 In celebration of Mother's Day, we asked our members to
tell us about their moms - how they inspire, encourage and offer
friendship and support. Here's to all the moms out there! Keep
up the good work and know that you are truly loved and
appreciated!
Happy
Mother's Day from everyone at Breastfeeding.com!
Barbara-Ann
Ackman
Every mom does their best job possible
and still feels like she could have done more. My mom and I are
very close, but since I gave birth to her first grandson this
February, we have bonded even more. I have gained a new
perspective, one filled with admiration and respect for the
woman who raised me and my brother, Ryan.
She was the odd woman out. While her sisters formula-fed, my
mother breastfed us until we were 2 years old. Instead of
sleeping in a crib like my cousins did, we slept with our
parent's in their bed.
When I got married in May of 1998, I asked my mother to be my
maid of honor. My husband and I discovered we were pregnant
right after our one-year wedding anniversary last May. There was
no question that I would breastfeed our child like our mom did
with us.
Evan was born with jaundice because of our blood incompatibility
and had to be in the NICU for three days. They had to give him
formula because my milk took a while to come in. Once he was
home it was very difficult getting our breastfeeding
relationship going because he was lethargic and used to the
bottle. My mother encouraged me to keep trying and spent hours
on the phone with me while I cried. He has also slept in our bed
with us like we did with our parents.
Eventually, he got the hang of nursing and I know it would have
never happened if it wasn't for her. She even took time off of
work last week and flew 400 miles to help take care of me and my
son during and after my gall bladder removal surgery.
My husband, son and I are moving next month to be closer to our
families again. I am looking forward to my son having a close
relationship with his grandma and being able to see my best
friend more often. I just hope I can be as wonderful a mother
with my son as she was with us. Thanks to my mom, I have been
able to give him the best possible start by breastfeeding.
Krista Sargent
Monse Bayron
I could not have chosen a better mom. She's a fountain
of inspiration, advice, and common sense. I've always admired
her for her courage, strength, and wisdom. As a child and adult
I never had to look outside of my home for role models or
heroes, I had one right next to me...my mom.
Every kid should be able to feel that way. I learn from my
mother still today, and I never take her for granted. I hope to
be such a support for my children too. I have a great mom. I
should give my children a great mom too, to do any less would be
a dishonor to my mom's unconditional love. Love - that's what
it's all about!
Dania Ramirez
Amelia
Brandenburg
Well, my Mom is truly amazing! She raised four
daughters and we all turned out pretty good! Thanks to Mom! When
we all started to think about having children, my Mom made plans
to quit her job so she could baby-sit when we went back to work!
She currently watches five of her grandkids - Christian 8 years
old, Luke 7 years old, Samuel 4 years old, Nickolas 13 months,
and Bailey 5 months. She gets the older boys ready for school
and takes them to school!
She truly is a great Mom. If I didn't have her, I would of quit
my job. What better daycare could you ask for?
Alison Latimer
Darlene
It is hard to know where to begin when writing about
how much mother means to me. As an adult, my relationship with
my mother has evolved over time to become so deep rooted, that
we can truly experience each other's emotions. We share in each
other's successes and failures. We are there for each other in a
way that no one else in our lives could be. We give each other
inspiration and encouragement. We sense when each other are hurt
or disappointed within the first few seconds of a phone
conversation.
My mother is someone that I really feel connected to. I can be
who I really am around her and she will never judge me. She
gives me her honest opinion if I ask for it. I like the person
that I am when I am around her. She gives me the gift of
confidence.
I am so thankful to have a mother that allows me to be who I am,
and supports all that I do in life. I admire her so much for
always staying so strong despite the many obstacles that she has
faced in her life. I am so proud of her.
My mother lives across the ocean in England. Despite our
distance from one another, we have managed to maintain a
meaningful and nurturing relationship. I can not say that it has
been easy for either of us. A successful long distance
relationship takes effort, patience and time. But my mother is
worth it to me.
My mother is not only my best friend, she is one of the best
aspects of my life. I love her so very much.
Dayna Martin
Marie Dissmore
My mother is a wonderful mother who helped me through
the ups and downs. She is in her 60s, and she is still fit and
working.
Connie E. Herr
Marijon
Donnelly
Thirty-five years ago my mom gave birth
to her second child, that child was me. She gives me support in
everything I do. My mom has always been there for me and still
is today.
She is a wonderful grand mom to my two children and my older
sister’s three children. Marijon works full-time as a nurse
manager in a local hospital where I also work. We are able to
have lunch together, or just visit with each. Breastfeeding was
made easy for both my sister and I, since my mother breastfeed
us. Now, 35 years ago breastfeeding was not a common thing. Her
family did not approve of what she was doing, but she knew she
was doing what was best for her children.
Her support to me as a new mom has been on going. I can call her
at 3 a.m. with a question and it’s OK. After the birth of my
son, she came right to the hospital to be with me. My baby had
been born in fetal distress and was in the special care unit.
