Moments of Motherhood: Just love yourself

This week’s Moments of Motherhood is up at the AM News, and in it I discuss how we need to judge ourselves and each other less when it comes to what we look like after giving birth. I’ve talked about it before on the blog, but I thought I’d revisit the topic for my column this week.

Here’s a excerpt:

Quite recently Hollywood actress Jennifer Garner was congratulated on her baby bump. While she admitted that yes, she does have a baby bump, she was quick to note that she is definitely not expecting. Garner reminded everyone that she has three children, so of course she has a baby bump, and it’s not going anywhere.

You read all the time about supposedly expecting celebrities, with pictures of the suspected bumps plastered all over gossip magazines. That’s the paparazzi’s job: to raise speculation and create hype about whichever star seems to be most popular at the time.

Just like in the celebrity world, assumptions are constantly made about women in “real life.” On more that one occasion I have heard personal horror stories from friends who have been asked by strangers when they were due when in fact they have an eight-month old baby at home and becoming pregnant is the last thing on their minds. [continue reading …]

Moments of Motherhood: The Terrible 2’s are a real thing

In this week’s Moments of Motherhood column over at The Armchair Mayor News, I discuss how the Terrible 2’s are not some made up life stage to put the fear of God in new parents, but an actual real thing that is a roller coaster of emotions, both for yourself and your toddler.

Here’s a snippet:

Children are amazing little beings. When they first arrive in this world they are completely innocent, dependent on you to nurture them in every way possible. It’s hard not to help but just love the infant stage of their life.

In the case of my own daughter, I found myself 100% love struck the moment she was born. Not long after my husband and I brought her home, I knew I just couldn’t wait for her to hit all of her milestones – rolling over, sitting up, crawling, walking, talking, and so on.

 Now that those milestones have more or less come and gone, we’ve entered a new stage of excitement: Toddlerhood, also fondly known to many as the Terrible 2’s. It is this stage where I have taken back many of my adoring thoughts and have considered enrolling her in boarding school as soon as possible… [continue reading]

Moments of Motherhood: Trust me, I read it on the Internet

A new Moments of Motherhood column is up at the Armchair Mayor News and this week I discuss how we rely on the Internet perhaps a little too much when we become parents. While it has plenty of great tips and advice, it has twice as many bad ones and not-necessarily-good advice.

Here’s a preview, and as always, click on through to read the rest:

There are endless things you can look up on the Internet. Whether it is a recipe for the perfect pulled pork sandwich filling or complete lyrics to Miley Cyrus’ latest hit, the Internet is a wonderfully endless world of tip, tricks, and useless knowledge.

We as a society are drawn to the Internet these days as our go-to source for finding things out. No longer are trivial disputes drawn out over months on end; a simple visit to Wikipedia (even though its legitimacy is frequently questioned) can nip heated debates in the bud. [continue reading …]