All the grandparents want to visit all the time! How do we manage long-distance family visits?
We live on the West Coast, and the grandparents (my in-laws, my mother, my father and my step mom) live in three different East Coast cities. My eight-month-old son is the ONLY grandchild on either side. The grandparents are (understandably!) enthusiastic and each set wants to visit every couple of months, which adds up to a LOT of travel and/or house guests.
My daughter has a dozen parents and it’s awesome
Yes, I am part of the group that parents my daughter, but I am not the only one. I cannot imagine denying her the incredible formative experiences that she is getting now, and that she will continue to get. I am comfortable saying that I am not my child’s only parent. She has over a dozen! She has all these people who are equally invested in guiding her, loving her and seeing her grow into a responsible adult.
What are your favorite unique baby names?
Is your kid’s name a combination of family names handed down through generations? Something you pulled from your favorite book or movie? A name you totally made up? Or does your kid have one name — but you secretly love a totally off-the-wall name (I knew someone who wanted to name her kid Saturn but went with a much more traditional name)?
On refusing to let your kids take over your life
I want my daughter to see that I am happy with my life now. I want her to understand on a fundamental level that she deserves happiness, too. And, I want her to be able to handle life’s obstacles as a confident and capable individual… Preferably one who doesn’t grow up to live in my basement.
We’re about to spend two months road-tripping with our baby
I’m about to embark on a two-month road trip with my husband, seven-month-old baby, and our two 90-pound dogs. We’ll be living out of our car and tent hiking and camping across the United States. We decided to test the boundaries of what having a baby in your life means and want to introduce him to the world early. My husband and I used to travel in our car for a couple months at a time (pre-baby), so why stop now?
Oompa Toys: where wooden and organic meet FUN for little and big kids alike
If you follow our shenanigans on Facebook, then you might have already seen my recent freak-out over Oompa Toys. I often get frustrated with toy websites that seem to only cater to babies (or their parents), but happily Oompa has toys for kids between birth and 9 — and we’re talking some seriously cool stuff. There are tons of wooden alternatives to the plastic you might see elsewhere (look at this super cute wooden bus!), and they offer free shipping on all orders over $65.
My experience with Insufficient Glandular Tissue and breastfeeding
I am mourning what I thought would happen, how I thought things would work. I am finally accepting our new relationship, and trying to not feel guilty about it. It’s ok that my baby has formula, and I know breastmilk is best, but I’m doing my very best too. She is a happy, beautiful, healthy baby. I get to cuddle and snuggle her all day since I’m on maternity leave, and we have a wonderful relationship. I miss the closeness that nursing brought, but I’m glad she’s comfortable, and fed.
What non-crazy steps did you take to baby proof your home?
I have a four-month-old little ball of love who is about to become a ROLLING ball of love. My partner and I are looking into baby-proofing — or rather, baby safe-ing as I like to say — our two bedroom apartment.