How do I tell people I’m pregnant when I said I never wanted kids?
Some women dream of their child, the name, the sex, long before they even meet the partner they make their baby with. That’s not me — I have always felt a selfish twinge when picturing myself having biological children. My friends had children, my half-sister did, and it felt good and right for them. See, the ten years I spent so vocal about not wanting to bear children, people smiled condescendingly and told me, “Just wait,” muttering something about a clock. I didn’t suddenly freak out and then came baby, more the other way around.
What NOT to say to someone struggling with infertility
At the grocery store today, I was browsing the “family planning” section. Of course, there are the things that help prevent pregnancy, but I was obviously looking at the things to help promote pregnancy. As I was reading the back of every box of “ovulation predictors” and trying to decide which was the best one, a female employee that was probably in her later 30s came up to see if I needed any help.
Do you have tips for gently teaching babies about household dangers?
I am a happy momma of an infant who is just under a year. My child is at the point where he is gaining self mobility, and as many infants do, curiosity. As the curiosity develops, certain unsafe practices such as touching outlets, getting into cords, and hitting anyone who tries to stop the child are also developing. I have been trying the redirection method, but I’ve been having very minimal success with it.
My 5-year-old cut off my hair and learned about what beauty really is
My daughter, Olivia, came home from her preschool and announced she needed to have long hair to be “pretty” and it wouldn’t hurt if I could put her in a dress for school. Initially I didn’t think much of that comment, but it bothered me. So I shaved my head to show her that prettiness wasn’t about long hair.
All about how our daughter Penelope came into the world right on time
About halfway through my pregnancy, I became committed to unmedicated childbirth by vaginal delivery. It’s something that I researched a lot and felt passionately about by the time I finally made the decision. Reflecting on it from the other side, I am insanely happy with this decision. My husband Josh and I put in a lot of work beforehand, but every second of preparation paid off, and I don’t even have the words to describe how empowered I feel after having experienced such an amazing birth.
Offbeat Mama Kid’s Mix Vol 1: songs for and about the road
Since pregnancy, and possibly even before, I’ve been determined that my child wouldn’t listen to those CDs of kids singing covers of pop songs in kid voices. There’s nothing inherently WRONG with those CDs, but I have zero interest, possibly even less than zero interest, in ever playing one in my home or my car. While I was pregnant and putting together for my never-used labor and birth playlist, I wondered if it’d be easy to get my son to like whatever we like — and now that I have a three-year-old, I have learned that it is. I know this won’t last forever (and god only knows what the 2020s hold for his teenage-hood), but for now? TOTALLY WORKS.
What gifts can we send our pregnant friend for herself, not the baby?
My best friend is pregnant. Lately the preggo hormones have been making her very depressed and I was thinking about making up a care package for her — one that’s all about her and not so much focused on baby stuff. I know there are a lot of products that pregnant women can’t use or even come in contact with, so I was wondering if any of you could suggest some things that would be safe and useful for a mama to be.
Where do you draw the line when blogging about your family?
Cat recently wrote a fascinating piece on Offbeat Home called My door is open: why I’m pretty public online about my home. In it she discusses the transparency with which she blogs about where she lives and what she does. Cat’s digital reach in the home-focused community is pretty far — she runs two websites (the other being Hipster Housewife) about homes, and tweets many, many details about her life every single day. In fact, within another month or so I might have her whole TV schedule worked out. (I KID! Kind of.)