New research, recently published in the Paediatric Research journal, has found that baby girls may be better able to cope with the stresses of being in the womb and labour than baby boys. The Spanish study collected blood samples from fifty-six mothers (at the beginning and end of labour) and from their babies (umbilical cord […]

10 years ago

Today marks the end of the most bonkers presidential election in the history of the United States. It won’t be long before we know if it will be former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or The Donald (shudder) in charge of one of the most powerful countries in the world. At this point, there’s very […]

10 years ago

Brad and Angelina have reached a custody agreement with regards to their six children, who range in age from eight to fifteen. A statement released by Jolie’s representative yesterday has revealed that Angelina will continue to have sole custody of the children, with Brad having “therapeutic visits”. The actors apparently reached agreement over a week […]

10 years ago

Hundreds of secondary schools around the country will not re-open today after the mid-term break due to strike action. With around a quarter of a million students affected by the ongoing pay dispute, talks between teachers and the Department of Education appear to be at a deadlock. Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Education Minister […]

10 years ago

A small new study has revealed that a smear test in early pregnancy could flag genetic disorders earlier than ever. With current prenatal screening methods more invasive, this new research has revealed that a quick sample of cervical cells taken as early as five weeks could reveal genetic abnormalities. The study, published this week in […]

10 years ago

Science has just added more weight (see what I did there?) to the argument that Dad Bods are better. Professor Richard Bribiescas, in his book ‘How Men Age: What Evolution Reveals About Male Health And Mortality’, has found evidence that squidgy bellies, love handles, and general cuddliness are more attractive to women. The Professor’s research also […]

10 years ago

Researchers from the Irish Obstetrics Services in conjunction with Trinity College Dublin have released the findings of their latest study, demonstrating that one in six pregnant women in Ireland is at probable risk of depression. The Well Before Birth study, which was carried out by the Irish Obstetric Services and the TCD REDEEM research group between January […]

10 years ago

The rumour mill has gone into Kardashian-overdrive once again about Khloe’s suspected pregnancy. The 32-year-old is reported to be expecting a baby with her 25-year-old boyfriend, NBA star Tristan Thompson. If the whispers are true Tristan is set for a busy time as his ex-girlfriend Jordan Craig is also expecting his baby. Jordan, a model, has […]

10 years ago

A Japanese woman in her mid-thirties is being treated for severe burns after farting during gynaecological surgery.  In what has been labelled a freak sequence of events, the woman passed wind while having cervical laser surgery in Tokyo Medical University Hospital. The noxious gas, in turn, ignited the surgical laser and set fire to the […]

10 years ago

Did you know that over 73,000 people in Ireland have Psoriasis? Psoriasis is a common, chronic, inflammatory skin condition. The most common form is plaque psoriasis, characterised by red, thickened, scaly patches, which generally affect the knees, elbows, and scalp, and can sometimes be painful. The exact cause of psoriasis is still not completely understood, but both the immune system and genetics are […]

10 years ago

Fancy diving into November with a baby and me swimming class? To celebrate the first-ever National Baby Swimming Week for Ireland which runs from Monday 31 October, we have teamed up with the good folks over at Water Babies to give one HerFamily reader a free baby and me swimming course and photo shoot worth up […]

10 years ago

Fancy winning a luxurious weekend away with your significant other? Of course you do!  We’ve teamed up with Ribena Minis to give you the chance to win an overnight stay at the stunning Monart Destination Spa in Wexford up to the value of €250. Voted Ireland’s best destination spa for four years running, Monart is well known […]

10 years ago

Super short baby names are having a moment. According to Nameberry, increasing numbers of parents are opting for monikers with 3 letters or less for their new arrivals. “Mini names are having a moment,” the website revealed. “It’s a minimalist approach to naming children, and a stylish one, too.” It added: “Mia and Ava rank […]

10 years ago

Supporting your partner’s decision to breastfeed and giving her lots of encouragement especially in the early days is so important. Research has shown women are more likely to keep breastfeeding if they have a supportive partner. We chatted to Ciara Butler, IBCLC, Vice President, Association of Lactation Consultants in Ireland to get her top tips on […]

10 years ago

Ah, working mamas. It’s just not easy. If ever the phrase ‘You’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t’ applies, it’s to this bunch of superheroes. Because, GUILT. First of all. And second of all, TIME. Guilt is always by your side; time is not. When you have to get kids to school each day and […]

10 years ago

Joking about the possibility of twins or triplets is one of those silly things we do. Your friend might find out that she is pregnant for the third or fourth time and is swearing that ‘this is the last time I’m doing this!’, and you of course have to get a little nudge in about […]

