It’s Pi Day! Let’s talk about how awesome math is for your kids
Growing up I was totally one of those kids that read early, talked early, all that jazz — but hated math. I can’t even pretend that I just strongly disliked it, as my feelings were those of straight-up loathing. If I have to place the beginning of this hate-hate relationship, I can safely say it started when I got my first B in sixth grade in algebra.
How can we celebrate our kid’s birthday without a cake?
My son’s first birthday is fast approaching, and I am debating whether or not to make him a cake. He hasn’t eaten anything with sugar (other than the sugars naturally found in fruit and breastmilk) and I would like to keep it that way as long as possible.
How did you choose an anonymous sperm donor to conceive your child?
My partner and I are just getting started with trying to get pregnant using donor sperm. Though we are a straight couple, due to his medical history we need some outside assistance. However, trying to think about all the options is a little overwhelming.
When should we have a baby shower if we’re adopting?
In a few short months, after years of planning and waiting, my partner-in-crime and I will be bringing home a baby. Nope, I’m definitely not pregnant — we are building a family through domestic transracial infant adoption! Both our families are unbelievably stoked about our new addition; however no one, myself included, is not sure how to handle some of the details. Unfortunately, a “What to Expect When You’re Expecting… Through A Birthmother with a Social Worker” does not exist (yet) and details, such as throwing a baby shower or when we can comfortably share the news of our wee one’s due date and homecoming date are challenging to navigate.
What I’ve learned in two years of bicycling with my child + front-mounted kid seats we love
Back in 2010 I wrote about picking a bicycle seat for our then-one-and-a-half-year-old. That toddler has now grown into a full-fledged kid (he’ll be three soon! You guys!), and also recently graduated from his bicycle seat (we’ve been using the Bobike Mini Seat). We’ve spent the last few weeks looking for something new, and here are my favorites of the options we saw and a few things I’ve learned about bicycling with our child on-board.
Losing a sibling as a teen changed my feelings about parenthood
My thoughts about parenting have generally existed in a continuum that ranges from, “I definitely don’t want kids” to “Kids seem like this fantasy thing” all the way to “If I have kids, I’ll do this …” But no where in those ricocheting and often short-lived conceptions of potential parenting has there ever been a moment where I’ve thought, “Yes, I’ll have kids.” Mostly, I’ve been wading about in the gray for a long time. And for the most part, the question-and-answer game of my parenting or non-parenting future exists in a way that is anxious, but non-pressing. And a great deal of it, I now realize, stems from my most well-known observations of parenting, a lifetime spent watching my own amazing, instinctive, and infinitely nurturing mother raise her two children, and then watching her lose and grieve one.
8 tips for coming to terms with “bad” genetic testing results
At 16 weeks pregnant, I had a (fairly) routine blood test done. Two days later, my midwife called and said that based on the results, the baby I was carrying had an elevated risk of having Down’s syndrome. We scheduled a sonogram with fetal and maternal health specialists and a genetic counselor for two days later. Nothing was found, but they asked us to come back a month later because they were having difficulty getting good images of the baby’s heart. We leave happy that our risk has been downgraded, and come back a month later.
I’m 17 weeks into my pregnancy and I am already a bad mother
I am 17 weeks along, or just a little over four months. Well, mostly. Here’s the thing about pregnancy weeks. Some people, like my mean doctor, like to count you as far along as you are — as in I am 16 weeks because 16 weeks have already past. Some people, like my lovely pregnancy tracker, count the week you are in — as in I am in my 17th week as 16 weeks have already past. Then there are the people who count thing like the exact days, as in I am 16w1d or 16 weeks and 1 day. Until I am overdue, we are gonna ignore that shit.