Category Archive

Families

Our sister site Offbeat Mama launched in 2009, became Offbeat Families in 2012, and was merged into Offbeat Home & Life in 2015. This archive contains all the posts ever published on those sites! We believe that while children change your life forever, being around kids doesn’t necessitate abandoning your identity. We believe in supporting and inspiring parents and caregivers who are moving beyond mainstream visions of parenting. We welcome anyone who’s interested in families, whether you’re pre-parental, in the process of becoming a parent, or choosing to live childfree.

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Where can I find nice clothes for my big baby?

I have always had a hard time finding clothes to fit him right. He has always been in double the age size at least for his age. He’s got amazingly chunky legs and the poor boy has been in sweat pants for such a long time.

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It’s a Mommy’s world — exposing Dadscrimination

Have you ever judged a dad who hangs at the playground or brings his kid to story time? Let’s put the kibosh on it already.

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Do we really need a designated diaper bag?

DIAPER BAGS: UGH. Am I right? Sure, they come in cute patterns and styles, but in general they’re kind of clumsy and only marketed towards moms — do we REALLY need one in the first place?

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Meet Otis Kryzanauskas, Canada’s only male registered midwife

Otis Kryzanauskas is cool for two reasons, and one of them is that killer last name. The second? He just became Canada’s only registered MALE midwife.

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How a second adoption led to our daughters being sisters in every way they can be

This is what I remember about the day I found out I would become a mother for the second time: the sunshine streaming through our windows while I fed my 22-month-old lunch. When I think back nine months to that moment, the memory is bathed in that late summer/early afternoon sunlight.

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My kids will have a decade between them and I think that’s awesome

Ten years ago I took a pregnancy test that resulted in two blue lines — those two blue lines. Now I’m getting ready to have my second child and loving that my kiddos will have at least ten years between them.

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Did you compromise with your partner on finding out your baby’s sex?

My husband and I are expecting our first child and will be able to find out the sex of the baby soon. I want it to be a surprise, but he hates surprises and is adamantly against the idea of waiting until the birth to find out if we’re having a boy or a girl.

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Ignoring your partner after you have a baby happens, and it sucks

Here’s sort of how it happened with me: one second I was a happy mom-to-be with a baby safely tucked up in my womb. The next thing I knew, the baby was born and all of the sudden I was 100% certain I had never loved anyone in the world as much as I loved this child — including my partner. Whereas prior to our child’s birth I had always looked to my partner for happy expressions, security, and love, I found myself repeatedly turning to my child.