Becoming a parent made me better at my job
As I was approaching my last year of grad school for my Master’s in English, I had been dating an awesome, goateed, tattooed locksmith for a few months. That Christmas, as I was choosing my thesis advisor and getting ready to embark on the challenge of writing a full short story collection, my body started to feel a little weird. What I thought was nerves over the impending thesis, we came to find, was actually our little droidlet beginning to grow. Surprise! The following August, my son was born.
A photo project about Nagorno-Karabakh’s birth encouragement program
Jenn recently shared a NY Times piece calledThe National Womb, which is a project that documentary photographer Anastasia Taylor-Lind underrtook. The focus is a “birth encouragement program” that the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh implemented in 2008: basically, the government gives cash to newlyweds each time they have a kid.
Tips for letting your sports fan freak flag fly… even with two babies in tow
Every family has different traditions. About four or five years ago we started the family tradition of going to a Toronto Marlies hockey game over the holidays. This year we took our four-month-old twins Molly and Jack to their first real hockey game. After an hour of preparation (one diaper per baby per hour, plus one extra, three extra sleepers, two teethers, three soothers, 32 ounces of food, Baby Tylenol, gripe water, plastic bags and wipes) we were on the subway heading to the Air Canada Centre.
Touring the country with your band… and your baby (part 2)
What we’ve learned is that traveling with a baby isn’t a whole lot different than a regular tour — you just have, well, a baby. You might stop a little more frequently, or you might not — at least no more than if you have a tiny-tanked bandmate. You still stop to stretch your legs or to get gas, and that’s when you pop on a fresh diaper and feed the little guy. You set out to explore a city, and you stuff the little fella in a sling or carrier, and off you go.
Having a baby didn’t stop us from touring with our band — we just bring him along (part 1)
There is an air of impossibility about two musicians touring with their baby. If you don’t travel with a caregiver, the logistics aren’t concrete: There needs to be a lot of breathing room along with a dedication to adaptation. You need to be able to say, “I guess we’ll both do solo sets.” It’s important for us to remain expectation-less about how a show is going to go or how our child is going to respond to the energy of a venue or the people.
Baby wearing is hard — but putting her down is harder
I spent a very big chunk of time the other day “wearing” and holding my three week-old daughter, Evelyn. The night ended with a bad stomachache (hers triggered mine) and by the time my husband got home and scooped Evie up in his arms, I was relieved. I slept for four hours, alone, in a pitch black room. I practically melted into the sheets. It felt good to be a separate entity, even if I was asleep for it.
So… are gDiapers really that incredible?
I’m currently 32 weeks pregnant and ready to become a first-time mom to our baby. I thought I had everything figured out about our parenting needs/choices months ago… until I read an article about different diapering options.
Brigsby’s theme-free bad-ass birthday bonanza
Brigsby is known around these parts for having a pretty rad carnivalesque room, so it should come as no surprise that his recent birthday party was nothing short of cool.