Ages + Stages

I am a textbook Type-A Personality and I always have been... In Elementary School, I would beg my Mom to start buying my school supplies in June. In High School, if there was an A/P class, concurrent enrollment option, or scholarship,...

All my life, I’ve believed certain things. I’ve acted certain ways. I’ve earned certain titles, decided upon certain routines, and adopted certain principles. Like all women before me, I sculpted these philosophies, anxieties, aspirations, and quirks into a mold...

One of my biggest pet peeves throughout this pregnancy has been when people refer to me as a "first-time mom." I don't feel like mom labels should be so cookie cutter. I was a foster mother for many years (pre-marriage)...

As moms we worry. Most of us start worrying the very moment we see that positive sign on the pregnancy test. Then follows the 9 months of pregnancy, and of course the nerve wracking delivery. After those things have...

I might have some unreasonable expectations. When I voted in a presidential election for the first time, I was honestly surprised that balloons and confetti didn't fall from the ceiling when I placed my ballot in the box. So after...

There is nothing glamorous about the first trimester of pregnancy. Let's just all agree to agree on that before we proceed. The first trimester is about as glamorous as that LAST agonizing month (which I'm fairly certain contains 2,646,513,544...

I was walking through a crowded flea market with my baby snuggled close in his carrier when I heard a woman whisper to her friend, “She’s spoiling that baby.” I was sharing a story about how my baby kept me...

I’m sitting at a cross-roads guys, and I’m feeling a little stuck. Here we are - the all-American standard family of four. Things are evenly balanced, boys and girls, one-to-one parent/child ratio, fitting nicely in a 3-bedroom house (although...

Placenta. Encapsulation.  Just let that soak in. I first heard of placenta encapsulation 4 years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter.  My birth teacher told us about the potential benefits- everything from boosting milk supply to lessened postpartum...

Babies are wonderful. They are cuddly, smell amazing, make sweet cooing noises, and have smiles that can melt your heart. They are innocent, adorable, and angelic. But on occasion, those angels can be difficult. I’m not talking about a cry...

When my daughter was a few months old, I started researching food and the best ways to introduce solids to her diet. I had seen friends on Facebook lamenting the food struggle woes and I had ALL the delusions of...

It's been two weeks since our little boy was born, and my daughter was officially given the title of Big Sister.  Since finding out we were expecting baby number 2, one of my greatest sources of anxiety was how...