If you told me 16 months ago to write a blog, I would’ve
laughed and said emphatically, “I’ve got no time for that!” And that would be true. 16 months ago I had teeny tiny newborn baby
(5 lbs, 9 oz) who wouldn’t nurse, no matter how much I cried about it. And cry I did. A lot. A lot, a lot.
There was little time to shower, or cook, or clean, and the
last thing on my mind was writing.
But I did, and still
do, tons of googling and reading. Is it
just me? I always seem to find the time
to obsessively read about baby-related things on the internet. When Gemma cried for no reason, I googled
it. When her poop was an unusual colour,
I googled it. When I thought I hated being a mom, I googled it (yup, one day
when I was feeling down about motherhood, I penned these words in my search
engine: is it ok that I hate the newborn
phase?). And sure enough, no matter
what question I asked, I found I wasn’t the only mother who’d googled THE SAME
THING. I found solace in the moms who
had asked those same questions they’d only ask their Google-confidante. They were the ones who convinced me that
Gemma and I were doing alright.
Just recently my husband, Matt, encouraged me to do more
writing. I’m a high school English
teacher, so writing is certainly a passion of mine. But it’s been a LONG time since I’ve “really”
written. Sure, I write a bit each day—a
handful of emails and an assignment sheet or two; but as a writer, none of that
actually counts. And as an English
teacher, I’ve been feeling like a bit of a hypocrite, encouraging students to
write ‘each day’ when I can’t remember the last time I did the same. Over my year of maternity leave I kept
sensing that I, too, could add something to the mommy bloggerverse. So, with a little prodding from Matt, I’ve
decided to take the plunge and share some of my life with you, to hopefully encourage you like
those moms whose words helped me during the tough-slugging days in early
motherhood. And, if it’s only my mom who
reads this (thanks mom!), at least I’ll be writing!
Here are some blogs I’ve found helpful:
Chronicles of a Baby Wise Mom: Valerie is a writing nerd like me whose
extensive, and I mean, EXTENSIVE, blog covers topics from newborns to
pre-teens, with a focus on the methods in the Baby Wise books. Although I don’t really follow the Baby Wise
books, this is a mom who parents intentionally, and I love her advice!
Bikini Body Mommy: Brianna is a Toronto mom who created the
90 day Bikini Body Mommy challenge which helped her lose 100 pounds! This busy mom shows you how you can find the
time to get fit after having a baby. I
owe my ability to lose all my baby weight to her encouragement and the FREE
fitness program she outlines on her website.
Stilettos and Diapers:
I totally relate to this mom!
She’s all about doing motherhood in style, so much so that she has an
online accessories store that I’ve been known to order from J. She offers fashion tips, recipes, easy DIY
(check out her shoe collection displayed under the DIY shoe shelves post...she gives Kim Kardashian a run for her money), and
other great stuff.Pregnant Chicken: You gotta have a sense of humour for this one! This mom is all about making light of the crazy stuff we go through in pregnancy and parenthood.
-Dion
