NEW JERSEY, USA: To Pump, Or Not To Pump?

Two years ago when I had my son, I was determined to make breastfeeding work.  I heard about all of the great benefits through friends, baby books and doctors.  I knew that my maternity leave would be fairly short and along with figuring out breastfeeding, I planned to pump as well.  Well, both breastfeeding and pumping came with lots of surprises – some good and some bad!

I am pregnant again and due in June, and I am contemplating what will work best the second time around.

The question I keep asking myself – will my 12 weeks of maternity leave be sufficient for breastfeeding?  Or will I resume the torture, headache and embarrassment that came with pumping in the workplace?! (more…)

Wall Street Mama (USA)

Wall Street Mama was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago and moved to NJ when she was a teenager. She fell in love with New York City and set her mind to one thing after college – working on Wall Street. She has spent the last 16 years working on the trading floor at three major banks. As an Institutional Salesperson, she is responsible for helping large corporations and money funds invest their short term cash in the fixed income part of the market. She lives in the suburbs of central NJ with her husband of 11 years, their amazing 21 month old boy and their first baby – a very spoiled Maltese. She has baby #2 on the way and is expecting a little girl in June 2012. She is a full time working mother and struggles with “having it all” while wondering if that is even possible. Wall Street Mama was married at the age of 25 but waited to have children because she felt she was too focused on her career which required a lot of traveling and entertaining. When she was finally ready, she thought she could plan the exact month she was ready to have a child, like everything else she planned in her life. She was shocked and frustrated when things did not go according to her plan. Fast forward four years later, after a miscarriage and several rounds of failed fertility injections, her little miracle was conceived naturally. She never thought in a million years, that she and her husband would be in their late 30’s by the time they had their first child. Since the financial crisis of 2008, she has endured some of the most difficult years of her life. The stress of trying to conceive was combined with some of life’s biggest challenges. She and her husband, who is a trader, both lost their jobs on Wall Street the exact same month. Her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and she ended up passing away while she was 6 months pregnant. At times it didn’t seem like things would ever get better, but she has learned that life is cyclical and what comes down must again go up. Leaving her baby boy with a wonderful nanny each day is difficult, but at times it is easier than she would have expected. She still enjoys the seemingly addictive draw of working on Wall Street. The past few years have been dramatically different from the “good days” but she is focused on trying to achieve what she once had before. She is currently working on launching her own blog, Wall Street Mama, in an attempt to guide others who are focused on continuing their career, yet struggle with leaving their little ones at home. She is weathering the ups and downs of the market and motherhood, one day at a time.

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Saturday Sidebar: What has been your favorite moment on WMB?

Since we celebrated World Moms Blog’s 1st Blogiversary this week, Jen Burden, our founder, asked,

“What has been your favorite moment so far on World Moms Blog?”

The Alchemist of India writes:
“I got my first paid writers’ job after my employer read my first post at World Moms Blog. It was India: In the eyeglasses of the beholder.

I have come a long way from there. I got two editing offers after someone checked out my posts at WMB and another site (Awesome Cuisine). These have been some “Awww, is it me?” moments. The power of affirmations, like Jen mentioned in the Blogiversary post.

I have especially liked Dr. Jeanelle’s post on taking time out for oneself as a mom, and about the emotions when the child leaves the nest. That is one great post and mothers have to always be cautious about their individual identity. I always had that in mind and her post reinstated the same.” (more…)

World Moms Blog

World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children. World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.

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NEW YORK, USA: To Wean or Not to Wean? That is the Question!

My baby’s turned 1… I should say my last baby’s turned one.

I only have 2, but will not attempt to have any more after this.  Making the decision of having the first 2 was very difficult for me, since there are some genetic issues at play in my family.

I told my then fiancée, while we were discussing future family plans, to be prepared to adopt, that I will probably not have my own children.

