Mom's Timeout

Where does your baby sleep?  We co-sleep. We bed share. I always feel like I have to qualify that with the story about how we got started with our firstborn. You see, I never thought I’d be that mom. That’s the thing about motherhood: you learn to never say never. When my second child was […]

Your friend just had a baby. She’s a brand new mama and you listen as she tells you all about her little one. After a little while, you start to smirk as you think about how much she has to learn. She has no idea. Am I right? You’re thinking you probably ought to warn […]

Have you ever breastfed your baby in public?  The experience is often quite different from the quiet bonding moments you share with baby in the privacy of your own home. Public breastfeeding can be an easy way to feed your baby while you’re out of the house, without the hassle of lugging bottles around. It […]

Currently, my Pinterest feed is full of pins about how to get back in shape after having a baby. It’s a hot topic for new moms and there’s lots of information. As with anything, not all of it can be trusted to work. This is my second child and I already know what works for […]

I was definitely afraid of this whole discharged from the hospital and left to my own devices within 48 hours thing that’s just one more marvel of modern medicine these days. What happened to taking things slowly? And those first few days were an exercise in just how gentle I could possibly be because for […]

Yesterday, my sister-in-law and I were talking about weaning. What was the main take away from our conversation? Nobody talks about weaning! We realized that there was tons of information about how to breastfeed available to us during pregnancy. There were free classes, books at the library, support groups, and blogs galore. As we struggled […]

When you’re a new mom, people talk a lot about sleep. They give you advice like “sleep when the baby sleeps” or ask questions like “how does she sleep?” Before long, it starts to feel like sleep is a sort of measuring stick for your success as a mom. It’s like you’re somehow dropping the […]

I don’t even remember how many people were in and out of my room while I was in labor. The one that bothered me the most was the woman that wanted to explain the recent changes in insurance coverage that relate to breast pumps. As far as I’m concerned, there are better times for that […]

I can’t even believe I’m 32 already. And it’s even more crazy to think I have a toddler. Most of my friends have already had their kids and those kids are a heckuva lot older than my little guy, but we waited. And waited. And while everyone else was busy having kids, we were busy […]

How much do you remember from when your kids were born? I can recount almost the entire day. From the moment I was admitted until the first time I held my son in my arms, it all still feels like it was just yesterday. I have so many memories that are vague and barely there, […]

Yea, I may or may not have already mentioned that I’m a very private person. Um, even more so when I was smack in the middle of labor and delivery. I didn’t really care to have company. I’m sure a lot of moms feel the same way. According to an ABC news article, though, “crowd […]

Alright, seriously. Labor sucks. I totally remember how miserable it was. And any distraction would’ve been a welcome one, I can assure you of that. This mom certainly came up with an interesting way of distracting herself, though. There’s no doubt about that. This video is going viral on You Tube with over 30,000 views in […]

It took almost a decade to conceive my son and in that time, I stumbled across more well-meaning, overly-dramatic, want-to-be-helpful (but weren’t) people than I care to admit. Just par for the course, I suppose. It’s not as if it isn’t expected. After all, everyone wants to help. I like to remind myself that, for […]

Every week, I made a point of taking a picture of my growing bump. It was something I wanted to remember forever. At least I thought it was. I assure you, by the end of my pregnancy, I was less than thrilled by how huge I felt. Pregnancy is great for that, isn’t it? You […]

I may or may not have taken the whole visitors thing to extremes. I mean, I wanted no one – and I literally mean not a soul, except for my husband – around when my son was born. And actually, if I could do it all over again, I would’ve waited even longer to have visitors. […]

I think I got super-duper lucky in the parenting department. Have you ever heard of a trick baby? According to this mom’s definition, I think I might have gotten myself one. You see, in so many ways, my son was the perfect baby. He slept through the night relatively early on, which meant I’ve been […]

In this viral video, one mom tackles the stigma surrounding public breastfeeding with a satirical public service message for moms about why it’s NEVER okay to nurse in public. As a breastfeeding mom, I appreciate her approach and willingness to make fun of the ongoing argument between nursing mothers and society. As Kristina Kuzmic points […]

Did you find out the sex of your baby? These days, most people are excited to learn the gender of their little bun in the oven. My Pinterest feed is full of ideas for gender reveals, how to tell the grandparents if it’s a boy or girl, and cute ways to savor the memories of […]

Who doesn’t love a chubby baby? Fat babies are the best! In fact, I remember hoping both my babies would be chubby with lots of kissable little fat rolls. But what about fat-shaming? Is that even real? I know what you’re thinking, who would do that to an innocent little infant or her loving parents? […]

There are some secrets you just don’t tell anyone. Well, you don’t tell anyone except your best friend.  When you’re having a baby, there are a lot of “secrets” like that. If you’re like me, you get lucky and your best friend has been-there-done-that so you can ask her all your crazy questions. Thank God […]