Thursday, July 20, 2006

Updates on Health, Sleep, Blogroll & Blogging

Well, I want to write more about being a mother since this is the most defining and central aspect of my life and one of the main reasons I started blogging. The responses I received in the previous mothering post were just so encouraging to me!! I hope more blogging moms can read it and let me know how they feel about it, though I know the readership of this blog is very small, so every single comment means so much to me, thank you for taking the time and commenting!! Being a mother is a very lonely job most of the time. Oh, and I loved loved loved this sign that I saw today at the Maternal Wellness Center when I went for the LLL meeting:
All mothers are working mothers.
YEAH!!!!!
Anyway, I also have a long post to write about how blogging has changed my life in very profound ways that I (and my dear husband) have slowly come to realize, but I won't talk about that now. I just want to do a quick update on how things are going here at "mama(e) in translation" household.

Health
I have continued not to be very healthy and I am buying some books about gastro-intestinal health so I can be well informed when I go see a doctor (I can go straight to a specialist because my crappy health plan doesn't require referrals - I just pay a very high co-pay). I don't want to bore anyone with details, so I promise not to blog too much about my health.

Sleep
Since I last wrote about this (only last Friday!), there haven't been any more bad nights. My son woke up once and I didn't nurse him, so after he fell back asleep he didn't want to nurse every hour or so and slept until morning. He's still waking up too early, but I know that's normal.

Blogroll & Blogging
You know, I've been always quite reluctant in "supporting" (i.e. reading every day) more famous blogs, and I know that part of it is just this very subtle envious feelings that a little unknown blogger harbors towards the big fish in the pond. Sure, I do read at least a couple more "famous" academic bloggers (Jo(e) and Scrivener - both of whom have close to or over 150,000 visits), though I don't often read the most famous of all, Bitch Phd (I do sometimes check her posts, she's just too brilliant for one not to read). Anyway, roughly once a month I'd go over to dooce and read at least her newsletter to her daughter. I was kind of shocked to learn that now she had become a professional blogger. On Tuesday night, however, I was checking her archives (birth story and first newsletters) and I thought - well, if she writes well and is funny and witty, she totally deserves that!!! And I should go ahead and support her, why not? So I decided to add her to my blogroll.

The very next day - look at what was on the news!! Another blogger fired because of her blog (La Petite Anglaise, who's now gone "off the air"! (Thanks honey for the link!!). I thought the timing was very interesting, though absolutely irrelevant "in the grand scheme of things" as I'm very fond of saying if you haven't yet noticed :) On one day I decide to go ahead and "support" dooce and the next day another relatively well known blogger is "dooced."

My husband is a little concerned, but I know I love blogging and I won't quit just because I am afraid or anything. And I don't even HAVE a job, I'm just going to apply for one and this blog can't be linked to my full name, it only has pictures of me (well, it was the same thing with La Petite Anglaise).

Well, I have to go work on the dissertation (latest deadline coming up tomorrow) and go add dooce to my blogroll! I hope my hits help your family, Mrs. Heather Armstrong! Your daughter's adorable and your writing fun...

As for myself, I'll keep on blogging, no matter what :)

6 comments:

Alice said...

scary about La Petite Anglaise getting "dooced"! I do hope you continue to keep on blogging no matter what! I have a tendency to be careful about what I write especially about other people. One never knows who reads ... not that it matters because no one can fire me from my job, hehe. (btw, I love the quote that all moms are working moms! Yeah!)

I don't read many famous bloggers .. primarily because I can't really establish a relationship with them. I think what I value the most about blogging is the relationship to you guys, discussing issues, getting an answer and feedback, and just having a feeling that we're 'connecting' on a certain level. I tend to stop visiting certain blogs when I feel that my presence there doesn't really matter.

I hope that your health improves! Maybe stress has something to do with gastrointestinal troubles as well?

Andromeda Jazmon said...

I know what you mean about famous bloggers. I read but don't comment much. The really good writers are just too enjoyable to miss, but I figure they don't need my comments. Except that if you comment then people sometimes click your name and read your blog, so you get more exposure... And that is how I find new good blogs too, following links in the comments. I read other people's blogrolls too, to find good blogs. The more links, the more interesting of course! :) I like the way you have yours organized. I am too lazy to do that LOL.

I am Celiac Sprue, and autoimmune disorder that means I can't digest the gluten in wheat, rye, & barley. I didn't know it until three years ago when I went to a GI specialist with complaints. Sounds like you should ask to be tested for it too maybe. Have you thought of that? It means a strict diet but not a lot of prosedures or drugs. Could be worse. :)

Juliet said...

I love that saying. ("All mothers are working mothers.") My friend's mom has that on a bumper sticker.

As for the famous bloggers, I just really try to blog with people I can relate with, and be "friends" with in the cyber sense. (And maybe one day the real sense. ^_^) People I think I will like. I do try to avoid the more famous blogs, because I have this issue about only linking to blogs that will link back to me. Weird, I know. I do have a couple more famous bloggers on my blogroll. But they link me back, and are very personable, so it's cool.

Occassionally, I have asked bloggers who are about as known as me (some on your blogroll, I believe.) if they wanted to be blog buddies, and they just ignored me. I admit it hurt my feelings. But I am an oversensitive person, and I need to work on that.

L said...

Oh, what a nice conversation!! That's truly the reason I blog, like you Alice, and Juliet, but I do enjoy to read good, fun writing, like Prof Me and Cloudscome, even if I know they won't read me back...

Juliet, I'm oversensitive too, but I'm working on that, and adding dooce shows that I'm getting a bit desensitized at this point.

Alice, I have definitely considered stress, and, more specifically, lack of sleep and going to bed too late as culprilts. Cloudscome, I haven't ruled out anything, IBS, Crohn's disease, Celiac Sprue, lactose intolerance... but I'm watching my diet and although I haven't done an elimination diet yet (my diet is already almost dairy free and I'm ovo-lacto vegetarian), I haven't really notice I get worse when I eat wheat products. But I should try to eliminate some things...

Emily said...

I had IBS symptoms and my periods stopped and my consultant concluded in the end after endless tests that it was stress. I HATE my job. It's amazing what the body does when under pressure. Hope you aren't stressed!

I have another blog which is just for very close friends which is all about my job. But it is very sensitive so I am playing with fire a bit. I am about to buy a domain name and get rid of the private blog and stick the graphics I have on that on the new domain and transfer my mummy blog on there.

I am quite sad about not blogging about work and how mad it is. But, as a freelance, I want work next year after maternity leave. I can't take silly risks anymore. I will tell my friends in person instead! My fault for being so darn lazy and not calling them!

Unknown said...

My boss reads my blog. Which kind of freaks me out. But it's come in handy. She knows me better than she would otherwise and has used that knowledge to really help me.

I've really cut back on my blog reading (and writing) until the dissertation is finished. I read 4 or 5 blogs while having coffee in the morning and make some comments and then I might read a few more in the evening. I love blogging though and it's really been a great experience in a lot of ways and has helped me through a lot of things.