Towards the end of my pregnancy, my husband and I took a wonderful childbirth class with a local nurse and doula. We finished this six-week course feeling as prepared as two soon-to-be parents can be for the birth of their child. For the vaginal birth of their child, I should...
Our son turns seven in November. He can read, swim, tie his shoes (for the most part), and ride a bike without training wheels. He is very much A Big Kid. Even so, this big bad first grader is still jumps at the chance to snuggle in bed and listen...
As I write this, my son is down the street at our neighborhood school experiencing his first day of first grade. Part of me would love to use this space to talk about all of The Feelings I’m having about this new phase in my family’s life, but I’ll spare...
I have depression—moderate depression with a side of crippling anxiety, if you want to get specific. I was first diagnosed when I was 23, although I suspect it began much earlier than that. It was only after experiencing panic attacks, heart palpitations, chronic insomnia, and regular and profound “low” periods...
Let’s go ahead and get something out of the way right now… I am not pregnant. I don’t plan on being pregnant any time soon. But while I am not currently with child, I am currently (and always will be) obsessed with baby names. Boy names, girl names, name meanings,...
A couple of years ago, a friend of mine from high school posted this question on Facebook: “When did you really feel like a parent for the first time?” Most people answered with statements like, “As soon as I saw those two line on the pregnancy test” or “When she...
I’ve noticed over the last couple weeks that every time I ask a fellow parent how the summer is going, I get pretty much the same response. “Well…you know…it’s…ok…?” they answer, usually with a long sigh and a weary smile. Most kids in the area where we live are just...
Our six-year-old son is sort of known for his hair. Even before he was born, it’s gotten him attention. I had an ultrasound when I was 35 weeks pregnant with him, and I distinctly remember the doctor chuckling as soon as the kid’s image popped up on the screen. “That…that...
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...
One hour after my son got home from his last day of kindergarten, I presented him with this piece of paper: Yep. I know. I am so mean. As he’d barely tasted the freedom that comes with the final clang of the school bell, as visions of days spent playing...