7 ways motherhood shocked the hell out of me
Full disclosure: I have been a mother for nearly six weeks now. I didn’t think it’d be easy, but when my pregnancy went extremely smoothly I got to thinking that maybe, just maybe, my baby would be easy and being a Mom wouldn’t be too hard. Lo and behold, there are definitely a few things that shocked the hell out of me in both regards.
Planning quality date time with your partner… and your kids
My husband and I recently realized that even though we do manage to get out and away from our kids once a week, the time is usually spent with our friends — not together. We decided to come up with a few economical solutions to give us a “date” when we feel that we haven’t had enough couple time. As a part of this solution we’ve found the ideal couple to double date with — our kids.
Knowing when to call the game: we don’t care if our son doesn’t play team sports
As I have been diagnosed with ADD and can spot the signs, my husband and I anticipate our son will end up with an ADD diagnosis down the line. Until it interferes with his happiness, success, and self-esteem we’re quietly (nervously) watching from the sidelines. And if he’s not into sports… that’s fine.
I got over my fear of using The Crib
Last night, my four-and-a-half-month-old daughter slept in her crib for the first time. This was huge — not because co-sleeping isn’t working for us, and not because I even think that it’s so important that she can sleep in her crib. This was huge because it reminded me how making decisions as a parent works for me.
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.
When we belong, we belong: on raising my future children Greek Orthodox
It does seem strange that a progressive, Queer-positive, feminist single mother would choose to raise her daughters not only in a Christian church, but in the Greek Orthodox Church. A church that is literally byzantine. A church where women are not only kept from the priesthood, but kept out of the Alter. And yet she did and I am so grateful.
What yoga is teaching me about raising spiritual kids
My husband Ivan and I do not happen to follow the practices of any organized religion, and before we had kids that seemed to be working just fine. We come from different backgrounds (mine agnostic with varying degrees of Christianity in my heritage, his a mix between Jewish and agnostic), but had generally landed in the same spot in adulthood: we believe in a Higher Power, and He or She may or may not be bearded (which does not necessarily designate gender; perhaps just a divine aversion to wax).
They really say just about anything: readers share their favorite kid quotes
Kids are notorious for saying all kinds of random shit — the phrase “kids say the darndest things” doesn’t exist for no reason. My own son had us literally LOLing recently, so I shared what he said on the Offbeat Mama Facebook page.