Claudine Wolk encourages New Mothers..right here!
The first question people ask me when they find out I’m an author is “What’s the title of your book?” When I reply, “It Gets Easier ! And Other Lies We Tell New Mothers?’ they always laugh and then they ask, “Why did you write it?” My answer is always the same. I wrote the book to help mothers, all mothers, with new motherhood using honesty and humor.
When I became a new mom and brought my little guy home from the hospital, I… was… scared. Truth be told, I was a little angry, too. I was scared because I was sore, tired, and the realization that I was completely responsible for another human being and that I didn’t have a clue how to care for him set in. Angry because the image I had of motherhood, that of a content, confident mom holding her calm, peaceful baby was about as far away from my reality as Maine is to California!
So, you might ask, what did I do? Well, I did what most new moms do, I tried to get educated. I read lots of books about childcare and parenting but I felt that something huge was missing from the “story” of these books – the real-life experience, the practical help, the truth! I wanted the truth! (“You can’t handle the truth!” did run through my head, but like Tom Cruise’s character in the “A Few Good Men,” a movie I clearly watched way to often in the middle of the night as a new mom, I did want the truth, in all its glory – the stink of it, the humor of it – I wanted it all. So, like Tom Cruise, I went to Jack Nicolson. No, I didn’t. I went to the folks who would know more about the truth of motherhood than anyone else – that’s right, other moms!
I bugged every mom I could find – my mom, my mom’s friends, my sister, neighbors, cousins, aunts, friends, and co-workers. I staked out playgrounds, malls, indoor play yards, anywhere I could find moms. I talked to clients, moms in supermarket lines, moms in pediatrician waiting rooms, even strangers on planes, all in search of the truth about motherhood. Guess what happened? No, I wasn’t arrested for stalking. I found the answers I was looking for. I started to use the advice I got and the advice actually worked. The help worked so well, I decided to have two more kids and the advice worked with the new kids, too.
I knew I had to pass the help on to other new moms – moms like me who needed a little guidance, a little honesty, and a laugh here & there. I started to write things down. As my family grew and new motherhood experiences grew, I kept asking questions and kept writing about all of it – from baby schedules to breastfeeding, from labor and delivery tips to how to survive those first few weeks at home, from becoming a working mom to becoming a stay at home mom, from avoiding handling housework to avoiding handling the changing relationship with my spouse – I wrote it all down – experiences, tips, and humor – all in the hopes of helping new moms.
Now, in addition to the book, I get to reach new moms through my website at www.help4newmoms.com and my blogs at www.help4newmoms.blogspot.com and hybridmom.com AND I get to talk to them through message boards on the web and in person speaking at mom events and mom clubs all over the country. My hope is that with a little honesty and humor, moms will be confident in knowing they are not
alone and that they can be the kind of mom that they want to be – confident and happy . That’s my tale and I’m sticking to it. Tell me your new mom tale. Come visit me at help4newmoms. I look forward to hearing from you.
Claudine Wolk
It Gets Easier! and Other Lies We Tell New Mothers
