Thursday, October 22, 2015

GUEST POST: Alix with A Ruffled Life- 5 things moms can't help but talk about with other moms (BOOK CLUB GOSSIP)


In June I joined this most amazing book club: Delicious Reads. Every month I look forward to reading a new book, discussing that book, and most of all socializing with some of my favorite people ever at book club. We talk a lot and we talk about a lot of different topics from eyebrow tweezing to kale consumption to faith. But being that many of us are mothers, we cannot control our conversations drifting to the realms of motherhood. It is actually quite hilarious that we can't help but talk about our kids because for many of us it is the one night a month we get a break from those little ones. Even without kiddos tugging on our hands, we just have to talk mom talk and after 6 months of book club I have compiled a list of 5 things moms can't help but talk about with other moms:

1. Birthing
Epidural, natural, water birth, at home, cesarean...no matter where or when or how that child was born, moms love to share their birth stories. From the first contractions to crowning we tell those birth stories like they carry the significance of Columbus setting foot on a newly discovered continent. And for the history of us, those birth stories are that significant. You know what I love most about hearing birth stories at book club? I view those moms as warriors. Giving birth is, like, really hard and those moms are so brave. Please don't spare us any fluid-covered details!

2. Sleep habits
I am totally guilty of being too lax in the sleep-training department. Some book club moms are like sleep-training ninjas. The 007 of sleep training. They just seem to have their crap together in regards to their family's sleep schedule and those moms have so much knowledge to share. I can tell that sleep training has been a beacon of light in their life and I come to book club like, "please tell me your ways and help me!"

3. Eating habits
While we chow down on cake bite and spinach dip our conversations are made up of breast milk and peanut butter allergies. Perhaps it is because the task of feeding little ones can be all consuming. I mean they eat A LOT. I feel like a professional cook with terrible pay! And I love hearing that other moms have the same thoughts as me: "What do I feed my kids?", "How do I get them to eat what I make?", "Is macaroni and cheese even healthy?", "How long should I boil eggs?", "Did they notice the spinach I snuck in there?", "Death to high-fructose!".

4. Our boobs
Whether you breastfeed or not, boobs have everything to do with motherhood. Six weeks into my pregnancy with my first child Liam I looked down to see stranger's breasts on my chest. Of course they were mine, but pregnancy hormones had forever changed them and with nursing and subsequent pregnancies those changes just keep appearing (and usually in a more droopy direction). Get two moms together and there is no stopping them from talking about the crisis that is our breasts. Boob talk isn't superficial either. It's more a mutual appreciation for the lack of control we have over the boob situation.

5. Reading and our children

Be it that we are a book club, we all happen to enjoy reading. Moms at book club are always a well of knowledge when it comes to ways of integrating reading into the lives of our children. From children's book suggestions to reading habits I always leave with a renewed appreciation for the magic of reading and how positive the influence of reading with your children can be. I hope that when I read to my kids every night they too will develop a love for reading!

1 comment :

Unknown said...

I'm pretty sure I've heard each one of these topics discussed multiple times in the few months I've been in book club :) And I LOVE that we can talk about these things there! (Because I'm sure my husband is so sick of hearing about it!)