Mom's Timeout

I’m sure this is difficult for so many women. Whether you’ve consciously made the decision or it’s just the hand you’ve been dealt, it’s no doubt still bittersweet. Maybe, it was a compromise between you and your husband or maybe your body can’t handle any more for one reason or another. Maybe, you know it’s […]

I’ll say one thing – pregnancy was nowhere near what I expected – not necessarily in a bad way. It was just a lot different than what I was constantly seeing and hearing everywhere. For whatever reason, it seemed easier than what everyone made it out to be. What things were a surprise to you […]

With my second child on the way, I’m thinking a lot about that first year. There’s so much I miss about it. I can’t wait to hold my sweet little infant! I miss the days when my firstborn wanted to snuggle and nurse all day. These days I’m lucky if I get a hug on […]

Do you remember putting together your registry list and adding all of the awesome things that you thought you needed – at least until you actually brought your little bundle of joy home and realized that you didn’t use the majority of them? I was totally guilty of this. I ended up with every baby […]

There are always people telling you what you can’t do when you’re pregnant.  It’s enough to make you crazy. One of my husband’s relatives spent a good 1/2 hour explaining to me all the reasons I couldn’t eat Oreo cookies while pregnant. All he succeeded in was making me binge eat a box of birthday […]

I always tell moms who are planning to breastfeed that they shouldn’t spend too much on the crib, because they might never use it. We didn’t. It was beautiful and expensive and totally wasted. Why didn’t we use our crib? Breastfeeding an infant with a husband working third shift and me working first shift had […]

I got entirely too much advice when I was pregnant – far more than I actually wanted or needed. There were quite a few things that no one warned me about, though. Those were the things that I really wanted to know. I wanted to know how much I would love this little baby and […]

Giving birth is both amazing and terrifying at the same time. It’s also full of unwanted surprises. Who knew? I will never forget the day that I gave birth to my son. I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. I spent so much time researching pregnancy and parenting, but I stayed […]

Let’s face it. No one really knows what you’re going through. I mean, it’s your body, right? Pregnancy can be a really great, amazing, life-changing adventure. But it can sometimes feel kind of lonely and like you’re going through this alone… Well, you’re not alone. Thousands of mommies from the beginning of time have played […]

Being pregnant is great, isn’t it? You gain a lot of weight, grow another human being, and listen to what every one seems to feel is perfectly acceptable to say to you – some of it is, no doubt, rude and insensitive and the rest of it is just plain ridiculous. I remember being pregnant […]

The first time I used the word doula, I remember the looks I got from my mom and aunts. What is a doula? That’s often the first question. Many people have never heard of doulas. A doula literally means “a woman who serves.” No, she’s not a maid. Doulas serve women during pregnancy, childbirth, and […]

When you’re a new mom, every day is so new and exciting with your little one. You want to remember everything! Every little moment seems so important. With my first, I saved every tiny trinket and wrote down every memory and date. I was terrified of forgetting anything. Now that I’m a veteran, I know […]

There’s no end to the list of things that we dread hearing as moms, especially as moms of babies. It’s hard to believe that, in spite of the fact that our little ones can’t talk quite yet, it’s still a surprisingly long list. I just happen to have a few personal favorites – a few […]

I’m certain that social media is to blame for this new trend, but it’s so cute you can’t help but want to participate. I’m talking about the baby announcements. I’m a little envious of all the cute and creative ways people are telling the world they’re expecting a bundle of joy. How did I announce […]

We’re so close to the little guy’s first birthday and it’s made me stop and really think about exactly what I’ve loved and what I’ve hated thus far. Becoming a parent is definitely one of those life-changing moments. There are so many awesome things to look forward to and a few not-so-great things that, I’m […]

Not too long ago, we started exploring finger foods. My son’s facial expressions were hilarious the first few times until he got used to the idea that he actually had to chew his food now. Either way, he’s finally got it all figured out. It’s been so much fun watching him experiment with new foods […]

There’s a lot of stuff you can’t do when you’re pregnant, but what about the stuff you just don’t want to do? For instance, there are some tasks that I dread, some places I just don’t want to be when I’m gestational. Whether it’s hormones, fatigue, morning sickness, or a sudden onset of low self-esteem… […]

Did you have a hard time getting pregnant? Were there things that your family and friends said in an attempt to help, but that actually hurt? Sometimes, it seems as if people try so hard to be empathetic– and in some ways they are, but it’s a sensitive subject and it’s hard to talk about. […]

There are so many things that need to be done before delivery day – everything from setting up the nursery to packing your hospital bags. The list of things to do is almost never-ending. As if it’s not bad enough that you’re worried about labor and delivery itself, you’re more than likely also worried about […]

I decided before my son was born that we would be using cloth diapers. My mom used cloth diapers with me, so cloth wasn’t really a foreign concept. It made perfect sense to me. After some research, I was even more certain that our decision to cloth diaper was the right one. Lots of people […]