Parenting is a learning process, as any parent can surely attest. Here is where I share ideas, discuss child development, and explore the ups and downs of motherhood.
It probably seems weird for me, a breastfeeding mom, to ask people to stop trying to “normalize breastfeeding”. If you scroll through my Instagram feed, or even my Facebook for that matter, you’ll probably find places where I’ve actually used that very hashtag. You see, I’ve never really thought critically about what I’m saying when…
I’ve been struggling lately. As a mom. As a human. For some reason, I find myself in the mothering doldrums every year around Mother’s Day. The day comes and goes, but I have really small kids and a nonexistent budget for brunches or presents, so it’s a day just like any other. Nearly every year…
Lest anyone be deluded by the idea that I’ve got my poop together, let’s talk about my morning today… I need to go to the post office to check our company PO box and to Target to get some Band-Aids and toothpaste. By the way, we need Band-Aids because someone skinned their knees in the…
When I got married at age 22 and had my first baby just 10 days shy of my 24th birthday, I had a lot of people my age telling me that they didn’t want to settle down yet because they had important things to do. Like travel. As it turns out, I’ve had the opportunity…
After I had Colm, I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d want to try for a natural birth the next time around. While I certainly benefitted from the experience more than I did from the induction and epidural I’d had with Paisley, it was no walk in the park. When I found out I was…
Shortly after finding out she’s pregnant, one of the first decisions the expectant mom must make is where she’s going to go for her prenatal care. When I found out I was pregnant with Baby Rystedt V3, I started looking for providers that would be more supportive of my desire for natural birth than my…
It’s hard to believe that we’re already at the end of another year. It seems that each year to pass brings more surprises and challenges… Maybe that’s just growing up. This year was certainly no exception. Winter At the beginning of the year, we had an almost two-year-old and a four-month-old. It’s crazy to me that…
I recently made the decision to quit social media cold turkey. And yes, I realize how ironic that is, considering you’re likely accessing this post through a social media channel of one form or another. My awesome husband manages this site’s social media pages, so no, I’m not lying when I say that I’m personally…
Paisley is two. Two is a hard age – for both parents and the poor little ones who are actually two. This year has definitely been the biggest year of change for Paisley developmentally and so on. (Although I have a feeling I’m going to say that with each new year of my babies’ lives.)…
Today is Ash Wednesday: the day that signifies the beginning of the season of Lent in Catholic and confessional Protestant churches. Many will attend Mass or church services where they will receive ashen crosses upon their foreheads, among the other essential elements of the Divine Service: the Word and Sacrament. Tonight, Josh and I will…
