Since becoming a mom, my definition of self-care has changed. Before kids, self-care could involve entire days (or weekends) devoted to my interests or overall well-being — which might have taken the form of reading books, traveling, shopping, going out, gaming, or any number of fun (if occasionally mindless) activities. But after kids, while free time does still exist (as a work at home mom, it can feel scarce), I find I have to carve out smaller increments of time for self-care. For me, an easy and genuinely enjoyable way of pampering myself, is through my skincare routine. And I’m not alone …
Technology and Mindfulness
Does the ease and speed of modern technology decrease mindfulness? That is, does it inhibit us from communicating meaningfully and thoughtfully? Back in the day, when we had to write letters to friends who lived far away, or make infrequent long-distance phone calls to family in other countries, we likely put more thought and care into how (and what) we communicated. Now, we’re instantly connected to everyone, is our communication less mindful? (And does it matter?)
Empowering Moms by Nursing in Public
About two weeks ago, I saw neighbor of mine sitting outside on a bench in our community nursing her infant. Publicly. Proudly. Then, last week, for the first time, I nursed my younger son in public myself (without a cover). This was my first time truly nursing in public. I did so using the two-shirt method (top shirt gets pulled up, bottom shirt/nursing tank gets pulled down, baby nurses from between those two), so I was still pretty discreet about it, but it was still a milestone for me in my journey as a nursing mom. While I nursed my older …
A Good Birth – Processing Childbirth
A few months ago, I visited Daedalus Books (a giant book warehouse, and maybe one of the coolest places in Maryland, that sadly, closed down recently), and came upon a book called “A Good Birth” by Dr. Anne Drapkin Lyerly. It was convenient that I came across this book, because as we were getting ready to welcome our second child, one of the things I wanted to do to prepare for the experience of giving birth a second time was to reflect on and process, my experience of childbirth the last time around. (And this book was instrumental to that processing). (This post contains affiliate …
5 Benefits of Being a Working Mom
There are challenges that come along with parenting, regardless of whether you stay at home full time, work at home, or work outside the home. And plenty has been written about the challenges that come with being a working mom (here’s a post by Taryn Watts about the challenges of being a working mom, and here’s another by Ashley from Balancing today). But today’s post isn’t just about why being a working parent is hard — it’s mostly about the opposite of that: the things that can make being a full-time, working parent, fantastic. My friend Meredith Green has been …
How to Balance Being a Work at Home Mom or Dad
Here’s a post on how to be a work at home mom, and how I personally balance working at home as a parent. I have to admit that once Baby #2 arrives, I know that most of what works for me now in balancing it all may end up looking comically naive and/or useless to me. But, this post is about what has been working for me so far. I wanted to share this stuff because when I first found myself as a working at home mom, I didn’t know a ton of other women like me, and definitely struggled a …
Advice for New Moms on the First Few Days
I’ve been thinking about what new moms need to know in those first few days home with a baby. Those first few days after becoming a mom to a newborn are a whirlwind of emotions and changes and new beginnings. Here are some words of advice for new moms of newborns, on those first few days from moms who’ve been there…
Breastfeeding 101: Resources for New Moms
Here, I’m sharing a sort of “Breastfeeding 101” post for new moms — some of the basic Who, What, Where, When, and Why’s of Breastfeeding (though not in that order), plus some of my favorite resources related to breastfeeding. If you’re interested in this content, please read on. Edited to add: My book on Toddler Weaning is now available for purchase at Amazon here.
20 Pregnancy Essentials (Updated!)
We are expecting our second baby this summer! I am in my second trimester (about 4.5 months pregnant) now, and there are definitely some pregnancy essentials must-haves that I’ve needed the past few months that I’d like to share here in case it benefits anyone else. In this post, I’m also including links to some of the aforementioned essentials (they’re affiliate links, which means if you find something useful here and end up buying it, the website will get a kickback; you wouldn’t pay anything more, but you would be supporting the maintenance of this website — so thank you …
Shopping Recommendations & Suggestions
This page is a listing of shopping recommendations and suggestions for items you might want to purchase. Right now, this page includes links to the best baby registry I know of (Amazon Baby Registry, obviously). This page will be constantly updated with other recommendations. This page includes affiliate links. You can read the disclosures and affiliate links policy here. (By the way, if you can’t see any links or embedded images on this page, you might have an ad-blocker on; try disabling it so you can see the link) Best Baby Registry Below are some of our favorite items for …