1337 Chick n00b Mum

Ok first of all I have to explain the blog name. It's a shortened form of the name I originally thought of using which was "1337 chick n00b mum" but that seemed like a bit of a mouthful. And yet, on most days, this very aptly describes how I feel about myself. Let me explain.....



A long time ago in a galaxy far far away....

...in Brisbane, Australia. I was living a carefree life as a postgrad student. Meaning I had swaths of time where I should have been doing something that society deems productive but wasn't. I was farming Argent Dawn reputation points in preparation for the opening of Naxxramus in World of Warcraft. Being a mage and admittedly overpowered at the time, I was rounding all the ghosties up in the Plaguelands and nuking them by the dozens and getting a little overconfident. Anyway one massive pull resulted in me being a tad overwhelmed, and just as I was mentally calculating my repair bill, a ruggedly handsome avatar on a flaming black horse appears and blasts all the mean ghosties away. As the dust settled I see a message flash up on my screen:

You seem to be having some trouble with these guys. Would you like some help?

The name of my rescuer was familiar and I realized that this same person had run in to save me a week before, when the knock of a door to door salesman caused me to leave my character in a recently cleared area. I returned to find that all the ghosties had respawned and had overwhelmed me and this guy who was lying dead next to my character. A message flashed.

Sorry, I tried to help but there were too many of them.

My irritation with the salesman probably distracted me from this obvious chivalry because my rather curt reply was.

Thanks dude.  I was AFK when they all respawned on me.

 The second time he stayed to help and we started a conversation. I won't bog ya'll down with the details but in summary.... Boy meets who he thinks is a girl. Girl meets who she suspects is a boy. Girl gets fortuitous grad school sponsored trip to San Francisco. Side trip to Vegas to meet up with Boy. Turns out boy is boy and girl is girl... *hazzah*

Fast forward 6 years and we've both moved to Melbourne. Been married for 3 years. Engaged in very successful careers and were just decimating the high scores in that game which is life. It was then we figured to try to play the next level. We decided to have a baby. And Normal Mode turned into Hard Mode.

There are days I feel like a level 1 noob again running around exploring a new world. And yet at the same time there's an underlying excitement that comes from setting up a new game. So many possibilities. So many options. And the pressure of not wanting to mess up the spec baby. So many questions and yet not wanting to look like a total newbie to all the more experienced people around you.

I've learnt a bit in the 16 months in my new class of "Mum" and I've realized that so much has changed. My mother, raising a child in the 80s got the latest techniques and tools to help with child rearing from books. Dr Spock, she tells me was THE baby reference book of the time. My Grandmother raised 6 kids no doubt with the benefit of advice from the extended family of my grandfather's 15 siblings (and their own families) who all lived under my Great Grandfather's roof. In those days it took a village to raise a child. Today it takes Skype, YouTube and Wikipedia.

In this blog I will document and review these child rearing tools of the 21st Century. And maybe one day attain The 1337 Mum achievement.