Codi Barry
Tell us a bit about yourself?
I am Codi 32 mum of two, Imogen 6 and Lincoln 3.
What were you doing before babies/children?
Full time Administrator at a local university
How did you come to be a mum?
I've always wanted to be a mum. Unfortunately, at 15 I was diagnosed via laparoscopy with Endometriosis. At the age of 15 I didn't know what this meant and a lot of people around me had never heard of it before. I knew this meant I may have a challenging time conceiving. After exhausting all treatment options at 25, my now husband and I decided to start trying for our first. We fell pregnant in June 2015 and suffered a very early miscarriage on our holiday to Singapore. We were told the day before to prepare for it but never expected it to happen so quickly. We then commenced Ovulation induction in October 2015 and tried for two cycles. We ended up having a break over Christmas, I went to the gym on New Year's Eve and felt very light headed. We decided to take a test thinking it would be negative and much to our surprise, it was positive.
What has your feeding journey been like?
My daughter Imogen was an emergency c-section after 4 solid hours of pushing she was brow first presentation. I never understood how having a C-section could affect your supply unfortunately for me it meant my milk was delayed coming in. Unfortunately for us, breastfeeding was quite challenging and at 5 weeks old she was diagnosed with a UTI and was in the very early stages of sepsis. This meant that she didn't feed for hours on end. The most traumatising part for me was having to listen to my newborn baby screaming in a room all by herself with Drs and nurses trying to do Lumbar punctures. I ended up with mastitis the very next day and had to go to ED whilst my newborn was in high care paeds. My milk supply was affected from the mastitis, so we topped up until she was 9 months old she was also failure to thrive.
My son again was emergency c-section for being arm first, our feeding journey was completely different and we ended up feeding until he was 18 months old. He had Buccahal ties, lip and tongue tie as well. Breastfeeding isn't supposed to be painful!
What has sleep been like in your house?
Hahaha for 6 years non-existent. We have been to QEII twice and failed. My daughter has always been too active for sleep. My son slept well until he was 6 months old and became just like his sister. Go with the flow do what works for you! We were very much go with the flow with sleeping. We tried routines etc and it made everyone frustrated. Do what works for you and your baby!
The hardest bits…
Watching my children become so unwell. Both had very rough newborn periods and medical issues. Lincoln had a Brief Respiratory Unexplained Event at 8 weeks old and stopped breathing was taken to hospital via ambulance, he then also went into Hypothermic shock at 7 months old due to FPIEs (if you're a new or expectant parent google the term, learn about it, we had no idea). Imogen was born with Vesicoureteral Urinary Reflux, which caused her early on UTI. Being in the hospital and never knowing if my babies were going to recover, the most gut-wrenching feeling as a parent.
The best bits…
watching them grow, seeing who they are and their personalities shine through. Watching our baby girl Dance has been the most amazing gift and also watching her thrive in kindy. Our boy is such an old soul. He is kind, caring and the most affectionate little thing.
How do you make time for yourself?
I am so guilty of not doing this. I need to make more time for myself but there just aren't enough hours in the day.
What’s next for you and your family?
Hopefully we get to enjoy our honeymoon this year
If you could talk to your pre baby/kid self, what advice would you give?
Learn how to advocate for your children don't let others opinions make you doubt your knowledge of your child and their behaviours. Mumma instinct is so real.