Pain, impermanence, and how much I miss my foster siblings
My parents have been foster parents for the past 12 years, and by extension my siblings and I have been foster siblings. It hasn’t always been easy — there has been joy, lots of pain, and laughter. Over the years we have had over 80 children. Some for a night, some for a weekend, some for a few months and some for years.
My husband is transitioning to female and we want to have kids: how can we make this work?
My husband and I have always been happy to blur the gender lines, but he (current preferred pronoun!) recently told me that he identifies as transgender and wants to transition to presenting as female.
I’m a single mom, but I don’t do it alone
I’ve had many friends and family and acquaintances exclaim, “I don’t know how you do it!” when I mention the kids and work and school and all my various activities. I have a LOT on my plate, but in the throes of it, I just… do it. I manage. Somehow. Here’s the thing, though. I think the term “single mom” is kind of misleading. Yes, I am single. “Single” in the strictly relationship-status-definition of the word. I do not have a boyfriend or significant other who helps me with housework and rubs my feet at night and shares the day-to-day responsibility of caring for my children.
How can we create a kid-friendly zone in a small city apartment?
K has already said that he will miss his backyard mud kitchen, and I don’t blame him. First of all: MUD! GLORIOUS MUD! Secondly, there is a lot of “No” in the life of a little kid. K’s mud kitchen is his world of “Yes!” He can make all of the mess he wants and experiment to his heart’s content without anyone fussing about set-up or clean-up or telling him what to do. Now he won’t have a back yard, so no more mud kitchen for him.
I knew breastfeeding might be hard, but had no idea weaning would seem impossible
I’ve come across the advice “If mom isn’t happy, then do something differently,” but that’s not all that helpful in the long-run. I’ve found a few gentle weaning tips online, but the prospect of a few more months of diligence and consistency seems daunting and exhausting. And my friends aren’t much help, either. While they’re in various stages of breastfeeding, we’re all trying to figure out when it’s right to stop breastfeeding and how to go about doing it.
I want to donate my eggs but my partner’s wary: how can I help overcome his doubts?
Now that I’ve had my absolutely perfect son — he’s beautiful, healthy, and right on track developmentally — I think I would be ready to donate. But… my partner doesn’t really feel the same way. I’ve mentioned it to him and he didn’t like the idea, but I’d like one more shot to convince him.
How we’re renegotiating our marriage with our yearly “relationship summit”
For our anniversary we have our “relationship summit” or our “State Of The Union” address, where we renegotiated our marriage each year. We talk about where we are and what we want and if changes need to be made. But what’s more important is the time when we come to “I want to stay married to you for another year.” Here’s how it works…
All about my uneventful hospital birth and my plans to home birth the rest of my kids
Our daughter’s birth proved two things. One, that indeed there were reasons why a person from a developing country might reject this first world’s interpretation of healthcare. I don’t blame any single employee or system for my water breaking or the tub or any of the hospital-related unpleasantries. Those just come with the territory of business. Two, and more importantly, it proved to my boyfriend that many women are capable of giving birth on their own.