One of the reasons it's taken me a while to get started on this blog, is that there are a couple of wonderful blogs already in existence out there, full of interesting and useful information. I remember how reassuring and helpful it was to be able to browse them in the early days of Ruben's life!
The first blog is www.kellymom.com. The American based author of this blog has put together an exhaustive collection of articles, links, studies, and more, on a wide range of topics surrounding breastfeeding and parenting. The blog is easily searchable by category or by keyword. For instance, under the "Breastfeeding" section, the heading "Got Milk?" opens up a page with 25 different questions that you might have and need answering to (click here to check them out.) I found www.kellymom.com easy to search on my smartphone and sometimes, while bouncing on a yoga ball at 3.30 am with Ruben over my shoulder, hoping he would burp or fart or do whatever he needed to do in order to relax back into sleep, I would browse around and read up on how to deal with engorgement or Ruben's green poos. And that's what you call multi-tasking (and worrying over the crazy sh*t - sometimes literally - that comes up in the first few weeks of caring for a tiny and beautiful human being.)
The second lovely blog that kept me company during the early days, and to which I now return often, is the articulate and funny www.analyticalarmadillo.com. Like my blog, the Analytical Armadillo is hosted by blogspot, so you can search it through the search box or the categories menu (scroll down a bit to find it on the right hand side.) Here you will find the voice of an informed and opinionated Mama who is on top of the latest research and is not afraid to get into a passionate conversation with any non-evidence based advice (especially when it comes from self-labeled "experts"!) Here is one of my favorite examples, a post on why comfort feeding on the boob is actually a valuable practice. The Analytical Armadillo is based in the UK, so some of her posts are specific to what's going on here (see, for instance, the creepy invasion of corporation Bounty in the hospitals: "That Innocent Little Bounty Pack...")
A word on reading and learning. There are, of course, so many more blogs, books and resources both online and in printed versions. My advice is to find a voice that works for you. When you are reading, trust your intuition. If it feels like you enjoy what you are learning, if what you are discovering "makes sense" to you, to your way of life, to how you would like to raise your baby, then go for it! But if there is a little part of you that resists, that doesn't feel quite right, if the author makes you feel uncomfortable or disempowered in any way, then forget it! I remember my mother's well-intentioned gift of Tracy Hogg's "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer", in the hope that the book would make it easier for me to get through the first few months (See Kellymom's review of the book here.) I started reading it and after just a couple of pages I remember wondering: "Oh man, am I doing it all wrong? Routine? Routine? How can I get Ruben on a routine? It seems impossible, but Hogg sounds so sure..." That's when I put the book down. We were co-sleeping and basically doing everything "baby led" (more on that in future posts), and her system just didn't jive with ours! Luckily I soon came across other resources that supported my intuitive response to Ruben and empowered me to feel good in my choices.
So read and learn while trusting your self! Pregnancy and baby advice comes from all around when you are in that world. Showers of it, in fact, and it can hit you hard in the most vulnerable of places ("What? Your 8 week old isn't sleeping through the night yet? That's strange...") That kind of comment, and thousands of others, can leave you feeling like you don't know what you are doing. I believe that is the WORSE possible scenario. Mothers, and parents, all around the world should be empowered to make well-informed decisions and to take care of their children from a place of knowledge and personal trust. So find yourself some good, evidence based support for your choices, and let everything else slide by :-).
That is all for now, thank you for reading and all good wishes your way!
The first blog is www.kellymom.com. The American based author of this blog has put together an exhaustive collection of articles, links, studies, and more, on a wide range of topics surrounding breastfeeding and parenting. The blog is easily searchable by category or by keyword. For instance, under the "Breastfeeding" section, the heading "Got Milk?" opens up a page with 25 different questions that you might have and need answering to (click here to check them out.) I found www.kellymom.com easy to search on my smartphone and sometimes, while bouncing on a yoga ball at 3.30 am with Ruben over my shoulder, hoping he would burp or fart or do whatever he needed to do in order to relax back into sleep, I would browse around and read up on how to deal with engorgement or Ruben's green poos. And that's what you call multi-tasking (and worrying over the crazy sh*t - sometimes literally - that comes up in the first few weeks of caring for a tiny and beautiful human being.)
The second lovely blog that kept me company during the early days, and to which I now return often, is the articulate and funny www.analyticalarmadillo.com. Like my blog, the Analytical Armadillo is hosted by blogspot, so you can search it through the search box or the categories menu (scroll down a bit to find it on the right hand side.) Here you will find the voice of an informed and opinionated Mama who is on top of the latest research and is not afraid to get into a passionate conversation with any non-evidence based advice (especially when it comes from self-labeled "experts"!) Here is one of my favorite examples, a post on why comfort feeding on the boob is actually a valuable practice. The Analytical Armadillo is based in the UK, so some of her posts are specific to what's going on here (see, for instance, the creepy invasion of corporation Bounty in the hospitals: "That Innocent Little Bounty Pack...")
A word on reading and learning. There are, of course, so many more blogs, books and resources both online and in printed versions. My advice is to find a voice that works for you. When you are reading, trust your intuition. If it feels like you enjoy what you are learning, if what you are discovering "makes sense" to you, to your way of life, to how you would like to raise your baby, then go for it! But if there is a little part of you that resists, that doesn't feel quite right, if the author makes you feel uncomfortable or disempowered in any way, then forget it! I remember my mother's well-intentioned gift of Tracy Hogg's "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer", in the hope that the book would make it easier for me to get through the first few months (See Kellymom's review of the book here.) I started reading it and after just a couple of pages I remember wondering: "Oh man, am I doing it all wrong? Routine? Routine? How can I get Ruben on a routine? It seems impossible, but Hogg sounds so sure..." That's when I put the book down. We were co-sleeping and basically doing everything "baby led" (more on that in future posts), and her system just didn't jive with ours! Luckily I soon came across other resources that supported my intuitive response to Ruben and empowered me to feel good in my choices.
So read and learn while trusting your self! Pregnancy and baby advice comes from all around when you are in that world. Showers of it, in fact, and it can hit you hard in the most vulnerable of places ("What? Your 8 week old isn't sleeping through the night yet? That's strange...") That kind of comment, and thousands of others, can leave you feeling like you don't know what you are doing. I believe that is the WORSE possible scenario. Mothers, and parents, all around the world should be empowered to make well-informed decisions and to take care of their children from a place of knowledge and personal trust. So find yourself some good, evidence based support for your choices, and let everything else slide by :-).
That is all for now, thank you for reading and all good wishes your way!
I am reading this while my little one is asleep on the boob. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat? Ruben doesn't sleep through the night? What are you doing at 3am bouncing on the ball? Hahaha.... Joys of motherhood. I got that question so many times, even when she was just a few days old!
xx