Thursday, May 31, 2012

Things NOT to say to a new mother

Fussy baby Magnolia -- can you hear her?
While I was pregnant, I blogged frequently about how many people feel the need to force their opinions on you about pregnancy, health and babies; and I had hoped it would go away once the baby was here, but how wrong I was!  No matter what, people feel the need to open their mouths and comment on everything about baby.  I have had a few encounters that left me feeling very upset and sad.  But first, I should mention that Magnolia was a colicky baby, the definition of colic means that a baby cries more than 3 times per week for more than 3 hours at a time, for more than 3 weeks.  Check, check, check.  Yup, colic!   Magnolia would cry for HOURS on end, no matter what we did for her, nurse, rock, walk, drive, stroller, carrier, soothe, etc etc etc...nothing worked!  She just kept crying.  So as a frustrated mama, I would mention this to people; who would respond with, "whats wrong with your baby?"  Which, of course, never makes any mother feel good.  You begin to think, what IS wrong with my baby?  Why is she so fussy?  I began to look for things that were wrong, does her stomach hurt, is she scared; we spent a LOT of money on alternative therapies for her to make her stop crying, cranio-sacral therapy, naturopathic medicine, numerous homeopathic remedies, trips and phone calls to the doctor, to the midwives, to my mom, my husband, in tears...why won't she stop crying?  But she did, finally.  At 5 months, she chilled out and went from being the biggest fusser to being only mildly fussy.  What was wrong with her?  Nothing.  

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

I'm back!

I'm back!  Well, sort of.  My blog is back, and that is good news, but my website is still missing a web host (any suggestions?) and then the actual time to transfer it (anyone want to send me some spare time?) and then I'll be fully back.  For now, I am just happy to be back to blogging because I missed it so much.  Let me update you with all the on-goings of life in the very short time Magnolia is napping. 
First, I have been very busy as a mama, Magnolia is now 6.5 months old and I can't believe so much time has flown by!  Every parent always says 'they grow up so fast' and I always nodded my head, not really fully understanding what every parent meant, until now.  

Magnolia is such a blessing, she is a feisty, determined, smart little girl that keeps me on my toes all the time!  The last 6 months have been the hardest of my life, but also the most rewarding.  Much more on this to come.