A difficult couple of weeks: L had a cold and then a stomach bug which meant, with a certain inevitability, that a couple of days after her I had a cold and then a stomach bug. I don’t think I’ve ever in my life been ill so often as since I’ve had a small child. Nothing major, but repeated colds, coughs etc all winter and a fair bit of the summer too. I don’t know a way to avoid this: L of course picks up stuff at nursery and it’s then almost impossible to stop it spreading when I spend so much time wiping her nose and bottom. The most difficult thing is that she recovers far more quickly than I do. So I then have to look after when she’s feeling bouncy and I feel like lying in bed ill all day. Which of course slows my recovery, as I’m not getting the rest I need. The only good thing is that I don’t have the same pressure of deadlines as before I submitted, but it’s another reminder of just how having children interferes with the rest of your life.