Catherine Connors (Her Bad Mother)

www.herbadmother.com

Twitter: @herbadmother

Facebook Fan Group/ Other links: www.thebadmomsclub.com

Q: Why did you decide to blog about being a Mom?

I kind of just fell into it – I was struggling with post-partum depression with the birth of my first child and I was surfing the Internet looking for advice and I happened upon a mom blog and that was that. I was hooked.

Q: What has been your favorite post so far?

Such a hard question – I’ve been blogging for over four years, so I’ve written over a thousand posts. Probably this one, though: http://herbadmother.com/2007/08/songs-of-innocence-and-experience/

Q: What do you hope readers get from your personal story?

I hope that readers get a sense of being less alone on this fascinating and wonderful and frightening journey that is motherhood.

Q: What is the best advice you ever received concerning mothering?

To try to live each moment with your children in the moment, and to remember that no matter how difficult things might seem in any given moment, the day will come when you will miss that moment terribly, and ache to have it back.

Q: Who are your favorite mom bloggers?

Kristen at MotherhoodUncensored, Julie at The Mom Slant, Liz at Mom-101, Kate at Sweet/Salty Kate, my partner Katie at our co-blog, The Bad Moms Club. Among a gajillion others

You can read more stories on motherhood at Catherine’s blog.

Name: The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms (Lorraine Regel and Erica Wells)

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Twitter: http://twitter.com/rookiemommy and http://twitter.com/momsurvival

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Q: Why did you decide to blog about being a Mom?

We started our blog to compliment our soon to be published parenting book The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms (John Wiley & Sons, Canada April 2010). At first we were merely posting excerpts from the book using it as a promotional tool, but quickly caught the mommy blogging bug. Now we’re in full swing and enjoy telling amusing parenting tales; offering advice; putting out distress calls to our comrades for help with our own parenting issues; and, in my case, having a good old rant, whinge and moan. Aside from the blog writing, we find it interesting to keep the site up to date with motherhood related guest blogs, interviews and news articles.

Q: What has been your favorite post so far?

From a mercenary point of view Stroller Envy: Getting the Right Survival Equipment because it bagged me new wheels for my ailing stroller from Phil & Teds—oh the power of mommy blogging! But the favorite post I’ve written is Dads are from Mars; Moms are from Venus because it never ceases to amaze me how women are just more tuned in to the baby channel than men are and how moms and dads parenting strengths differ.

Q: What do you hope readers get from your personal story?

Although many of our posts are anecdotal ours isn’t the typical day to day personal account of parenting like most mommy blogs. We’re aiming to offer advice to new moms, but not in an in-your-face do this/do that way. We hope that by sharing some of the highs and lows of our parenting experiences we can reassure moms that the issues they are experiencing are perfectly normal: they are not alone in ‘Baby World’. We hope moms find our blog amusing and take away a feeling of comradeship.

Q: What is the best advice you ever received concerning mothering?

Without a doubt it is: Take Time to Yourself. It’s not something I remember to do very often, but when I do I realize why it’s such good advice. The tedium of baby related tasks 24/7, 7 days a week can take a toll on your emotions. Moms need and deserve a regular break. Just take a couple of hours a week to forget the kids and do something totally selfish. It’s important to remind yourself occasionally what it’s like to be a woman instead of a mom.

Q: Who are your favorite mom bloggers?

My #1 is Attack of the Red Neck Mommy I’m pretty sure Tanis would cringe at being labelled a ‘Mommy Blogger’. But she is a blogger and a mom. An amazing mom in fact and a pretty darn good blogger too. Her personal tale that gradually unfolds on her blog between hilarious, colorful and bizarre day to day family antics is heartbreaking, astounding and inspirational. It’s a must read, but not for the faint hearted or easily offended.

Others I enjoy are:

The Spohrs are Multiplying

Motherhood: The Final Frontier

Momspective

Sharing the Journey

Are We Nearly There Yet Mummy?

Round of applause to our first mommy blog winner — Mary Fischer from The Mommyologist!

The Mommyologist

Blog Link

Twitter: @themommyologist

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Q: Why did you decide to blog about being a Mom?

Before I had my son, I had an exciting career as a Meeting Planner.  I never had to think twice about hopping on a plane to Vegas or Chicago and checking into a fine hotel and ordering room service and watching movies until after midnight.  Because of my extensive travel, my husband and I made the decision that it would be best for me to quit my job and stay home with our son after he was born.  It was definitely the right decision for us, but motherhood turned out to be much more difficult than I thought it was going to be.  I had a very isolating experience as the parent of a newborn.  In an instant, my priorities completely shifted and I found myself actually missing my old life. I missed being able to go out to dinner or read a magazine from cover to cover anytime I wanted.  I missed being able to take a shower without hearing incessant crying.

I missed SLEEP!  And the fact that I was missing all those things made me feel extremely guilty, like I was not a good mother.  In talking to some of my girlfriends who also had new babies, I realized that those conflicted feelings I was experiencing were pretty much the norm.  It’s just that nobody really talks about them.  Women think that they will be labeled as bad mothers if they admit to the fact that they are having a hard time adjusting to being parents.  I started my blog in the hopes of reaching out to other new moms are feeling isolated and alone to let them know that everything that they are feeling is perfectly normal. And one of the best ways to cope is to laugh about it!

I firmly believe that if women were more honest about the major emotional life changes that a new baby brings, then women would be better prepared when bringing home their new child and would feel much more comfortable with their situations.

