When do we officially become a mom? Is it when the baby is born? Is it at conception? Some time before that? Maybe it's some time in between. For those whose children were brought to them through adoption, was it when you decided to start the process? When you were chosen by a birth mom? When you held the baby for the first time?
I think that answer is probably different for everyone. For me, it was when I first found out I was pregnant. That moment was so surreal, and very unexpected. We had not been trying, in fact, we were preventing! But it was still one of the most exciting moments of my life to that point. I was going to have a baby! I immediately started reading every book and internet article about pregnancy that I could get my hands on.
I had a good friend lend me the book Your Best Birth by Ricki Lake. It totally changed everything for me! Up until this point, I would tell anyone that I didn't want to feel a thing in childbirth. I wanted to go in the moment I felt a twinge and get whatever drugs they'd give me. I also had zero desire to breastfeed. The whole idea seemed so weird to me. Well after reading this book, I wanted to stay as far away from the drugs as I could. I wanted a completely natural birth, maybe even a HypnoBirth like they mentioned some women do. I think this is also where I decided I wanted to breastfeed my baby. I watched The Business of Being Born, the documentary that goes along with the book. It was amazing! I felt so empowered and so excited, but also sad at how birth has become in our society.
During these months I also read HypnoBirthing: The Mongan Method by Marie Mongan and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin. I really wished I could take a HypnoBirthing class, but there were none in my area at the time. So I took Lamaze from the local hospital instead. I liked some parts of the class, and disliked others. I also took a breastfeeding class and an infant safety class. I wanted to be as prepared as possible! I was very much already a mother, even though my baby had not been born yet.
What was it like for you?
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
About Me
I am the mom of two (soon to be three!). Being a mom is hard, but I absolutely love it. I am starting this blog to document all the joys motherhood brings. I will also talk about the difficult things about being a mom. It will include pregnancy, childbirth, feeding, infants, toddlers... anything I can think of related to being a mom. (Obviously I can't say much about being the mom of older kids or teenagers, because I haven't done it yet!) Over the past few years I have slowly become more "natural minded" I guess you could say. So many of my posts will reflect that. It in no way means I think my ways are better than others or that I'm a better mom because I do things this way...etc. I just will write about what I know, what I have tried, and what my experiences are.
MY BACKGROUND:
When I was younger, and right up until I got pregnant with my first, I planned on always working full time. Being a stay at home mom did not sound pleasant at all. I have no idea exactly when or how, but somewhere in my first pregnancy, that changed. ALL I wanted was to be a mom. My husband was still in school and only working part time, but we found a way to make it work.
A year after she was born I became a Certified Lactation Educator Counselor. I loved breastfeeding and wouldn't have been able to do so without the help of an amazing Lactation Consultant. After seeing her for a while, I knew that's what I wanted to do. I want to help mom's reach their breastfeeding goals.
Shortly after that, I met a midwife who was about to hold a training for midwifery assistants. Some of my friends and I took the class. I became pregnant with my second baby just as classes were beginning. I loved learning more about pregnancy and birth. I attended a couple of births and quickly discovered that my heart was more with helping the mom rather than helping the midwife. I knew being a doula would be much more in line with my personality. But since I was about to have a baby of my own, I wasn't ready to really pursue that.
A few months after the birth of my second daughter, I was able to become certified to teach HypnoBirthing, the program I used for her birth.
Since then I have been teaching breastfeeding classes, HypnoBirthing classes, and have attended a few births as a doula. I am now pregnant with baby number 3, a boy this time! I am a stay at home mom and love it. I am really excited to start this blog journey and really figure out what it is that made me want to start it in the first place. It will be fascinating to see where it goes!
MY BACKGROUND:
When I was younger, and right up until I got pregnant with my first, I planned on always working full time. Being a stay at home mom did not sound pleasant at all. I have no idea exactly when or how, but somewhere in my first pregnancy, that changed. ALL I wanted was to be a mom. My husband was still in school and only working part time, but we found a way to make it work.
A year after she was born I became a Certified Lactation Educator Counselor. I loved breastfeeding and wouldn't have been able to do so without the help of an amazing Lactation Consultant. After seeing her for a while, I knew that's what I wanted to do. I want to help mom's reach their breastfeeding goals.
Shortly after that, I met a midwife who was about to hold a training for midwifery assistants. Some of my friends and I took the class. I became pregnant with my second baby just as classes were beginning. I loved learning more about pregnancy and birth. I attended a couple of births and quickly discovered that my heart was more with helping the mom rather than helping the midwife. I knew being a doula would be much more in line with my personality. But since I was about to have a baby of my own, I wasn't ready to really pursue that.
A few months after the birth of my second daughter, I was able to become certified to teach HypnoBirthing, the program I used for her birth.
Since then I have been teaching breastfeeding classes, HypnoBirthing classes, and have attended a few births as a doula. I am now pregnant with baby number 3, a boy this time! I am a stay at home mom and love it. I am really excited to start this blog journey and really figure out what it is that made me want to start it in the first place. It will be fascinating to see where it goes!
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