July 17, 2025

Archive

A woman on the Byron Bay foreshore. She has a baby in a carrier on her front, and a young boy waves a long leaf in front of her

A Change of Scene, Not a Holiday

On a trip to Byron Bay, I was followed by a young woman. It was our first holiday as a family of four – daughter 8 months old, son 5 – and the word ‘holiday’ and all that it conjures (sleeping in, cocktails by the pool, reading a novel) is best replaced by ‘change of scene’. As anyone with young children knows, a holiday with kids involves doing the same care work you would at home, only it costs more...

A newborn baby sleeping, swaddled in a blanket, lying on pink, blue, yellow and white striped hospital linen

Spinning Baby, Spinning Mind

I take the 96 tram from St Kilda, change at William Street. Calm, calm, try to be calm. Hands on my belly, Steve next to me. My weight presses into the fuzzy green cloth of the seat. Where are these other passengers going? Normal day at work? Cancer appointment? Not to have their unborn baby turned around most likely.