Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there!  I want to wish very special mother's day to my own mother.  I realized that this is the first mother's day without her mom.  My grandmother passed away last October and I know how much this day means to my mom.

As a mother myself, I've come to discover all of the joy and hard work that goes into raising a child.  It truly is an unconditional love and one in which you would do anything and everything for.  It really isn't a cliche.  I never thought I could love another human being as much as I love my child and soon-to-be children.

My views about motherhood and childrearing has truly been an evolutionary experience.  I set out thinking I would raise my child one way and it is in constant flux.  From my science background, I tend to approach motherhood (and really life in general) from a "guidelines" perspective.  I like to follow the guidelines set forth from organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics.  Most of these guidelines are "evidence based" and aren't arbitrarily thought up.  Through these guidelines, I have developed very strong opinions about childrearing.  I understand that these things may not apply to all situations.  However, I feel it becomes the basic groundwork for developing my own parenting style.  I am not a "tiger mom" nor a "French mother" or an "attachment parenting" follower.  I have my own way that I feel works best for my family.  I am lucky in that I live in a society that will afford me the time to develop my own style.  I'm not living in a world where I have to think about where my food is coming from or worry that I will lose my child from some preventable disease.

I have been hearing things like "back in our day" or "why don't you do this instead?" or "your child will be deprived" or "it's educational" or "doing it this way will be easier," etc.  I think part of my rationale for starting this blog is to not necessarily defend what I do but to explain it so that others may understand where I am coming from.  In the coming days, I hope to write more posts describing my ideas on motherhood.

Parenting and being a mother is not an easy job but the rewards are endless.  As with any mother, I hope my children will grow up and appreciate the work and sacrifice their parents have made to make their life better.  Raising children in today's world is a challenge with the abundance of distractions surrounding us.    It really does make becoming a parent yourself see the work and sacrifices our own parents have made.  So, to all the mother's out there, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!  Kick back and enjoy your families.