Some of the things no-one told me about Motherhood, that I wish they had:
- It can be so lonely
- It can be scary
- It can be mind-numbingly boring
- It can be depressing
…yes the baby’s there, and yes they’re cute..but they can’t really keep up a decent debate on who’s going to die a bloody death next on Game of Thrones… now can they?
…going out to a café, to the shops…out the door! Have I forgotten something…the nappies, the wipes…the baby?! Will there be somewhere I can get my boobs / bottle / baby’s bum out….will people judge me for whipping out the Ella’s kitchen?! I should have made her home-made quinoa muffins!!! Ahhhhh!!!
…baby groups are wonderful, it’s great to see your little one gurgling along to the nursery rhymes…but if I have to sing Wheels on the bus one… more ….time…..
…whether you have post-natal depression or depression (like me), or none of the above, you are going to get down days. Days when all you want to do is hide under a duvet and eat your body weight in chocolate…but there is a small person with you now, who has other plans (and who has just poo’d in your hair)
All of the above and more hit me smack in the face when I had my LO. The first year passed by in a fog of sleep deprivation and with a dawning awareness that this sh*t is hard!
I was moaning about all this (I do love a moan, don’t you?) to a fellow comic, Carly Smallman one day, and we both had a lightning bolt of inspiration / madness.
Why don’t we combine comedy and babies?!
Set up an event where the Mums feel comfortable and welcome. Where they can change / feed / burp / ignore their babies without judgement and where, instead of being forced to sing inane nursery rhymes…they can sit back, have a glass of wine, while funny people make them laugh?!
It’s something that I would have killed for in those first 12 months, when it was hard to feel like myself, to have a giggle and to meet other Mums without having to brave a playgroup.
So we only went and bloody did it!
So Bring Your Own Baby Comedy was born (excuse the pun) and it starts this month! Although my LO is too old to come now… (we have a 12 month age limit on babies attending, as the comics will use their usual adult material..it’s a treat for the Mums after all), I’m hoping that it will brighten the day of anyone going through a tough time, like I did, in that crazy first year.
BYOB comedy offers you some welcome salvation….especially if you are finding things tough and the life you expected with your new baby looks nothing like a Hollywood blockbuster.
The brainchild of Character comic Alyssa Kyria and comedienne Carly Smallman. The BYOB opening in September saw a packed out venue, full of mums (and a few dads) who were able to laugh at themselves and at others. Drink some wine if they wanted and not worry about the vomit in their hair. Babies gurgled, feed, slept and cried all while parents like you and I rediscovered and discovered a sense of humour and the Essential Waitrose range. (thanks, Carly!)
If you have a child under 12 months or any kids for that matter. You should add these dates to your diary now. Better still they should be prescribed by the heath visitor/midwife to get you through those “holy crap, what have I done moments!” It was incredibly refreshing to laugh and look around the room and know that motherhood had not warped my sense of humour forever.
It’s true, laughter really is good for the soul and BYOB has it in buckets!