With each of our pregnancies, my husband and I have had a difficult time treating the life inside me like it actually was a life. I don’t mean that we have ever believed that it wasn’t — just that the feelings don’t seem to come naturally. It is not always easy to actually treat a […]
On Homeschooling and All Other Things “DIY”
We are a nation of outsourcing. In the last century we have figured out how to outsource our food, our labor, our entertainment, the education and raising of children, and even (with the advent of social media) our relationships. A person in this day and age can theoretically live an entire life without touching soil […]
What if You’re Not a Baby Person?
I was not naturally a “baby person.” I’ve never loved looking at Anne Geddes calendars— in fact I’d often rather look at pictures of cute animals. But I have a baby. And, obviously, I’m in love with him. In our culture we seem to have this idea that that in order to have a baby you […]
Parenting Without Fear
Why the seventies were the best time to be a kid— these popular “Buzzfeeds” and articles compare the carefree children of a world where moms didn’t worry much to the anxiety-ridden, adventure-stifled children of today— the children of helicopter parents. We’ve all seen these parents (some of us may have even been them) agonizing over all […]
In Defense of Gifts
In this age of the entitlement complex many parents are rightfully concerned about spoiling their children. I know I am. Last year, after my initial excitement at getting to be Santa for the first time, I was overcome with a gloomy anxiety, a progression of obsessive thoughts and questions: how many gifts is too many? […]
Celebrating Baby Peace
Throughout both of my pregnancies I feared miscarriage. I tried to commit myself to not entertaining such fears— I tried not to let them prevent me from falling in love. But in the back of my mind the fears were always there. I feared the loss and I feared the sadness but even more than […]