When my second baby was born, my first was just 18 months old and teetering on the edge of toddlerhood.

My husband saw our baby first. I asked twice, “What is it?” I think it was hard for him to realize that it was a BOY! We said to each other, “What are we going to do with that?”; we were used to girls, we knew girls.

Clogged ducts are common in the life of a breastfeeding person, and unless you’re incredibly lucky, you’ll probably have to handle one or two. Fortunately there are things you can do that, when applied quickly and with diligence, can generally stop things from really going to hell in a handbasket. 

“You were coming, no matter what other chaos was going on. You were strong and steady and ready to meet us, and we were so very ready to meet you. So we drove to Willow to try for the birth we’d always wanted.”

Here’s what’s been on at my house, along with a few recommendations from other friends with fresh babies. 

“I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to be done, but I knew if I stayed focused I could accomplish the natural birth I had prepared for.”

“In the broken places I have actually discovered resilience, deeper empathy, and a reluctant belief in the strength in vulnerability.”

Traveling with littles can be rough. But, with some extra planning and careful maneuvering of the air travel system, you can stack the deck in your favor!

Before you pick up What to Expect When You’re Expecting and take a pointless walk through the produce isle (“Your baby is the size of a strawberry! A leek! A squash!”), let me attempt to point you toward these more productive reads.

While simply talking to your baby is helpful, the quality and quantity of words you use can have a huge impact when it comes to communication development.

It was like a storm front in the distance, rumbling and dark, coming this way unstoppably, and my stomach sank to the floor with fear. It was only after that moment that I began to look upon my first year as a parent with 20/20 hindsight: Without a doubt, I’d had postpartum depression and anxiety. I just hadn’t realized it. 

Yes, the nursery decor is lovely and the newborn clothes are adorable and your mom makes the best lasagna and your partner is the most supportive person in the world, but how are YOU?

The coming of spring improves the landscape in more ways than one, and opens the door for lots of activities that won’t bleed your accounts dry. When the winter comes back to make us miserable once again, there are other free options too!

While most insomnia is considered normal when growing a baby, it goes without saying that a lack of sleep can negatively impact every aspect of your life. So what can you do to help encourage better z’s?

Here’s what you really need. Consider those pennies pinched. 

Prenatal vitamins are important in pregnancy, especially during the first 20 weeks. However, supplementing vitamin D and DHA or fish oil in addition to your prenatal is extra beneficial!

Here’s what I’ve learned: Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face, because there’s no reversing it, and there’s no way you can really know what living with it will be like. I certainly didn’t want this to be true; I, like many expectant families, attempted to prepare myself by reading a mountain of baby books and parenting manuals. Yet despite my best efforts, I found I was still surprised when a few eventualities came my way during those first months as a Mom. This is what I wish I could’ve told myself when I was suddenly, shockingly, responsible for a new little person.