Friday Favorite- Mothering Magazine

When I was newly pregnant, I bought every pregnancy magazine I could find.  I wanted to soak up information on pregnancy, birth, and parenting, and I thought periodicals were a smart addition to book reading because they are so current.  That, and I was spending every non-working moment lying on the couch or in bed, so I might as well have some good reading materials.  I found, though, that most of the magazines had little to do with the style of parenting I envisioned for myself.  There are also only so many ways to write an article covering how to write a birth plan, or the limited diet of a pregnant woman (most aspects of which didn't apply to me, anyway, as I wasn't eating animal products).  I ended up skimming the magazines quickly and only truly utilizing the articles listing new baby gear and clothing.  Before I had given birth, before I was even put on bed rest, I stopped buying the magazines altogether.


Soon after Tye's birth, my friend Alison gave me a new mother's gift of an electronic subscription to Mothering Magazine.  When my first issue arrived in my inbox, I devoured it, cover to cover, in one long nursing-nap session (Did you know that with an e-subscription, you can click on links to all the adds and go straight to the websites? It's fabulous!).  Then I headed for the Mothering website, which has additional articles and back articles.  Amazing.  In the past year, I've found the Mothering resources to be much-needed support and validation on topics like babywearing, cloth diapering, nursing, and bedsharing.  For every article on babycenter.com claiming that doing one of the above would harm my child, Mothering had one supporting the practice, complete with scientific studies and convincing arguments to back it up.  I've learned invaluable information from the Mothering resources, and every time I see a new issue in my inbox, I get excited for the special mama time I'll set aside when Tye is sleeping to read it, hot cup of tea in hand, and I'm thankful for the gift of knowledge and information.  Thank you, Al.


A few of my all-time favorite Mothering articles for new moms:

• Your Walking Medicine Chest- breastmilk cures 
• Mothering, Mindfulness and a Baby's Bottom- Elimination Communication
• How the Stats Really Stack Up: Co-Sleeping Twice as Safe
• Finding Your Tribe
• Hold Me Close: The Many Advantages to Wearing Your Baby
• A Nursing Triad- tandem nursing