Pick Me Up! Special Spring 2018

A mother’s instinct is a powerful thing and when Claire (pg18) woke up her three year old daughter one morning, she knew something was wrong. She never imagined it was a stroke. Asha (pg40) wishes she’d pushed harder when a doctor prescribed her daughter medication. Within hours, the little girl was literally melting from a terrifying extreme allergic reaction. A reaction was exactly what Leanne (pg24) got when she revealed she was still breastfeeding her three year old. But while some people called it ‘damaging’, other’s found her honesty a huge source of support. Sometimes you need a shock to kick start you into action and that’s what happened to Jen (pg22) when she was dumped. Now she’s eight stone lighter and engaged to her soulmate! If you need any…

Having boy trouble You know you live in a house full of boys when you cut your finger and you have a choice between Superman and Super Mario plasters. Jo, Sunderland She's oh so vogue I think my baby Andi looks so adorable in my sunglasses. She’s definitely ready for summer! Sarah, Cardiff Such handsome boys. Here are my two handsome boys pulling their best faces for the camera. They’re like two peas in a pod. Mia, London Delicious temptations This chocolate dessert was out of this world. Forget bikini-ready, I’m choco-ready! Andrea, Maidstone Dress up for the occasion We had a great time at a mate’s dress up birthday party recently. My boyfriend and I went dressed up as Lady and the Tramp, but everyone went all out! Whitney,…

My dad Mike was always giving me cuddles, making Mum go easy on me if I did something wrong – I was a real daddy’s girl. He was so laid back, he lived in his dressing gown – and he let me and my brother run around naked. But he could be short-tempered. If we were naughty, he’d shout and lash out. Then, one day when I was about 12, he burst into the bathroom when I was on the toilet, clutching his camera. ‘Go away!’ I screamed. Ignoring me, he just laughed as he took photos. My body was starting to change with puberty, and I felt really self-conscious. ‘It’s only a cheeky photo!’ Dad laughed. But then it started happening more often… When I was on the toilet,…

I’ve always loved being around little kids. So joyful, they always put me in a good mood. At 14, I volunteered as the ‘toy girl’ at a nursery, setting out toys then clearing them away. After college, I studied a foundation degree in Early Years at the Open University. Becoming a nursery nurse at 16, I was chuffed. Then, on my 21st birthday night out, in March 2008, I met my now hubby. We married in June 2014, and by the end of the month, I felt nauseous and dizzy. ‘Positive!’ I shrieked, after taking a pregnancy test. I’d a tough pregnancy, though, with constant morning sickness. At my 20-week scan, we found out it was to be a boy, so decided to name him Jack. At around 26 weeks,…

As I tapped my son, Santi, four, on the shoulder, he looked puzzled. ‘I’ve been calling you!’ I said to him. Santi dashed to the dinner table beside his sister, Aisha, seven. ‘I think Santi’s having some trouble hearing,’ I told my husband, Cesar, 31. At birth, Santi hadn’t passed his hearing test, but doctors thought he’d develop in time. As a toddler he seemed absolutely fine. Now, he’d started school, so I spoke to his teacher. ‘He struggles with instruction sometimes,’ she confirmed. So I took him for a hearing test. ‘He’s profoundly deaf in his left ear, with moderate hearing in his right,’ the audiologist said. Fitted for hearing aids in each ear, Santi struggled to adjust. Online, I found a woman in the US who decorated her…

Julie White, 46, Hartshorne, Derbyshire My family’s collections used to be easily kept in check – I had 50 dreamcatchers strung in the living room, while my hubby Robin’s mini Eddie Stobart vans were strewn across the windowsill. Then came my son Chris. When he was 15, having just watched The Smurfs 2, he was delighted when he received a Smurf toy with his McDonald’s Happy Meal. ‘I’m going to turn Dad’s van into a home for Smurfs,’ he declared. Suffering from ADHD, he struggles to get over ideas once they’re lodged in his head. ‘I told him he could do what he wanted with the van,’ Robin, 62, shrugged. Robin had bought the Mercedes Sprinter van in the hope of a bit of bonding time with our boy. I’m…