From the editor
Ah, winter, my old frenemy. I’ve become sick of the sound of my own voice moaning about my least favourite season, so I’m going to stop right now. Just allow me one teensy last mention of the dry drabness, the dark mornings and Joburg’s depressing dead lawns that I’m still not used to, even after 15 years of living here. Okay, enough of that. I’ve toughened up mentally over the last year – we’ve all had to, right? So this year’s winter is going to be a good one because I will make it so with an improved attitude, starting with my birthday in July. I’ve decided to spoil myself and get a beautiful midnight blue velvet headboard. This will improve my Sunday lie-in sessions tremendously, as I won’t have to deal with sliding pillows and a cold wall at my back. The one I’ve picked is from a company I just discovered: DIY Girls. They’re completely local, and their things are significantly cheaper than the rest. They’re owned and operated by only by women – I like that! It reminds me of my own little business with this magazine. Our content is also completely local, and it is all planned and put together by some fabulous and highly skilled women with whom I have the privilege of working. You’ll see in our pages and on social that we also love to sprinkle shout-outs to other small SA businesses who provide pregnancy- and parenting-related products and services. In 99 percent of the cases, they are also owned by women. For more winter inspiration and colour I’m committed to cooking every single soup in our #nourishing feature (pages 28 to 31) and I’ll be enjoying them with buttered bread from one of the many small bakers in my area. I’m all about #supportlocal. If this is a trend you also feel you can get behind, have a look at our fashion pages, where we feature
many local options. Maternity wear is so beautiful compared to when I last sported a baby bump.
I’m also determined to not get ill at all this winter. No ‘rona for me and my family. It is interesting that when you do your best to dodge Covid, you also tend to not get colds and flu, because the prevention advice is really the same. If the winter lurgy does, however, get a hold in your house, we’ve got pages of good advice to help you deal with it.
The most important thing you can do to support your immune system is to vaccinate. Rates are slipping, and this does not bode well for the future. I was in two (online) meetings the last week with experts in the field, and they all predicted outbreaks of some scary diseases. Make those appointments today! See pages 32 to 39 for all the answers to your questions. Thank you, Netcare, for partnering with us again this year to get the message out and save lives.
I’d also like to thank Baby City for their continued support. They’ve sponsored the free breastfeeding supplement that is bagged with this issue. Breastfeeding is right up there with vaccinating as one of the top things you can do to help protect your baby against illness.
Happy reading until our next issue, out on 16 July.
Hugs,