Having a baby is one of the most challenging and rewarding things a person can do, and it is essential that expecting mamas not only prepare for their new baby but also take care of themselves after birth! Many people assume that pregnancy is the hardest part of having a baby, but in reality, the postpartum period can be the
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If you’re newly postpartum or soon to be, I can almost guarantee your Google search history is or will be filled with questions about how to do this whole “mom thing.” From the color of your new baby’s poo to how many hours they should be sleeping, you’ll constantly be looking for answers and wondering what the heck you’re doing!
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And how the formula shortage, the amoxicillin shortage, and the Pitocin shortage specifically impact US mothers. In September, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration reported that Pitocin was in shortage due to manufacturing delays at one of the two suppliers. But before we get into the implications of a Pitocin shortage, what is Pitocin? Pitocin is most known for being
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This past weekend I had the privilege of attending a co-ed, kid-friendly party to celebrate the impending arrival of a dear friend’s baby girl. There were biscuits, some booze (for the non-pregnant, non-underage attendees), and not an awkward shower game in sight. It was great. As I wrangled my family when it came time to leave, my friend thanked me
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In one of the final sessions of our childbirth class, the teacher walked us soon-to-be-mamas and our partners through putting together our birth plans. Most of us ended up in the class because we hoped to experience birth with minimal medical interventions. With that in mind, she encouraged us to come up with a few affirmations to comfort our fears
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My husband and I decided to start “trying” in February of 2008. And we did. For three days, I think. But then we reconsidered. We were putting our house on the market that spring, and I’d only been at my job as a copywriter for a few months. Why add something else to our already very full plates? It just
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When my husband and I first began talking about starting a family—both during the abstract musings of our first years of marriage and later on as the ifs morphed into whens—we always said we’d have two kids. He’s an only child, and I’m the youngest of three, and we each were leaning towards replicating the situation in which we grew up,
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Life is tricky sometimes, and I feel like its even trickier when you’re a mom. Most days it’s like I’m running at a million miles an hour, thinking about everything and everyone other than myself. But sometimes things stop us in our tracks and remind us that we need to be a priority, too. Last February, I received my first
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Picture it. My bedroom, 2009. Early morning sunshine streams through the window, casting an angelic glow over my son as he toddles into the room just as I slip my arms into a button-up shirt. He tilts his rosy-cheeked, cherubic face to the side and peers at me with twinkling blue eyes. “Nose.” I stop buttoning my shirt and look
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If you look back at pictures of my son in the hospital after his birth, you might notice that he’s swaddled in the standard blue-and-pink-striped baby blanket in almost every shot. That’s because, other than diaper changes, baths, and an occasional loosening of the blanket during nursing sessions, he was swaddled. Pretty much all the time. And I really, really
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