Although it’s hard to get my head around the fact that I have three little bambinos growing inside me, I have certainly felt every single side effect with gusto. I mean seriously?! Who needs to get blocked ears, heartburn, insomnia, legs cramps, nausea and have a belly that can’t be touched but is now the size of an exercise ball. Yes, every time I get another twist, twinge or blip I google it and there it is on the glorious ‘side effects list’. At this stage I have pretty much covered the entire list – just waiting for piles to appear!!!!!!!!

So because I have all these side effects it is very hard not to become one of the biggest moans! And certainly I have been known to have my moments. But then I have to remember why I’m going through this. Pregnancy is such a miracle – three feisty little humans are now growing away inside me. Every once and while, when I have a quiet moment, I can feel them fluttering in my stomach and that is really cool. Imagine! I will have triplets born by the time we get to Halloween. How incredible is that!

My life has already changed dramatically since deciding to take this path. I feel blessed to be able to say I’m a mum. Now that’s a wonderful title to have! I have lived a brilliant life – full of travel and adventure but what’s great is that it all led to this. I have a super little boy who is so magical and given me joy that all the travel in the world never provided. Don’t get me wrong – at times it isn’t easy and I don’t have a picture perfect life but it’s not bad! I have plenty of friends who have chosen very different lives and probably couldn’t imagine doing what I did. Being a single mother is really tough at times and it is definitely not the way I would have chosen to do things. But thank god I don’t live in a time when I would have ended up as the spinster with no prospects of marriage or children. 

The recent Marriage Referendum in Ireland has sparked a debate in Ireland about what children need and who has the right to bring up a child. Although the true question has nothing to do with children and is all about allowing Gay Marriage – it seems the debate took a nasty turn somewhere along the way. Posters were erected saying that only a hetro-sexual married family should have children. Spokes-people shouted out at any opportune moment how wrong it was to consider two men or two women to become parents. This of course created questions about whether I was right to choose what I did. But thankfully they don’t have the power to stop me living my life and making the choices I have. I have a beautiful boy who I love so much! He is a very special addition to my ever expanding extended family and yes we don’t equal the traditional family but who cares! We have an amazing bond of love and he has a mother who will fight tooth and nail to give him the best opportunity.  Now that the referendum is over and the result is in, I can very happily say my children will grow up in a society that is just that bit more equal and accepting.