by Jennifer Burden | Mar 1, 2011 | Birthing, Family, Health, Infertility, Life Lesson, Motherhood, USA
Delivering my baby by C-section was, for me, something that would be only done in an emergency — if the baby’s heart rate was falling during labor or something else serious that would have threatened my baby or myself.
I delivered my first baby vaginally, and I intended to do the same for this one. My due date is March 21, 2011, and I have already started reading my “Hypnobirthing” book that got me through the beginning of labor with my first. I hadn’t ruled out having an epidural again, but if things happened too fast, I wanted to have some relaxation tricks up my sleeve.
At 35 weeks last week, I was already ½ centimeter dilated! This didn’t alarm me because I walked around for the last two weeks being 3 centimeters dilated with my first child. But, I was excited that things were happening. My body was planning on birthing this baby!
But, things have recently taken a turn in a different direction… (more…)
Jennifer Burden is the Founder and CEO of World Moms Network, an award winning website on global motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. World Moms Network writes from over 30 countries, has over 70 contributors and was listed by Forbes as one of the “Best 100 Websites for Women”, named a “must read” by The New York Times, and was recommended by The Times of India.
She was also invited to Uganda to view UNICEF’s family health programs with Shot@Life and was previously named a “Global Influencer Fellow” and “Social Media Fellow” by the UN Foundation. Jennifer was invited to the White House twice, including as a nominated "Changemaker" for the State of the World Women Summit. She also participated in the One Campaign’s first AYA Summit on the topic of women and girl empowerment and organized and spoke on an international panel at the World Bank in Washington, DC on the importance of a universal education for all girls. Her writing has been featured by Baby Center, Huffington Post, ONE.org, the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life, and The Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists.” She is currently a candidate in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the Executive Masters of Public Affairs program, where she hopes to further her study of global policies affecting women and girls.
Jennifer can be found on Twitter @JenniferBurden.
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by Angela Y (USA) | Feb 22, 2011 | Family, Health, Motherhood, USA
While I was reading the Stieg Larsson books, I noticed that the characters were always drinking coffee, making coffee, and going to get a coffee. And, it made me wonder if other moms around the world drink as much coffee as I do?
Can a mom drink too much coffee or tea in one day?
That is a question I often ask myself. The first thing I do after my big girl gets me out of bed in the morning is brush my teeth and make a cup of coffee. (more…)
Angela Y. is in her mid-thirties and attempting to raise her two daughters (big girl, R, 3 years; little girl, M, 1 year) with her husband in San Francisco, CA. After spending ten years climbing the corporate ladder, she traded it all in to be a stay-at-home mom! Her perspective of raising a child in the city is definitely different from those who have been city dwellers all their lives, as she grew up in rural Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) surrounded by her extended family.
Angela Y. and her husband are on their own on the west coast of the United States — the only family help they receive is when someone comes for a visit. But, the lifestyle in San Francisco is like no other for them, so there, they stay! This exercise conscious mom is easily recognized, especially when she is riding around her husband-built bike with two seats on the back. And, when she’s not hanging out with the girls, you can find Angela Y. in the kitchen. She loves to cook for her family, especially dessert, and then eats some herself when no one is looking! Sneaky, mom!
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by Shaula Bellour (Indonesia) | Feb 15, 2011 | East Timor, Family, Health, International, Kids, Motherhood, Parenting, Shaula Bellour, Travel
Among the many things we worry about as parents, I never thought that crocodiles would be high on the list. And then I moved to East Timor.
With any big life decision or transition there are risks and trade-offs. We knew that our family would be faced with a new set of health concerns by choosing to move to a faraway tropical island. But, we also believed that the trade offs would be worth it and the challenges manageable.
And so, we kicked into preparation mode – stocking up on regular and just-in-case medicines, soliciting advice from other experienced families, consulting medical types and health guides. We were immunized against Japanese Encephalitis, Typhoid and Rabies (at a family cost of $5,000! Thankfully reimbursed, but still). We cleared out a local store’s supply of bug spray and loaded up on sunscreen and other protective gear. We were as ready as we could be. (more…)
Shaula Bellour grew up in Redmond, Washington. She now lives in Jakarta, Indonesia with her British husband and 9-year old boy/girl twins. She has degrees in International Relations and Gender and Development and works as a consultant for the UN and non-governmental organizations.
