Baby Monitor

ECU Author/Contributor (non-ECU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)

Megan Miller-Oteri (Creator)

Institution

East Carolina University (ECU )

Web Site: http://www.ecu.edu/lib/

Advisor

Alex Albright

Abstract: Baby Monitor consists of twelve essays and nine journal entries about my new experience of motherhood and the first year and half of my first child Benjamin's life. The essays and journal entries range from a mother's internal struggles of the stress of being a new mom to the encapsulation of the frozen moments that take my breath away as a mother. Hovering Between Two Worlds is about a mother's reflection on the prism that beams in her heart as light spills through a floor to ceiling Victorian window. The Her I Knew the She I Know is a reflection on who I was before motherhood and who I am becoming as a mother. Mullets and Mohawks is about meeting a mother in line at Target and looking for confirmation from another mother that motherhood is difficult. Mom Insecruity Top Ten List is a list of ten insecurities I felt as a new mom. Heat Rising is about watching my son hold up our wedding itinerary against the curry yellow wall of our hallway. This reflection details some of the struggles my husband and I had after years of infertility. I'm Not Alone is an essay about the isolation loneliness and boredom of being a stay-at-home mom and adjusting to the transition of working full-time to staying home with my son after quitting my job as a school teacher. Tug Tug Tug is about the thick silk strings of a mother's heart as it feels the tug and connection to her husband and son. It is also about a writing spider that sets up a home in my backyard. Totin' is about stranger germ phobia baby fingertip kisses infertility and the magic you can share with a stranger while waiting in line at CVS. Bored Baby - Bored Mama is an essay about a mother's guilt of not wanting to swoon over my baby every minute as I try to find balance in the sliced pie of motherhood. Mum - Is He British? Too Much Dr. Who is an essay about the unexpected first word of my infant son told to me by my husband. Curved in Cursive Sleeves is about the cocoon of time intensity and bond that is created between a mother and child while I nurse my son. This prism expands and parachutes in the arms and love I have for my son. The Glass Jar is the concluding essay about a moment of reflection about my son's transition from infant to toddler and the appreciation of having the time to spend with him as a stay-at-home mom.

Additional Information

Publication

Thesis

Date: 2012

Keywords

Women's studies, Literature, Babies, mama, monitor, Mothers, mothering

Subjects

Motherhood

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