Encouragement

Note: This post is part our series in observance of World Breastfeeding Week and is sponsored by Woman's Hospital.  My Breastfeeding Evolution When I was pregnant for the first time in 2005, I remember always knowing that I would breastfeed. Somehow it was just a given that it was what I would do. I think at that time, it was more in a nutritional sense than a relational one. I knew it was healthy and I knew my body was designed to do it, so it just made sense. I researched and read and felt prepared in the academic sense. It's Go Time! But when my son Ben unexpectedly came early, I was thrust into a challenging breastfeeding experience for which I was...

My daughter has been a dedicated thumb-sucker since the womb. When she was an infant, I got a lot of comments from friends, family, and strangers on how adorable my little thumb-sucker was. "She is too cute with that thumb!" they would exclaim, a smile lighting up their face. "Thumb-suckers make for happy babies" more than one sage grandmotherly stranger nodded. After her first birthday though, the comments begin to slow in frequency. Then they stopped. After her second birthday, the comments started up again, but this time they had a decidedly different tone.   "Isn't she too old to be sucking her thumb?" the cashier at the grocery store would say, eyebrows raised. "Get that thumb out of your mouth!"...

Sometimes as parents we see a light bulb go off in our kid’s mind, and they just get it. These are some of my favorite moments in my journey of motherhood. Recently, things got switched around for us and my daughter said something that made a light bulb go off in my head about body positivity and raising girls. On a Sunday before church a few weeks ago, Keilyn was watching me do my makeup which she does regularly. She loves to ask questions about the colors and how to blend eye makeup. Playing dress up is one of our favorite activities after all. I was beginning the process of “putting on my face” with foundation and Keilyn pipes up...

After I was tucked into bed each night as a child, I remember imagining all the fun and exciting things adults had the luxury of doing because they were able to stay up past my bedtime. I can remember overhearing my parents chatter, watch television or rustle around the kitchen. In my young mind I'm sure I was convinced they were planning vacations, having parties, eating snacks and watching movies ... because staying up late is always fun! Well, I'm a mother of my own children now and I have learned that staying up late isn't always as much fun as it seemed when I was six. Now that I have my own family, I've discovered the truth of what...

When it comes to receiving successful career advice I'm sure you've heard some form of the following: "It's not work if you do what you love." However what advice is acceptable for becoming a parent instantly after saying 'I do'? Okay, quick background rapid fire! I fell in love with a single mother of one and she fell for for me. Being two divorcees we ran off to the San Francisco for a beautiful City Hall wedding. This was all over the span of three years. I'll say it only once for context: stepdad. This title isn't spoken in our house. Why? We don't like that word. Yet that title will rear its ugly head during doctors' visits, school functions and...