Category Archive

friendships

Should my estranged BFF be at my baby’s birth?

When I (unexpectedly) found myself pregnant this June, my best friend of nearly a decade was finishing an eight-month trip through Asia. Because of the deep bond we’ve shared for years I decided right away that along with my husband and midwife, I wanted her to be at the home birth of my first child. But since she’s been home (for several months) I’ve felt the distance between us.

How grown-ups make new friends: handing out coupons

Making friends as adults is WEIRD. I actually had a conversation with Megan about it a few weeks back.

The Saminal has a solution…

How can we establish good baby-sitter etiquette with our neighbors?

We live in a townhouse and my significant other’s friends live next door. They have a four-year-old son who occasionally needs babysitting. I don’t have a problem babysitting him, but they’ll send us a text only a few hours before or the night that they need us. How can I initiate a (polite) conversation about being respectful of us?

How can I make my non-kid home more kid-friendly?

A while back, I asked about how to be supportive to your new parent friends. I got a lot of wonderful advice that has proved helpful. Here is a question that I’ve been pondering a lot as my friends start to venture out of their houses with their kidlets: what tips do you have for being a good host to kids and their parents in your house?

How can we honor friends and family who helped during our NICU experience?

After the birth of our twins at 27 weeks our friends, family and coworkers really banned together to help us get through what was the worst period of our lives. Our twins are now five-months-old, and we want to do something to celebrate the people who are still very actively involved in all of our lives. How do I ever thank them and make sure they know that they are our babies’ extended family?

How do you meet people in a new city when you’re shy?

I’m moving soon, and for the first time I won’t have the built-in community of school. How can I meet people in my new town, even if I’m shy?

A doula’s advice: the dos and don’ts of visiting friends after they have a baby

I know how exciting new babies are. I know how much people want to see and smell them when they are brand new. I also know that being a good friend to new parents means taking the utmost care with a new and very delicate situation. As a postpartum doula, I’m here to tell you how you can be a good friend while you visit new babies and their parents.

10 tips on moving to a new country and being happy there

You know how most of the time people write tip lists it’s like nine things that are so obvious anyone could write the list, and then one maybe-useful idea? Katie’s list of ways to ease international moves is not that type of list. It’s like years of experience compacted down for the newbie.