Blog post ideas may appear to flow freely for others, but not for you. Take some time to sit down and reflect on your experiences as a mother so you can help another woman get through the hard stuff.
Blogging has always been something you've wanted to try. You read quite a few and feel you have something to share about your life. The catch is, you aren't sure what niche you fall into. You remember an old college professor once suggesting the first step to getting started with a writing project was to write what you know. So, think about it, what do you know?
You have five, yes five, amazing children all in various ages and stages of life. Your life for the better part of 20 years has been all about runny noses, diapers, carpools and cleaning up the mess – oh, the mess. Laundry has pretty much been the bane of your existence, and you can't remember the last time anyone but you replaced the empty toilet paper roll with a new one.
It's official: You are going to start your own mommy blog. You've read enough to know you have something to say that some poor lonely mom will feel connected with. You have been that lonely mom before, so you understand. You sit down at your computer and proceed to stare at that blinking cursor for a few minutes before you get up to do more laundry. Maybe by the time you finish the last load, inspiration will strike.
Writer's block is going to happen. That's why we've taken some time to give you a few blog post ideas to help kick-start your writing. We've focused on the early stages of a child's life because this is where motherhood all starts.
Go right ahead and laugh. Get it out of your system. You, like every other new mom in the world, was advised to sleep whenever you can because babies can really take it out of you. And, like many, many new moms, you probably ignored it. Write about the types of things you did instead of sleep. Examples include, but are not limited to:
Then, explain how just about the time you are ready to collapse in total exhaustion, your wonderful bundle of job starts screaming for you. It's a vicious cycle many mama's repeat.
Image by Elina Sazonova via Pexels.
Whether you believed in having a little bassinet, bed, something in your room or not, you more than likely have an opinion on this topic.
You probably read a ton of articles on what is best for your newborn. The best sleeping position. The best crib. The suggested age at which you can safely put all that cute baby bedding in the best crib so the baby can have the best sleep. Help a fellow mom sort through your experiences about taking expert advice without going crazy over it.
There is a lot of peer pressure in the mom department. It sounds silly, but it's the truth. As moms, we all should come together and help each other out, and while we do most of the time, it isn't enough sometimes. A new mom may have a hard time feeling comfortable around seasoned moms because they may or may not make her feel like she's "doing it right."
Help reassure her that what she is doing is fine, and she doesn't have to try to rise to the level some moms make her feel like she has to. Social media makes it seem like every mom is throwing elaborately themed parties and continually getting those perfect family photos. The reality may be that it's all for show.
Don't let someone else's social media post make you or anyone else feel insignificant. Help other moms to know that real life is ok. It's messy and rarely ever perfect, but it's as perfect as it needs to be for your kids.
Ah, mom's advice. It can be so beneficial, and yet so irritating at the same time. Think back to when your mom gave you some tidbit and you wanted to ignore her just because. How did that turn out? Was she right? It's ok to take your mom's advice when it makes sense.
Remember, your mom lived by a whole other set of rules and standards. You were riding around unbuckled in the front seat of a station wagon until you were five years old. Keep that in mind.
Your baby probably started to get a little more exciting and interactive during this stretch, which brought a whole new set of fun things. Baby's milestones begin to amp-up from lifting of the head to getting those first teeth. There are lots of tears, joy and laughter, and hilariously memorable comments such as, “That poop came from that baby?” Let your mommy blog readers know that they will get through it.
Time at this point may also seem to stand still. Yes, everyone who is out of this baby stage may want to go back and revisit it. You may have been told or even tell others in the trenches to take time to breathe it all in. You also have to remember at this stage breathing something in may be detrimental to your respiratory health since, well, baby puke and poop typically don't smell great.
The high points to hit during this period are:
These are all huge and amazing milestones, but during this time don't leave out the fact that the baby will begin to get mobile in some way. In fact, depending on the child, by the age of one, walking may be happening. This is not a drill! A mobile child is much harder to contain than one who you can still safely plop on the floor outside the shower while you take two minutes to get clean. A mobile child will do fun things like:
All in all, the first year of a baby's life is the first year a mom gets broken in. You know you have so much to say about it, so have at it.
The first year after you give birth, there is probably a whole lot more going on with the new mom bod than you ever realized there might be.
Bathroom habits may change now that you've given birth. This is partially because you now have someone who will want to go with you quite often, and also because you shared a body with someone for a while and things tend to get messed up.
If you breastfeed, then you have a ton of in the trenches stories about milk production and the like. You also likely have gross booby stories too, dealing with everything from dry and cracked nipples (that never feels good) to engorgement.
There are so many changes that happen during pregnancy through childbirth and after, but one change no one talks about are your sleep habits. Were you once able to sleep through a hurricane and now hear a pin drop from across the house?
Image by Daniel Reche via Pexels.
There are probably a host of pregnant women out there who are a little nervous about hearing their little ones from one end of the house to another. Maybe some tales about your lack of sleep, or stories about how you will never sleep the same again, may help prepare the new mommy (and depress you at the same time).
