An image of a new mom’s free time. Photo: Maria Adcock
I was always interested in writing, but had pursued the more traditional and stable route of studying business in hopes of getting a secure office job at a corporation. Nowadays we know that a corporate job does not equate to stability, but for many years it did for me.
Things changed with the birth of my first child, and I knew that doing a long daily commute to New York City (three hours round trip door-to-door) would be difficult to maintain with my latest lifestyle change. So I looked for something local or where I could work from home.
Five months after the birth of my first child, I saw an ad asking for freelance writers for the Examiner.com that stated you could work from home. I realized that if I was going to make a career change, now was the time. I applied, which included writing an essay on the spot. I had to list my writing experience. I didn’t have anything official, just a few free posts I’d written for newsletters and other than that I only had my high school writing awards to lean on.
I applied for the Long Island New Moms Examiner position. Fortunately I got the job, and though it didn’t really pay (equivalent to about a penny per page view), I was glad I would gain writing experience. Now it was a matter of finding time to write during a time when I was still sleep deprived, and all my time was spent caring for the baby. When I sat down to write my first post, I new I was on a time clock. As soon as baby woke, I would have to stop writing.
I’ve copied that first post as a New Moms Examiner below. It was never published. I did so many things wrong like wrote in first person (Examiner requires third person), put a symbol in the title, and more. But I kept the post because it was so raw and honest about how I was feeling at that time.
Here’s the post:
Nap Time = Free Time
By Maria Adcock
If you’re a new mom like me, you’re probably reading this during your baby’s naptime. Well, I’m writing this while my daughter is napping and praying she doesn’t wake up early.
Free time took on a new meaning once the baby was born. Remember the carefree days pre-baby when you thought you were so busy – working, meeting friends and running errands? In hindsight, we had all the time in the world, because once the baby came, the level of business increased to a new level never before imagined.
It’s all about perspective.
Welcome to my first Examiner.com article. My goal is to not only let you know about local new mommy resources in Long Island, but also to share perspectives on being a new parent. While pregnant, everyone told me how wonderful having a newborn would be and to “savor every moment.” In theory, this sounded good, but in reality, it was hard to savor the moments when you’re so sleep deprived you’re falling asleep while feeding your baby.
Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely wonderful moments that bring tears to your eyes. However, I will be honest and realistic in my writing. So while the angels do trumpet around the halo above my baby’s head, I also know there can be moments when you feel like you’re going crazy (like when the baby is crying for two hours non-stop).
Ah, I hear the sounds of an awakening baby. It’s time for me to go, but I hope you will follow me as I write (during naptime) about life as a new mommy.
Things have changed since that first post in 2009. I’m no longer the New Moms Examiner as I’m moved on to be the NY Motherhood Examiner. With the initial writing experience gained, I was able to build on it to acquire other paid freelance writing jobs in both parenting and non-parenting websites and publications. I also started my own culture and parenting blog, Bicultural Mama. I’ve also settled into motherhood now and take things more in stride versus those first few hectic months of having a newborn. It’s been an interesting journey, one that I’m glad I have taken.
