely disgusting to use tube feeds for weight loss! My son was tube fed for the first 8 years of his life, due to aspiration. He spent 9 weeks in special care after birth until the decision was made for me to learn to insert the NG tubes so he could come home. It was horrible having to do that to my baby, so he could feed. He hated the tube (very cheeky grins when he managed to hook a finger around the tube and pull it out). I hated the tube. By 18 months it was obvious it was going to be a long term thing, so he had surgery to insert a MIC-key button. This enabled him to start daycare and begin living his life to the fullest, without worrying about the NG tube being pulled out. He has outgrown the aspiration, and after 2 years on a fully oral diet he had the MIC-key button removed just over 6 years ago. 

I cannot understand why someone would put themselves through the discomfort of being tube fed, just to lose weight. Who even is giving approval for people to be tube fed? My son was seen by a dietitian the entire time he was tube fed, and a gastroenterologist started seeing him before he got the MIC-key button and saw him regularly until it was removed. 

chrisandalex March 29, 2022

I’ve been told that as long as children are travelling along the same percentile for both height and weight, then they are healthy and there’s nothing to be concerned about. If there is a big difference between the percentiles then you need to investigate further to see what’s going on.


I had a child health nurse tell me I was feeding my then 3 or 4 month old son too much formula. If my baby is crying because he’s hungry, I’m going to feed him. He was rolling over and that was the extent of his movement. Once he was walking he thinned out, and every time he started to get a little chubby I knew he was about to shoot up again. He’s now a healthy, nearly 6 foot, skinny 17 year old.

chrisandalex March 29, 2022

@poodletime in Qld parents have to take their child to their GP for the 4 year old health screening, after they turn 4 and before they start prep. It’s not done in schools.

chrisandalex November 14, 2021

@laura__palmer I know I’ve definitely mixed up times before. My son had a specialist appointment at the hospital, we’d received two appointment letters with different dates and times. I’d rung to confirm the correct date and time. We turned up on the right day, but the wrong time. Oops! Luckily another doctor was able to see him so we didn’t need to wait for another appointment to be booked.

chrisandalex January 31, 2021

Why are the husband and kids not doing their part to keep the house tidy? My boys have been doing chores since they were 2 1/2 or 3. Now they are 15 and 13 they can do a load of washing, hang it out, bring it in, and fold it; they wash up at least once a week; they each cook dinner once a week (and can cook at least 6 different meals each), and if they’ve chosen a new recipe they have to let me know what ingredients are needed before shopping day; they empty bins and put them out on the street for bin day; they vacuum and mop. They’re only expected one or two jobs a day, but when they move out of home they will be able to fend for themselves. If they complain about things not being done, they get told to get off their bums and do it themselves as I’m not the only person living here so it’s not my responsibility to do everything.

chrisandalex July 13, 2020

My GP encouraged me to skip periods due to me getting hormonal migraines at the onset of my period. Unfortunately due to my history of migraines (other triggers as well as hormones) it was recommended I stop taking the pill at 35. 

chrisandalex May 10, 2020

Doonas in my house get washed in spring before they are stored during the warmer months. They are washed again in autumn before going onto the beds for the cooler months. They also get washed at least once during the cooler months, usually twice. The same with blankets. The doona covers are usually washed every two or three months throughout the year, and the sheets at least every two weeks if not weekly.

chrisandalex March 1, 2020

DVOs aren’t worth the piece of paper they’re printed on. They only cover the physical violence. It means the perpetrator can continue to verbally abuse and harass the victim, and the police can’t do anything to stop it.

chrisandalex December 31, 2019

Exactly what I was thinking!

chrisandalex December 26, 2019

I shop to my budget and if people don’t like it then that’s their problem, not mine. I’m grateful for whatever I’m given, and have taught my boys that as well. I also don’t return/exchange gifts because I don’t like them (I will only exchange clothing if it’s the wrong size), generally everything will get used even if it’s not to my taste because someone has put thought into getting it for me.

chrisandalex November 24, 2019

How can parents lie about there address to get their child into a school? I had to provide multiple, recent documents containing my name and address to enrol my son in our local state high school here in Brisbane. This was despite already having a child attending the school with exactly the same contact details.

chrisandalex September 15, 2019

I think I’ve only posted a photo of a lunch box once. Only did it because my son, who was in daycare at the time, packed his own lunch. A whole apple, a chocolate bar and a container of tinned spaghetti covered in milk. He was so proud of himself!

chrisandalex August 4, 2019

Yes! Why do people, both men and women, bring their children into a new relationship before knowing if it’s going somewhere long term?

chrisandalex July 30, 2019

I’ll start by saying that I haven’t really been following this all that closely, only reading a few articles when the headline jumps out at me. But, based on the little I have read and heard, I believe there is a difference in the two cases. As soon as Shayna Jack returned a positive test she was withdrawn from the Australian team and sent home to prove her innocence, or not, and wait for the final ruling over her future. Sun Yang is still competing despite the cloud of doubt hovering over him. Perhaps he is innocent, maybe he’s not. Either way he shouldn’t be competing until the final ruling is handed down.

Reading this article, I am dumbfounded that he allowed three men into his home and allowed them to start taking blood samples before asking to see their credentials. Surely you would ask for identification and to see the required paperwork prior to allowing three strange men to enter your home and take your blood. Also, I would have thought that athletes would be required to attend a licensed pathology clinic (whether at a hospital or private clinic) to maintain the integrity of the testing process.

chrisandalex July 30, 2019

How heartbreaking for the family! I know this isn’t the most important part of the story but, how were the nurses able to give her Panadol without a doctor seeing her first and writing up a medication form? And send her home before the doctor had seen her. I rarely need to go to emergency, but was there two weeks ago with my son. I had given him nurofen a couple hours before going in and the nurses didn’t mention giving Panadol until the doctor had been in to see him. Even when he’s an inpatient, a doctor will check him over and have a chat with me before writing him up for Panadol if I’ve asked for it to be written up as a precaution (I’m lucky that doctors and nurses believe me when I say my son starts vomiting soon after his temp hits 38, so he needs Panadol before he gets to 38). The doctor also comes to chat with us before discharge to ensure I’m happy with the treatment plan once home.