Should Both Parents Tend to the Baby at Night?

Whose job is it to get up in the middle of the night to tend to a crying infant? There was a time when the automatic assumption was that this task was entirely for the mother. Today, there are plenty of parents who realize that there are good reasons to share this responsibility. Babies are incredibly cute. They can also be exhausting. Many babies simply refuse to sleep through the night. They loudly let their parents know that they need a diaper change or want to be fed. At least one parent needs to get up to tend to the … Continue reading

Help Falling Asleep

As I was helping my son fall asleep, I was thinking about the potential problems that I am created by actually helping him fall asleep. So many of the other moms of young boys that I know do no such thing as laying down in their son’s bed to help him fall asleep (I must be crazy). A small part of me wishes that I could get my son to just go to sleep on his own without being scared. Perhaps this is a behavior that I can teach my two year old, but as I lay next to my … Continue reading

Keeping Baby Busy

Since I have a fussier than normal baby, it is also more difficult to keep him happy when he is not in my arms. We have a myriad of contraptions that he is starting to grow into like the bouncy chair, saucer, and swing. We also have a playmat on the floor that has toys that hang over his head. Yesterday, he managed to bounce himself in the bouncer for a good 15 minutes. I was thrilled! It gave me time to fold some laundry. My older kids are big helpers too. I frequently ask them to “go play with … Continue reading

I’m a Baby Person

One thing I’ve realized about myself over the years of being a Mother is that I am a baby person. It’s funny, because before I had kids, I never really thought this about myself. And, even after the birth of my first, I still didn’t quite realize it. I loved her, and goo gooed and gaa gaaed over her like any first time mother would. I was smitten, of course, but didn’t realize that I really loved the baby stage until she got a little older. I read this great blog post the other day about just this topic. It … Continue reading

Your Baby Wants You!

There is always a recurring theme in my blogging it seems. I am a Mom. And, I often feel inadequate. Today has been one of those days. I woke up super grouchy due to my baby waking me at 4:15 am, the toddler waking me at 5:45 am, and my “big girl” waking me up at 6:45 am. Needless to say, I was not happy with anyone. I managed to get my girl out the door to Kindergarten and gave her a big hug before she left and told her I loved her. I hope she remembers that instead of … Continue reading

Things You Just Get Over With Another Baby

I just added baby number 3 to my bunch. It’s been a whirlwind the past 3 1/2 months as we all get used to this new bundle, and as I, the mama, get used to having three kids!! It seems like so many people to raise. And, to some it is, but to other Moms, my little trio of children probably doesn’t seem like any trouble at all. I love this picture of my three little ones. It’s perfection in my mind. It’s real motherhood. It was 10 am and we were all still in PJs and baby brother was … Continue reading

The Crying Baby

My colleague wrote a post called, Helping Others Understand your High Needs Baby, and it brought me back 14 years ago when my fussiest baby ruled my world. The thing is, at the time I thought all babies cried and cried and cried. Even in the hospital as she screamed to the top of her lungs and I stood there perfectly calm the nurse complemented my behavior. I just had my first baby and I expected crying. Having little experience with babies it was all I expected. Until, I slowly began to realize my baby cried more than other babies. … Continue reading

Helping Others Understand Your High Needs Baby

I hold my baby a lot. This is because I have a fussy, high needs baby that needs to be held a lot. I have found though that in doing so, I have many people see my baby as an easy, breezy baby. For example, I have lots of strangers tell me how good of a baby he is. What they don’t realize is that he IS a good baby in my arms. He IS a good baby when someone is walking, bouncing, or rocking him. Just today in the store, a woman was cooing over my smiley baby remarking … Continue reading

The Trendy Mom & Baby

Today I had a post-partum check up and was waiting patiently for the doctor to come in. You know, half dressed, and praying that the baby would stay asleep in his car seat. I decided to pick up a parenting magazine I saw in the room and thumb through it while I was waiting. I won’t say which magazine it was, but I was shocked to find that this was like a people magazine, but for Moms. For example, every other page had a celebrity on it with their child. Of course, they were dressed to perfection in designer clothes. … Continue reading

Happy Helping Husbands

Today I took my kids, including my newest addition, to story time at the public library. My oldest son loves it. I frequently meet other moms there and get a chance to get out of the house and feel a little “normal”. Or at least, as normal as I can with a new baby around. Today I sat next to a Mom and we started chatting. She had 4 kids (twins in the middle) and her youngest was still a baby, although starting to toddle around. During the conversation, she said that she and her husband were going through a … Continue reading