Daily Planet

October 2009

Life on Planet Mom

- By Aubrey Smith

before you had children. Such as, shopping, going toget your nails done, paint, scrapbook, relax with agood book or just take a long deserved nap.Lisa also asks if you understand love better now thatyou are a mother. Yes, I do. I have known love beforein my life, but not like this. It’s a love you would laydown your own life for. I felt love in an instant when Isaw my girls for the very ﬁrst time. It’s a love that justoozes from your soul. One of my favoritebible verses is…

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easilyangered, it keeps norecord of wrongs. Lovedoes not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, alwaystrusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Becoming a mother has alsoallowed me to feel the love of Jesus ina way I have never felt before. My walkwith the Lord has only just begun. Every dayis a chance for me to know the Lord better and to raisemy children up in a loving, Christian environment.Being a part of MOPS has allowed me the opportunityto be just a mom to two girls who makes mistakes anda woman seeking the love of Christ. Being a mom hasdeﬁnitely changed me for the better.

Aubrey Smith, Wednesday MOPS Coordinator, is a wife toRoy and a supermom to Caroline, 4 and Makenzie, 2.

eing a stay-at-home mom to two little girls is the mostrewarding job I’ve ever had and the mostexhausting. I am sure you all know the feeling, hugs andkisses one minute and then time-outs the next. It’s all ina day in the life of a stay-at-home mom.I took a few minutes (during quiet time, of course) tolook up the deﬁnition of woman and mother. Here iswhat the website Google had to say:

Women: a female person who plays a signiﬁcant role inthe life of a particular man.Mother: a woman who has given birth to a child.

I like to think of myself as boththese things combinedinto one –

I am a WoMom,hear me roar

. I am a femaleperson who has given birthto multiple children and Ihave a signiﬁcant role inthe life of those childrenand their father. Or I couldjust call myself

Super Mom

.That is exactly what we are.We are born with this incredibleability to multi-task one hundredthings at a time all the while, stilltrying to maintain the womanwe once were before we had children.Lisa T. Bergren who authored the book,

Life On Planet Mom

, asks you to look into the mirror to see if youcan see YOU anymore. Wow! Yes, I can. I see a betterversion of me. One that is whole. My days and nights,hours and seconds revolve around the needs, healthand happiness of my family. Of course, we all need anddeserve a break every now and then. It’s good for yoursoul. It’s also a great way to do those things you did

Make Room For Daddy

Mom’s Guide to Letting DadBe DadOur children need dads as well asmoms. However, moms and dads arevery different, and a dad will loveand parent his children differentlyfrom a mom. These differences aregood, and children need both kindsof love as they grow up. Men wantto be good dads just as women wantto be good moms. As moms, we caninfluence our children’s father inpowerful ways by “making room fordaddy.”When a child is born, a father isborn. Our role as moms is tounderstand his daddy doubts, helphim identify them, and love himthrough his adjustment to his days asa daddy. Fathers are important andyet they are struggling with a kind of “daddy daze” today. Moms are keyin recognizing the value of a daddyand helping to replace unrealisticexpectations with realistic ones.When a child is born, the motherbond is a primary, foundational bondnecessary for establishingall other bonds. The firstof these other bonds is thefather bond. Our job asmoms is to bond in orderto launch. The longings of our hearts can distract usfrom the good we can doin influencing ourhusbands’ fathering. Asmoms, we must identifywhat heart longing mightbe keeping us fromlaunching our children.In an effort to be good moms, wecan also mishandle control, either assuming control forfathering functions or relinquishing our vital influenceon our husbands’ fathering. As moms, we must identifywhat might lead us to abuse our control. Moms have achoice tomanipulate or to step back and allow dad to be a gooddad, as well as a choice to be controlled or to contrib-ute positive influence to our husbands’ fathering. Weneed to lay down the strings over our husbands’ lives,to take up the strings of our own, and to move towardsbecoming partners in parenting.There’s nothing wrong with a dad just because heparents differently than a mom. We need to acknowl-edge and accept his differences as okay—even needed.When dads parent differently, moms tend to interfere.Our role as moms is to recognize our tendency tointerfere, and then move to inform instead.Understanding original family issues also helpsstrengthen mothering and fathering. Moms should dotheir homework on our original issues and help dadsdo theirs as well.Fathering is something sacred to be celebrated andencouraged. Our role as moms is to get out of his wayand let dad be dad! Learn more about letting dads bedads in

Make Room for Daddy

by Elisa Morgan andCarol Kuykendall, Zondervan, 2002.

