MotherWoman Blog

Reflections on my daughter’s seventh birthday

MotherWoman — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:21:58 +0000

My daughter Ella turned 7 yesterday. How on earth did that happen? There is truth that the older one gets, the faster time goes by. There she was at her birthday party on Saturday in a pink dress, her yellow, just-cut, short hair, beaming in the sunlight, the biggest smile on her face, struggling to carry a giant rainbow of balloons that were trying their hardest to lift her off the ground.

Notes from the Diaper Bag

MotherWoman — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:03:00 +0000

By Christina Marie Bailey

Like every morning since Ben arrived, I find myself knee deep in diapers. My shirt is covered in spit up and the remnant stains of the morning’s first attempts at solids. As I wash the applesauce from my hair, I close my eyes and let the water run across my face. My cherub is dreaming right now and I am taking advantage of the little reprieve that I have been granted. We have been practicing the art of spoon feeding. It’s the hardest thing we have tried so far. I guess I just thought it would come naturally. Everyone asks about it like it’s a race. I know it’s not mission impossible but deep down I am starting to think he’ll be graduating from high school before he gives up his formula. It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “hitting the bottle.”

Saying it out loud

MotherWoman — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:01:35 +0000

By NJ

After Malone was born, I experienced the baby blues. I spent a few hours each day for about a week crying through my hormones privately on my bed while someone else tended to my baby. I wasn't sure what exactly I was crying about, I just knew that I needed to cry. So I did. And then I felt better about things and my "new" normal began.

My new normal included nursing a baby every few hours, taking whatever sleep I could get, socializing with other mamas and their babies, and savoring growing into motherhood.

Notes from the Diaper Bag

MotherWoman — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:47:11 +0000

By Christina Marie Bailey

Because it’s important to me and all other women, (and because I had way too much time on my hands), I have decided to start a column for mothers everywhere. What follows is my take on the world of mothering in a world not made for mothers. If you feel like reading it, and you miraculously have a hand free, I hope you will see the truth about mothering wrapped in a warm and fuzzy blanket. Children are the ties that bind us together and humor is the only way to survive them.

A Sweet Case of Postpartum Depression

MotherWoman — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:17:46 +0000

By TaraJean

Expectations are just resentments under construction. - Anne Lamont

Mix in expectations with a toddler who never stops, and an infant who doesn’t sleep – liberally sprinkle in a pre-existing anxiety problem and bam – a sweet case of postpartum depression.

I’ve said that d-word just five or six times now. And the thing is, I talk a lot, (here, many of you who know me, smile, nod your head, and think I’m understating it). But as a friend pointed out the other night, I’ve kept this one pretty close to my chest.

So Blessed

MotherWoman — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:51:06 +0000

By NJ.

February is turning out to be hitting me like a ton of bricks.

If my memory serves me, good friends of ours baby should have celebrated a first birthday sometime this month.

But there were complications early in the pregnancy and soon there was no heart beat. My husband and I learned of this just weeks before we found out we were going to have a baby.

Survival

MotherWoman — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:26:19 +0000

by: NJ

My baby has a horrible cough- not a cold or a fever, just a cough. The cough is so violent that when he gets going, the end result is usually vomit. Often times this is in the middle of the night. Last night, he was sleeping on my chest. I'll spare you the details, but feel free to use your imagination.

In that moment, I could gotten us all (baby Malone and my husband) out of bed, changed the sheets, and taken a shower but I didn't. Sleep right now is more precious than gold. In the last two nights I have gotten a total of five hours of sleep. That's right. TOTAL. And I'm not about to waste precious seconds or minutes changing sheets.

I am in survival mode.

Paid Sick Days is a womens issue, mamas tell legislators why at the state house!

MotherWoman — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:41:37 +0000

I had the pleasure today of attending the hearing at the state house in Boston in support of “An Act to Establish Paid Sick Days”. Myself and about 20 other Moms Rising members and kids packed the room with supporters of the bill. Our kid’s fell asleep in the aisles listening to all the suits talk, they snacked away through lovely speeches in support of the bill from Rep Kay Khan and Ellen Story, and even made a couple security guards snicker!

If "asking" employers for paid sick leave was all it took- wouldn't we all have this benefit???

MotherWoman — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:37:15 +0000

This evening I heard the wonderful Dr. Barbara Ferrer speak on Boston’s NPR station about the recent study conducted after this springs influenza/H1N1 outbreak. She was asked to comment on the fact that H1N1 had disproportionately effected blacks and Latinos in the Boston metro area and why this may be. 3/4 of those infected with swine flu in Mass are Black or Latino. One of the main reasons she gave was that people can’t stay home when they are sick because of lack of paid sick leave. NPR also commented that Mayor Meninno is asking businesses to “let workers stay home”. As a low income mother I know the struggles of balancing health/family/work schedules, and I also know that politicians and city employees “asking” for businesses to change their policies is not going to cut it! Businesses have not and will not enact this policy without this legislation being passed, EVEN though the numbers show that it is more expensive for health departments to close businesses/schools than it is to provide paid sick leave to all employees. The obvious answer to me, is to support paid sick days for all workers in Massachusetts NOW, without we are taking a serious public health risk that I don’t think any of us want to chance the outcomes of.

Mothers in the eye of the storm

MotherWoman — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:39:38 +0000

I see a lot of mothers in my work and I am constantly amazed and humbled by how much we feel and do and hold. Just this week I met a mother with a two week old baby, spent time with my own 80 year old mother, spoke to a postpartum mother suffering from bi-polar disorder, and comforted a mother who is grieving the tragic loss of a child. I myself will be joining the caravan of teary parents dropping their first child at college at the end of the month.