Family nudity: my sons see me nude at home
I have always been a nudie booty in my own home. I would come home from work or class and just shed my clothes. It’s not so much that I dislike clothes; I actually love them quite a bit. Not too long after the big gender reveal of our latest pregnancy, my husband came home and found me and our son playing in the bath tub together. He very calmly said “Don’t you think you should start covering up around him, he’s getting a little old for that.”
How big is your backseat?: Sex after moving back with your parents
In the past few years, with the economy tanking and all, the “boomerang generation” has really made a name for itself. You go to school, leave home, and then… you come back. The thing is, as much as I loved free rent, I hated the logistics of trying to have sex.
Using my wife’s brother as sperm donor – how we talk about it with family & kids
My partner and I (both women) have been thinking a lot about starting a family. We’ve thought about using a donor, and always come back to the possibility of asking my partner’s brother how he would feel about donating his sperm for us to start a family. It seems like a good option on some level — we would know about the baby’s biological history, and the baby would have both our genes.
5 kid’s books that are probably out of print that you should try to find anyway
OUT-OF-PRINT BOOKS: why do they tease book lovers so? They’re always out there, calling out to you from awesome lists (ahem), just making you wish you could scoop them up and bring them home forever. To me the only thing worse than your everyday out-of-print book is a CHILDREN’s out-of-print book. I’ve experienced what can only be likened to anguish after discovering an incredible children’s book is no longer available.
Ignore the “Mommy Wars” and stand up for one another
Wendy Atterberry, author of Dear Wendy, recently addressed the firestorm of debate surrounding Representative Todd Akin’s comments about rape. In this piece Atterberry also makes several pointed references to the so-called “Mommy Wars.” It’s worth noting that we vowed to never even type the phrase “Mommy Wars” on Offbeat Mama, but this is good.
Blended families and how the shapes of family trees are changing
Families are magnificently complicated. They bend and shift to include new members based on shared lineage, marriage, and choice. These days family trees take on odd shapes. Limbs poke out of nowhere and tangle around one another. Red Oaks mix with Longleaf Pines to create something entirely new and utterly perfect.
What are secular baby blessing ceremonies like?
I have heard about secular baby blessings a long time ago, and have always wanted to do one. as anyone had any experience with baby blessing ceremonies?
Releasing feelings of guilt and blame when your child is born with an illness
I’ll never forget the moment I realized I didn’t get to hold my baby right after his birth like I was “supposed” to. It wasn’t when you would think, but instead it happened several hours later when I sat alone in my half of a shared hospital room and listened to the woman next to me coo at her baby. All of a sudden it hit me: I didn’t get to do that, and I didn’t know when I would.