Learning to Overshare

When I was pregnant, I made a habit of ticking off the things I would never do as a mother. Not overtly. I wasn't that kind of annoying prego. I was annoying for other reasons.

Of course I have violated several of my own rules already, one of which being that I would not be an oversharer when it came to my baby. This has been the hardest rule to comply with. I thought I would be able to hide my son from the world (and the Internet) like Madonna hourded Lourdes but it has not been possible.

Even the psuedonym Baby Mo, which I use on this blog, seems like an exercise in futility. My husband had our son on his national news show, Fox and Friends, five days after he was born. (I still watch that segment incessantly.) He also talks about him constantly on his daddy podcast, Daddy On Board.

And then there is The Facebook and The Twitter. How can I avoid sharing the insanely cute and interesting things that my son is doing on my social networks? The world simply must know that he started solids this week!

On Thursday my no-Internet-for-baby rule went up in flames when I brought my son on The 404 podcast, which I have embedded below.

So is it all shot to heck? Why even bother with anonymity at this point? But I had the best of intentions! I wanted my son to learn prudence about using the Internet on his own, not by default through his parents. I used to find mommies like me so annoying. So what now?

When I was pregnant, I asked my coworker Molly Wood how she decided how and when to share about her toddler. She said, "I just sort of share when I feel like it and when it feels right and when it doesn't, I don't." So simple. So wise. So I guess that is my new rule of thumb too. Okay, we all know that Baby Mo is named Miles. The jig is up. But I'll still call him Baby Mo here if it is all the same to you.

Mom Guilt – Why it’s a Good Thing

I was surfing baby center trying to find fun activity suggestions for my 3-month old when I caught the title of an article called, “Why Mom Guilt is  Good.” At about that time I was feeling pretty guilty myself. I had played with Elle on the play mat, in her bouncy seat, in her bebe pod, held her for a while, and she had started to get a little fussy so I decided to put her in her swing. Mind you, she had a little nap in her swing this morning so I felt a little guilty putting her back in there. Shouldn’t I be holding her and talking to her? She always smiles when I talk to her. But wouldn’t she be crying if she didn’t want to go in her swing?

I feel like a bad mommy when I’m not entertaining her! I know I shouldn’t, but I do. It’s been hard juggling launching a company while being a new mom and caring for a newborn. I’m still trying to find some balance. For example, in the morning when she wakes up, I try to just check the site real quick to make sure nothing is amiss then I try to have just girls ‘time where I talk to her while I make coffee and have breakfast. Then we play a while and then I have to get hopping on the Web site, but I can feel her eyes staring at me saying, “Mommy, play with me!” “What is more interesting than me?”

I love my daughter more than words can describe – I just want her to know it. The article I reference at the top helped me realize that mommy guilt isn’t such a bad thing. It makes up put away our iPhones and laptops for play time. It makes us spend all day talking to an infant who can’t talk back. It makes us excited to see their little cheeks even at 4 a.m. when you went to bed at Midnight after a night of working.

I thought it was a great article to share with all of you amazing parents. Enjoy!

Top 5 Pregnancy and Nursing Snacks

I contributed another blog post TapMommies today.  It's all about my favorite snacks.

I also got a sneak peak of their super cool and soon-to-be-my-favorite health destination on the Web.  I was sworn to secrecy about the site, but it could be very useful for preggos and new moms.  I'll let you know when it's available to the public.

Craigslist to the rescue!

Well we just got back from our first vacation in Hawaii. Grammy and Grampy came along too so we had lots of help – and they definitely helped a lot!

I was a little nervous about going on vaca without a bouncy seat or swing. Babies don’t like to be held all the time and we wanted Elle to enjoy herself as much as possible. I found a baby toy/product rental call called Ready Rentals, but after perusing their merchandise, the swing available wasn’t exactly what I was looking for.

So right when we landed, I pulled out my iPhone and began trolling the CraigsList app for baby swings in Kauai. Luckily, there was a Fisher Price papasan swing listed for $65 that was located really close to where we were staying. So I emailed offering $40. Would you believe it – they said ok!

So that evening we drove 15 minutes to pick it up. The owner was really sweet and even offered to resell it for us after we left if were interested. But, after a week of seeing the swing in action, grammy wanted to take it back to her house in Cali so we checked it in a big box.

Elle was a happy beach baby all week long and we scored a great deal!



My Wise Mother

I think back to when I was a little girl and how my Mom let my brothers and I make mud pies in our backyard, build forts in the living room with blankets and pillows and run through the sprinklers with our cloths on. Every day was an adventure. My mom raised four kids (I have an older brother and two younger brothers) and she made being a Mom look easy. Food was always on the table (homemade authentic Mexican food is her specialty), laundry washed and folded, dishes scrubbed, floor mopped, etc., house and she still had time to play with us. How did she do it?? I decided to interview her to find out some of her secrets.

Me: How did you raise four kids as a single mother?

Mom: With lots of love, patience, understanding and improvising.

Me: What was the hardest part for you?

Mom: Watching my kids grow up and feel pain and not being able to take it away - only telling them that it will go away and "Everything happens for a reason.”

Me: How on earth did you get everything you needed to get done, done?

Mom: There are little sacrifices you need to make when you're a parent even though you don't think of them as sacrifices. I would stay up late when all of you were asleep and do all the little chores that built up during the day.

Me: What values did you teach your kids early on that helped shape them?

Mom: I think the most important value I taught my children is that all people are different and that we are all people. The world would be boring if we were all the same.

Me: What advice can you offer to new Moms?

Mom: Let your kids be kids and enjoy and love them to the fullest. Sing and dance and share your happiness and always tell them stories of when you were a child and stories about the grandparents.

Me: Can you share your favorite part of being a Mom?

Mom: Having your child look at you, hug you and say, "You're the best mom in the whole world!"

Me: What’s are things you know now that you wish you had known when you were raising your kids?

Mom: I know now that I did a "hell of a job" with my kids.  They are all awesome.  I always felt there was more I could have done or given them, but I know now that it's not the monetary things that are important. 

Me: What is your definition of “Mom?”

Mom: Someone who loves, cares, shares the good and the bad.  Being there for your child but letting them make their own choices, even though you might not think it's a wise choice. Appreciating the small things they do, knowing that it is the small things that shape their lives and make them who they are.