Where Do I Fit?

I was 32 and had worked with children as an Early Childhood Educator for over a decade when I became a mom.

It was a new role but one I always wanted and strived at becoming the best one I could be for my little Tank. Even with all of my experience with other people\’s children, I quickly realized that it was the ultimate \”on the job training\”. So I researched and I learned and I looked to my experienced mom friends to figure out what worked best for me.

I picked and chose what I liked from different parenting styles and scenarios and did what worked best for us. Before I knew it, I was a Attachment Parent who practiced Positive/Gentle Parenting. I bedshared and I wore my baby in carriers. I breastfed and I guided rather than punished.

It was new territory for me but one I really thrived in. Especially when people started to ask me for advice. Advice on everything from breastfeeding, making baby food and Baby Lead Weaning to baby wearing, cloth diapers, co-sleeping and discipline. If I didn\’t have an answer, I\’d find it and share the resources.

It was an incredibly good feeling to be someone people valued enough to ask my opinion on how to do things with their child. It was a role I didn\’t really expect to find myself in, but one that I appreciated and revelled in.

But babies grow and people come into their own as parents, and my role as the helpful, experienced parent friend is gone. Nobody seems to ask for advice anymore… well, rarely, although I do love it when they do and I\’m able to help them! Mostly, we all just do our own thing and wing it, learning as we go.

With that shift in phases of this life, I find myself a little lost. Who am I now? What is my new role among friends? How can I keep the feeling of being helpful and useful?

I\’m not sure, but I\’m going to find out!

** Here are three of my favorite resources for parenting that I\’ve shared over the years, just in case any of them can help any of you:

Evolutionary Parenting is especially good for parents of newborns. They also take the time to site studies and research to support their posts. You can find them on Facebook as well.

L.R. Knost is an incredible author and resource for Gentle Parenting. I especially liked her tips on preparing for siblings! You can also find her on Facebook. Unfortunately she has been battling an incurable cancer for several years now, fighting as fiercely as possible to stay with her six children for as long as she can.

AHA Parenting is great for parents with toddlers and children just a little bit older, and also has some great sibling articles.

And because Julie Keon is a wonderful lady, I need to share her website What I Would Tell You, where she talks about her experience as a mother of a medically fragile child. If you have a child with medical fragility, I highly recommend her book as well. Julie wears many different hats, all of which you can find on Facebook: Life Cycle Celebrant, Marriage Officiant, and of course What I Would Tell You.

If you like what you’ve read, and you think I can help you,
take a look at my services here and contact me in any of the ways below.