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Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman
February 2012

Synopsis on Goodreads: When American journalist Pamela Druckerman has a baby in Paris, she doesn’t aspire to become a “French parent.” French parenting isn’t a known thing, like French fashion or French cheese. Even French parents themselves insist they aren’t doing anything special. 

Yet, the French children Druckerman knows sleep through the night at two or three months old while those of her American friends take a year or more. French kids eat well-rounded meals that are more likely to include braised leeks than chicken nuggets. And while her American friends spend their visits resolving spats between their kids, her French friends sip coffee while the kids play.

Motherhood itself is a whole different experience in France. There’s no role model, as there is in America, for the harried new mom with no life of her own. French mothers assume that even good parents aren’t at the constant service of their children and that there’s no need to feel guilty about this. They have an easy, calm authority with their kids that Druckerman can only envy.

Of course, French parenting wouldn’t be worth talking about if it produced robotic, joyless children. In fact, French kids are just as boisterous, curious, and creative as Americans. They’re just far better behaved and more in command of themselves. While some American toddlers are getting Mandarin tutors and preliteracy training, French kids are- by design-toddling around and discovering the world at their own pace.

With a notebook stashed in her diaper bag, Druckerman—a former reporter for The Wall Street Journal—sets out to learn the secrets to raising a society of good little sleepers, gourmet eaters, and reasonably relaxed parents. She discovers that French parents are extremely strict about some things and strikingly permissive about others. And she realizes that to be a different kind of parent, you don’t just need a different parenting philosophy. You need a very different view of what a child actually is.

While finding her own firm non, Druckerman discovers that children-including her own-are capable of feats she’d never imagined

My thoughts: I really enjoyed reading this book. It was written like a woman telling a story which I loved. I really enjoyed reading about Pam’s experiences in France and raising her children. I found it very interesting the differences in our culture versus theirs and I think we could learn many useful things from the French when it comes to raising our children. I especially found “the pause” very helpful with my little one. It is amazing the amount of times he will put himself back to sleep if I just wait a few minutes whether than running right to him, picking him up and really waking him up myself. There are several little tricks throughout this book that have been helpful to me. I gave it 4 stars. 

My Christmas miracle blessing, as you may have guessed, is my son, Hampton. Last December I had some tests done. Ryan and I had been trying to get pregnant for a few months with no luck and I wanted to make sure everything was okay. On Christmas Eve last year, I got a phone call from my doctor saying that it was not okay. I had not been ovulating. At all. Do you know how devastating it was? After all those months of trying and then to find out it was never going to happen. That something was wrong with my body. That it was me who was keeping us from getting pregnant. I felt like my body had failed me. I started thinking “what have I done to make this happen?” It was devastating.

I remember sitting on the bathroom floor crying that night and begging God for not only a baby but just a little bit of hope. I didn’t want to lose hope. I didn’t want to give up and probably never would. I begged him to give me a sign that things would be okay.

During Christmas I had a very hard time getting through the day and all the festivities. I’ll never forget when my FIL asked when we were going to have kids and I had to all but run to the bathroom to ball my eyes out. It was awful. Of course they didn’t know because we had not told anyone at that time. The thought of me never being able to have children plagued my mind. I have always wanted kids. I love them so much.

At the end of January, I took an ovulation test and got a smiley face! I had ovulated! There was all the hope and sign I needed. Thank you, Lord!

My doctor is a close friend of my family’s. She is a precious woman. She prayed for me daily during those devastating months. She prescribed me clomid and my 2nd month taking it, I got pregnant!

February 21st I saw two pink lines! I cried and cried and I couldn’t wait to tell Ryan so I called him at work and balled/screamed it into the phone. He was in a meeting and had to make a quick exit. He came home for lunch and we danced around all giddy and I cried for probably 2 days straight.

Because I was on clomid I had a greater risk of miscarrying so I immediately began praying fervently. I begged God not to take this miracle from me. I told him I didn’t know if I could handle it but that I definitely didn’t want to have to handle it after everything we had already been through emotionally and physically.

I had to have my blood taken the next day and everything was confirmed. I had to have blood taken every week for the first 4 weeks and then had our first ultrasound. My baby was perfectly healthy! We told our family when I was 12 weeks along.

He blessed us with our sweet angel on October 24th, 2013. My life has changed forever and God’s timing was perfect. I told Ryan that maybe God wasn’t ready for us to have a baby until then. I am holding my baby extra close this holiday season. We are so blessed and God is so GOOD!

Merry Christmas, to all my readers! I have been so blessed by you for the last year and a half and I’m sure I will continue to be.

What are you thankful for this holiday season?

Welcome to the Monday Mingling Blog Hop! Please take the time to introduce yourselves to our co-host! If you are new to this blog hop, please leave us a comment letting us know you are following and we would be happy to follow you back.Thank you for joining us this week, and don’t forget to link back to us by grabbing our button. Happy Mingling!

Sunday night, we invited our small group from church for a Christmas party where we ate awesome food (a mousse cake from heaven), played dirty Santa, and enjoyed great company. This year we had a lot to be thankful for including three new babies, and a new marriage. It has been a big year for our group members. We are blessed.

Welcome to the Monday Mingling Blog Hop! Please take the time to introduce yourselves to our co-host! If you are new to this blog hop, please leave us a comment letting us know you are following and we would be happy to follow you back.Thank you for joining us this week, and don’t forget to link back to us by grabbing our button. Happy Mingling!

Megan  @ Make It Count Blog