MomsRising does a great job of creating a community of support for women. We at www.ctworkingmoms.com strive to create a similar sense of community and work to foster an environment of respect, honesty and encouragement. We just started a new series based off of our blogger Stephanie Wright's recent post titled, This is me. In her post, Stephanie talks openly about her parenting style and the truth about who she is as a mom. So many of us were inspired by her post that each one of our 21 work-mom bloggers will post up a similar blog over the next few weeks.

It's so important for moms to be real, to be honest about what we go through and to support each other even if our parenting styles differ. Follow these posts and find comfort in our truths!

Stephanie's Post: This is me

I've been thinking a lot about parenting decisions and thought I’d put myself out there for you.

1. I am a formula feeder. Breastfeeding was not even a consideration for me.
2. My birth plan was two-fold: 1) Epidural 2) We both survive. I chose a practice, doctors and hospital I trusted completely.
3. My choice of hospital was largely based on their NICU. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a good thing because Olivia spent a week there after aspirating meconium at birth.
4. I would never consider an at-home birth. Admittedly, I don’t know much about them because it’s not on my personal list of options.
5. I chose to have an elective induction four days before my due date with Audrey.
6. I have well water and don’t give my girls flouride drops. (We DO brush and floss!)
7. Audrey sometimes still wakes to eat at night.
8. Olivia was rear-facing until two years old and I plan to keep Audrey that way as long as possible.
9. Olivia has been in daycare since twelve weeks and Audrey since sixteen. I love our center. A home-based provider is not for us.
10. We didn’t sleep train Olivia until she was thirteen months. Audrey was much younger and still wakes at night.
11. Both of my girls used pacifiers. Olivia till sixteen months and Audrey still has hers at eleven.
12. Neither of our girls slept in our bed or our room. Ever.
13. I rocked Olivia to sleep until after her first birthday.
14. I do not cloth diaper.
15. I made Olivia’s food when she was a baby, but Audrey has had great success with baby led weaning and eats everything we do (minus common allergens).
16. I vaccinate on schedule. Including flu shots.
17. I did not feed Olivia any type of nut product until after her second birthday.
18. No blankets in the crib until after a year and breathable bumpers only. Back to sleep until they were able to roll themselves.
19. We chose the town we live in based almost entirely on the public school system.
20. We have never left them overnight (aside from work trips).
21. Olivia is not potty trained.
22. Audrey slept in her swing until she was six months old.

And at the end of it all, I am left with this:

My kids are healthy. I think they’re pretty happy, too, despite Audrey’s look above. I KNOW that’s the goal of almost all parents. We may mix and match our styles, but we all hope to raise productive members of our society.

…and survive toddlerhood. OMG. (But that’s another post for another day…)

Michelle's Post: This is me

• My husband and I butt heads because our parenting styles differ slightly. I think this is one of the hardest challenges to navigate as a parent.
• Lillian has been in daycare since she was 10 weeks old and I don’t regret it at all. She loves her daycare provider.
• I use to dread picking the baby up from daycare because she would just cry and cry all night. I literally dreaded it. I could not imagine a time where I would look forward to picking her up but now I do and am so grateful.
• I often think that I’m never going to be my pre-pregnancy weight again, and it brings me down.
• I hope to teach my daughter the importance of volunteering in the community, perseverance and hard work.
• If she grows up to have extremely different opinions than I have, it’s going to be difficult for me. I will always support her but I would be lying if I said it wouldn’t hurt.
• I had postpartum anxiety and I think it’s still affecting me on some level (11 months later).
• I do not have it all figured out. I’m just learning as I go.
• I didn’t realize how judgemental I was of moms until I became a mom myself. Now if I see a mom in the store with a screaming kid I feel compassion, instead of judgement.
• I never read parenting books. They stress me out.
• We let the baby cry it out (CIO) – to a degree.
• I don’t have a lot of patience and worry about how I will handle all of the testing that toddlers do.
• I fear my daughter getting pregnant as a teen. I even said to my husband that we should get her an IUD when she gets to the age that she might consider becoming sexually active.
• I miss my pre-baby life. Not that I would change a thing, but I still miss it. How I long to watch tv for a few hours wearing pjs.
• I use to judge my baby’s progress by looking at other babies similar in age, but stopped when I realized I was being ridiculous and only causing myself more anxiety.
• I will not take crap from doctors. My baby’s first pediatrician treated me like I was some kind of overly worried mom. So I switched doctors and never looked back.
• I fiercely protect those I love.
• Having this online community has changed my life for the better, seriously.

 Check www.ctworkingmoms.com each day over the next few weeks to read similiar posts from each of our bloggers.