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…
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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…
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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…
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Increase Your Odds of Conception

Increase Your Odds of Conception

All, Health, Life, Pregnancy, Relationships
We will cover the best tips to increase your odds of conception in this blog. In my last blog about fertility, I talked about the basics in creating another life by following a love story of a maiden (egg) and her knight (sperm). What is seemingly a simple story that should have a happy ending, has proved to be a more complex task to achieve. At some point in puberty, we find out about the Birds and the Bees through family, friends, health class, reading, pictures, and exploration of our sexuality. Only to realize later in life that what we once believed right about sex and baby-making may have been a rumor or misconstrued by our undeveloped brain. Consequently, we will focus on relearning (and exploring) the birds and the…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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What you need to know if you’re trying to get pregnant

What you need to know if you’re trying to get pregnant

Health, Infants, Life, Parenting, Pregnancy, Relationships
What you need to know if you're trying to get pregnant and may have fertility questions. *By definition “fertility is the natural capability to produce offspring.” FERTILITY: Such a beautiful word! The image one might conjure up in his or her mind is of something lavish.  After all, some of the synonyms associated with this word could be: abundant, arable, fruitful, lush, productive and rich.  All of which bring allurement to consciousness.  Close your eyes and try imagery with this word. Impossible to think of anything gloomy.  Now try this exercise in relation to humans and conception.  First thoughts may have been a beautiful, perfect, angelic baby or some of you may have given in to thoughts of the activities involved in producing this angel.  Both are pleasing symbolisms. It’s…
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