Stretch marks are a part of pregnancy and birth. Some ladies fare pretty well and only get a few. Others, however, develop what looks like tiger striping from their knees to their navel. Stretch marks affect the boobs too, whether you breastfeed or not. Everything stretches and then just like that, it goes back to the way it was. Right? (Insert obnoxious snorting here.)
There are some things you may have learned the hard way. Your partner may still have that boisterous sex drive from the pre-baby days. In the meantime, you're trying to figure out when you last shaved your legs. There are all sorts of useful pieces of advice or pearls of wisdom about getting your sexy back. Help another mother figure it out. There are lots of mommies who may not have that loving feeling anymore.
Not to alarm anyone, but you know full well that hormones are stupid and become even more ridiculous now that you've had a child. You may feel out of whack for a month or a year, or you may never feel the same way you did. Did you get help? Did you tell your partner, your mother, sister, friends that you weren't feeling yourself?
The changes in your hormones have a real physiological effect on almost every other body system. One of the biggest is mental health. It is so important to encourage other women to get help if they are feeling down. It is so easy to slip into a depression after childbirth, and the fact that you're depressed makes you feel even sadder because you should be a better mother than this.
Image by Free-Photos via Pixabay.
Yes, that is all normal. You may not have felt it personally, but you may have known someone who battled it. Talk to your friends and family members. Now that they're through it, they may open up and share their stories. The stigma needs to go away, so help it by blogging about it.
By the age of two, most babies are walking or rather running. This causes mom to be on the run. Fun things that occur during this stage are:
"No." "No." No!" "No, no, NO!" It may not have been the first word your child ever spoke, but it definitely becomes the favorite on the list! Things that your child once loved, green beans, goldfish and that stuffed bunny, all get ousted from high chairs, cribs and the like. The Terrible Two's didn't get that name because it's so much fun.
Image by Free-Photos via Pixabay.
If it is within striking distance, your child will make a play for it. It doesn’t matter where it is located. If your child sees it and thinks about wanting it, there will be an attempt. You know you cannot follow your child around 24/7, but maybe you can offer up some tips for keeping your child safe during this critical and yet terrifying discovery stage.
Your child will find something fun to do, such as opening and closing your bedroom door. Then will begin doing it constantly. While you may be thrilled about this distraction, there will come a moment when you want to make it stop. Toddlers discover one thing they find hilarious and then repeat it forever. Not really, but you remember what it was like teaching your son how to high-five, and him never wanting to stop doing it. Right. Share that.
When your child is about three or four, preschool may be a looming milestone. By this time, your child will be able to talk even though it may not always be understood.
Social skills learned at preschool may include the following:
Social skills are necessary, and at this age, one of the biggest of the social skills is getting along with others. Preschool is a great way to get the social interaction kids need without the parent having to be present. Think back to playdates at the park and how many times you were horrified at what other kids were doing or what your kid was doing.
For preschool, you don't have to be present to see the bad, and your child will come home once in a while with some fun artwork you can proudly display on your fridge.
Children starting as young as two are being potty trained. Some are totally out of diapers or pull-ups by the first time they step foot in a preschool class. Good for them! That is not going to be all kids this age. It may not even be most. Moms stress about potty training, and this is where the comparison game comes in.
Reassure your readers that your kid will actually be potty trained at some point. She may not believe it after rinsing out poopy underwear for the fifth time that day, but it may help her realize there is a light to the end of this very dark and messy road.
Preschool helps kids get ready for kindergarten. They will learn letters, numbers, songs about letters, songs about numbers, and then they will start writing and reading. There once was a time when preschoolers were lucky to graduate knowing how to write their name.
Now, most are leaving preschool able to read. Moms out there should know that preschool standards are setting the stage for school. It may seem crazy that a 4-year-old needs to be able to read a worksheet, but it's not a bad thing. During this time you'll be able to catch a glimpse into how your child will learn moving forward.
Kindergarten is a huge rite of passage for kids and moms alike. It signals the official end of the baby stage and the beginning to further independence. Gone may be the days your child needed you for every single thing. Here are the days when you may be able to pee in peace. (Maybe.)
If you are writing a mommy blog, the first day of kindergarten should have at least five dedicated articles. That's because there are at least five different things that are happening on this first day.
This list is not about the child, but rather it is about the mom. The first day of school is traumatic for moms. Even if they don't always show it, you know it's all but guaranteed that mom sits in her car and cries for 20 minutes after school starts. Let her know you're there in the car with her. Being sad is ok. Missing the baby days is ok.
Image by OmarMedinaFilms via Pixabay.
This is where it comes full circle, and you as a blogger will tie it all together. A blog you write about the first day of kindergarten may help a mom on the first day of preschool realize her child will not always cling to her leg screaming. One day that same child will not even look back when running toward a school door.
As a parent, blog post ideas are relatively easy to come by if you just take some time to do a little reflecting. Each of the above ideas should lead to a dozen more, and suddenly there are a thousand or more ideas waiting for you to write about them. So, what are you waiting for? There are scores of mommies out there who could benefit from your experience. Happy writing!
Featured image by bruce mars via Pixabay.
Our Purpose