Q: What has been your favorite post so far?

I think that my favorite post would have to be the one titled “A Few Words From a Former A-Lister “.  I chose this post because it really makes light of just how different the life of a new mother is from her life before she had a baby.  I wrote it after attending a family baby shower.  It is my take on what really constitutes the perfect baby shower gift for any expecting mom.  And it’s definitely not a wipes warmer.

Q: What do you hope readers get from your personal story?

First and foremost, I hope that I make my readers laugh.  If I can make one new mother out there go from crying about how hard things are to laughing and nodding her head in agreement because she totally identifies with my story, then I’ve done exactly what I set out to do.  I also hope that my readers will appreciate the honesty of my writing.  I don’t sugar-coat anything, and I truly believe that’s the best way to go.

Q: What is the best advice you ever received concerning mothering?

The BEST possible piece of advice that I can pass on is to throw out the baby books and do what works for YOU.  Every baby has different needs, and one way or another you will figure out what those needs are.  Just because you may do things a little differently from your friends does NOT mean that you are doing anything wrong.  Do not let anybody make you feel inadequate as a mother.  Motherhood is NOT a competition.

Q: Who are your favorite mom bloggers?

There are so many great ones out there that it’s almost impossible to choose!  Some of my daily reads include:

Things I Can’t Say

The Winey Mommy

The Pursuit of Mommyness

My Cycle Diary is celebrating the act of being a Mom.

You work hard. You clean up after beings that seem to know how to do nothing but make a mess. You schedule playdates. You cook dinner. You battle each moment to not strangling those around you. And some of you even take the time to write about it. So in honor of you, Dear Mommy Bloggers–We are awarding our first annual Top Ten Mommy Blog Awards to the mom’s who do it all with a little pizazz, a little moxi–and a little bit of sanity if and when it chooses to be present.

Our winners will receive a gift bag courtesy of OvaTel, a website banner (because trophies don’t translate well over the internet) and a post all about them and their wonderful, writer-ly ways.

Think you (or someone you know) should be one of My Cycle Diary’s Top Ten Mommy Bloggers?

Leave a comment with a link to your site and tell us why you deserve to be in our Top Ten!

While talking shop to the scientist down under may be intimidating, learning how to take control of your health is important. It’s your body, and the only way your gynecologist will understand if its acting normally is if you communicate with them. So put aside your fear of speculums and enormous Q-Tips and remember these important guidelines:

1. Explain clearly and factually –- Doctors need to hear facts and sensations.

• Instead of saying: “I got my period, like, a week or two ago?”
• Say: “I got my period on Thursday, January 24th.”

Remember to keep track of your cycle using a cycle diary so you can give your doctor exact dates of bleeding and spotting.

• Instead of saying: “I had really bad cramps.”
• Say: “I had really bad cramps, even after I took two Motrin every four hours.”

When explaining cramps or other pain specify which side of your abdomen they came from, how long they lasted, and whether they were constant or intermittent. It’s also important to mention the severity of the cramps, whether medication helped completely, helped slightly, or didn’t help at all. Refer to the pain level on you’re My Cycle Diary chart.

2. List all Medication.
Even if it’s in your chart, sometimes things don’t always get written down correctly and some doctors merely glance at the chart before speaking with you. List all current over the counter meds, prescriptions, birth control, and if you were recently on antibiotics.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Even if it sounds stupid beyond belief. Always ask. You’re doctors are there to help you understand what’s happening to your body. If they seem annoyed by your questions or cast them aside without answering, don’t let it drop.

Calmly state, “I’m not comfortable with this course of treatment unless I know what it’s for and what sort of side effects it will have.”

During those weeks leading up to your appointment make sure to write down your questions in the space available on your cycle diary. This way, your cycle diary will speak for you when you forget or feel like there isn’t time.

In the 90’s, it seemed that all we wanted was for Maxwell Sheffield to propose. We waited with our faces up against the screen, admiring Fran Drescher’s ability to pull off miniskirts and big hair that would make today’s pouf deflate in shame. We couldn’t help but to admire Fran’s panache and pension for making people love her.

These days The Nanny actress’s main goal is no longer wrangling in Park Avenue Broadway producers, but instead fighting a very different battle.

After she was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2001, Fran turned her tragedy into a war against both the negative connotations of cancer and the lack of information patients were being given to empower themselves. Soon after publishing her memoir, Cancer Schmancer in 2003, Fran created the Cancer Schmancer Movement. Her campaign is dedicated to lowering cancer mortality rates, and educating women about prevention.

We here at MyCycleDiary echo the sentiments of the Cancer Schmancer movement. One in every three women in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer in her lifetime. Helping track your cycle and learning to speak up about concerns with your gynecologist is imperative to cancer prevention, endometriosis awareness, and family planning.

The Cancer Schmancer Movement aims to make all women aware, both through their website and political advocacy. Their goals include creating new mandates in healthcare on Federal and State levels for more cancer screenings in basic exams, harsher FDA restrictions on carcinogens in women’s products, more funding for the HHS Women’s Health department. They also seek to eliminate environmental causes of women’s cancer.

 This is a pretty hefty undertaking for the former Nanny star. But, hey, she’s got style—she’s got flare!

She’s got our support, what about yours?

Please visit http://www.cancerschmancer.org/take-action to learn how you can help!

Please visit http://www.cancerschmancer.org/take-action to learn how you can help!