Fathering issomething sacred to becelebrated and encour-aged. Our role as momsis to get out of his wayand let dad be dad!

Top 10 Things that Make POPS

Special

1) Can be showered and ready in 10 minutes flat.2) Know useful stuff about tanks and airplanes.3) Can open all jars and kill spiders.4) Think that flowers and duct tape can fix everything.5) Can watch two back-to-back Sunday afternoon football games.6) One mood, all the time.7) Phone conversations usually last thirty seconds.8) Five-day vacation requires one suitcase.9) Wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.10) God’s good and perfect gifts to MOPS.

It seems like the crying, rocking, feeding, walking-the-floor insanity is going to last forever.By Rebecca Ingram Powell“Baby Boot Camp” aptly describes life with a new-born. New moms are often flustered and bewilderedduring those early days with a baby. Besides having abody that’s getting back to normal, postpartummothers must deal with fluctuating hormones, extremefatigue and roller-coaster emotions. This wasn’t whatyou signed up for! When you bring your baby homefrom the hospital, however, the rigors of basic trainingbegin.

Here are ﬁve ways to stay balanced when a new babyrocks your world.1.

Recognize that your situation is temporary.

It seemslike the crying, rocking, feeding, walking-the-ﬂoorinsanity is going to last forever, but it doesn’t. Eventu-ally babies sleep, sore nipples heal and your energyreturns. The love you have for your little one, however,is permanent!

Re-evaluate your priorities.

The priorities of theﬁrst six weeks are basic. Rest. Eat. Drink lots of water.And did I say rest? Now is not the time to insist on aspotless house or to dwell on what’s going on at workwhile you are on leave. Your day begins and ends withmeeting the needs of a tiny person who is relying onyou for survival. As far as anything else is concerned,this is one time in your life when it will be easier tocatch up than to keep up.

3.Relinquish your need to control.

When it comes toa newborn, the only thing you can count on is unpre-dictability. Don’t be afraid to admit that you need help.There are lots of people who really mean it when theyask if there is anything they can do. Never turn downgifts of food or offers to baby-sit. When a friend or agrandmother comes over to help you, let her! Someoneelse can wash a load of clothes or run the vacuum justas well as you can. Loosen up.

How to Survive Baby Boot Camp

Realize that newrelationships areforming.

When a newbaby arrives, everyone inthe family assumes a newrole. As these new identitiesevolve, families are required to make a transition.Patience is a must as you and your husband, as well asyour parents and in-laws, adjust to your new name tags.Now you’re “Mom.” Your mother-in-law is “Grandma.”As you step into these new roles, it will take a while toget used to the way they ﬁt.

Remember you are not alone.

Every new recruit feelsoverwhelmed by the demands of motherhood. At thesame time, the joy of motherhood is utterly transforming.Be encouraged: You have joined the ranks of billions of women who also experienced these feelings as theybegan the journey of motherhood. It is a comfort toremember that you are always in the heart of a lovingFather who has a plan for both you and your baby.Trust God to guide you through this wonderful seasonof life.

Rebecca Ingram Powell is a pastor’s wife, a home-schooling mother of three, and the author of Baby Boot Camp:Basic Training for the First Six Weeks of Motherhood. Visit herwevsite at

www.rebeccapowell.com

.This article is reprinted by permission.

The onlythingyou can counton isunpredictability.

Book Review

The Happiest Baby on the Block:

The New Way toCalm Crying and Help Your Baby Sleep LongerBy Dr. Harvey Karp Dr. Karp believes that babies, in their first few monthsof life, can experience “fourth trimester” issues. Babieshave a difficult time getting used to the huge amountof stimuli present in life outside of Mom’s body. Theirreaction is to cry. Dr. Karp has developed 5 techniquesto induce a calming reflex, swaddling, shusing, side/ stomach position, swinging and sucking.Karp’s book is a quick and essential read for thoseearly months of motherhood. He also offers a book fortoddler tantrums (The Happiest Toddler on the Block),DVDs demonstrating his techniques, and a CD of white noise for infants.