Look at this sweet photo of my son and I, taken just a few hours after he was born. I was totally in love... And--like all first time mommas--I was at the beginning of a very steep learning curve!
As I said in part 1 (the baby whisperer) and part 2 (the babywise mom) of this series, I have used the internet tirelessly for help in knowing how to care for my precious baby, as well as how to understand the changes within my own body, both during pregnancy and in the first weeks post-partum. Not only have I found practical advice, but also lots of encouragement as I’ve begun to navigate the (often confusing) realm of mommyhood.
In light of that I wanted to share with you my top three favourite mommyhood resource sites at the moment. (If you missed my first two posts, you should read them as well: the Baby Whisperer message boards and the Chronicles of a Babywise Mom.)
And before I go on, I must say here that I realize parenting philosophies are so controversial! I had no idea how much so until becoming a mom for myself. (And this was hit home again on my last post in this series about the Babywise Mom where I only got two comments… and the rest in emails! Touchy subject… but I do sincerely appreciate the feedback! *smile*)
So yeah… parenting philosophies are all over the shop! Things like feeding schedules, demand feeding, sleep training, co-sleeping, cry-it-out… There is such a vast spectrum of opinion, and I think that’s great! My intention with these particular posts is not to debate which of them are better than the others - I've seen parents with hugely differing philosophies raise well-adjusted, happy, healthy kids and I'm of the firm belief that each family needs to decide what's best for them.
I personally believe you should do research on a bunch of different philosophies and then piece together what fits with your values, personality, circumstances, etc! I think you can find incredible truth and practical help from an array of angles.
So, now that that's all "out there"... onto part 3 of clicking my way to be a better mom!
My third favourite resource site: The Kelly Mom.
The Kelly Mom is a site authored by a mom of three kids who follows the Attachment Parenting philosophy advocated by Dr. Sears. This is the best site I’ve found for information on the ins and outs of breastfeeding.
She has taken the time and researched all the information from the top organizations such as La Leche League, World Health Organization, American Paediatrics Association, etc. and has written on everything you can possibly imagine in relation to breast-feeding.
Although I wouldn’t call myself an AP-er (if we want to get into labelling our parenting *eck*), I do love this website. (And besides, I think that term is crazy… because what parent doesn’t want to be “attached” with their child!) Anyway, back to my review on the Kelly Mom site!
First of all, it’s clear, easy to navigate, very professional, and (from what I can tell) sound in its documentation. In addition to all things surrounding breast feeding, Kelly Mom also writes on other parenting and life-with-baby topics. But since I haven’t read much of those other areas in her site I will limit my comments to the information on breastfeeding.
The Kelly Mom’s articles on breast feeding are wonderful! I’ve used her site for finding advice on things such as getting rid of a plugged duct, tips on pumping, identifying foods to eat for increasing supply, what to do when baby fusses at the breast, how to handle a distracted eater, introducing bottle-feeding, and many other breastfeeding topics.
If you’re a breastfeeding mom, I would highly recommend that you bookmark Kelly Mom as a resource go-to!
In closing this series (for now at least!), I hope you’ve found some helpful resources, and that we can keep sharing information that’s mutually beneficial.
I’m sure as my son gets older I will find other sites that are age-appropriate on things like discipline, creative play and learning activities, etc., but for now these are my top three visits on the world wide web for practical help in caring for my baby:
- The Baby Whisperer Message Boards (See that review here.)
- The Chronicles of a Babywise Mom (See that review here.)
- The Kelly Mom
KellyMom absolutely saved me! Plugged ducts, over-producing, pumping schedule for work---I needed it all and I found it there!
ReplyDelete"...you should do research on a bunch of different philosophies and then piece together what fits with your values..." exactly!! Each child is different, each child has its own needs and character traits - therefore you cannot and should not use one method for all. I combine both CIO and PU/PD and so far its working okay.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get to your Babywise blog yet - I am headed there now - but I enjoy that one, too. :) (despite the heated controversy) and Kelly Mom is an excellent resource! I love her site!!!!
Great blogs here! Great reviews. Giant kudos to you! (time to go pick up and put down my crying son.)
Good for you for putting out these sites and different approaches to look at! I'm doing a book review every Friday from a parenting book, and I was nervous about writing on Chapter 3 because the entire chapter was on spanking - a very touchy topic. But I wanted to be fair so I included all key points from the chapter and let whoever reads it decide for themselves what they think.
ReplyDeleteThank you SO much for including my blog post on a Letter From God to mothers. I appreciate it so much.
While I'm here, I'll vote for your blog again! Have a great weekend!
Big Fat Mama
This is a FANTASTIC post, girl! I love it!
ReplyDelete"...you should do research on a bunch of different philosophies and then piece together what fits with your values..." This is the best piece of advice a first time mom could ever get!
I also love this site!! I went here so much for advice on breastfeeding at first. It took us a month or so to really get it right. She used a nipple shield until 4 weeks. Then I got mastitis & it was back to Kelly Mom for tips on dealing with that!
ReplyDelete