10 years ago

Would you like to go to a gorgeous breakfast and help a worthy cause at the same time? Of course, you would. The Cheerios Childline Breakfast Week is back from Monday 17th – Sunday 23rd October, and we’re asking as many of our readers as possible to come together, hold a breakfast and raise much-needed funds […]

10 years ago

The beautiful meanings of these first names will always be a wonderful conversation-starter. A survey commissioned by Coca-Cola of 1,800 people across eight European countries revealed that 87% of Irish people consider their names to be very important in their lives. Take a peek at the top 20 legendary Irish-themed baby names and make sure your child has a name […]

10 years ago

If you’re in need of a big, teethy grin, just have a look at these beautiful photographs of these smiling little babas in dreamlike slumbers. Thanks to Bumpsbabesandbeyond for lifting our moods today, is there anything cuter than a smiling newborn? (even if it might be wind!). Who new sleeping was such good craic?

10 years ago

People tend to give babies all sorts of baby names when they’re young but one Mumsnet user is really annoyed by one title in particular. Reader Mimicat44 sparked quite the debate when she revealed that she doesn’t like the term “Little Man” because of the “stereotypically masculine” connotations it has. In her post -which was called […]

10 years ago

Sponsored by TUC. How does a night away sound right about now? Like a dream come true…. we hear you. Just imagine a night out as a couple, and a glorious lie-in with NO kids…. To celebrate TUC’s variety of four different flavours, TUC is kindly giving away two tickets to see Al Porter at Vicar Street, […]

10 years ago

Growing up a child in Ireland is a very particular thing. Culturally, we have so much to pull from in terms of memory-building for our children including sports, language, music, history and folklore. Our children get to hear and learn about Fionn agus Na Fionna, Gaelic football, The Giant’s Causeway, The Dubliners, Riverdance, why batch […]

10 years ago

The nesting instinct is a brilliant burst of energy that many mums-to-be experience near the end of pregnancy. Are you heavily pregnant and suddenly overcome by an urge to ‘deep clean’ stuff? Or are you experiencing a heightened interest in alphabetising the spice rack? Maybe you’ve found yourself cleaning the grouting in the bathroom with […]

10 years ago

Wedding Planner Eimear Young has years of experience in helping couples to create their dream wedding day, with Brian Dowling, Shane Lowry and Joey O’Brien among her more famous clients at the lush Powerscourt Hotel Resort and Spa. We asked the wedding guru to share her best planning tips: Venue “The number one tip in choosing […]

10 years ago

Ever feel like motherhood is not quite how you thought it would be? Let’s face it; it’s not the blissful, rose-tinted interpretive dance through glorious meadows of joy and wonder that Instagram promises. Ever have those moments when you’re NOT feeling one hundred per cent #blessed but were afraid to admit it, believing you are […]

10 years ago

Cooking with kids around is never easy, in fact, even the phrase “with kids around” suggests that they are ambling nearby when we all know this is rarely the case. Come time to prep dinner the kids can always be counted on to be either in your arms or wrapped around one of your legs […]

10 years ago

We’re crazy-excited about the latest new animation from the studio that brought us The Lego Movie… STORKS is a hilarious new animated adventure for families. Did you know, parents, that storks deliver babies?! Or at least they used to. Now, they deliver packages for global Internet retail giant Cornerstore.com. In the movie, Junior (Andy Samberg), the company’s top […]

10 years ago

Recipes For A Nervous Breakdown a highly original cookery debut cum memoir from HerFamily.ie’s own, Sophie White is in shops now or available to order online. All week we will be running recipes from the book to give regular readers of Sophie’s brilliant HerFamily.ie columns a flavour of Recipes For A Nervous Breakdown. This recipe is a nod […]

10 years ago

When it comes to picking a baby name, you often want something different. This got us thinking about some of the more underrated letters, namely ‘X’. But rather than names beginning with ‘X’, we’ve gathered names that end with ‘X’. They might not be for everyone but we have to admit that they do all sound pretty […]

10 years ago

My ‘I’m a Parent Gene’ didn’t really kick in until my son was about two years old. Up until then, I was trying to figure out how to continue living my life with him as a new addition to it. I organised babysitters and childminders, so I could work the long hours I was used […]

10 years ago

Recipes For A Nervous Breakdown a highly original cookery debut cum memoir from HerFamily.ie’s own, Sophie White is in shops now or available to order online. All week we will be running recipes from the book to give regular readers of Sophie’s brilliant HerFamily.ie columns a flavour of Recipes For A Nervous Breakdown. I was pretty skeptical […]

10 years ago

If you’ve got a little fusspot, or a child who eats the same thing on repeat, chances are all the usual tactics of persuasion and coercion just don’t work. But there is a secret weapon you can use to try to get them to taste something new and get them excited about the food they eat – […]

