Before I had my first baby, I had a corporate job, complete with cubicles, bureaucracy and a never-ending supply of donuts and half-finished cakes calling to me from the break room. I didn’t grieve any of that when I left my job to go on maternity leave. Not the stray, half-eaten sweets that always seemed […]
5 Tips for Parenting through the Storm
Updated February 2017: Since the new year is turning out to be just as intense as 2016, I updated this article and added one extra tip. OK, 2016 is proving itself to be a pretty intense year… and it isn’t even over yet. News from around the world has been bleak. With multiple mass shootings […]
An Army of Moms & The Hashtag #meditateonthis
This week an influential health panel, the US Preventive Services Task Force, issued new recommendations regarding maternal mental health, stating that all women should be screened for depression during pregnancy and after childbirth. Mothers and mental health care providers everywhere rejoiced. Being a mom and a therapist myself, I was doubly overjoyed. Ten years ago, […]
You Are Entering The Baby Time Zone
Ever notice how young children measure time with holidays and seasons? Ask a child about the calendar and they’ll tell you the special occasion they’re looking forward to next and what kind of fun and sweets will accompany it. They determine seasons by what is thrown on them as they walk out the door — […]
How Do You Fret? The 8 Types of New Parent Worries :: Monday Musing
Anxiety is a completely normal part of being a new parent. In fact, the worrying often begins before your child ever enters this world. During my first pregnancy, I remember being in a constant state of wonder. Wondering if my baby was healthy. Wondering if I would carry him full-term. Wondering if the birth would […]
7 Universal Truths of Parenting a Newborn :: Monday Musing
When you have a new baby, you realize a few things: Every birth story is unique. Every newborn has his/her own little personality and individual needs. Each couple goes about the task of parenting in their own customized way. In spite of all of these differences, there are seven truths that almost all new parents […]
Postpartum Survival Guide :: Wednesday Wisdom
This invaluable list of suggestions for new parents was originally posted on the Austin Born Blog. We loved it so much, we asked if we could share it with our followers. The list was compiled by a group of new mothers who were attending The Circle, a postpartum group offered for when motherhood is not […]
Laugh and Laugh Often :: Tuesday Tip
When my newborn son and I were still figuring out breastfeeding, I realized that I was going to be spending a lot of time awake… in the middle of the night… by myself… in the dark. At first, I tried to fight through my sleepiness while I made sure that my new baby’s latch was […]
A Workout for Busy Moms :: Wednesday Wisdom
Meet Allison Lambert. She is an ACE certified personal trainer, former psychology teacher and college athlete. Her desire to help women get healthy lead her to create The Fit Tutor, an online fitness service for women. Some personal trainers wear camo pants, yell a lot, or show off their six-packs to motivate their clients. Not Allison. She […]
Kicking Parenting Shame to the Curb :: Monday Musing
My eyes tend to wander when I’m in the grocery store check-out line. Typically, I’m scanning the magazines and tabloids, catching up on two minutes of trashy news while I wait. The other day, something else caught my attention. I noticed a couple in the check out line next to me, waiting for their groceries […]
Mommy Posture and Other Signs of Martyrdom :: Monday Musing
“Did you know that bass means butt, Mom?” (insert Beavis-and-Butthead-style snickers) And that is how the latest “out of the mouths of babes” conversation began with my 6-year-old son a few weeks ago. He was referring to Meghan Trainor’s song, “All About That Bass”, the women’s empowerment anthem that is currently playing every hour, on […]
Alone with Baby – 3 Ways to Reduce Flying Solo Fear :: Tuesday Tip
My friend Val said the weirdest thing to my colicky infant daughter: “Sweet baby… I’m not afraid of you!” Once I was sure I’d heard her correctly, I realized that I was, in fact, afraid of my child. Not in a “Rosemary’s Baby” sort of way. I was afraid of my perceived lack of ability […]
Cuz That’s the Way I Like It – Saying ‘Yes’ to Your Own Holiday Traditions :: Monday Musing
Kirsten’s recent tip on “just saying no” to holiday stress raised this question for me: why is it so hard to say no, especially to extended family, especially around the holidays? When J and I first married, we had to figure out how to share holidays with two families (we had it easy – some […]
Why Am I Crying? :: Monday Musing
A few days ago, I opened up one of those “iPhone auto-correct text mishaps” posts on the Internet, and within seconds, I was laughing so hard, I had tears running down my face. Real, wet-my-cheeks tears. This sensation of crying – without understanding what the heck I was crying about – immediately brought me back […]
Can I Do This? Facing Parenting Inadequacy Anxiety :: Monday Musing
Kirsten’s awesome anxiety tip made a visual pop into my head: a big deck of gross cards, representing the multiple anxieties I had/have about motherhood. It took me a long time to connect with any sort of desire to have children, and when that drive finally became strong enough to push me through the intense […]