I’m pregnant and my partner and I just split up: where do I go from here?
I am very, very lucky to have an extraordinary group of family and friends-made-family who are loving and supportive, but I’m struggling with feelings of profound sadness that I am now going to be a single parent. I’m hoping to reach out to people who have had similar experiences: how did you build a community while expecting, and how did/do you maintain a dialog with your partner about the pregnancy, birthing plans, and vision for the child’s future?
When love becomes thicker than blood
In January of 2012, I chose to become a single mother. I packed what I could I fit into our minivan and left my fiancé of five years, my “son” whom I had raised since he was six-months-old, and an unhealthy partnership. I parked in a parking lot, only blocks from our house and cried. My two sons slept quietly in their car seats.
A sweet batch of sassy and colorful mom-and-me photos
Maddie wasn’t expecting Augie to come along the way but she’s told me more times than I can count that Augie was the best thing to happen in her life. Maddie’s life is different than most of the people her age but you know what’s rad? Maddie and Augie make the damn best of what they have and go on in life with nothing but smiles on their faces and in their hearts.
What are your favorite children’s books that talk about being a single parent household?
My husband is leaving me and our almost-two-year-old daughter. I’ve made sure not to badmouth him in front of her and try to keep all conversations about it to a minimum when she’s around, but I know that eventually, she’ll figure out that many of her friends have two-parent households and ours does not.
What Valentine’s Day traditions can single parents establish?
I’m a newly singled momma. New momma, newly singled. This will be my first Valentine’s Day with my son, who is 11 months old and who I adore and love with all my heart. I want to do something fun and special just the two of us — maybe even start a mother and son tradition since it is going to be just the two of us for a very long time. Does anyone have any suggestions?
We are brave and beautiful: a single mom’s journey back home with her son
Ooooh, y’all. We’re very privileged here at Offbeat Mama, because we get to see and feature a lot of incredible photo sessions. This post is definitely no exception — these photos (shot by North Carolina-based Charo Photography) feature Casey, a single mother, and her son Joseph. The idea behind the photos is ingenious: the pair picked words that they would use to describe one another and wrote them on each other. The results? Totally breathtaking.
Colorful urban photos of a San Franciscan family of two
Melissa and her son Hai recently had their photos taken by the uber-talented Bowerbird Photography in San Francisco. They journeyed to Clarion Alley, an alley dedicated to street art where the murals are always changing. Photographer Ariel said that Melissa wanted somewhere colorful to shoot.
My kids are my great kitchen apprentices
Cooking is a total sensory and educational experience — my kids have learned fractions and enhanced math skills with the measuring of ingredients — just by hanging with me in the kitchen.