A love letter to my postpartum angel, my sister
I never had much of a meaning for the term “angel” until my sister arrived in my bedroom at five in the morning after a seven-hour drive to be by my side right after I had just given birth for the first time. I felt guilty for pulling the alarm, but I was scared and confused and anxious — and she got it. She has two kids of her own, a partner, and a crazy work schedule… but she was there.
Clean, bring meals, or GTFO: what should you ACTUALLY do when visiting new parents?
Way back in 2011, we published this post about the dos and don’ts of visiting friends after they have a baby and recently realized how GOLD the comments were.
Here’s advice straight from our readers about what you should actually do when visiting new parents…
I’m graduating and want to move: but who will care for my ailing parents?
I am a 22-year-old woman graduating from undergrad in a few short weeks. My parents are in their 50s and 60s and both have had a lot of health complications. They’re relatively stable, but because I’m their only child and I went to college locally, they have always relied on me for everything from helping with heavy household chores to emergency hospital visits. I know that I owe it to myself to live the life I want, which isn’t really possible where my parents reside, but at the thought of moving away, all I can think about is who would help them do all those things if I wasn’t there.
How do I make this choice without being selfish?
I’m a tattooed, blue-haired mom dealing with mental health stigma: do I need to tone down my look?
I’m a tattooed mom with blue hair who loves her family and teenage kids and live in a home full of love. Recently we’ve been working through challenges relating to mental illness — minor but requiring therapy and medication. I’ve lost some friends over it, people who could overlook the superficial style stuff, until it seemed less superficial.
My wardrobe has toned down a LOT in the six years we’ve lived here — but should I go back to being a brunette who tends to stick with long sleeves in the summer for the sake of my teen daughters?
“Are you a boy or a girl?” How do you explain gender to a child?
My kiddo is biologically male, but when kids ask him if he’s a boy or girl, he says, “I’m me. I’m a person.” Kids, however, don’t accept this answer and pester him to the point of tears. I don’t know how to tell him the difference between boys and girls, or if I want to tell him that there is a difference at all (besides anatomically).
How do you explain gender to a four-year-old?
Partner bashing: Are you venting about your partner too much?
Partner bashing (in my case, husband bashing, though it’s not limited to heterosexual couples by any means) is one of my biggest pet peeves. I notice it happens a lot in mom groups; women get together and complain loudly about their husbands.
I recognize the importance of venting, but is it ever too much?
6 pregnancy apps that aren’t cheesy AF
One of my biggest pregnancy symptoms is getting nauseous over cutesy pregnancy speak. I get green around the gills every time I downloaded an app and read the phrase “bundle of joy.” Or it referred to my stomach as “your baby bump.” [Insert eye roll emoticon here.]
So after some trial and error with apps, I’ve narrowed down my favorite non-cheesy pregnancy apps to these…
Making mom friends: playgrounds & gonorrhea pee
Remember when I wrote about making friends as a grown-up? I talked about putting the work in, being forward and direct, and making plans — not just talking about making plans! Friendships don’t “just happen.” But sometimes the work that goes into making friends means reaching out to be there for people when they need you. Here’s a story…