Shaula has lived and worked in the US, France, England, Kenya, Eritrea, Kosovo, Lebanon and Timor-Leste. She began writing for World Moms Network in 2010. She plans to eventually find her way back to the Pacific Northwest one day, but until then she’s enjoying living in the big wide world with her family.
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by Purnima Ramakrishnan | Feb 9, 2011 | Being Thankful, Child Care, Family, Health, Holiday, India, International, Kids, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Parenting, Technology, The Alchemist
There was a time in my parenting life when I thought everything was perfect: my dear darling son (henceforth DDS) was perfect; I was perfect; our whole life was a living proof of joie de vivre. And then, disaster struck.
Well, I should not say that really. It was during the holidays and DDS was diagnosed with astigmatism. We got him his eye glasses on Dec 24th and from the day of his diagnosis until now has been a very difficult time in my life as a mother.
When faced with the fact that he will be wearing glasses permanently, I initially was crushed, devastated; I felt lost, confused and upset. I felt guilty with myself and angry at the whole world. (more…)
by Karyn Wills | Feb 2, 2011 | Birthing, Family, Health, International, Motherhood, New Zealand
One of the things which link mothers from around the world and between generations, is our birth stories. We all have them, and often they are really good yarns.
I’ve given birth three times. The last two births were horrible, long and ended in emergency c-sections, but the first is a story I like to tell. I often wonder if anyone else, these days, has had the same experience…
We were on holiday, the baby wasn’t due for three weeks, so we figured we had at least a week up our sleeves before we became parents. We intended to head home the following day, and to use the following week for our final preparations.
Apart from the huge lump I was carrying around, I wasn’t consciously thinking of the birth. I think I was probably blocking all thoughts of pain, and besides, it was my first baby – all adventure and new beginnings. The hard bits were theory – not yet reality.
(more…)
Karyn is a teacher, writer and solo mother to three sons. She lives in the sunny wine region of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand in the city of Napier.
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by Jennifer Burden | Feb 1, 2011 | Family, Health, Motherhood, Parenting, USA
When it comes to memory, I have occasionally had difficulty remembering “things”. And, by things I mean my keys, my cell phone, paying a bill (ouch!), etc. However, when it comes to remembering past events, I’ve been told that I have the memory of an elephant.
I attribute it to making friends and maintaining good friendships. But, that memory is not so impressive when there has been alcohol involved. (In that case, my inner elephant fails me, but apparently I’m a lot of fun.)
Even my childhood friend, who grew up across the street from me, still lives vicariously through her own childhood through my memory bank. There has been many times when I have started a story that begins with “Remember when…” only to find that I am the only one who remembers it. It is a little lonely when that happens.
We all have a special superpower: I’m sure of it, and a good memory is mine. But recently, my world got turned upside down, and it’s embarrassing for me to admit. But, I felt that there MUST be other mothers who have been in my situation, so anyway, here goes…
(more…)
Jennifer Burden is the Founder and CEO of World Moms Network, an award winning website on global motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. World Moms Network writes from over 30 countries, has over 70 contributors and was listed by Forbes as one of the “Best 100 Websites for Women”, named a “must read” by The New York Times, and was recommended by The Times of India.
She was also invited to Uganda to view UNICEF’s family health programs with Shot@Life and was previously named a “Global Influencer Fellow” and “Social Media Fellow” by the UN Foundation. Jennifer was invited to the White House twice, including as a nominated "Changemaker" for the State of the World Women Summit. She also participated in the One Campaign’s first AYA Summit on the topic of women and girl empowerment and organized and spoke on an international panel at the World Bank in Washington, DC on the importance of a universal education for all girls. Her writing has been featured by Baby Center, Huffington Post, ONE.org, the UN Foundation’s Shot@Life, and The Gates Foundation’s “Impatient Optimists.” She is currently a candidate in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in the Executive Masters of Public Affairs program, where she hopes to further her study of global policies affecting women and girls.
Jennifer can be found on Twitter @JenniferBurden.
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Delivering my baby by C-section was, for me, something that would be only done in an emergency — if the baby’s heart rate was falling during labor or something else serious that would have threatened my baby or myself.
