1. What is your Blog Name/Url? (Twitter ID & Facebook Fan Page URL)
You can find me at Diary of a First Child, on Twitter: @lvano and on Facebook
2. What is your name/alias?
Luschka
3. How did you come up with your Blog Name?
My blog's predecessor was called Diary of a First Pregnancy, and this just seemed a natural progression.
4. When did you start blogging?
Honestly, I think it started on a family holiday when I was about six years old. Only, then it wasn't called blogging, it was called 'journaling' and was done in a notebook rather than on a computer. My dad bought us each a book and a stick of glue and we documented our whole trip cutting pictures from flyers and brochures. Skip forward 15 years, and I moved to England from South Africa.
It started as a monthly email with pictures, then moved onto a website called Webshots where I could send a 'post' and pictures from. I eventually moved to Blogger.com in 2008 before a month's backpacking holiday, then found out I was pregnant and started a 'secret' Wordpress blog, which then became Diary of a First Pregnancy. When I started Diary of a First Child, I merged both previous blogs into the new one.
5. Why did you start blogging?
The above aside, I started Diary of a First Child for my sister. I had a rough pregnancy and studied and learnt everything I could about natural child birth. This opened up a whole world I'd never heard of, Attachment Parenting. After my daughter was born I was talking to my sister about the whole experience on day and she said “I hope you remember all of this when I have a baby”. It made me realise how much I'd already forgotten, so I started writing it all down. It just grew from there.
6. Has blogging met your expectations so far?
Blogging has given me something I didn't realise I would need when I chose to become a Stay At Home Mum: Stimulation. I think if it wasn't for the research, 'study' and effort I put into learning more, I'd have gone to work long ago, or my brain would have shut down from under-use.
It has also opened up a world of friends who can't go out every Friday night either, so we can 'visit' together – on our own at home.
So, yes. It has met and exceeded my expectations.
7. What has been your biggest challenge?
When I started my blog, I thought “Hey, lets do something different and write about parenting!” I had no idea that there were such things as 'mummy bloggers' or in fact that other mums blogged. My biggest challenge has been not giving up when others are way more established and way more 'fun' and 'funny' than me.
That, and not letting my passion for my subject come across as judgemental to those who do things differently.
8. Share with us your blogging HIGHLIGHT and LOWLIGHT.
My blogging highlights happen when people tell me something I've written has really changed how they think or do things. One of the best moments was when a lady told me I was her natural birth 'guru' and what could she do about a transverse baby. I wrote a whole post about turning breech or transverse babies. She went on to have a wonderful VBAC. I know it's not because of me, but it's nice to feel like I played a part in what was an amazing experience for her.
Another situation was when a 'real life friend' had a health problem with her son and phoned me as she figured I'd know something 'natural' that would help. It did and I was thrilled that she'd asked me.
Lowlight... the worst thing that's ever happened was when a friend told me she had to grit her teeth when reading my blog as I was so judgemental. It really rocked me as it's something I try really hard not to be. Informational, yes. Honest, yes. Prescriptive and judgemental? No. I couldn't write anything substantial for weeks after that and just cried all the time. Till I realised that, honestly, she didn't have to read it and if she hated my opinions so much she could stop. There's always Facebook for 'staying in touch'.
9. What do you hope to achieve through your blogging?
Pretty much the things I am. I love knowing that it helps people.
For me personally, though, I'd love for it to be a platform to further freelance writing and eventually a writing career that sees me at least able to earn a liveable income whilst still working at home. I've been writing since I was four, and did a Creative Writing degree at University, so it's not a 'new' wish for me – it's what I've always wanted.
10. What has been your favourite post and why?
Oh, that's really hard. My favourite post is the one with the picture movie of my daughter's birth, but there's no writing, so it doesn't really count. There are a few posts I'm really proud of, the most popular by far of which is Calpol – What Every Parent Should Know and then Christianity and Attachment Parenting: Do The Worlds Collide.
The posts I would make into a book and keep forever, however, are the Letters To Kyra.
