Editor: All the married ladies! Did you change your names when you got married? And if so, how did you feel about changing your last name after marriage? Particularly in a time when so many people don’t go the old-school route of woman-takes-husband’s-name after marriage, the decision to change your name after marriage can be a complicated one. Cherie, who previously talked about why the transition from being a working mom to becoming a stay at home mom is so life-changing, shared her thoughts on changing her name after marriage. Here, you can read why she decided to change her name …
Why I’m Hyphenating my Last Name
Editor: Congratulations to Anuja and Jay! They got married! After getting married, Anuja decided to hyphenate her last name (Oak) with her husband’s last name (Mathur). If you’re interested in this kind of thing, read on to hear it straight from Anuja Oak-Mathur in this post: Why I’m Hyphenating my Last Name.
Night Weaning My Toddler: How I Night Weaned in 3 Days
Hi all. This is a post about night weaning my toddler. I’m sharing this personal story in the hopes that it might help another exhausted or otherwise ready-to-night-wean-mama, because when I was preparing to night wean my son, I found it really helpful to read other mamas’ stories and tips. If you’re a mama contemplating night weaning your toddler, I sincerely hope this post is valuable to you (and if you’d prefer to read a much more detailed account of this, plus how we day-weaned, you can actually read all of it in my book, Toddler Weaning: Deciding to Gradually Wean your …
On Babywearing and Bedsharing
Emily di Febo, a mother of two kids, a teacher of almost 100 high schoolers, and a self-described imperfect parent, once thought she would be the “perfect mother” — until she actually had her first baby, and discovered that parenting in real life is actually all about messing up. Emily has learned a lot since then, including about babywearing and bedsharing. Here, she’s sharing some of what she has learned. As a disclaimer since this post is about attachment parenting, babywearing, and bedsharing: Regardless of what style of parenting you believe in, I hope if you read this post, you’ll …
The Hardest Thing About Weaning
This post is not related to teaching or my research, but is instead about something very personal, and perhaps relatable for a lot of moms: breastfeeding, and the end of the breastfeeding journey (something I’ve written about in the past, and in this book!) This is a post about the hardest things or the hardest thing about weaning for some moms. Why weaning is hard (or can be hard) Of course, weaning can be hard on your child emotionally (and certainly physically if you’re weaning before they’re developmentally ready), but weaning can also be hard for moms. Many moms may have …
Yet another “mom blog”
There are so many existing mom blogs out there. So in the midst of all this internet noise, why another mom blog? Some mom blogs describe the transformative experience of becoming a mother: how it changes you, what it’s like to love your children, how you become somebody new. (#matrescence) Reading these kinds of earnest and thoughtful mom blog posts can make you feel seen, and connected, and can make you smile from your heart because you feel so seen. Other mom blogs talk about the darker sides of being a mother: the witching hour, the entire toddlerhood period, trying …
Be Kind to Yourself
I had a conversation a few weeks ago that made me remember how important it is to be kind to yourself. My friend Alexandra had her second baby about a month and a half ago. Four days later, she shared with me the jumble of emotions she was feeling: She was struggling with feeling like she wasn’t meeting her older child’s needs, feeling frustrated with those needs, and feeling guilty about feeling those things (while simultaneously overflowing with love and adoration for him). And then, she said something so lovely: “But I need to give myself some grace too.” It reminded …
Balancing Being a Teacher and Mom
Balancing being a teacher and mom can be difficult. My friend and colleague (and unofficial mentor/life-coach throughout my doctoral program), Dr. Natalie Duvall is a teacher and mom, co-owner of a tutoring business, and about a million other things (including a confectioner!). I asked her to share some thoughts with me about how she finds balance as a working mom, and she wrote her thoughts as a lovely essay, which I’m sharing below. Here, Natalie describes being a mom to her students, and then going home to be a mom to her actual babies. Here’s Natalie…