My Life As A Blog Guest Post By . . .

Blogger: Heather Flett

Blog: Rookie Moms

Twitter: rookieheather

Although it wasn’t the main reason my husband and I decided to have a third child, I must confess that at least a small part of me wanted to have another baby in order to keep my primary blog, RookieMoms.com relevant to new moms.  Just think of all that juicy content a newborn would deliver.

Since my life became a blog, everything I do or think has become fodder for posts. As I lay in the hospital bed recovering from my most recent childbirth, I was actively thinking about which components of my experience made the most sense for the many websites to which I contribute.

Though I could barely lift my own head off the pillow (let alone shower without assistance), my thumb was still free for tweeting. I reached out to my Internet community and shared the good news on Facebook and basked in the ”Likes”. But everyone does that these days. Taking it a few steps further, I planned out a dozen or so blog posts.

Instead of just pining for my first postpartum meals like a normal hungry nursing mom, I noticed that the very good nearby choices for take-out near my hospital would be a perfect round-up for my hyper-local parenting site, 510families.com.

Yes, and could anything interesting be said about my swollen ankles? I wasn’t yet sure that my puffy feet had potential for my weekly BabyCenter column. Hmm, not compelling enough, I thought. I kept looking around. There must be more! It is BabyCenter and I just had a baby! What a stroke of good fortune. While in the hospital bed, I noticed that my post on pregnant women drinking wine was causing quite a stir. Fun. Although, admittedly less fun were the readers’ scathing comments that I was a bad mom who has poisoned her sons in utero.

I also had a column at giggle.com, an upscale maternity and baby boutique. Since that site targets expectant parents, I could write about what I packed for the hospital and whether I used it or not. Ooh, what about a post advising new parents to pack a big empty duffle bag and hoard the goodies from the nurses? Oh yes, new mommies need to know that.

In addition to those parenting sites, I also blog for a corporate safety website. I was sure that there were dangers lurking all around that hospital room that I could photograph and describe later. Good thing my smartphone had a camera. But wait, the lighting in the maternity wing was ruining my shots. I asked my husband to open the window shades and help position me closer to some natural light. Click. Click. Much better. What a guy!

But that’s not all. Oh no, that’s not all. For 28 weeks, on Rookie Moms, I was able to blog about pregnancy cravings and baby naming from my current first-hand experiences. In the future, I would be able to review baby products and kvetch about colic and swaddles, just like I did when I started the site six years ago. Little did I know from that recovery room that I’d also have options to write about a needy baby, bed-sharing, formula vs. breast, and many other juicy topics! Such luck indeed.

Seriously, who does this? Other bloggers do. On any given day, I’m living my life as a possible post (or two). While playing with my children or shopping for a product, I’m simultaneously evaluating which experiences to share online and which to keep behind a thin veil of privacy (Youtube my birth? No thanks!). Having a third son is a blessing to my family and my blog. Now that our family is complete, I’ll have to think of another way to inspire more posts.

I hope you enjoyed Heather’s post, which is part of an on-going series on Blogstar. If you would like to contribute your own My Life As A Blog post, please email me at sbrydenbrown[at]gmail[dot]com.