by Kirsten Doyle (Canada) | Apr 4, 2012 | Adoption, Adoptive Parents, Birth Parents, Canada, Parenting
A few days after my firstborn son graced us with his presence, I sat in my living room cradling him while he slept. I was chatting with my parents, who had traveled from South Africa to herald the arrival of their first grandchild. I looked down at my sleeping baby and my heart filled with so much love that I thought I was going to burst. Softly, I said, “Giving away a baby must be the hardest decision in the world for a mom.”
As I uttered those words, I was thinking of the circumstances of my own birth.
Having a baby out of wedlock was considered to be a social disgrace 42 years ago – so much so that when my birth mother became pregnant, she left town in order to avoid telling her parents. Sometimes I try to put myself in the shoes of this woman who was young and frightened, living in a strange city far away from everyone she knew, and trying to decide on the fate of her unborn child. (more…)
Kirsten Doyle was born in South Africa. After completing university, she drifted for a while and finally washed up in Canada in 2000. She is Mom to two boys who have reached the stage of eating everything in sight (but still remaining skinny).
Kirsten was a computer programmer for a while before migrating into I.T. project management. Eventually she tossed in the corporate life entirely in order to be a self-employed writer and editor. She is now living her best life writing about mental health and addictions, and posting videos to two YouTube channels.
When Kirsten is not wrestling with her kids or writing up a storm, she can be seen on Toronto's streets putting many miles onto her running shoes. Every year, she runs a half-marathon to benefit children with autism, inspired by her older son who lives life on the autism spectrum.
Final piece of information: Kirsten is lucky enough to be married to the funniest guy in the world.
Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Be sure to check out her YouTube channels at My Gen X Life and Word Salad With Coffee!
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by Multitaskingmumma (Canada) | Apr 3, 2012 | Canada, Child Care, Parenting
The minute my daughter was born, I knew that I would do anything to keep her safe. That I would pay any amount of money to ensure her needs were met, to keep her healthy, and make certain she grew up in a safe environment.
Even if I didn’t have the funds available.
When we found out that she had a peanut allergy, that feeling tripled.
We were lucky to have already had her placed in a daycare that was peanut free and aware of the dangers of introducing nuts into the environment. They took care to ensure there was a safety plan in place should she ever be exposed or require her EpiPen, and had an emergency contact form filled out and posted. (more…)
by Allison Charleston (USA) | Apr 2, 2012 | Motherhood, Parenting, USA, World Motherhood
When I was younger, I was very involved in volunteer work. In high school, I worked with a group of students that visited patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and raised money for cancer research, among other things. I continued this tradition of service in college, spending time tutoring kids from a local youth group, working on home repairs at a local Habitat for Humanity house and participating and leading Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge service trips to Meridian, Mississippi and Covington, Louisiana.
There is truly nothing that can describe the feeling of service, especially in a setting where you get to meet the families that you are helping and work alongside them building their new homes! As a young lawyer, I was always mindful of pro bono opportunities and ensured that it always made up a certain percentage of my work hours each year. (more…)
Allison is a 35-year-old attorney-turned stay at home mom. This New York City mom lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with her 2-year-old son, Chase, and her husband, Andy. She is also expecting baby #2!
In her former life, she was an attorney practicing in a mega firm on NYC’s Park Avenue, putting in long hours, working hard and reveling in the fast pace of her life. She loved living in “the city”, and when she could, she took advantage of all it had to offer. But, when Chase was born over 2 years ago, that all changed. These days, the work has changed from writing legal briefs to changing diapers and the hours are longer, but she wouldn’t have it any other way!
Allison is enjoying her adventures as a metropolitan mommy, raising Chase in New York City and has gained strength from her longer-than-she-wanted-to-wait journey getting pregnant with her second child.
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by Ewa Samples | Mar 30, 2012 | Birthing, Cooking, Food, Health, Motherhood, Nutrition, Parenting, Poland, Polish Mom Photographer, Pregnancy, World Motherhood
I’m about 35 week pregnant and on Monday the 19th my pre-term labor started, also known as Braxton-Hicks. We weren’t sure if that was labor but after 24 hours of consistent and regular contractions my husband and I decided to go to the hospital.
It seemed we made the right decision. I was in labor but because my doctors wanted to keep that baby inside me for at least one more week they gave me a shot that stopped my contractions and advised me to stay in bed for the next few days.
