Parents all over the globe have plenty in common (night feedings, first steps, and spit-up elicit the same feelings in Istanbul or Atlanta), but beyond that circle-of-life collective experience, our home countries’ governments and cultures have a big impact on the ins and outs of bringing up baby. While parents in the United States are … Read more about 7 International Parenting Perks We Wish We Had
Are you a mom who took maternity leave? It was the best vacation ever, right? Didn’t you just laze the days away on your unstained sofa, snuggled up with a good book and a glass of Cabernet while your precious one slept peacefully all night and day long? Didn’t you emerge from your two or … Read more about 9 Ways to Respond When Co-workers Call Your Maternity Leave “VACATION”
The U.S. has a long-standing reputation for simultaneously placing mothers on a pedestal like saints while also ignoring them when it comes to policies that govern everyday life. For many women, this disparity starts right from the beginning of their pregnancy journey, as they face a range of challenges that can make the experience of … Read more about 9 Things That Need to Change for Women Giving Birth in The U.S.
When you become a new mom, getting things done with only one hand while you carry your baby is a skill you learn quickly. Why? Because if you have a baby that is anything like my 5-month-old “Silver,” you fight between the two options: put him down and hear him whine/scream or hold him constantly. … Read more about 6 Tasks New Moms Can Master Quickly With Just One Hand
Just when you think that you’re in the home stretch of pregnancy in your last trimester, you realize something: The hardest part is yet to come. In a strange phenomenon only known to pregnant women, no matter how fast the first trimester seemed to fly by in a whirl of saltine crackers and woozy, not-so-discreet trips … Read more about 16 Things Every Pregnant Woman Thinks in Her Last Trimester
I am almost six months postpartum and I am really looking forward to getting my body back. For over eight years, this body of mine has grown four children, lost 12 due to miscarriage, breastfed, carried, and nurtured. I’ve neglected its needs, putting others ahead of what my body needed, and now that I just … Read more about 8 Ways to Sneak in a Little Exercise When You Have a Baby
Tonight my son Macks woke up shortly after I put him down to bed. I walked into his room as he sat up and looked at me through the side of his crib with tears in his eyes and I quietly picked him up. We walked over to the rocking chair in his room and … Read more about 7 Ways Motherhood is Different With Your Last Baby
My boys were 7, 5, and 3 when my daughter was born a micro preemie in 2012. Joy weighed just 1 pound, 4 ounces and was not even the length of a ruler. While I knew that her birth would change our lives forever, I couldn’t have predicted all the ways she would teach my … Read more about 5 Reasons My Sons Are Better for Having a Preemie Sister
“Go” Before You Go If you have a recently potty trained child, you can probably relate to the following scenario: You have your three-year-old use the potty twice before you leave the house. You get to the grocery store. Your cart is loaded. Suddenly your daughter looks at you, grabbing at her pants uncomfortably before … Read more about 5 Public Potty Pointers: How to help kids overcome public toilet phobias
Signs of Readiness You’d think that toilet learning would be a simple step in childrearing; everyone finds success eventually (how many teenagers do you know still in diapers?). But for many parents, the very thought of toilet training can be daunting. A dear friend recently told me, “I love everything about being a mom—except potty training.” This … Read more about Toilet Teaching Techniques: 5 Experts’ Methods