Red Stick Mom

I don’t know what it is about becoming a mom that suddenly makes you feel like every.thing.you.do. is being judged by every other mom that you ever come in contact with, from mother-in-laws to close friends to strangers on the street. You just know they are watching your every move and asking judge-y questions about you in their heads: “Isn’t she too young to be a mom?” “Are ALL those kids hers?” “She feeds her kids fast food and red dye?!” “Doesn’t she know breast is best?” You begin to feel defensive against a random elderly lady who wiped your toddler’s nose in the dairy section at Wal-Mart. (Yes, that happened to me. I was going to wipe it in a minute, I swear!...

I am now 38 weeks pregnant. Hard to believe, and yet of course I knew (or at least hoped) that I would eventually get here. I knew that, God willing, everything would progress, my belly would grow, and this being inside me would grow into a tiny person. But even though I’ve been pregnant now for the better part of the last year, I still find myself surprised sometimes that there’s going to be another person living in our house! My husband and I belong to a local Methodist church and we celebrate the season of Advent every year: counting down the Sundays between Thanksgiving and Christmas. There were moments when I thought about Mary, the mother of Jesus, in a...

Congrats! You’re having a baby! You’ve picked out a name, ordered a crib, and researched stroller systems.  You’ve spent hours drooling over tutus and LSU football onesies.  But, have you taken the time to prepare for labor and birth?  Having a baby is so much more than showing up at the hospital after your water breaks, and it’s nothing like what you see on tv and in movies.  In fact, having a great birth experience starts before your first prenatal visit.  There are several things to consider when preparing for your best birth, and this four-step guide will get you on your way! 1. Choose Your Birth Team The first and most important choice you will make is your birth team,...

Supporting the single mom. It's hard to be there for someone when you don't know how and when you don't "have time." I lost a lot of friends when I became a single mom, but I have been so blessed to have a few faithful mommas stick with me and support me; and I am even more thankful for the new moms who joined me in this new journey. So how can you help the single mom? Obviously, I cannot speak for every single mom, but this is what has gotten me through it! These are all ways my friends helped me -some I didn't even know I needed. Stop asking me what you can do to help! There are at least...

I’m easily overwhelmed.  So, it’s no surprise that the holidays make me a little frazzled.  In fact, I often find myself dreading them instead of feeling the holiday spirit.  There’s something about having a baby that makes family even more desperate to see you, and that can mean a lot of pressure and stress.  When Etta Mae was born, I decided that it was very important to establish traditions to make sure that our immediate family found a way to connect at Christmastime. One tradition that we have started is stolen from my own childhood.  No matter what else we had going on for the holidays, Christmas day was always spent at home with just my parents and brother.  Etta...