Marijon helped me to understand everything that was going on. I
was so grateful to have her with me. In July, I gave birth to my
second child. My mom cared for my son while I was in the
hospital. The relationship they have developed is amazing.
Grammy can do no wrong in Christopher's world.
When my daughter was three weeks old she was admitted to the
local children’s hospital, due to a very high fever. My
parents came back from a trip to the beach to again care for my
son, so my husband and I could stay with our new baby. There are
days when I don't think I can do something and mom will offer
the right words of encouragement to get me through. I would be
lost without her in my world....she is the best.
Dee Dee Morris
Joan A. Ivory
Wow, I don't even know where to begin. First of all,
my poor Mother has been through a lot raising me. I am 23,
married, and have a child of my own now, but when I was a
teenager I sure gave her a lot to worry about! I won't really go
into that except that she was a single Mother (my Dad of course
was still around) working and raising my older brother and I. As
we didn't get along that well during my teenage years (as most
Mothers and daughters during that time). She is my best friend
now!
My Mom just turned 48 years old and is graduating from college
this summer. She is also going to still go on in schooling. She
is in the top 10% of her class and is in so many honor societies
that I can no longer keep up with her!
Along with her being the best "Granny" that I could
hope for, she works full time as a Human Resource Manager at a
local hospital. I really don't know how she keeps up with her
life!
Even though she is middle aged, the woman could pass for a
teenager herself! She was once in a baby store buying something
for my daughter when a girl came up to her and asked her how old
her baby was. She said, "Well, my babies are 25 and
23...this is for my GRANDbaby!"
My Mom takes my daughter Madison to church every Sunday. She
rarely sits down because Madsion has mastered the art of
walking, but I think she still takes her just to show her off!
My Mom is just the most caring and compassionate woman that I
have ever known! There aren't even any words in the dictionary
that can describe her best. It's just in the things that she
does...
My Mom lives by herself, and I sometimes think that she must be
lonely. On the other hand, I think that she is the most
independent woman that walked the earth. I don't believe that
she would ever ask anyone for anything but their love. I think
that she has really proved that you don't need a man to go on
living...although, I think it's nice!
I'm proud to have her as my Mom, and am even prouder that she
can be such a wonderful role model for my daughter. My Mom
breastfed my brother and I, and she is a great supporter of my
breastfeeding my daughter. I often send her some of the pages on
your website so she can see the cartoons that I think she and I
can really relate to together.
I know that everyone thinks that their Mom is the greatest...and
I'm sure that they are! But, my Mom is very dear to my heart and
will ALWAYS be MY MOMMY!
Heather Galiardo
Jeannette
My mom is amazing! Her energy and abilities are
without boundary. I am truly blessed to have my mom in my life,
and now, in my daughter's life.
My mom has always supported my decisions in life, but this has
been most apparent since the birth of my daughter in January
1999. Mom was present in the birth room, and expressed her true
amazement at seeing a child being born into this world (she
didn't have a good view when my siblings and I were delivered
via cesarean). She has been a tremendous support in my decision
to breastfeed and have a family bed. It wasn't until I made
these decision that I discovered my parents had made some of the
very same parenting decisions.
My mom not only was present on the day my daughter was born, but
has been caring for her since I returned to work. My mom will be
67 this year -- but she still runs around after my daughter.
It's always anybody's guess who will last longer.
When I returned to work, my mother religiously followed my
instructions to keep track of my daughters wet and dirty
diapers, sleep time, awake time, and milk intake. She never
questioned my exacting demands about the care and handling of
the expressed breast milk. She didn't let a drop of
"solids" touch my daughter's tongue until I thought
the time was right (except for the newspaper I discovered one
morning in my daughter's diaper).
When I was growing up, I thought my mom was great. Now that I am
grown, I realize my mom is simply amazing. She is my mother, she
is my friend, she is my daughter's caregiver, she is my saving
grace. I love my mom, and I can only hope to grow into the
compassionate, caring, thoughtful and self-sacrificing person
that she is!
Jadene
Pat Koenig
My mother is my best friend. She has always been there
for me when ever I needed her, whether I knew it or not. She was
there when I was a baby, nursing me with all the love a mom has
for her babies. She would appear by my side to make all the
hurts go away, from scraped knees and elbows to a broken heart
at sixteen. She defended, loved, supported and nurtured me while
teaching me how to become the mother I hope I am today. She is
the most important woman in my life. I may not have always
pleased her, but in her heart I was perfect. I hope that I can
honor her as my mother, not only for one day of the year, but
everyday of my life.
Holly Gilbert
Olivia Manser
I LOVE my MOM! She is the best in the whole wide
world. For the past six years she has supported my Dad through
college. On May 21, 2000 he will be getting his degree in math
thanks to mom and her unselfish love. During this time Mom has
continued to home school us full-time and somehow she had time to
give birth to my new baby sister, Isabella. Did I mention this
is my sixth sibling? Yes, my Mom has seven kids and she
breastfed all of us exclusively for two years each! None of us
has ever had a drop of formula! Thanks Mom for always doing the
best for us. We have hardly ever been sick!
