Anyone who has lived in the Sutherland Shire, and probably a large number of others who live in Sydney, would know "Northies". For the rest of you - Northies is a pub at Cronulla Beach. For as long as I can remember, and probably longer than that, it has been "The" pub at Cronulla. Many a lazy Sunday afternoon (and quite a few manic Friday & Saturday nights) have been spent at Northies over the course of my adult (& teenage!) life.

The reason for this post is that today, Emily - at the grand old age of 5 1/2 months - has had her first Northies experience - and it looks to become a regular outing!

For the last 3 - 4 months, every Wednesday afternoon has been spent at one of the many parks or beaches at Cronulla with the other Mums & bubs I have met through the local Early Childhood Clinic. However, now that winter is finally on us, it has become a bit too cold to have all the little ones outside. As pubs are now all smoke-free, it has been possible for us to move our group to Northies. The pub has a nice area at one end with lounges and lots of floor space to fit in 10 - 12 prams, and blankets for the babies to lie (roll, sit, not-yet-crawl) on. Of course, it also means that it's easy for the mums to have a coffee, or a coke, or even a wine while we "watch" the babies.

Yep - motherhood is pretty tough sometimes!