Am I Wasting My Time?

Since I had to quit my job as a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor back in March, which I have to say, was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I have been trying to find a way to do something I love and bring funds to help out the family. I started blogging, in addition to my youtube channel where I teach classes on breastfeeding. I then started a second channel where I talk about living with chronic health and finding joy despite all of the disappointments.

I hate sitting in my bedroom every day doing nothing that really matters. I want to work at something I love but I don’t know where to look or how to start. I am watching others succeed and just not knowing what I need to do, what do I need to change? I am not sure if I am just not good enough, or I am not trying hard enough, or if I am looking in the wrong places.

I do understand that it takes time to really grow anything but I need to find a way to make money now. I don’t even care if it is just $20 in a day. It is better than nothing at all. I want to write, I want to teach, I want to support. I want to do things I love. But what?

I guess I am feeling a little sorry for myself. Most people work really hard and even then it can take years. I know I don’t deserve to find my dream over night but I want to feel like I am in the right direction.

What are your thoughts?

 

The Truth

via Daily Prompt: Genie

I can’t deny that my hearts desire is to be able to do something I love to supplement our income rather than doing something I hate. I never imagined that I was good enough to write for a living so I went in search of something else I loved.

I found that I loved teaching and I was able to use that in the health field, teaching breastfeeding classes. I loved it! When my health got bad I had to let that job go. I couldn’t stand  sitting at home doing nothing and thats when I stumbled upon some blogs. After much research I found wordpress.com and have slowly been learning the ins and outs of the website. I am currently using the free portion until I see where it takes me.

The truth? I want to succeed with my writing. I want to eventually become a professional blogger. I want to make it my “job” not just because I love it but because I want to work and feel productive, useful again. Being successful means that people love what I read and that is the greatest reward.

So if I could have my own personal genie (there I go again, daily prompt), I would use up one wish, that my writing becomes successful and maybe even takes me places I never thought I would go.

//rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?o=1&p=12&l=ur1&category=kuft&banner=07V9YHKS4HY556H67002&f=ifr&lc=pf4&linkID=05759f479c289bd914bcc1f0bde2a9c1&t=onyemomma-20&tracking_id=onyemomma-20

The Difference Between a “Like” and a “Follow”?

I am reading posts, and I notice that many times the likes will be higher than the followers. I ask myself why, why don’t people hit the follow button if they have “liked” the blog?

How important is it to get likes, views and followers. I know in the youtube world to get subscribers is the ultimate goal but likes are important because they rank your videos among others. Views are also important because the hours spent being watched and the number of subscribers are how you get your videos monetized.

When I like a blog or a youtube video its because what you wrote or recorded has effected me in some way. When I choose to follow you, its my way of saying thank you for putting yourself out there for others to see, to being vulnerable to criticism and taking the chance that not every one will like you.

I find it so fulfilling that people are reading and liking what I have written. When you choose to like or to follow me, I am humbled. I am humbled that what I wrote touched you and if you choose to follow me I am humbled that you want to come back for more.

Thank you to all of you that have read my blogs, liked them and even commented on them. I love interacting with this new community.

Do you think the views, likes, and follows should matter? Do you think one should matter over the other? What would you change about them if you could?

Vlog or Blog? Which Do You Prefer

When I started this blog I wasn’t sure if I would use this platform to talk about breastfeeding. The reason is because I have a youtube channel that I post videos regularly and I discuss all different topics to help mothers during the time they are breastfeeding. Below is one such video…

I found that making videos on youtube was one of the best ways to reach and really help mothers with breastfeeding. When it came to talking about life in general I find that blogging works best for me. But I realized that there may be an audience here that may be pregnant or breastfeeding that would appreciate the videos I make. So instead of writing about every topic, and at times I may write on something related to breastfeeding since it is a passion of mine, I would just direct you to my channel.

As a Certified Lactation Counselor, I am passionate about helping mothers and babies and I try to let that show in my videos. But I am also much more than that. I love to read, write, and I love learning new things. So this blog will reflect that side of me. Of course I can’t separate who I am and because I love helping others, I hope that will shine through.

What side of yourself do you share when you blog? Have you ever thought of vlogging? Which do you prefer and why?

The Right Choice Is Always The Best Choice?

The idea of something being the best is usually to encourage people to choose whatever “the best” is. But what is best and right for one person may not be for another. I have found that being in the breastfeeding world and promoting and educating on the best choice for feeding our babies is one area that really does come in all sizes. Breastfeeding is not a “one size fits all” approach. Breastmilk is the best and I don’t think anyone is arguing that point. What people find hard is the judgement that comes with the decision. A mom who breastfeeds can be lumped into this “perfect mom” idea that she feels pressured to fulfill, and yet she doesn’t feel anywhere close to perfect. Then we have a mom who uses formula and she feels judged and made to feel like somehow she doesn’t love her baby as much as one who breastfeeds. But just like healthy food, organic food, and junk food all are products of situations.

What do I mean by “products of situation?” Well lets stop and think a minute about choices we have in life. Where we live, where we go to school, college, marriage, parents, children, careers…we can go on and on. When thinking about all these I mentioned, you could say that some are not choices that we can make, some are made for us by the life we are given. It is important to note though, that even what we perceive to be a choice may really not be. Of course many can argue life is what you make it. But is it really?

Back to the example of breastfeeding, did you know that in the US the average maternity leave is between 6-12 weeks? Many take less than even six weeks because of reasons beyond their control. Do you know that the rate of initial Breastfeeding; which is the first few weeks after the baby is born, is somewhere around 70% but by 3 months (12 weeks) it falls drastically to 20 to 30 percent, of course this varies by regions. Another interesting fact is that western states seem to have the highest breastfeeding rates. Such as California. Why is that? When you look at numbers that don’t lie, you see a problem. When maternity leave ends, so does breastfeeding. Does breastfeeding end because of circumstances, or by choice?

Back to the “products of situation.” If a mother is given a paid maternity leave of say 6 months, the recommended time of breastfeeding for a baby, do you think many of these women that stopped breastfeeding at the end of 6-12 weeks would breastfeed longer? It would be very interesting to see what breastfeeding rates would be if we could change just that one piece of the equation. That “situation” that comes about due to circumstance.

I wonder if my job as a Lactation Counselor would be easier if I could focus more on changing maternity laws, rather than trying to convince a mother to continue breastfeeding when she goes back to her minimum wage job where she is given very little attention except to be on her feet the entire time with only a few minutes break here and there. Where does she pump? Maybe in the bathroom? Maybe she can quickly run to pump in between cars in the drive through, or better yet, maybe she can leave her register for a few minutes to pump her milk while you wait.

Circumstances make a difference. Money and time make a difference. Some people are given a “multiple choice” of answers to their life challenges. And many times none of the choices are answers that we want to make. But guess what, we have to choose one. So what is the best choice is not always the right choice, but the right choice is always the best choice.