When our father was home ill years ago with a muscle disease,
Mom was the one who went to work full-time and support us even
then. She was in tears when she tried her first breast pump, but
after awhile she realized how easy it is to pump and continued
to pump so we could continue to get the best. Mom is such a big
educator to anyone who will listen, about any subject especially
about family matters. When Isabella was born, she lost a lot of
weight quickly, and the doctor tried telling mom to give up and
just feed her formula. He didn't even suggest pumping. What did
Mom do? She educated the doctor! She got some breastfeeding
books, took them to the doctor, read out loud to him and made
him promise that he will always encourage new moms to
breastfeed.
She is something else! But you know what? Even though she is so
busy with cleaning, cooking, grading, etc...she always makes
time to take us to the park or play a game of monopoly. Mom says
life is too short and we should follow our dreams and put people
first above things. She has taught me to be a good listener. I
think my three brothers will be awesome husbands and fathers one
day thanks to our Mom being such a loving person and great
example to us all. Thanks again Mom for giving us the best that
life has to offer. I love you.
Brittany Manser
Carolyn Reno
My mother is the greatest! She formula fed me because
in her day, that's what you did. Breastfeeding just wasn't the
popular thing to do. I didn't think that when I had my own
child, she'd be very supportive of breastfeeding. Boy was I
surprised!!
When my daughter was about a week old, we had our third LC
appointment and I invited my mother along. She watched as the LC
helped Sophie and I latch on and begin nursing. Breastfeeding
had been a hard to learn at first. My mother admitted "I
would have given that baby a bottle by now. I wouldn't be strong
enough to keep trying." At first I thought she was being
unsupportive, but then I realized she was proud of me!
Now, nearly five months later, she is my biggest supporter, next
to my partner. I am back to work, pumping three times a day,
while my daughter's papa stays home with her. This has been a
great arrangement, although his work schedule overlaps mine on
Tuesdays and Thursdays. Enter my mother. She works third shift
(9 p.m. – 6 a.m.), yet she offered to watch the baby for an
hour or so and then pick me up from work when my partner has to
go to work. She keeps track of how much the baby eats, and she
even has a stash of breast milk in her freezer! She makes sure I
keep her stash stocked and rotate it before it gets too old. The
times I've had to supplement with formula, she would give me
tips on getting out stains and would encourage me to pump more
and eat better to keep up my milk supply. Whenever anyone asks
if I'm still nursing, she gives a big "Yes, of
course!!" and then proceeds to explain the benefits of
breastfeeding for the first year. She brags about things like my
daughter not spitting up ever, the not-so-offensive stools, the
absence of formula stains on her clothes. She's basically become
a breastfeeding advocate!
On top of her support, she's a wonderful grandmother: she works
with the baby on sitting by herself, she reads to her, sings to
her. She was the first person to make my daughter laugh. The
highlight of her week is that hour when her little grandbaby
comes to visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My mom works a
strenuous job in a factory; she has always worked, but she has
always been able to make time for the people in her life. I
always understood why my mom worked so hard - to give me the
things she never had as a child. She was one of nine children
living in poverty and she never wanted me to have to live that
way. My drive to fulfill my dream of owning my own company comes
from watching her make all the sacrifices she has made to have
the things she wants. I hope that my determination to be the
person I want to be and do the things I want to do helps my
daughter become a strong, independent woman as well.
Tia Scammahorn
Stephanie
Shinn
It's not that my mom has faced death in the eye nor
does she have supper human strengths. She is just a great mom
and grandmother to my first-born son. She lives in Indian and we
live in Virginia and we rarely get to visit each other. But when
we do go for a visit or she comes here, she more than makes up
for the time that we spend apart.
I can't even count how much she has done for my small family of
three. We have only been on our own for a little more than a
year, since that time she has purchased a kitchen table, chairs,
baby crib, baby clothes, clothes for me, clothes for my
husbands, and much more. When we went to Indiana to give birth
to my son, she paid for the trip. We also visited last month,
she too paid for that trip, and paid our insurance bill for us.
When we were leaving to come back we had more stuff than we
arrived with so she purchased a cargo carrier for the car. She
has paid for a lot of our bills and even got me out of a
financial jam. I have no money to pay her back and I don't even
have the money to buy her a nice gift, I want to do more for her
than just calling her or just sending a free on-line greeting.
She has done so much for my family and I would love to thank her
in a big way. Like I said, she has not done anything out of the
ordinary that most moms wouldn't do, she is just a great mom and
I want her to know that.
Charity Couch
My mom is cool. A beautiful young lady with a lot of
heart and soul! Happy Mother's day Mom!
Stephanie Perrin
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