Before Dooce, there was Hip Mama

re: Before Dooce, there was Hip Mama

Laura — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 05:06:42 GMT

I just read your linked article about your pregnancy and 2nd child's birth. Fantastic. I especially appreciated the closing paragraphs. I am a fairly strict anti-abortionist, but it turns my stomach that people would dare say anything along the lines of, "Because you chose not to terminate, your baby is healthy." That says all kinds of terrible things about God, and the obvious rejoinder is, "Well, what if the baby hadn't been healthy?" Again, fantastic. Thank you for the sensitivity to all aspects of this situation.

And what a blessing that your baby girl is healthy after all!

re: Before Dooce, there was Hip Mama

kgranju — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:08:33 GMT

She's also named after my grandmother, who goes by Jane

re: Before Dooce, there was Hip Mama

kgranju — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:08:06 GMT

Because she is named after my sister, Elizabeth Jane, but we wanted to call her Jane.

re: Before Dooce, there was Hip Mama

Andrea — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 03:42:52 GMT

Great article.

One random question: Why does Jane go by her middle name?

re: Before Dooce, there was Hip Mama

Kelly — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:48:40 GMT

Aw, you're bringing up some of my fondest memories of first-time mothering. Ariel is something else. Hey, she just had a late-in-life baby, too. She could definitely speak to the fun and challenges to parenting across the ages (I think her oldest is now in her 20's).

And I completely agree with the worth of Mothering. It was such an exhale moment to find a publication like that.

re: Before Dooce, there was Hip Mama

Paige La Grone Babcock — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:41:47 GMT

did you know I meant *now* under editorial direction of....

whoops.

re: Before Dooce, there was Hip Mama

Paige La Grone Babcock — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:35:15 GMT

Katie, You may be pleased and surprised to learn that Hip Mama is not under editorial direction of former Nashvillian Kerlin Richter.

Dooce? Never has spoken to me, really.

At forty one, I'm a bit more like the really young moms without a whole lot of resources beyond progressive ideals, ardent faith in making a difference as a mother and beyond, and feeling a little disenfranchised. My suburban and fancier urban contemporaries seem to live in a different world. Not better or worse, mind you, just different. I'm not quite certain that there's an "of my ilk," but there must be!

Thanks for sharing your own journey.

re: Before Dooce, there was Hip Mama

kgranju — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:25:06 GMT

I also love, love, love Mothering magazine. It's been one of my best friends throughout all my years as a mama.

re: Before Dooce, there was Hip Mama

kgranju — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:06:33 GMT

Yep, I did have a piece in the last issue of Plum :-)

They were really great to work with.

-katie

re: Before Dooce, there was Hip Mama

Gina at la Matriarch — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:00:15 GMT

I can wait to check out all these links. Great post! I've never even heard of Hip Mama but I'm sure it'll be my newest obsession. I don't even have kids (yet) but I'm obsessed with reading mom blogs, for some reason. At this point in my life, I prefer to read about how it feels to be a mother than reading about doing actual mothering but I'm sure that would be very different if I had any actual kids to mother.

Did I see your name in Plum Magazazine, too? You're all over the place!

re: Before Dooce, there was Hip Mama

renee — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:34:40 GMT

I remember Hip Mama! I used to read it online in about 1996, which would have been about 7 years before I had any kids (although I work in maternal and child health, so I was interested.) I must have found it through the magazine Bust. Once I did have kids I was no longer young and I was never quite that hip, but I appreciated you all anyway.

re: Before Dooce, there was Hip Mama

Julie Roads — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:26:15 GMT

What a great article. I became a mother 3 years ago, and I found Mothering Magazine and their online community before I found Dooce (whose kid feeding guidelines don't meld with mine, even though she's hilarious) or any of the other mom blogs out there.

I found a community and so much love and support...it was priceless. The articles, the conversations, the exposure to creative WAHMS.

Thanks for writing this...Breeder looks amazing. And, you are one of my top favorite women writers du jour. Thanks for doing what you do...With gratitude, Julie