A Time for Reflection

A Time for Reflection

Health, Life, Parenting, Relationships
My thirties were a time for reflection. Learning about oneself can be quite eye-opening. Follow my journey to understand all of me. Some parts are so ingrained it may take a complete remodel. Many good and bad things came to pass. It was the first time I experienced a close family member die (my husbands’ grandmother and I were very close). I also learned my mom and stepfather had cancer. It was also the first time I was not pregnant or nursing in 10 years. As well as the beginning of a new millennium, and I started to “find” myself. My thirties were the flowering of who I am. The child in me was finally growing up. Sort of! Evolving I stopped blaming my mother for my happiness and past; I…
Read More
So, You’ve Decided to Exclusively Pump

So, You’ve Decided to Exclusively Pump

Breastfeeding, Infants, Life, Parenting, Pregnancy, Work
So, you've decided to exclusively pump because you know that it is healthiest for you and baby. Exclusive pumping means the mother has decided to put her breastmilk into a bottle and feed it to her baby, exclusively. For one reason or another, she decided not to put the baby to the breast for his feedings. Exclusively pumping or "eping", is a full-time commitment and takes good planning. For some moms, this is not how she pictured breastfeeding to happen and pumping is her last resort after many days/weeks of trying to latch her baby properly.  For other moms, this is a choice and she always imagined herself only pumping and bottle-feeding breastmilk.  Or maybe the choice was made for the mom, for example, her or the baby have been…
Read More
Finding Your Parenting Style

Finding Your Parenting Style

All, Kids, Parenting, Relationships
Have you been unsuccessful at finding your parenting style? Are you concerned about the Best or Right way to parent your baby, child, or children? Are you struggling with discipline? Do you take a particular approach to mother or fathering and have a bad feeling? Do you force yourself to follow the parenting fad of the times (sleep training, time outs, cell phone rules, etc.)? These questions and many more are a fact of life as parents. From hour to hour, day to day, and child to child, we are forever skeptical in our parenting decisions. At one time or another, we’ve challenged, argued & possibly defended many other parents, including our own to unravel the complex befuddlement that having children bring. Matter of fact, since the techno era, half our time is…
Read More
Life’s Lessons

Life’s Lessons

Life, Parenting, Relationships
Life's lessons from teenager to adult can become confusing. Single parenting is nothing to sneeze at, especially with an 8-month-old baby. Finding a job I could bring my baby to was not easy, but it worked itself out. I kept my medical assisting job on weekends when my ex had my daughter, but I didn't trust anyone else to watch her except a few close friends. Even my mom, who lived 40 miles away, couldn't help me out, so bringing my baby to work was a must. Co-parenting was not easy at all. There is this grieving process that everyone goes through when you end a relationship, and it can make for a bitter divorce. We tried hard to give my daughter the best of both worlds, but eventually, we…
Read More
Help My Young Baby Won’t Take a Bottle

Help My Young Baby Won’t Take a Bottle

Breastfeeding, Infants, Parenting, Work
Help my young baby won't take a bottle and I have to go back to work! Or I need to go somewhere! Or my husband wants to feed him! Or I need surgery! Or you want to exclusively pump. You get the idea! These situations can be stressful, but it's ok. Just follow these tips to get even the most stubborn baby on board. Babies can be picky creatures from the beginning of life. Just as some older humans have individual quirks, so can a newborn. You probably know people who can be very strict with a schedule or need lists of everything, or maybe she doesn't like change. As well, perhaps you are the "go with the flow gal"? The person who may seem undisciplined or messy or can…
Read More
Sibling Rivalry

Sibling Rivalry

Health, Kids, Life, Parenting, Relationships
Sibling Rivalry-a competition between brothers and sisters-is, not a comfortable term coming from any parent. Matter of fact, it is the bane of every parent's existence. When pregnant with a second or consecutive child, we spend countless hours in a dream world of how we envision our perfect little family. Even those that grew up with sibling squabbles or still have some today will find themselves thinking, "that won't be my family." Seriously, don't we all think we can raise better kids than that? Or, you may be thinking that your parents didn't handle the rivalry the way you did and therefore escalated the situation. Always the parents' fault. Worse yet, could be the parent that still believes his or her sibling is "the favorite." I'm sure he/she thinks they…
Read More
How to Build a Parenting Blog

How to Build a Parenting Blog

All, Life, Parenting, Pregnancy, Work
How to build a parenting blog starts with a bud of hope. Hope that my parenting wins and fails will entertain you. Hope that my expertise in pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and newborns will be enough to guide you on your unique journey. Most of all, hope that you will NOT feel judged but instead protected to find your inner voice. Emotions Used to Build a Blog It amazes me how much time, reflection, and planning I’ve put into this blogging venture. Many questions were swirling in my head about the goals and direction I’d like this platform to take for months before putting pen to paper (yes, I started with a pen). Not to mention the always nagging speculation on my self-confidence: could I, should I, what makes mine different…
Read More

The most memorable gift I ever received wasn’t something I could hold in my hands

All, Life, Parenting, Relationships
The most memorable gift I ever received wasn't something I could hold in my hands, it was the gift of togetherness. The time someone puts into the gift and the love that is sent with the message. Memories are remembered when gifting and it doesn't have to be at certain times of the year either. As parents, we are always trying to make memories with our young, whether on purpose or by coincidence.  These memories can be in the form of places we take our offspring, books we read to them or routines we've instilled in them, daily. The most remembered memories are usually the spontaneous ones. Remember when you found your family belly laughing over something? Or the time everyone got along on a trip to the beach and…
Read More
7 Steps to Navigate the Holidays with a Baby

7 Steps to Navigate the Holidays with a Baby

All, Infants, Kids, Life, Parenting, Relationships
Seven steps to navigate the holidays with a baby can be your life preserver during such a stressful time. Share these tips with your partner and get a head start on your planning. Birth is one of those times that an instruction manual would come in handy. Each human spirit is so individual that the need for a unique set of guidelines at any birth could prove advantageous, for the rest of their life. No two beings are the same, and parenting them as such could improve the outcome for both mom & baby. Since our mothering instincts guide us and a lot of trial and error, I thought you might appreciate a few tips on a subject rarely intuitive or discussed. Special Occasion Tips How to navigate holidays, parties,…
Read More

New Parenthood Isolation

All, Life, Parenting, Relationships
  Obviously, you aren’t sitting around twiddling your thumbs with a baby under one, but how much of your time is spent doing something fun with your munchkin? Truth be told, you spend more time on tasks in those first months then any other time in their life.  Let’s face it, kids are a lot of work: feeding, changing, rocking, consoling, bathing, playing, putting to sleep; repeat!! During these tasks you are naturally doing some of the less mundane: smiling, talking, singing, tickling, cuddling, playing etc. but every mom gets bored (and lonely) sometimes!  Most mothers do find it somewhat exciting to engage the kiddos in baby games but sometimes we need a different type of diversion.  Here is a list of possibilities to explore when you are going stir…
Read More