Jennifer Giera of Waukesha puts her 3-week old baby, Bella Marie, in her bouncy chair Thursday. Giera read many books, magazines and Web sites before Bella and her older daughter, Mia Isabella, 22 months, were born.

Kathryn Evans of Waukesha poses Thursday in the office of her apartment home at Avalon Square in Waukesha. The 90-year-old mother, grandmother and great-grandmother has seen motherhood change drastically since she first experienced it.

WAUKESHA - Both Kathryn Evans, 90, and Jennifer Giera, 30, always knew they wanted to be mothers. But the resources available to them and the expectations of them as mothers have changed over the years.

Evans, mother to five, grandmother to 13 and great-grandmother to seven, became a mother just as parenting practices began to dramatically change as Dr. Benjamin Spock’s book, "Baby and Child Care," was published in 1946.

Giera, mother of two children under 2, has not only used books and magazines to learn about parenting, but she has been able to monitor her baby’s growth weekly with Internet Web sites.

Raising children through the decades

Evans, of Waukesha, said she has seen the role of mothers change from stay-at-home moms to working moms who must juggle many responsibilities. The father’s role also changed through the decades.

"I don’t think they bonded with their babies as much as I see my grandson doing," she said. "I think fathers today are so involved with their children."

As a nurse, Evans was also aware of the changes in childbirth. She was one of the early instructors in Wisconsin to give classes on natural childbirth. Previously, Evans said women were heavily drugged during their labor and hospitals didn’t have classes available.

"Now, I don’t think there isn’t a hospital that doesn’t have childbirth classes," she said, adding that today mothers have more control of their labor and deliveries.

Evans said she and her husband, Bill, wanted children, but didn’t have the ability to plan pregnancies like couples have now.

"You wanted children, but you didn’t plan your pregnancy like they do now," she said, adding the birth control methods were few and often not practiced.

"I wanted whatever the good Lord gave me," Evans said.

Evans said that she knew pretty much what to expect as a mother because of her background in nursing, advice from her mother and reading parenting books.

Even so, she said she was surprised that being a mother was like a full-time job.

Looking back on her own experiences, Evans has advice for new mothers.

"Enjoy the baby while they are young - they grow up so fast," she said.

Information sources help new mothers

Giera, of Waukesha, has always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, so she feels like she is living her dream as she raises Bella Marie, 3 weeks, and Mia Isabella, 22 months, with her husband, Scott.

"I’m so thankful that we can make this work," she said.

Before her children were born, Giera was a teacher but now sells Tastefully Simple products from her home.

"As a 30-year-old mom, now the only difficult thing is whether you are going to stay home or not," she said.

To prepare for motherhood, Giera said she read books, magazines and used Web sites. Her own mother, Kathy Lammert, was also a source of advice.

"In the beginning she kind of held back because she didn’t want to say too much," Giera said, but she added that changed with time. "It was always nice to have that reassurance from Mom."

Giera also said she and her husband decided to turn to her doctor with questions.

"I think it was so helpful to have someone you can trust," she said.

But, there are always people ready to give her advice.

"I did notice that everyone you come in contact with wants to give you advice," Giera said.

She also has advice for new moms, telling them to always take care of themselves and to trust their instincts.

Giera hopes to have three more children.

"I love my kids. I’m so happy as a mom," she said.