MOMumental Mom of the Week

Name: Donna Ryan       
City:  Mansfield, TX
Marital Status:  Married 14 years
Children: Daymon (12), Vena (10), Abby (7), Darcy (3)
Occupation:  Natural Childbirth Educator

What was the last movie you saw? 

Bedtime Stories (loved it!)

What is sitting on your bedside table right now?  

Kleenex box, journal (empty), phone, and lamp

What is the last thing you told your children that your own mother told you when you were a kid? 

Not to eat saltine crackers and butter while watching Saturday morning cartoons.

What was the best piece of parenting advice you received and from whom? 

It was actually from a book:  Dr. William Sears’s “The Baby Book:  Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby From Birth to Age 2”   –  He recommended not letting your baby cry it out at night, breastfeeding on demand, carrying your baby in a sling, and lettting your baby sleep with you.  It’s made for happy parents and happy babies.

What are the products you could not live without? 

Carmex, Diet Dr. Pepper (is that a product?)

If you could put one item on the market that doesn’t exist today, what would it be?

My “product” would actually be a service.  I would want all pregnant women to have the opportunity to meet with a midwife when they find out they are pregnant.  Pregnancy care and birth outcomes are statistically better with a midwife than an OBGYN.  Less intervention, less C-sections, and the majority of women come away from the experience feeling empowered and capable of caring for their baby.  Less depression, higher breastfeeding rates, the list goes on and on.

Has your definition of success changed since you became a mom?  If so, how?

I feel like the answer should be “yes,” but I’m not sure that I had a vision of “success” in the way a lot of women might.  I have stayed home with my kids and have been fortunate to not have to get an 8 – 5 job.  As a family, we strive for success in many different areas.  I love it when we are “getting it right,” but most of the time we are hit and miss, as most families are, I suppose!

What do you do in your “me” time?  How do you protect it? 

I have been “blogging” about natural birth, breastfeeding, slings, and attachment parenting during my “me” time.  (www.banned-from-baby-showers.blogspot.com)  I don’t really feel that I need to “protect” it though – I just do it when the kids are sleeping or at school.  “Me” time cannot happen during family time, which is when everyone is home!  I also go to the grocery store by myself to do the weekly shopping every Tuesday night.  My husband is very good about making sure I have the time to do that.  

How are you different today than you thought you’d be at this point in your life?

I never would have thought that I would be an advocate for natural birth and breastfeeding.  There is no major for that when you are in college!

If an expectant mother asked you what it’s like to be a mom, what would you tell her? 

Trust your body to feed your baby.  Follow your instincts – if it feels wrong to leave your baby in a room by herself crying, go to her, love her.  Pick her up.  Let her know she can trust you and depend on you to take care of her – daytime AND nighttime.  You’ll develop a trusting relationship with this kind of parenting, based on a mutual respect.