How far would you drive to give birth?
I would really love to have my baby at a birth center — but the closest one is about an hour away from my house. Both my husband and I work full-time and I’m hoping to work until the baby is born. For parents who have chosen to give birth somewhere relatively far away: is going to appointments an hour away reasonable? What about going into labor and then driving an hour?
How I’m using music to teach my son to channel his emotions
We’ve lucked out so far in the kid-having world: our son, Jasper, is a reasonably mellow individual. At this point (he turned three a month ago) he speaks easily and can tell us what’s going on with him — most of the time. However, like most kids his age, every so often he flies into what can only be described as preschooler rages and they totally kick our asses.
19 tips for raising a trans kid
Reader LJ recently sent us this piece from Autostraddle: 19 Terribly Interesting Tips on Raising a Trans Kid (from a Trans Kid) written by M., the blogger behind translabyrinth.
I went into labor at 26 weeks while pregnant with twins
At 26 weeks pregnant with twins I went into labor while standing in the cleaning products aisle at my local grocery store. I called my doctor from the parking lot and explained to her that I was feeling a lot of pressure and what I thought could be Braxton-Hicks contractions. She told me to get to the hospital ASAP because it sounded like I was in labor. She wanted me go straight to the only hospital in the area that had a Level III NICU — one that I had never been to and one that she did not work at.
Should I let my 11-year-old have a Facebook page?
Have you let your “underage” child get a Facebook page? If so — how have you helped them to control their privacy? If you decided not to let them cheat…what helped you make that decision and stick to your guns despite your kid’s pleading and/or the pressure their peers applied to them? Are there different platforms I should be looking into?
Making room for motherhood in academia
If you’re a woman in academia and at all maternally inclined, then you’re probably familiar with the book Mama, PhD: Women Write About Motherhood and Academic Life. You have either come across it — it’s been recommended to you, you’ve read about it, or you’ve been given it as a gift. Like those little green Bibles that seem to flood campus about once a year, finding their way into every dorm, surfacing in corners of classrooms and generally sneaking their way into the hands of welcoming and reluctant recipients alike; Mama PhD has a similar way of circulating among the female and the scholarly.
How can I support my partner during a custody case?
What can I do to support my partner (a single father) while he is in the middle of a custody case for his child? I am not a legal stepmother to this child, though I am a part of his every day life and love him with every bit of my heart. I am not getting involved in the legal aspect of things, as it is not my place, but I am completely at a loss as to what I can do to support my partner and this beautiful child, and our little family unit we’ve created.
An epic photo journey through an unplanned cesarean birth
My first introduction to Catherine of CALIMA Portraits came last year via that super cute Hobbit chair and vintage family session we ran. Since then I’ve been more or less in love with both Catherine and her work. I was totally stoked to get to meet her at our Offbeat Empire reception last October (she’s dancing behind Jenny Jimenez in a shot on this post)! ANYWAY, long story short: Catherine’s incredible and her work is just… extraordinary.