by Mamma Simona (South Africa) | Jun 4, 2012 | Birthing, Breastfeeding, Motherhood, South Africa, World Motherhood
I was an arrogant “know-it-all” BC (before children). I considered myself a cross between a childcare library of knowledge and Mary Poppins! I studied Child Psychology and Development, and was trained in CPR (both adult and baby) as well as Level 1 First Aid. This enabled me to earn good money (through the agency, called SuperSitters in Cape Town) to move into the homes of wealthy parents and take care of their “trouble” kids. From babies with colic to special needs scholars, to “terrible” toddlers and spoilt “brats”, there wasn’t a child I couldn’t deal with, both swiftly and efficiently! Naturally, this made me a supremely smug and overconfident expectant mom. After all, I had both theoretical and practical knowledge of how to deal with babies and children up to age 12 … didn’t I? (more…)
Mamma Simona was born in Rome (Italy) but has lived in Cape Town (South Africa) since she was 8 years old. She studied French at school but says she’s forgotten most of it! She speaks Italian, English and Afrikaans. Even though Italian is the first language she learned, she considers English her "home" language as it's the language she's most comfortable in. She is happily married and the proud mother of 2 terrific teenagers! She also shares her home with 2 cats and 2 dogs ... all rescues.
Mamma Simona has worked in such diverse fields as Childcare, Tourism, Library Services, Optometry, Sales and Admin! (With stints of SAHM in-between). She’s really looking forward to the day she can give up her current Admin job and devote herself entirely to blogging and (eventually) being a full-time grandmother!
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by World Moms Blog | Jun 3, 2012 | 2012, International, Motherhood, World Moms Blog Itinerary, World Motherhood
We’re starting this week in a beautiful corner of the world. On Monday we will be in Cape Town, South Africa with Mama Simona. As a former nanny with some impressive qualifications, she was perfectly equipped to have a smooth-sailing birth experience. Or was she?
On Tuesday, we head to India for another birth story, this time from Fire Crystals! She gives us an eye-opening account of how her hospital treats the birth experience and the new mothers who have just gone through it.
On Wednesday, we will be in Washington with Tara B., who lives far away from the family she grew up with. She tells us about how she took her two-year-old to a place she likes to go when she’s missing her family and needs to find a sense of peace.
(more…)
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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by World Moms Blog | Jun 2, 2012 | Kids, Motherhood, Parenting, Saturday Sidebar, Tara B., The Alchemist, World Motherhood
This week World Moms Blog writer Tara B. asks,
“If you had a crystal ball and could see your child(ren)’s future, would you?”
Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…
The Alchemist of India writes:
“Oh yes, definitely. I am always curious to know about my son. He used to say he would grow up to be a pediatrician and abolish shots. Now he says he is going to be a ‘robot scientist’ and build transformers (of the Transformer movie) and fly to and fro to the other planets. Oh man, I would love to know if he does that eventually.” (more…)
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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by Meredith (USA) | May 31, 2012 | Adoptive Parents, Being Thankful, Motherhood, Nigeria, World Motherhood
I wish I could say that my path to adoption was an unselfish, altruistic one, but the truth is my husband and I just wanted to be parents…plain and simple.
The “old fashioned way” wasn’t working and after four years of testing, trying and surgeries to find out what wasn’t working, we had an epiphany at an adoption seminar we attended. The woman who was speaking said her goal “was to be a parent, not to have a baby.”
Those simple words seemed to make time stand still for me. That was my goal, too!! I had put so much pressure on myself to have a biological child, and I felt like such a failure when it just wasn’t happening. It was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
When we brought our seven month old home from Guatemala, we thought he was the most gorgeous, perfect thing we had ever seen! He fit right into our family so perfectly it was as if he had always been with us. I quit my job teaching and stayed home to be with him full time, and as he got a bit older, we joined a few play groups. That was when some of the reality of adoption set in. (more…)
Meredith finds it difficult to tell anyone where she is from exactly! She grew up in several states, but mainly Illinois. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana which is also where she met her husband. She taught kindergarten for seven years before she adopted her son from Guatemala and then gave birth to her daughter two years leter. She moved to Lagos, Nigeria with her husband and two children in July 2009 for her husband's work. She and her family moved back to the U.S.this summer(August 2012) and are adjusting to life back in the U.S. You can read more about her life in Lagos and her adjustment to being back on her blog: We Found Happiness.
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by Martine de Luna (Philippines) | May 29, 2012 | Breastfeeding, Eye on Culture, Motherhood, Parenting, Philippines, World Moms Blog Itinerary, World Motherhood
Photo of the author and her then 5-month old son
I won’t go into the old news that is Time’s controversial “mom enough” mid-May issue. We all know they sold enough copies on that matter.
Instead, I wanted to share some views on attachment parenting and breastfeeding expressed by fellow Filipino moms.
To begin, let me say that I am a babywearing, formerly nursing mom (my son recently weaned after being breastfed for two years and six months). In fact, here’s a photo of me a year and a half ago, when my son was just five months old.
Here in the Philippines, we are not new to the concept of babywearing and breastfeeding.
Velvet Escario‐Roxas, a breastfeeding counselor and representative of Arugaan (ah-roo-ga-an), a non-governmental, WHO-funded organization that conducts breastfeeding training for the Philippine Department of Health, gave a good picture of this when she posted a recent Facebook status update on the fan page of the popular breastfeeding blog, Chronicles of a Nursing Mom:
“Our Pinoy [colloquialism for “Filipino] ancestors have been doing these things since the beginning of time. We call it the Filipino way of living or raising of children. They on the other hand modernized it and called it attachment parenting. Look at the indigenous folks of the mountain provinces. (more…)
Martine is a work-at-home Mom and passionate blogger. A former expat kid, she has a soft spot for international efforts, like WMB. While she's not blogging, she's busy making words awesome for her clients, who avail of her marketing writing, website writing, and blog consulting services. Martine now resides in busy, sunny Manila, the Philippines, with her husband, Ton, and toddler son, Vito Sebastian. You can find her blogging at DaintyMom.com.
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by World Moms Blog | May 28, 2012 | Motherhood, Parenting, World Motherhood
No matter which decision you make as a woman or a wife and especially as a Mother, it appears to be met by opposition of some sorts at every turn. SAHM, WAHM, breastfeeding and formula, school or home school, public or private, plastic surgery or au natural, Botox or bangs.
Today’s world is one of speaking up, of giving your opinion or stating your beliefs no matter whether you are talking to a friend or a complete stranger. In years of old, there was more of a reserve. Conversations behind closed doors, disapproval through a look or maybe a hushed whisper.
What a far cry from the world we live in today, where every thought is online, opinions leap out from magazines, and ideas bombard you from every newscast. No peace even to be found at a grocery store checkout line as you are assaulted from every angle.
Celebrities, marital discord, latest fad diets, plastic surgery and enough advice on how to make yourself younger, prettier, more desirable – it makes one want to crawl back into bed and stay there.
On the other hand, this is a time where the world is at our fingertips. Our resources for information are almost limitless. Have a question and you can have it answered in seconds. Need support for education, for marriage, for divorce, infertility, loss – it is there at the touch of a button. Of course this truly depends on your circumstances, it remains contingent on where you live and how you are raised. Here, in the US, where we are currently residing, we have freedom, liberty, opportunity – we can use these available resources for good. (more…)
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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