Guide for the Young Single Mother – Excerpt
This is an excerpt from my book, Guide for the Young Single Mother. It's only the first draft; I'll be adding to it and re-writing parts of it when I get to editing after I've finished the book's first draft. This is copyright Kiara Joy Gilbert, 2009.
Baby blankets are an important part of your baby items. I like having as many blankets as possible; depending on the number of children you have, it may not be possible for you to do laundry every day, or even every other day. Some days babies will go through three or four blankets; other days, only one is needed. When both my children were sleeping in bassinets of a Graco Pack'n'Play, I would tuck a blanket under the sheet for a little bit more padding. With my second daughter, this was a most; after two years with my oldest daughter, the mat wasn't very comfortable to lay on.
Poopy Diapers (And Other Parenting Poems)
Here's a poem that will be in my anthology of parenting poems, titled Poopy Diapers (And Other Parenting Poems). This is the poem that inspired the title of the book. Poem and book are copyright 2009, Kiara Joy Gilbert.
Poopy Diapers
Oh, poopy diapers!
How I loathe thee; let me count
The ways that I feel.
It’s been awhile.
Hey there. :) So it's been a while since my last post (over a month!). Life is still good. I've had some curve balls thrown at me the past few weeks, but everything is starting to calm down.
Today has been spent playing with my daughters and updating this website. I changed the layout yesterday; it's the first Wordpress theme I've ever created that I am 98% happy with (for some reason, the shadow on top won't show up). I also changed the radio player from radio.blog to PremiumBeat; in some ways I like radio.blog better. :/ I've also put a new page up under 'About' titled Projects. This will be where I list all my websites, craft projects, web/graphic design and writing projects. I also added Google Ads (in the sidebar to the right, at the very bottom).
I started writing another book yesterday, titled Mommyhood at 20. It's about my experiences with being a young single mother and the misconceptions people automatically associate with it. I've gotten the outline done, and I've started the first draft. I'm also still working on Guide for The Young Single Mother: What You Need to Survive. I'm giving myself until April 2010 to finish it.
I entered Century 21's The Path to Your Dreams sweepstakes. I'm praying that I win; anything that I could put into a savings account for a house would be fantastic, because then me and my girls could move out of my grandmother's sooner.
I've opened an Amazon.com store here. When people purchase something from my store, a portion of the proceeds will go to me.
I've got about thirteen articles I need to go through and edit before adding them to the content section. I may end up completely re-writing some of them, but oh well - it's good practice, right? :) I've also started writing short stories for a children's book anthology, and poems about the joys and tribulations of single parenting. Once I finish getting the children's book written, I'll start looking for illustrater(s).
A week or two ago, I sent an Order of Paternity to the attorney state general of Texas. That one was for Mike on Ariel, and I'll be filling one out for David on Alex within the next week or two. I'm also supposed to go to court about my dad's child support; me and my brothers are all over the age of 18, but at least in the state of Texas, if you owe back child support (read: you didn't make all your payments), you still have to pay it. The Texas Rangers are looking for him to arrest him. If I can get child support started from my father again, and child support from each of the girls' fathers, as well as making some money from freelance writing and the Amazon store, I can open my baby boutique (Head to Toe) and my as yet untitled organic bath and beauty etsy shop. If need be, I could also get a part-time job. With money from all those things, I'm hoping me and the girls will be able to move out within the next two years. This house is just way too small for three adults and two kids.
Writing a pregnancy/baby book
After Ariel was born, I started writing a pregnancy and baby book. I had written about fifty pages when I somehow got a boot sector virus on my old hard drive. Three months of research, deciding on the table of contents, drafting an outline, putting together a list of resources, the first draft - all of it was gone. I couldn't get it back without spending a hefty bit of change to get my hard drive fixed (money that I didn't have, and couldn't have justified using when I need to be buying baby things). For awhile, I was so depressed about it I couldn't stand the thought of starting over. But now I'm pregnant with Alex, and I want to try again. :) I'm collecting topic ideas. For you moms and dads out there, what are some of the parenting resources (books, magazines, web sites) that you absolutely love(d)? My current list of resources is here.
