Having a baby is the most beautiful thing in the world and when you have that little bundle of joy in your arms for the first time the world is perfect and you just want to block out anything that might come and break that little bubble. Life changes in that instant, for the better but life changes for the forever and you suddenly become a very different person. That little baby becomes your world and everything you think about or do or want to be is centred around them. It’s what life is all about and it’s utterly amazing.

You never, ever stop worrying about them. I remember with my first baby worrying about her from when she was only a second old. ‘Is she alright?’ I screamed at the midwife with an animal instinct to protect this funny little creature who had come out of me and wasn’t yet screaming back. A second after that, when she did, she was there, she made us know who she was from that very moment and I knew her in then just as well as I do today. Six and a half years later and I see eveything about her was all packaged up in that tiny bundle, she was Florence from the off.

Once I was up on the ward and it was just her and me together with a bustling hospital going on around us, I couldn’t go to sleep even though she was, maybe for the last time in about 2 years though little did I know it, in a deep slumber. I was beyond tired but my second worry of parenthood had begun. If I went to sleep I thought someone would steal her because she was THAT beautiful. I was surrounded by other mothers looking at their own babies thinking the exact same thing about them and not having the slightest bit of interest in me or mine but still I panicked.

The joy was amazing but the worries were always there as, I am sure, they always will be. I worried about everything and drove myself a little mad just like all my friends were also doing with their babies. What if this happens? What if that? I remember thinking I’d be alright at some point and the worry would lessen but my Mum told me it just gets worse and worse… ‘When she’s fifteen you will worry about her even more Ruth’ she said ‘You won’t know where she is all the time then so make the most of this part because it’s easy. The worries just get bigger and bigger and then just when you think they’re grown up, almost certainly not going to be found lying drunk on a park bench or worse (thanks Mum) because they’ve settled and got married and are being sensible in life… BANG, they have their own baby and the worries start all over again only then you worry about them AND their baby!’

Blimey… No wonder I’ve aged since becoming a parent!

And on top of all the mother worries I’ve found that Jonny and I have had to be terribly grown up and talk about things I find really uncomfortable to think about let alone voice. Truth be told I’m a bit bum twitchy writing this post… There’s wills to make and discussions about who will look after your children if you… You know… And when we were married the registrar informed us also that we have to change Florence’s birth certificate as she was born out of wedlock and Jimmy within it. Apparently even with a will, he could be a little bugger (and he won’t but you know) and declare intentions for himself to have everything!

I don’t like to think about what would happen if… I hate it in fact… But… These things DO have to be discussed and we all know that. Life insurance is another one. Getting one that covers the mortgage and one which would see our children well looked after financially if anything were to happen to us. See… It’s a horrible thought isn’t it but we MUST make provisions. It’s funny because when taking out holiday insirance it basically covers me if anything happens but because a holiday is a happy event and not likely to go wrong we don’t think anything of it and buy our policy without a lot of thought. But it’s the exact same thing really isn’t it.

And there’s another thing to think about… What IF, god forbid, anything happened to our children? The very worst thought there is but yet still something we need to fleetingly think about because IF it did, and it’s highly unlikely of course, but IF it did, how would we cope financially. Children becoming very poorly is very rare thank goodness but we know it can happen and to those that it has happened to, families like Max Robinson for example (and I’ll tell you about him in a moment), how have they coped financially when that must be the very LAST thing on their minds?

Max Robinson had a little half sister who very sadly passed away from an extremely rare illness. Max’s Dad cared for his sister and their family finances took a massive blow. When they should have been worrying about their daughter they also had money worries which must be something they couldn’t even bear to consider on top of everything else but they had to.

Of course Max couldn’t change the things that happened in his family but he decided to do something to help other families and produced his insurance policy Child Max which can be bought through Insure With Max. A one off payment (minimum premium of £49.28) at the begining of each year covers the cost of the lead salary in the house for 12 months ensuring that care can be given to a child without the worry of where the monthly money will come from or how the bills will be paid. Within 30 days of making a claim your take home salary will be paid as normal and you don’t have to give it a second thought. When you can get back to work, if you want to or need to within that year then it’s fine, Child Max will adjust the payments accordingly and everything financially will carry on as normal.

None of us want to imagine the very worst thing, and that is the very worst thing, but we just have to buy a bit of peace of mind where we can which is what all insurance policies are about. We never take out insurance thinking we are going to need it and we always hope we never will. Let’s face it, that’s how insurance companies make their money, they don’t think you’re going to need it either but belt and braces never hurt anyone.

Max isn’t just a faceless big conglomorate. Max is a real person who has lived in a family stretched by money worries when they had far more important things to worry about. He just wants to help other people get through similar times with one less worry and that’s good people in my book! (Read Max’s story here.)

Take a look at what the Child Max policy is all about in this video, which has been created to show you exactly how the policy works.

And… Why don’t you join us for a chat about Child Max and all the other things us parents need to think about when it comes to life and children and protecting ourselves. We’re offering prizes throughout our discussion on Friday at 11.15-midday for those that have some really good tips for keeping on top of all the boring things we have to think about and we can’t wait to see you there!

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