I am breastfeeding a two-year-old and it’s not gross (I promise)
The other day I was hanging out with my friend and her four-year-old daughter. My son, the aforementioned two-year-old, at some point asked to breastfeed. I’m trying to cut down on nursing him in public, but he’d just spent his first night away from me, so I figured I could make an exception. I helped him up onto my lap, pulled down my shirt, and let my kid do his thing.
6 reasons toddlers are smarter than the rest of us
I don’t know a lot about parenting, since I’ve only been a step-parent for four years and a bio parent for less time than that. What I do know, aside from having ALL my notions about motherhood, children, and life-after-kids utterly demolished, is that my daughter navigates this world better than I do. Thus, I present my case that my toddler — and really, most kids her age — is smarter than me.
How baby sign language is giving my toddler a sense of confidence and independence
Every time Lio signs for the dog, or puts two signs together — like “dog” and “water,” then points at the dog’s dish to indicate it’s time to complete his chore for the day — I just melt. Or when he signs “please” and “shoes,” then sits down so I can take his shoes off before hopping up to scuttle off to try on a pair of dad’s sneakers? That’s baby gold, right there.
Do you know of any toddler-friendly books that talk about breastfeeding a baby?
I’m hoping for something simple enough for a toddler, that shows the basic baby stuff — baby sleeping, crying, breastfeeding, having a nappy change and so on. I keep coming across books where the baby has a bottle — and while that’s a valid choice, I’d really like my son to see pictures of a baby breastfeeding, as that’s what we hope our new baby will do!
So you’ve flown internationally with your baby — here are 4 tips on traveling with your toddler
Plenty of parents have written about plane travel with wee ones, and I’m grateful: I learned a lot from their experiences. An international flight is so daunting I feel like contributing to the conversation. My daughter’s godmother lives in Ireland, and last fall we took a two year-old in a plane ride over the ocean. What an undertaking!
An Offbeat Auntie’s perspective: 5 maybe-obvious things I’ve learned about kids
I would like to start off by saying that I have no idea what it’s like to be a mom (yet). I have no idea what 24 hours a day, 7 days a week responsibility for an ornery, screaming, time-demanding tiny human is like. All I’m saying is that becoming an aunt has given 10x more insight into it. I also got lucky with the BEST niece and nephew ever, not every kid is as cool as them. Here are some things I’ve picked up.
I have a chance to travel for 3 weeks — how do I deal with leaving my child?
Here is my problem: my initial reaction hasn’t been “Oh, what if I miss him? What if he gets hurt? Will he forget me? Will he be ok without me?” — it’s been much closer to “HELL YES!! Send me NOW!!” and I feel sickly guilty for wanting this. So my questions are to other parents who have spent extended periods away from their children: How did you feel?
Co-sleeping families: are your older kids able to go to sleep without you?
I have not yet fallen pregnant, and already I have every mother I know telling me to sleep train. Women who co-sleep are social pariahs, and my family regard the biggest mistake that a mother can make as “taking baby to bed with you.” Friends who have babies who go to sleep at a particular bedtime attribute this to sleep training, and are able to lead fairly pleasant social lives after 7pm because of it. Some women I know even claim that baby sleeps through the night from the get-go with sleep training.