What are some topics you'd like to see me cover in my book? I don't promise that this book will ever be published - it's something I'm writing because I have the burning desire to write it, not because I want to sell it (although that would be an awesome bonus). :) However, if I do ever get it published, it will have/be the following: tabs to quickly browse to a chapter; folders to hold different items in each section; spiral-bound spine; attached bookmark.
For right now, here's a list of what I plan to include in the book:
- Introduction: Letter From The Author.
- Getting started: emergency numbers and contacts (mom, dad, labor coach/doula/midwife/etc. etc., pharmacy and hospital/birthing center numbers, and other frequently called numbers); things to do; baby-proofing checklist; what to do; what not to do.
- Mom's Section: hints and tips from other mothers; health history; gaining weight during pregnancy; exercising while pregnant tips from real moms; eating right while pregnant; potential OB/GYN; questions to ask OB/GYN; OB/GYN basics; health insurance basics; insurance records; OB/GYN visits; prenatal testing; maternity clothes; clothing checklist; borrowed items; hints & tips on morning sickness from real moms.
- Single Baby: hints & tips about shopping for baby from other mothers; shopping for a newborn; newborn checklist; shopping for a toddler; toddler checklist; shopping for the nursery; nursery checklist; borrowed items; list of names (your own list, not a pre-made one).
- Multiple Babies: hints and tips from moms of multiples; shopping for multiples; multiples checklist; borrowed items; list of names (your own list, not a pre-made one).
- Baby Shower: hints & tips for a successful baby shower from real moms; baby shower games; registry list; received gifts; sending out thank you cards.
- Labor & Delivery: childbirth classes; c-section versus vaginal birth; hints & tips from real moms to help you relax; packing for the hospital; labor list: who to call and when; tracking your contractions; birthing plan; to-do list for labor coach/doula/midwife/etc. etc; tips to help ease after-labor pain from other mothers.
- After Birth: bringing baby home; hints & tips for the first few months from other mothers; feeding and diapering; packing a diaper bag; mom's postnatal check up; how to discourage unwanted help or advice; finding time for housework and yourself; birth announcements; mailing birth announcements checklist.
- Baby's Section: what baby undergoes after birth; tips from moms on how to get along with the pediatrician; potential pediatricians; questions to ask pediatricians; pediatrician basics; health insurance for babies; baby's insurance records; doctor's visits; list of shots (with a place for you to write down the date your baby had the shot); medical treatment information (such as known allergies); birthstones, birth flowers & zodiac signs.
- Childcare: hints & tips on child care from real moms; potential daycares/caregivers; questions to ask daycares/caregivers; daycare/caregiver contact information; childcare establishment tour and your thoughts.
- Memory Section: prenatal memories (found out about pregnancy, first sonogram, first time hearing baby's heartbeat, first time hearing baby move, when baby dropped); birth info (birthday, birthplace, time of birth, weight, head circumference, chest size, hair & eye color at birth); mommy's family; daddy's family; baby's siblings; growth chart for baby; milestones (first opened eyes fully, first smile, first time sleeping through the night, holding head up, holding bottle by themselves, first tooth, first time having baby food, first time having solid food, first time having a sippy cup, first word, started crawling, started walking, started running); first birthday.
- Resources: books for mom & dad; parenting & children magazines; places to register; organizations, associations, agencies and services; other web sites; undecided amount of pages for notes.
A new challenge
Lately, I've had a bit of a writer's block. I'm trying to build up my freelance writing portfolio, but I'm having issues getting past this darn writer's block. I just saw a blog in which the owner challenged herself to write 30 articles in 30 days. Well, guess what? I'm going to challenge myself. Starting tomorrow, September 16, I will write and post one article every day for the next thirty days. I'm putting together a list of thirty article topics, so I won't be struggling each day to come up with a topic. After the article challenge, I'll do one for poetry; after that, one for prose; and then one for short stories (not necessarily in that order, or all with the same challenge premise). I can turn out articles, poems and prose on a day-to-day basis, but short stories will take a bit longer.
I really wish I had Microsoft Word - it would make writing short stories so much easier. :/
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- Nat King Cole – Chestnuts
- Johnny Mathis – Silent Night, Holy Night
- Sarah McLachlan – I'll Be Home For Christmas
- John Lennon – And So This Is Christmas
- Sarah McLachlan – What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)