10 years ago

Ah, the dinner rush. When you are trying to prepare a meal while also overseeing homework and hanging up the clothes you need dry before work tomorrow. When there is little or no time to fiddle about with cookbooks or spiralizers, and you just want to get some food on the table before everyone starts […]

10 years ago

An imprisoned paedophile in Tasmania has been convicted of creating paedophilic pornographic stories using the tragedies of missing British child Madeleine McCann and three-year-old, William Tyrrell who went missing from his grandmother’s house two years ago in New South Wales. The 60-year-old former hostel worker, Sonny Day was caught scrawling the horrific stories on the […]

10 years ago

There’s nothing quite as funny as kids, except maybe kids who are trying to figure out what celery is! This collection of miniature comedians will make your day as they attempt to navigate some of life’s bigger questions such as, what is the meaning of the word ‘natural’? “Like a bear trying to eat a […]

10 years ago

Motherhood is a journey dotted with milestones. Choc-a-block, in fact, with these little monumental moments, some small, some bigger, that we will always remember, and keep tucked away in our every more overflowing hearts. There are all the usual milestones, of course, the ones so universally celebrated you can even buy cards to mark them. […]

10 years ago

Even our hair didn’t look this good 24-hours post-birth. Hilaria and Alec Baldwin welcomed their third child on Monday. As is the way, the 32-year-old mum-of-three took to Instagram to share the exciting news of their new arrival, writing: “We are so pleased to introduce you to our new baby, Leonardo Ángel Charles Baldwin. It was […]

10 years ago

Ah, the hospital bag – a lovely pregnancy rite of passage. Folding up the teeny tiny baby grows, squealing over the adorable socks, getting increasingly unnerved by the sheer size of the maternity pads. It’s a magical time. It’s also a time that can be quite amusing to look back on once the actual reality of […]

10 years ago

So we all know that sperm’s main job is to fertilise an egg and make a baby but it actually comes in handy (sorry) in some other ways too. From skincare to cooking (yep, we’re afraid so), semen can and is used for a range of things around the world. While we wouldn’t advise that […]

10 years ago

Has anyone else noticed there’s a bit of gender inequality going on in the nappy bag department? I haven’t spotted Orla Kiely, reigning queen of the nappy bag style-stakes bringing out any camo patterned changing bags of late (or even ever). I’m not quite sure why I have designated camouflage as the manly print du jour, […]

10 years ago

I think we need a new version of the social media inspirational quote. I’d like to scroll through my feed and instead of all the “Be The Best You”s and “Live In The Moment”s, I’d just like to see loads and loads of squidgy, squeee-inducing adorable babies. I know I’ve got my own one to […]

10 years ago

There’s nothing worse than gazing dolefully into a depressingly empty fridge stocked with nothing more than a few lonely tumbleweeds blowing through. I’ve often heard it said that dinner is always sorted when you’ve got an egg to hand, but let’s face it; that’s a pretty boring dinner. However, if you’ve got say an egg, […]

10 years ago

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10 years ago

Brought to you by the brand new Toyota C-HR 5 Door C-SUV. Would you like to redecorate or revamp your home? Then this is the perfect competition for you. To celebrate the launch of the all new Toyota C-HR 5 Door C-SUV this November we have teamed up with them to offer you this amazing prize. In […]

10 years ago

As we all know, once you have kids what constitutes a ‘day-maker’ is radically different to the kinds of things that gave us instant joy pre-babies. Post-babies a relaxing trip to the supermarket ALONE could be considered joyful, while pre-kids the bar was set a little higher. 10 Little Things That Give You Instant Joy […]

10 years ago

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10 years ago

Do you have any miniature budding chefs at home? You have got to enter this cool competition. We have teamed up with the good folks over at Old El Paso. The Mexican family favourite is offering one lucky reader the chance to win cooking lessons for you and your child to the value of €150 at a cooking school […]

10 years ago

Beat the September blues with a family day out at the races. There is nothing better than a day at the races, where the horses, the kid’s entertainment and exciting atmosphere all add up to make it the perfect day out. So with that in mind, we have teamed up with Longines Irish Champions Weekend […]

10 years ago

Not so long ago, we rounded up 10 Irish girls names and their alleged meanings. Now, we turn our attention to the boys. From Connor to Finn, we’re sure you’ll find a name and a definition that you would like for your bundle of joy. In all honesty, we can’t decide on just one! Conor A […]

10 years ago

One of the most important purchases you will make before welcoming baby (after cots, buggies and car seats) is the changing bag – also knows as nappy bag on our shores. These, of course, are nifty little bags full of pockets and compartments, making it a doddle for you to leave the house with all […]

10 years ago