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About
me - Henrietta Lang
I am a 39-year-old mother of four.
My first baby cried all day and all night. I was absolutely desperate
for help and, having no money, I couldn't afford a nanny/doula/maternity
nurse. Whenever I went to the baby clinic they told me to walk
the baby around, which, since I'd been up all night rocking him
to sleep, was pretty useless advice.
I've gone on to have three more babies and each time have learnt
more and enjoyed the experience.
I began to do baby mentoring informally with friends and family,
chatting on the phone or visiting. They would ring me if they
were struggling and we would try and work out the problem and
come up with solutions together, then follow up in the days after
to see what was working. I often think, 'if only I'd had that
kind of help when I was struggling.'
Before I became a full time mother, I read a degree in Human Sciences
and trained and worked as a research scientist in public health,
specialising in maternity. Since then I have done two years of
counselling training, a baby massage teacher training and a lot
of reading on the subject of babies!
This extract from the book ‘Zen and the art of motorcycle
maintenance’ sums up how I feel about parenting!
‘What’s really angering about instructions..is
that they imply that there’s only one way to put this rotisserie
together - their way. And that presumption wipes out all creativity.
Actually there are hundreds of ways to put the rotisserie together
and when they make you follow just one way…the instructions
become hard to follow in such a way as not to make mistakes. You
lose feeling for the work. And not only that, it's very unlikely
that they’ve told you the best way.'
(Robert M. Pirsic)
This poem sums up how I feel about babies!
‘There will be years
Of cleaning and cooking
Children grow up so fast
When you’re not looking
So quiet down cobwebs
Dust go to sleep
I’m rocking my baby
And babies don’t keep.'
(Author unknown)
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