Would you let someone else breastfeed your baby?  What if you didn’t even have a say in the matter? Two days after Tammy Van Dyke’s baby, Cody was born, a hospital mix-up meant her son was placed with another mum who she thought was her own baby, Liam. That other woman didn’t realise the mistake […]

10 years ago

Their parents feared that 14-month-old Jadon and Anias wouldn’t live to see Christmas.  But now this sweet video posted by their mum shows that the boys are better than doctors expected. Surgeons successfully separated the twins in October after they were born with a rare condition known as craniopagus twins. The boys, from Chicago, were joined at the […]

10 years ago

Every Christmas my husband and I lock parental horns over what I call The Great Trampoline Debate.  I say it would be a great plaything for our three children which would tick the fitness box, keep them occupied for hours and let them expend some of their usually exhaustive energy. My philosophy is to wrap […]

10 years ago

Oh, you want to be a mermaid? There is a school for that. Your journey to being a mermaid (or merman) may now just be one class away. ‘Mermaiding’ has become the latest fad sport to hit pools, sports centers and dedicated water classes around the world in places like America, Singapore, and the Philippines. […]

10 years ago

Researchers have found that women who have babies later in their childbearing year may live longer than those who have their last child before they are 29 years old. The Long Life Family Study came to the conclusion after focusing on the length telomeres in a group of mums. Telomeres are important parts of human cells […]

10 years ago

Her no holds barred book entitled ‘No Kids: 40 Reasons Not To Have Children’ sparked fury in France when it was published nearly ten years ago. But now author Corrine Maier has once again attacked the idealised notion of parenthood. The mother of two has detailed her criticism of ‘baby-mania’ that is ‘plaguing modern society’ in […]

10 years ago

Having kids at Christmas is magical, exciting, family-orientated and joyful…. But it is also pure unadulterated chaos–the mountain of toys, the whinging over the TV, the squeezing of toddlers into Sunday best for a week straight, the lack of batteries, the sugar rush and the realisation that you actually hate Christmas pudding (But you eat […]

10 years ago

Suspicious Sally at home this year? Raised eyebrows every time you mention Mr Claus? You may be on the cusp of one of the most bittersweet moments of parenthood: The Great Big Santa Claus Reveal.  I believed in Santa much longer than my friends. I used to pretend I didn’t think he was real to them, […]

10 years ago

Welcome to your newest hobby – wiping bums. You can expect, on average, to change around 50 nappies a week for the next few years, so you better get comfortable at your changing station.  They say it takes 10 thousand hours to become an expert at something. I can say without fear of hesitation that […]

10 years ago

I am a total eggnog snob. My dad made it every year at Christmas (with a very heavy hand). He grew up in America, so it was a steadfast family tradition originally made with his grandmother’s fair hand. The recipe was a very closely guarded secret, only ever to be passed on to the eldest […]

10 years ago

Autumn Winter 2016 is a white out!  The crisp white lines and wintery hues are giving us festive inspiration. We have waded through the online fashion world (such a chore!) to find the best winter whites to get you through the party season with cosy knits, gilets and reindeer inspired earrings that someone needs to […]

10 years ago

A 26-year-old woman has been stabbed to death near a Christmas tourism centre in Lapland where she worked as a tour guide bringing families to meet Santa. Finnish police launched a search for the killer after the woman, who worked for a group called Santa Safari, was found dead on Saturday in a property in […]

10 years ago

Doctors have warned expectant mothers not to rely on smart phone apps to assure them that their unborn baby’s heartbeat is normal. Dr Lucy Bowyer, Acting Head of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Sydney’s Royal Hospital for Women, said the hospital had cared for two women who were using a similar app to monitor their baby’s […]

10 years ago

I’ll be honest, I was crying before the end. That could be because everything makes me cry at Christmas – it is just so joyful and emotional with family at the core. That is why this new ad from Polish Auction house, Allegro is catching throats everywhere. Firstly, it involves an endearing old Grandpa. Cue tears. Next, […]

10 years ago

Opinions were split earlier this year when the TV chef and his wife allowed their 12 and 14-year-old daughters to witness the birth of their little brother. Poppy Honey and Daisy Boo were in the birthing suite when his wife Jools gave birth to baby River Rocket, her fifth child last August. Speaking to Good […]

10 years ago

Fancy the gift of peace this Christmas? If your child is like my little rats tail, he is most likely to be found racing around the house with a fart loudspeaker, high on candy canes this Christmas day. In a bid to minimise as much LOUD as we can get away with, (without being a total […]

10 years ago

My little girl runs around in her ‘spare’ feet all the time and my son swears there is a child in his class called bird-poo. (I still haven’t figured that one out yet) Here at HerFamily HQ, our editor’s daughter calls her school EveryKateTogether (Educate Together) and another team member’s son calls the mantle piece […]

