what momma writes

Lauren is not only a fellow blogger from Batman Martin , but a good friend. She was one of my "go-to" friends during pregnancy, and well, now after, she is still a "go to" friend! She's been a guester on here before in my " thing i like " category (we will get more of those later...sigh).  I always enjoy Lauren's wit in her writing so I am once again excited she agreed to share on her baby's first year. I quickly was schooled in month one about the learning curve, so I am excited Lauren agreed to once again wittily share her thoughts on her baby's first year! Thank you, Lauren. I’m up for any almost any challenge…so I gladly told Caren that I would be happy to share some lessons that I have learned since becoming a mom in August 2010. What I learned during the first year… I pride myself on being organized. In many ways, that sense of organization is like my mothership of sorts. When I feel overwhelmed or sad or mad or ...

you'd never know you were a sleep fighter by the looks of these. oh child, you will learn. you are getting better each day little miss.

... all 3 of them! pockets came over to play. she is a little tentative with stella, but at the same time loves her. she hasn't quite figured out what to do when people hold or give stella attention. she becomes a little sullen even though the first thing she says upon seeing us is: "baby slellahhh!!" with excitement. below are some pictures of my 3 babies & me. pockets still managed to find a way to curl up on my lap with 2 other babies on board. we pretended it was "night night" time. it was nearing pockets nap time so the little noggin was probably tired. i'm excited to see how pockets and stella will interact one day. sharing some attention is good practice for pockets new little brother or sister coming in july :)

A dear friend, Mel, who i refer to as " my photographer " seems to juggle everything. No, no I mean everything. We were involved in umpteen clubs and projects in high school and her energy ran circles around me. She requires less sleep than I do, but I always wonder how in the world she is a full time photographer along with a separate birth photo business  AND mama of a toddler and infant. I was exhausted after reading her day, but this explains why she is always up late and somehow seems to fit it all in & manage to be there for her family and friends (always) - props to you mama, you really need to learn to say NO to people though ha! Thanks for sharing your day and schooling us that while being a SAHworkingM has it's rewards it certainly makes work hours quite nutty. ... I am equally a big fan of brenda’s blog as she is of ours.  She’s been so supportive over the years of our phot ography and it’s my pleasure to fill in for her as she foc...

... not grandmother's house, but to aunt taryn's house we go! it was your first road trip and sleep over. mark it and check it.  little lamb was great in the car to columbus and cleveland.  slept most or all of the way. jillian drove both ways to cleveland, she's such a peach. we stayed with auntie jillie and uncle matt in columbus and they took such good care of us. you slept like a champ and it was so nice having a wife all weekend. my boss told me everyone needs a wife. it couldn't be more true. husbands are wonderful of course, but wife's, they just know what we need, when we need it. i have to give matt props for warming up the car, making brownies, rocking you while we were getting our stuff together or i had to shower. you were surely spoiled. our MF crew. sorry didn't have time to photoshop mary in here. still making the reunions happen.  (please excuse my shirt. it's not really cut like that, but stella is pulling it down.) all t...

happy 2 months tree monkey! that's your newest name. stemmed from dada. not sure why, but it has a nice flow when we ask "how is tree monkey doing?" you gave me the best 2 month birthday gift: 6 hours (ok probably 5.5 hours by the time i fell asleep) of consecutive sleep! i had to count on my fingers over and over again when i saw the clock strike 5:00 a.m. you are so thoughtful like that. it's taken you 1,224 hours of life to learn to sleep 6 hours at a time,  and i know this isn't necessarily going to stay, but i will rejoice in last nite's slumber none the less. and i won't lie, i'd like to bottle that night up! in general, you've been sleeping the typical 2 month old stints  2-4 hour increments. thanks for throwing this one in there. this is how you greet mama in the morning  (and daddy if he isn't already at work) oh how happy it makes me. and a side note: your gummy baby smile is similar to mine as a baby.  you are always pretty hap...

In June I was able to complete a doula training and met some amazing women who share the same passion for birth and all that goes into the before during and after. I'm excited that fellow doula , Peg (moma of 3) agreed to share her doula journey. She is now accepting momas!! First and foremost, I want to give a huge congratulations to Caren and John at the arrival of their daughter Stella!   I first met Caren this summer at  toLabor     training.  I was immediately impressed by her hunger for knowledge about birth.  We had a wonderful weekend together experiencing something beyond words.  We are forever connected after that weekend.  When she asked me to do a guest spot on her blog, I was honored.   Recently, someone asked me why I wanted to become a doula.  I found myself speechless (a rarity for those who know me well).  How to describe this passion - this calling?  For some doulas, it begins when they have an...