Welcome back readers!
In May I shared with all of you that we were expecting our first child. I didn’t realize then that it would mean the ultimate decline in my ability to play the game that I have grown to love.
On November 27, 2013 at 1:34 pm my son Zack entered into the world. He was 5 pounds and 15 ounces or total squishy goodness. On December 1st, 2013, after spending a few extra days in the hospital because he couldn’t regulate his own blood sugar, we brought him home. If you check my twitter there are TONS of pictures of our little Frostling.
I’ve decided to share with you the top 5 things that every raid leader should know about a WoW Momma.
5. Our attendance isn’t always the greatest.
When I was pregnant with my son I told myself that I would still make it to every single raid and stay the entire time. Yeah.. that was a joke. Not only did I fall asleep in raid regularly including during boss fights, but I often just couldn’t get there on time. Between working and being sick I just couldn’t do it or stay the whole time. Now that my son is here I have made it to one raid and managed to stay for 2 hours before having to go. And the funny thing is that I could have stayed longer because my son was sleeping. I was falling asleep in my chair so decided to call it a night.
4. We take frequent breaks.
Us WoW Momma’s have to take extra breaks. Whether that’s to go to the bathroom, prepare a feeding, pump, feed the baby, change a diaper, or my favorite clean up projectile vomit. We are busy ladies and not all of us have the help of someone else. In my case I’m going to come right out and say that I am a proud breastfeeding mom. My journey has been a little different and my son just never got a handle on latching. Because of that I am an EP (exclusive pumping) breastfeeding mom. What that means is that I need to hook myself up to my handy dandy breast pump and get that yummy goodness out of my breasts for him to eat it. My son is then bottle fed my milk. He is happy and healthy and still gets liquid gold. I can try to plan my pumping around raiding but most of us have to pump or feed our baby at least every 2 to 3 hours.
3. We can’t stop talking about our kids.
Let’s face it, how many of us when asked how our kids are tend to ramble off their latest measurements, favorite toys, and the color of their last poop? *shrinks back into the corner* Okay so I’ve been guilty of most of those things. I can’t log on as much as other people so when I do I feel like I have to tell everyone all the latest and greatest updates from our life as it pertains to the Frostling. If I promise to keep it relevant will you promise to ask me during a break how he or she is doing? You will? Okay thanks.
2. Please try to give us a chance.
I know that we’ve been away for awhile and our gear probably isn’t the greatest. But we would love it if you would give us an opportunity to kill something. I’m not talking about throwing us in on a heroic progression boss attempt. Maybe you could put us in on the trash or on a boss that is on farm. It makes us still feel like a member of the team.
1. Raiding isn’t our top priority.
Raiding used to be the most important thing in my life and then I met my husband. Now that I have a beautiful little squishy baby in my life he has become my top priority. As a raid leader you need to understand that if I say “my son is crying, I need to go” that you don’t give me guff about it or try to make me feel bad for leaving early. You also need to understand that my family now comes first and asking me to stay late just isn’t an option anymore. Raiding can still be a priority for some people even after having children. It is just important for raid leaders to be respectful and know that family has to come first.
I hope that you have enjoyed this posting. I would encourage all raid leaders to be caring and compassionate and very understanding as a WoW Momma makes the transition back into the game. Please don’t pile on the pressure or try to get us to come back earlier than we had planned. And if coming back to raiding just doesn’t work out, please don’t judge us or say that we’ve “thrown our raiding career away.” We have a more important job on our hands: we are the mothers to the next generation of gamers. We have a responsibility to raise them up right and teach them the ways of the World of Warcraft!