I had prepared for that my entire life and was sure that I would never carry and give birth to my own child.  After running tests and having discussions with geneticists, we decided to tempt fate and ‘go for it’ — attempt to have our own, and hope for the best.  I had an amnio, monthly and then weekly ultrasounds.  (more…)

Maman Aya (USA)

Maman Aya is a full-time working mother of 2 beautiful children, a son who is 6 and a daughter who is two. She is raising her children in the high-pressure city of New York within a bilingual and multi-religious home. Aya was born in Canada to a French mother who then swiftly whisked her away to NYC, where she grew up and spent most of her life. She was raised following Jewish traditions and married an Irish Catholic American who doesn’t speak any other language (which did not go over too well with her mother), but who is learning French through his children. Aya enjoys her job but feels “mommy guilt” while at work. She is lucky to have the flexibility to work from home on Thursdays and recently decided to change her schedule to have “mommy Fridays”, but still feels torn about her time away from her babies. Maman Aya is not a writer by any stretch of the imagination, but has been drawn in by the mothers who write for World Moms Blog. She looks forward to joining the team and trying her hand at writing!

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NORTH CAROLINA, USA:  Interview with Frelle

NORTH CAROLINA, USA: Interview with Frelle

Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?

I live in North Carolina in a suburb of Raleigh. I grew up in the Midwest, and I moved to the south in 1996. I have lived in both Tennessee and North Carolina.

What language(s) do you speak?

English

When did you first become a mother?

My first daughter was born on December 16, 1999

Are you a stay-at-home mom or do you work?

I am a stay at home mom to three daughters and one son during the day. I have a part-time job on evenings and weekends, and I have a virtual assistant business I tend to work only when I can get away to a coffee shop or when everyone is asleep.

Why do you blog/write?

I write primarily as a form of therapy but also as an expression of creativity and emotion. I publish my writing on a blog to (more…)

Frelle (USA)

Jenna grew up in the midwestern US, active in music and her church community from a young age. She developed a love of all things literary thanks to her mom, and a love of all things science fiction thanks to her dad. She left the midwest in her early twenties and has lived in the south ever since.

On her blog, she tries to write words that make a difference to people. Long before she attended college to major in Special Ed and Psychology, she became an advocate for special needs and invisible disabilities. She's always been perceptive of and encouraging to those who struggle to fit in. Having been through several dark seasons in her own life, she's found empowerment in being transparent and vulnerable about her emotions, making deep and lasting friendships, and finding courage to write from her heart. Her biggest wish is to raise her kids to be compassionate people who love well.

She's been online since 1993, with a total of 19 years of social media exposure. Having friends she doesn't know in real life has been normal for her since her junior year in college, and she's grateful every day for the ways technology helps her stay in touch with friends from all over the world.

Jenna lives in a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, and is a freelance writer and a stay at home single mom to 3 girls and a boy. She blogs at MadeMoreBeautiful.comMadeMoreBeautiful.com.

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Friday Question: Until what age do you feel comfortable undressing in front of your children?

This week’s Friday Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Susie Newday.  She asked our writers,

“Until what age do you feel comfortable undressing in front of your children?  Does it make a difference whether it is a boy or girl?”

Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…

Karyn Van Der Zwet of New Zealand writes:
“We have a nine year-old son, and I am still happy to be naked in front of him.  I figure that there are so many false images of women around, the more he and his younger brothers see of a ‘real’ saggy, aging, ex-pregnant body the better!

That being said: if they start getting creepy in the way they look at me, it’ll change.” (more…)

World Moms Blog

World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children. World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.

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FRIDAY QUESTION: When did you wean your child from the breast or bottle?

This week’s Friday Question comes from World Moms Blog writer, Dee Harlow of Mexico. She asks:

“How old was/ were your child(ren) when you decided to wean them from breastfeeding and/ or bottle?”

Dr. Jeanelle Marshawn Lanhan of Arizona, USA writes:

When I found out I was pregnant with my second child, my oldest was one, and I knew I did not want two kids on a bottle and a pacifier, so I weaned my oldest off by 1 1/2. As for the youngest, I didn’t give him a pacifier and he was weaned off the bottle by 1 1/2 as well. The crying for a couple of nights was worth it in the end! I don’t have to get them on braces or anything!

Kirsten Doyle of Toronto, Canada writes:

My older son weaned himself when he sprouted his first tooth at 11 months. Interestingly enough, my younger son also lost interest in nursing when he started teething. He was about 7 months old. Both boys graduated directly from the breast to sippy cups. (more…)

World Moms Blog

World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children. World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.

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