Perspectives in Parenting

When my sisters and I were young girls, my family watched the mini-series, The Thorn Birds, almost religiously every time it was broadcast on network television. We were raised in a strict Catholic home, as evidenced by our family of five female siblings. None of us ever questioned how this tale of a conflicted Catholic priest became family canon, or even why we were allowed to watch such a film in the first place, but in hindsight (particularly in the wake of a much more aware cultural and moral battleground) has led to many questions that I think are worthy of exploration. If you are unfamiliar with the 1983 mini-series based on Colleen McCollough's novel of the same name, a...

My daughter spent 18 days in the NICU after she was born eight weeks early. This was new territory for me since my son was evicted at forty weeks three days. The experience made her homecoming that much sweeter, but it was a difficult journey fraught with emotions for our entire family. Admission to the NICU When your baby is very premature, they are quickly taken to the NICU after birth. I got a brief view of her when the doctor held her up for me to see. My husband got to see her while she was weighed, measured, and her birth APGAR scores were taken. But neither of us got to hold her when she was born. She was quickly...

In 2022, we’re all aware of the need for self-care. Whether it be a corporate office pretending to give a crap by extending lunch breaks or a spouse that feels they exemplified selflessness by “letting” a mom shower in peace, there’s a lot of pretending out there when it comes to self-care. Self-care in Motherhood It shouldn’t even be such a buzzword in motherhood because the idea around self-care when you’re a mom is to simply take tiny bits of time to “recharge,” just to go back to motherhood. When will society accept moms are people, too? The thing is, while there’s a ton of support around taking care of yourself, even as a mom *gasp*, there’s a lot of judgment in the...

There are so many emotions tied with breastfeeding: joy, exhaustion, accomplishment, and even sadness. I love the bond it gave to me and each of my sons, starting my journey was a steep mountain to climb, and I miss every second of every bit of it. Thanks for hearing about my journey, I hope you can be encouraged. The dream Seven years ago I was pregnant with our first son. The most I knew about pregnancy was from my mother's stories. She had four unmedicated childbirths and I believed that was the typical experience for women. Once I became a teenager I watched Hollywood movies and was then fearful of what childbirth could be. It was then that I decided I...

Happy Breastfeeding Week!! I never thought it would be me. If someone told me that I would nurse my youngest little heart exclusively for a year. Then continue to tandem breastfeed until he was 3, I wouldn’t have believed you. I delivered my youngest, Jacob, at Women’s hospital. They were very encouraging when it came to breastfeeding. They had a lactation consultant that came by with helpful tips. The lactation consultant even answered many of my questions. Breastfeeding went so well in the hospital. The day after we brought Jacob home, nursing took a turn for the worse. Have you ever slapped your pinky finger in a car door? That’s exactly what nursing felt like. Then I started having contractions. I...