Im a stay-at-home mum on parental leave. I have two lovely childrenmy eldest was born five years ago, and my youngest just recently.
Let me share an experience I’ve had.
It all started with a list my mother-in-law gave me right after I got married. On it were all sorts of details, like how my husband has allergies to certain foods, which I make sure to avoidquite important. One of the items on her list was that I need to iron his underpants, because apparently, if theyre not ironed, they might be uncomfortable for him…
At first, I thought it was rather sweeta sign of how much a mum cares for her child. Its nice when a mother wants her son to be looked after. Ive always followed her suggestionsit hasnt been difficult. However, the part about ironing underwear took me by surprise. In my family at home, my mum and I never once ironed anyones undergarments.
After my son was born, we started with nappies, of course. Once we moved him into pants, I automatically began ironing his underwear as well. So now I find myself ironing pants for two people, and the piles just seem endless. Ive kept doing it, mostly because my mother-in-law firmly believes the heat from the iron kills off germs. She even said our sons health depends on it, insisting that ironed pants are essential for proper hygiene.
But its not really about my mother-in-lawwhats challenging now is having a second baby in the house. Its hard to keep up and manage everything, especially with a newborn and a five-year-old. Im sure mums with two kids, including a baby, will understand. I try to keep up with the essentials, but the ever-increasing mountain of tasks just grows and grows.
Yesterday, my husband came and mentioned there were no pants left on his shelf, suggesting that they all needed ironing. I was absolutely shattered, so I told him hed have to take a pair from the pile that hadnt been ironed yet.
Later, as I was heading to bed, I overheard him ring his mum to complain that his wife didnt have time for it. He was really put outand all over a pair of underpants!
Do any of you iron your childrens underwear? And if so, for how long do you keep it up? Is there any way to speed up this endless ironing?
