One Friday this past July my husband Jeff, our nearly 5 month old daughter Jia, and I were driving to Brooklyn, NY to attend a friend’s wedding. We started talking about my friend who has two little girls, one the same age as Jia and the other almost two years old. She and I would message back and forth on Facebook, taking turns between asking for advice and answering the other one’s questions about babies and being a mom. Most recently, she’d asked how I weaned Jia off of nighttime feedings, how often Jia nurses in the daytime/at what intervals, and how I structure her nap times. She lightheartedly referred to me as “mommy extraordinaire” and was slightly embarrassed at sounding like a first-time mommy. Mommy Extraordinaire? I felt flattered but couldn’t help but laughed to myself. I told her that I am far from extraordinary; however, I give lots of credit to my many mamma friends for the great advice that has helped me through my formative months as a new mom.
As Jeff and I continued up the never-ending NJ Turnpike, we talked about how I should start a blog – a discussion area – as a resource to other moms with similar concerns that I have had as a new mom (for example, key foods that I have had in the cupboard throughout Jia’s intolerance to soy and dairy, how Jia sleep trained, my quest for the least poo-accident-prone cloth diapering system, baby items that I couldn’t live without, or items that I wish I’d had when Jia was a newborn that would have made my life much easier!), tying in my knowledge as a healthcare provider (we all know you should vaccinate your kids, so what’s the deal with the resurgence of whooping cough and measles?).
Jeff thought my perspective would be unique. My experiences working in public health and as a nurse would allow me to reach an audience at more of an educational level, while at the same time I am a new and (at times) struggling mom who is also learning. Every baby is both special and unique, and parenting styles vary from family to family.
I am in no way a pediatric expert or even a near-perfect mom. I just hope that my experiences, both good and bad, along with the legwork I have put in to researching various topics and products, will be helpful to someone one way or another. If my readers are able to learn from my mistakes or benefit from my input, then I’ll be paying it forward!
A big big hug to my husband who gave me the encouragement and support to get this thing going, and to Brooker for helping me get started! Many huge thanks to my Mom, Mother-in-Law Joyce, Armita C., Berry T., Crystal A., Cynthia T., Debbie H., Desiree C., Erin C., Erin M., Heather W., Katie T., Kelly D., Lee G., Mary M., Megan K., Megan W., Patty F., Sam K., and all the other mommies out there who have helped me along the way!