Babies

When my husband married me, he didn’t know he was signing up for a wife who throws fatigue-induced tantrums because our nearly-one-year-old son still doesn’t sleep through the night! He didn't know his wife would be the pallbearer at my grandfather’s funeral. He didn’t know he’d have to love me through piles of laundry and dishes and coupons clipped with good intentions but no follow-through.

The numbers on the scale look familiar, too, so you gamely pull out the giant bin of pre-pregnancy clothes, eager to find your old jeans and favorite tops. The cruelty of this capsule should not be underestimated. You might be close to your target weight, but your body was completely rearranged and may not settle back into the same shape.

One of the things I never questioned about being a mom was my desire to breastfeed. Breastfeeding has so many benefits for mama and baby—it just seemed like a no-brainer. And even though I knew, intellectually, that my big boobs didn't...

Out of everything I do during a single day, there’s one thing that is my absolute favorite: reading. I’ve been reading since age five and have read thousands of books by now. I was so excited to begin reading to my...

And there is one thing you should never say to a mom with a child on a feeding tube. "Oh, this is just a phase. Your child will grow out of it and will be eating all kinds of food before you know it."

I remember when I was pregnant for the first time, everyone would say, "Being a mom is so hard, but so worth it." Do you know what that kind of advice does for a mother-to-be? I'll be bold here and say it does nothing. The word "hard" is thrown around like confetti when it comes to parenting. It isn't incorrect, because being a parent IS hard, but the term "hard" has become so overused, it's practically meaningless.

In the end people remember less about things that you think are weird about yourself, or what you wore, or how much you weigh. Instead they remember how you made them feel. 

But I turn and clutch the doll to my chest, suppressing tears. This doll, placed so tenderly on the step, is an offering to the passage of time, to growing up, to letting go. It hurts my heart. I don’t want it to come yet. Slowly, I make my way down the stairs, cradling the doll.

The holidays are definitely a time for family. However, sometimes navigating the when and where of seeing all that family can get a bit tricky.  When my husband and I were first married, we both wanted to be with...

But now we have come to what I call the sweet spot. The kids are between, say, 3 and 6. They believe in Santa and his magic. And they are suckers for all of the advertising on TV. They may be a little shy but parents or elves usually can coax them to at least stand next to Santa as they mumble to him about the Lego set or doll or robot they want him to bring.