Though, it’s really hard to stay in bed or sit on the sofa while there are still so many things to do and with the laundry basket is calling my name.
Since we came back from the hospital I’ve had a few minor contractions but nothing really big and painful. I try to do less. I try to be more lazy. I try to enjoy this time. (Even though I’m having contractions now and then while writing this post 🙂
The only thing that I haven’t changed in my schedule is making my morning spinach smoothie.
A month ago, my doctor prescribed iron supplements, and since then I’ve also increased iron in my diet a little. I tried to bring some of these changes into the family diet but my husband is too stubborn and spinach or beets are too much for his taste buds. (more…)
Ewa was born, and raised in Poland. She graduated University with a master's degree in Mass-Media Education. This daring mom hitchhiked from Berlin, Germany through Switzerland and France to Barcelona, Spain and back again!
She left Poland to become an Au Pair in California and looked after twins of gay parents for almost 2 years. There, she met her future husband through Couch Surfing, an international non-profit network that connects travelers with locals.
Today she enjoys her life one picture at a time. She runs a photography business in sunny California and document her daughters life one picture at a time.
You can find this artistic mom on her blog, Ewa Samples Photography, on Twitter @EwaSamples or on Facebook!
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by Dee Harlow (Laos) | Mar 29, 2012 | Being Thankful, Family, Motherhood, Parenting, Twins, World Motherhood
As mothers we’re all pretty tired most of the time, worn down from the demands of raising the most important people on earth, and we need each other’s company to share in the difficulties and confide in the hardships.
Sharing helps us feel less alone in our endeavors and assuages our insecurities and doubts. It was very therapeutic for me to start writing for WMB a year ago, especially during a particularly difficult period when I shared my motherhood experiences while living in Mexico in my post “Living Under House Arrest“.
It is a great gift that we can learn from and lean on each other by sharing the difficult moments,but today I need to write about the immense joy that I feel as a parent. The joy that is still expanding inside of me since last night, forcing me to find an outlet to wax on about how happy I am before I explode.
In my sharing, I hope to celebrate my joy with you as well as allow all of us to remember the fleeting moments that make this whole parenting thing so immeasurably worthwhile. You will know what I mean… (more…)
One of Dee’s earliest memories was flying on a trans-Pacific flight from her birthplace in Bangkok, Thailand, to the United States when she was six years old. Ever since then, it has always felt natural for her to criss-cross the globe. So after growing up in the northeast of the US, her life, her work and her curiosity have taken her to over 32 countries. And it was in the 30th country while serving in the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan that she met her husband. Together they embarked on a career in international humanitarian aid working in refugee camps in Darfur, Sudan, and the tsunami torn coast of Aceh, Indonesia.
Dee is now a full-time mother of three-year old twins and continues to criss-cross the globe every two years with her husband who is in the US Foreign Service. They currently live in Vientiane, Laos, and are loving it! You can read about their adventures at Wanderlustress.
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by Lady Jennie (France) | Mar 22, 2012 | Culture, Discipline, Education, Eye on Culture, Food, France, Parenting
I think that by now everyone knows about the famous (infamous?) article on how French parents are superior.
Of course, as a mother living in France, I was sent this article by about ten different people. At first, I sort of skimmed it and dismissed it since I tend to parent in much the same way as the French supposedly do – authoritative no’s and a complete expectation that I will be obeyed.
My youngest is three and he consistently proves me wrong on this point.
But in preparing to write this post, I really gave the article the attention it deserved. I found that there was some value to what she was saying in that teaching children the (more…)
Jennie has lived in Taiwan, New York City and East Africa, and currently lives just outside of Paris with her French husband. She speaks rudimentary Mandarin, passable French and has had a varied career in Human Resources, Asian financial sales and humanitarian work. She is currently a mother to three young children, with writing and teaching gigs on the side, and blogs at A Lady in France.
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A few days after my firstborn son graced us with his presence, I sat in my living room cradling him while he slept. I was chatting with my parents, who had traveled from South Africa to herald the arrival of their first grandchild. I looked down at my sleeping baby and my heart filled with so much love that I thought I was going to burst. Softly, I said, “Giving away a baby must be the hardest decision in the world for a mom.”
