For me, breastfeeding was far from easy. I was nervous, unsure I was doing it correctly and always worried about whether my babies were getting enough food. Because of the pressure I felt from doctors, nurses, family, and myself—basically, everyone—I did it for a while with both of my children until, one day, I didn’t.
I know I’m not the only one out there who is having trouble dealing with the growing crisis surrounding Syrian refugees, the Paris attacks, this recent massacre in Orlando, and the constant threats that ISIS seems to be dangling in front of the Western world. The tension builds every day, as new hate crimes arise, more misinformed politicians take close-minded stands against what they perceive to be threats to “national security,” and more propaganda from terrorist organizations surfaces. Personally, I waffle back and forth between wanting to stick my head in the sand and pretend that none of this is happening, and wanting to know All The Things, grinding my life to a halt to take in the horror of it all.
Three kids appears to be the magic number for many families today. Every time I meet a new mommy friend, she has (or is working towards) three kids and statistics show that there is a major increase of three-child households in North America. Why is three the new two? What’s up with the three kid trend? I talked with a group of moms of three to get some inside perspective and here are some of their most popular answers.
Whether you have little ones running rampant, or teenagers getting social all on their own—most moms will tell you that their household is running a busy schedule. Between carpooling and household duties, combined with working outside the home, or the never-ending battle that is being a stay-at-home-mom—coordinating a family’s activities is something that many women are balancing very, very carefully. It’s easy to forget to enjoy the journey, there’s often not enough time, but there are some easy ways to avoid succumbing to the ongoing state of ‘being busy’ and find your inner calm. Here are five simple ways to help bring the joy back to the chaos.
It happens at some point for every mom and it was happening for me today, one and a half months before he would turn the big oh-two: the first trip away from my baby.
I’m a journalist and editor, so it’s been easy to find reasons to work from home over the past few years, scrambling to squeeze every workable second out of naps, evenings, and weekends—but when a press trip came up for Ann Arbor and my first choice writer couldn’t make the dates, I considered whether it was perhaps time to get back into the game and go myself—a mom’s getaway.
I am positively giddy!!! Many readers know that I trained as an actor, singer and dancer before falling into my current career. I can sing most songs from most Broadway shows, and have studied choreography from Jerome Robbins by watching films and live performances over and over again until I memorized the moves.
Even before ‘Frozen’ fame, Idina Menzel was an extreme girl-crush of mine. And Julie Andrews? I can’t even bear to sing along to the Sound of Music because I may drown out her beautiful voice. Think of it: Musical Theatre on Netflix. The streaming company has announced that Ms. Andrews will star in ‘Julie’s Greenroom‘, a new preschool show from The Jim Henson Company that features an all-new puppet cast of kids learning about the performing arts. The series will be available exclusively to Netflix members globally in early 2017.
Stay-at-home mothers are lucky. We get to be with our babies full-time and witness all of the coveted milestones that make parenthood so special in those early days. We have unlimited time to spend with these tiny creatures who hold our hearts so tightly, and we are free from the guilt and anguish that so many mothers feel for sending their little ones to daycare. We don’t have to put on a suit and drag our tired asses to an office, tearfully kissing our little ones goodbye. And we don’t answer to anyone but our own children, who, in reality, are the worst bosses anyone could ever have. As temping as it is, we must not fall prey to the idea that staying at home with children is a leisurely endeavour—it is work, and yet, somehow, this job that nobody really considers a job, has been placed on the bottom of the totem pole. Yes, we are lucky, but this shit is hard and asking for support shouldn’t be anything to be ashamed of.
But, it is.
Dads are hot. Yes, you read that right.
DADS. ARE. HOT!
And they also like hot things. And cool things, because they’re also kind of cool.
It’s pretty commonly accepted around town that husbands and dads aren’t the bomb-diggity anymore and single guys have all the game. But, a man who can be an amazing life partner, help his little girls play softball, teach his son how to drive, and cook us all an amazing dinner—I’m telling you, that is the real definition of hot.
That time of year is upon us again, ladies, when we ask ourselves the age-old question: tie or socks? I usually like to go rogue and get him both but this Father’s Day, I want to think outside of the ‘workwear accessories’ box. My partner is a great dad and an incredibly thoughtful man; he does the things that I don’t even realize need doing, like restocking the fridge with cream for my coffee and making sure our toddler treat cupboard is well-stocked. And he is always ready when he knows I need a break, a few minutes to decompress. I keep these things close to my heart when I come home to his dirty socks on my living room table: because marriage, right?
While travelling this bumpy road on my journey with CRPS and chronic pain, I’ve had a lot of time to think about stuff. It’s not a huge stretch to imagine that it’s difficult and uncomfortable to have someone in your life who has to deal with chronic pain or illness—especially if you’ve never dealt with this kind of thing yourself. It can be hard to know how to act around them or even support them if you wanted to. So, I figured that since I’ve been ‘lucky’ enough to have acquired this knowledge over the past few years, perhaps it would help to share what I’ve learned with anyone who wants to know how to support a friend that’s in chronic pain.