Emma & Kevin: From day-of-fun elopement to life-of-fun with a chihuahua
Two months after the wedding, we went to Las Vegas for our honeymoon, and it was super fun! In the past year, we also took trips to Toronto and to Miami and the Bahamas. At home, we’ve been learning to cook together and we do country line dancing (Emma, mostly!). In addition to working, Emma has gone back to school part time, while Kevin is working freelance. Oh, and we got a chihuahua!
Why we’ve never waited twelve weeks to tell people we’re pregnant
My partner and I just can not keep a secret. The excitement for new things is just too much to hold in and inevitably leads to early Christmas gifts and disclosing information possibly too prematurely. We have never waited to tell our friends and family we are expecting. Our children know within days of a positive pregnancy test and share in our excitement and wonderment the entire pregnancy. It was no different when we found out that we were expecting our fifth child on my birthday in 2011. Our family celebrated welcoming a brother or sister while I blew out my candles.
My step-son is worried we won’t love him if we have a kid: how can we reassure him?
I’m engaged to marry the love of my life next year. We’ve been together for four years, and I’ve been a step-mother to his eleven-year-old for three-and-a-half of those four years. I really love this kid — I often feel like he could be my own child, and we have a special “just us” language we regularly use. My step-son has repeatedly told us that he doesn’t want us to have a child of our own. His dad and I do plan to have a child, and since we’re older it’ll probably be sooner than later.
A wizard is born: my overdue unmedicated hospital birth story
In the days past my due date we had tried pretty much every home remedy natural induction technique. Evening primrose oil, raspberry leaf tea, walking, pineapple, sex, chocolate cake, yoga ball, acupressure, Chinese food but nothing had worked. I had made the choice through my pregnancy not to have any cervical checks so I had no idea how “ready” my body was getting, apart from lots of Braxton Hicks and prodromal labor, although the Doctor had concerns that I may not dilate properly due to a previous LEEP surgery.
What are the best plus-size options for baby-wearing?
I am expecting my second son and I think it would really help my chaotic life if I was able to cart this kiddo around without a stroller. My first son had some health issues that made baby wearing not a possibility for us, so I do not have much experience picking the best options. Since I am a big gal I’m wondering if some products work better for larger bodies. My partner is also chubby and proud so suggestions for big papas would also be helpful!
We didn’t think we wanted to know our baby’s sex — then we did
I was absolutely fine with keeping the sex of our baby a surprise. Really, I was. But then something happened to me around 22 weeks. I suddenly had a deep desire to know exactly what sort of babe was moving around in there. I felt detached and found it strange to say “the baby kicked me” and “do you want to feel the baby?” I needed a pronoun. More than that, I wanted a name. (We had a short list of lovely girl names to choose from, but absolutely no boy names. Which of course meant that we were definitely having a boy. In my head at least.)
What are your relationship’s job titles?
My partner Andreas and I celebrated our 15th hookupiversary last New Years. Next year will be our 10th wedding anniversary. People, we have been together a LONG time. I remember being 22, already chewed up and spit out by two dysfunctional long-term relationships, feeling like I was already so old and jaded and damaged. (Oh, sweet baby Ariel! Adorable!)
15 years later, we’ve had a lot of time to figure out what works best for us in our relationship. About five years in, we realized that our relationship responsibilities generally fell into these job titles:
I was the Director of Logistics. He was the VP of Emotional Support.
How can I diplomatically talk to my in-laws about smoking around my kid?
I feel very strongly that I don’t want my child to spend time in my in-laws home. I love my in-laws. They are kind, generous people, and I absolutely would want my kid to have a relationship with them. The problem is that they are very heavy (cigarette) smokers who smoke (a lot) inside their home. Every time I go to their home, the smell of smoke assaults me at the door and lingers on my clothes and hair so that I pretty much have to shower immediately when I leave their home and sometimes have to sit outside to get away from it so I can breathe properly.