A US military pre-op trans woman and fiancée ponder parenthood
As a pre-op trans woman struggling with life in the US Armed Forces (while “Don’t ask, don’t tell” is not gone, transgender people are still forced to live in the dark) who had just arrived at a new command with no friends, no idea what I was in for, and no clue who I could trust. A dream of a woman — who was also fairly new to the command — entered into my life. At the time I assumed I had no chance with her. Even if I did, all the heartbreak I had experienced over the years had left me believing that the women I’m attracted to never understand my journey as a transgender woman, and are never willing to help me through the issues I deal with on a daily basis.
I’m a new Pagan and I’m expecting: how do I continue to explore both identities?
My husband and I have recently found that that after a mere six months of marriage I’m pregnant. We’re happy but surprised: we were told by my doctor that conceiving would be more difficult since I have Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). I’ve recently decided to explore the path of Wicca, but since I’m new to Wicca and pregnancy I’m lost.
Sarah & Joseph: From welding wedding to renovating and communicating
When we got married, Joe and I each owned and lived in separate houses. After the wedding, Joe moved into my house, and we began making renovations to his in order to sell it. Lo these three years later, it is almost ready to put on the market. We are also planning to put an addition on the house we live in now.
My happy hospital birth story
For a few hours I tried to get comfortable through the contractions — moving in different positions, trying to lay down, taking a bath, etc. I thought, I MUST be dilated more, I MUST! Let’s go back to the hospital!
8 ways to help you deal when the time isn’t right to have a baby
It was never going to happen to me like it did with those parents who hit the one-year mark, watch their little baby toddle around and say, “Oh… I want another one!” After a terrible pregnancy that ended in an emergency C-section, I decided I was done for good. Or at the very least a good looooong time. I wrote myself letters throughout the pregnancy to remind myself that YES it was that bad, the same way I kept track of the (still ongoing) night wakings, issues with breastfeeding. Finances have been kept under strict supervision, and baby expenditures can be easily totalled.
How do I get my mother-in-law to stop addressing things to my non-existent married name?
My husband and I have been married for six years now and most of the family is fully aware of the fact that I kept my last name — actually, I’m sure my in-laws are well aware of this. But my mother-in-law keeps addressing mail and checks to me as if I had changed my name.
Autism and puberty: my 10-year-old is growing up, and I’m not ready
My ten-year-old daughter with Asperger’s syndrome just got her period. When my daughter was diagnosed several years ago as being on the Autism spectrum, I only thought so far as the toddler/elementary school years. Everyday things like getting dressed and playing with other kids were already such challenges, I just couldn’t wrap my head around what would happen when my daughter, you know, becomes a woman.
Goodbye screen time, hello awesome kid
My husband and I freely cop to having used television as a coping method. As two working parents with up to three hours of commute time each per day, free time to clean the house, cook meals, or attempt a conversation is seriously lacking. So, for about a half hour on weekday mornings and around half hour to 45 minutes in the evening on those days, we’d turn on the Roku and let our three-year-old kiddo watch Wonder Pets, ’60s-era Spider-Man, or any other variety of parental-approved idiot box entertainment while we powered through chores and tried to plot out each day.