10 years ago

Having a baby is like nature mixed with magic mixed with mystery.  It culminates in the final few weeks where you float along in a strange twilight zone of excitement, fear and trepidation. Every twinge that you feel you think THIS COULD BE IT. Your partner is living inside his own personal ‘labour alert’ frenzy, […]

10 years ago

You waited nine months for this moment.  You feel joyful, vulnerable and appreciate having your partner by your side –it is their baby too after all. But in many hospitals, especially in the UK, partners are allowed stay overnight on the maternity ward after the birth, and it is making some women very uncomfortable. One woman […]

10 years ago

I have a confession to make. I think I ate the last truffle in the HerFamily HQ Chocolate Advent Calendar yesterday. I know, I know… it’s November, and we are absolute scavengers. But this is what happens when you leave 24 perfectly delicious chocolate delights within reach. No matter, we can always lift our spirits […]

10 years ago

Amy Huberman is very busy. The actor and author will be back on our screens again in her new RTE drama ‘Striking Out’ in the coming weeks. She says a teaser for the show will be shown this week during the Late Late Toy Show. We caught up with Amy at the launch of the […]

10 years ago

David Adderley from Co Kildare says he was inspired to pen this song by his diverse group of friends at school. The 12-year-old, who attends Scoil Mochua, wrote ‘Ireland is Our Home’ to celebrate the cultural and music diversity of a more modern Ireland. It was for a competition named Song for ’16, the brainchild […]

10 years ago

The Sirens MC are part of a self-confessed ‘bad ass’ motorbike group who are delivering breast milk across New York City to babies in need. The women set up the club in protest over the predominantly male ‘hells angels.’ Now they have volunteered to travel the length and breath of Manhattan as quickly as possibly […]

10 years ago

Little Mirranda Grace Lawson from Virginia was just two years old when she inhaled a single piece of popcorn on her mum’s birthday last May. Her frantic parents immediately cleared out her mouth and did CPR but the little girl has suffered a cardiac arrest, she was unresponsive, and put on life-support. Her doctors told the […]

10 years ago

A Children’s charity in the UK has criticised an app called ‘SlimBooth’ which offers tools to manipulate your face to look more like a ‘celebrity’. SlimBooth lets kids change the shape of their eyes, ears and chin to make them look more like celebrities for selfies. The app is free on iTunes and uses the […]

10 years ago

The Duchess of Cambridge has admitted she needs to swot up on the names of her son’s favourite toys: Dinosaurs.  Kate was at the Natural History Museum in London this week for a children’s tea party to say goodbye to one of the museums best-recognised pieces – the huge skeleton of a Diplodocus, known as […]

10 years ago

It’s beginning to smell a lot like Christmas –that whiff of winter, a mix between the cold crisp air and burning wood fires. Bliss.  This week’s cold spell has finally inspired me to get my house winter-ready with some soft furnishings, natural wood, candles and cosy throws. The problem is that there is a fine […]

10 years ago

Chopping off your long blond tresses for a short brunette pixie look may be brave, but it is also very, very risky and I’m not sure I know anyone who is that hair confident!  But now you can get a dramatic look without the major hair regret we all know too well. Here are our top […]

10 years ago

They say a photo tells a thousand stories. Well, we think this one is definitely a framer. Kim Guiley, from California, was expecting her second daughter– so you can imagine her shock and surprise when she realised her little girl was, in fact, a baby son. Captured by birth photographer Susannah Gill from Photographic Storytelling, the photo […]

10 years ago

What is cosier in this weather than curling up by the fire with the papers and a cup of warm hot chocolate? Adding dash of whiskey? Hells yes. Well now our lives can be totally fulfilled with this Hot Chocolate Cocktail that I came across by foodie blogger Rebecca on her website, Sugar and Soul. Did I […]

10 years ago

Sorry, my kids really can’t eat that. Author, and Mum blogger, Elizabeth Broadbent has opened up a discussion over how badly sweets affect a child and if it is fair to leave them on the sidelines when it comes to parties, celebrations and other jelly-filled activities. Like most mums, I find it hard to police […]

10 years ago

It is a craze that is sweeping the Internet– with celebrities now leading the charge. The Mannequin Challenge is a new trend which sees people uploading videos of themselves looking as if they have been frozen in time during a dramatic set-up. And to be honest if you haven’t heard about it you may have […]

10 years ago

Customers got a little more than they bargained for at an Australian cafe this week. A woman sparked a fierce debate after criticising a cafe owner who complained when she changed her baby’s nappy on one of the cafe’s tables. The new mum wrote a negative review about the Brisbane cafe after she changed her 12-week-old […]

