Mom's Timeout

We are finished with the teething phase at my house, but many of my friends are still in the middle of it. I listen apologetically as they tell me about the long nights, their fussy babies, and the latest teething remedy someone told them to try.  Sometimes they ask me what we did to help […]

We planned to deliver my son at a local birthing center. It’s totally different from a hospital setting.  When we needed to transfer to the hospital, I found that there were a few things I wish I had packed, things I would have packed if I had known I’d be at a hospital. A quick […]

Everyone told me that my second pregnancy might not be the same as my first. In some ways they were totally wrong. I still have HG, a severe form of morning sickness. I still don’t enjoy being pregnant. However, they were right too. This pregnancy is different in a lot of meaningful ways. Here are […]

There’s so much to learn when you first become a mom. Have you covered all of the usual – feeding, bathing, and changing? That’s great. Now, you can focus on learning everything that you possibly can about baby stuff. I’ve, no doubt, learned quite a few of these lessons the hard way. Are you curious […]

I’m pregnant, so I’ve been thinking a lot about birth stories. Specifically, my own story from my first labor and the stories of my family members and friends. When you’re pregnant, there’s a lot of focus on what sort of birth you want to have. “Birth plans,” “care options,” and “standard procedures” become phrases you […]

I have battled Hyperemesis Gravidarum (severe morning sickness) through both my pregnancies. It started at seven weeks with both pregnancies. This time around, I have managed to stay out of the hospital. That’s sort of a record for me considering that I had already been twice at this point with my first pregnancy. Sunday night […]

Pregnancy is fascinating, to say the least. It’s definitely full of ups and downs. That’s for sure. Just for fun, let’s take a trimester-by-trimester look at the roller coaster more commonly known as pregnancy and compare notes. First Trimester When you first see that positive pregnancy test, you’re ecstatic. Not too long after, you get […]

  I’ll never forget those last several weeks leading up to my due date. They were filled with anxiety and anticipation as I not-so-patiently waited for a certain little someone to make his appearance into this world. I remember feeling huge and uncomfortable, but being ecstatic nonetheless. After all, I was having a baby. I […]

Pickles and ice cream anyone? That’s the long standing joke. Cravings aren’t a joke though. It’s not like the craving you get for your mom’s mac and cheese at Thanksgiving. It’s like a strange sort of addiction that you just have to satisfy. The kind that has my poor husband running to Olive Garden for […]

Recently, a friend asked me about transitioning to baby food. She was curious about what to feed her baby and how to transition to new foods. She didn’t want the textbook answer. She wanted to know about my experience.  I had never been asked that question before and I wasn’t quite sure what to say. […]

My first thoughts when I found out I was pregnant again: When I found out I was pregnant again, it was 2:00 am. I couldn’t sleep because I was wondering if I could be. I decided to get up and take a test. I thought that it would be negative and I could get back […]

Being a first time Mother is just that. It’s a time of first’s. Naturally, from all those first time moments comes experience. With that experience under your belt, baby #2 brings a new found sense of what’s most important to you as a Mom and in what circumstances you can give yourself a break. Though at […]

I had a birth plan, at least I thought I did – but I guess it had a plan of its own. Why in the world I believed that I had any control over nature, though, was beyond me. In hindsight, that was actually rather naïve of me. I probably should’ve known better.  It was […]

It’s a hot topic right now. Since I’m on the front lines of breastfeeding, I hear a lot about it. I remember when I was pregnant. A lot of my friends were pregnant too. We would sit around talking about our plans to breastfeed. I remember a friend said that she didn’t like the push […]

  We have an amazing little boy. He’s two and he’s been our whole world for a long time now. We recently learned that baby #2 is on the way. As soon as we started telling people, I regretted it. Everyone’s instant reaction: “Oh you have a boy, so now you need a girl. That […]

What’s In A Name? If you had another baby, what would you name him or her?  How did you decide what to name your other children? Did you have a system? I totally have a system. Lately, my husband and I have been having the silliest argument about what we would name a second child. […]

As far as I’m concerned, being on maternity leave was awesome. You’re rolling your eyes at me right now, aren’t you? I mean, there were some things I could’ve done without. I’m sure you know exactly what I mean – oh, maybe – just maybe, all of the physical aftermath of giving birth. We could’ve […]