10 years ago

In a womb far, far away there is a baby name that is perfect for your little star. We love this list of baby names that are both otherworldly and unique. After all, the reason you are in this situation is as a result of your very own Big Bang, and the next few months […]

10 years ago

It’s sparkle time! Here at HerFamily HQ we are positively giddy about the upcoming festive season; Sparkly lights, sparkly dresses and what could be more appropriate than….sparkly dessert! We had to take a minute when we came across this simple boozy dessert from one of our favourite food bloggers, Baking-Ginger that looks not only easy-to-make, but […]

10 years ago

We chatted to the leading expert on vitamin D, Dr Michael Holick, when he visited Ireland recently and got the lowdown on myth versus reality when it comes to our ‘sunshine’ health.  Recently, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland has weighed in on the subject after over 20 cases of rickets in toddlers were reported […]

10 years ago

The divisive nature of the US election result has now extended into the fashion industry. This morning a designer called Sophie Theallet, know for dressing Michelle Obama, has taken to social media to declare she will not be creating anything for Melania Trump. She tweeted an open letter asking her colleagues in fashion to protest […]

10 years ago

To say I spent most of my waking hours of pregnancy planning the nursery is a complete understatement. Unfortunately, at the time, we lived in a two bedroom apartment and the second bedroom was the home office of our business. We had two choices; move house, or set her up in the ensuite. Handy for […]

10 years ago

11-year-old Billy is from Co Tyrone suffers from an illness called intractable epilepsy. It which means he suffers serious seizures every day. His mum, Charlotte, believes they will kill him unless they take drastic action. She has now made the agonising decision to push ahead with brain surgery for her gravely ill son – despite […]

10 years ago

New research from the University of Oxford has suggested that young children whose mothers are not working have lower capabilities in terms of talking, social skills, movement and everyday skills. The study, carried out in association with the London School of Economics, has been published in the journal Social Choice and Welfare.  It examined children […]

10 years ago

Research carried out in Australia may hold the key to ending a diagnosis of ‘undetermined’ when it comes to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). A study on a group of babies who died from cot death found they had a decreased level of a protein that helps us wake up if we stop breathing from […]

10 years ago

In Australia, one woman’s unusual birth is being described as a miracle event that, medically, has only been recorded ten times, ever.  Kate Hill welcomed two baby girls last December after a somewhat unusual pregnancy;  The Brisban native fell pregnant after hormone treatment and then ten days later ovulated and conceived another child. It’s a […]

10 years ago

I don’t mean to brag, but I am extremely accomplished at plaiting my daughter’s hair while she runs away. It’s not that I’m not gentle – it’s just that we are always seriously late, I don’t want to get nits, and why isn’t her scalp numbed to pain yet like mine was at her age? We used to […]

10 years ago

Welcome to the world of tweendom – where eye-rolling and emotional outbursts are new norm – and that is just you!  Pre-teen or ‘tween’ is an in-between stage plonked awkwardly between childhood and teens usually between the ages of 8 and 12 years old.  Your little one is beginning to assert their personality but with […]

10 years ago

When I was little, my friend’s mum (let’s call her Jill) got cystitis. Later when I got home I told my mum that Jill was very ill with syphilis. They had a great hoot over that one! As we know, kids do say the silliest of things – we had great fun collecting other parent’s experiences […]

10 years ago

They were simpler times where a doll was a doll and space-hoppers were the greatest invention ever made. Fact. My childhood was filled with storytelling from Teddy Ruxbin, hiding my bracelets in my Keepers and swapping fancy paper. Although, explaining to my daughter that we used to swap and smell bits of scrap paper was […]

10 years ago

It’s Science week! No better excuse than to get out your basin, food colouring and some other easy-to-find ingredients and for some fun with your budding scientist. We spoke to Scientist and children’s educator, Tracey-Jane Cassidy from Junior Einsteins Science Club. She gave us some super hands-on experiments you can easily try out with your […]

10 years ago

Ah new year – the forced champagne, the pressure to party, the horrific programming rolled out by RTE, and a time to reflect on how it’s been a full year since we didn’t become better people. Before you start your weekly food plan (we all do it) and sign up to a zumba class (on my […]

10 years ago

Ever woken up in the dark of night with your child inches from your face eyeballing you like the little girl from The Ring? No, me neither – just asking for a friend. We all know that sometimes our children can say things a little out of the ordinary. But those mini humans can come […]

10 years ago

Midwives, or as I like to call them, angels of the night, are the most important support to you during those first few days in the hospital. It is a very bewildering time; you are joyful but overwhelmed, excited but anxious and believe me, these people are your main link to sanity. Although they are […]

10 years ago