Parenting seems to be the great Yin and Yang. I want to say that parenting has brought out the best in me, but it has brought out just as much of the worst in me. Every single moment is the worst/best. Every single moment I am confronted with a situation where I can channel the strength I know I have inside and be fully present or I can fold under the pressure and succumb to bad habits so deeply ingrained. I can make things better or worse for another human being. No, not just another human being. An extension of me. Someone way more important than me. Way more important than anyone. The most important person in the world. [Read more…]
Suckin’ Me Dry
I have shared many blog posts lately about the tough times in parenting, breastfeeding and breastfeeding a toddler. The most frequent response I get, even when talking about how weaning is not right for Jack and I just yet, is that I should wean Jack. “It’s just time. You need to wean him.” Besides how obnoxious this type of “advice” is, it’s not really the point when talking about tough times. [Read more…]
Filed Under: Attachment parenting, Breastfeeding //
How the Mighty Have Fallen: AP in the Air Force
By Suzanne Adams
Well, where do I start? I guess we can start at the beginning of being in the military. It wasn’t something I had ever thought I would do but I wanted something stable, something long-term. I had gone to college but didn’t have a degree so my options of a decent job were limited. So I decided to join the Air Force and get some education and training. I chose a job that is very difficult to qualify for. I spent the first two years of my Air Force career in training and my first duty assignment was in South Korea. [Read more…]
Filed Under: Attachment parenting, Breastfeeding //
10 EASY WAYS TO GET CLOSER TO YOUR KIDS
By Holly Easterby
Holly Easterby grew up in a family where kids always had a great time with their parents through reunions. This type of relationship has made her interested in helping other families experience the same by providing content for Bonza Brats and in blogs like this one. In this article, she gives tips on how you can be closer to your kids. [Read more…]
Filed Under: Attachment parenting //
Adding a New Baby
By Anonymous Guest Blogger
It started in the second trimester of my second pregnancy. My daughter was about 3 and 1/2. Up until a few months before, we shared a bed every night. See, my husband travels for work and while I was pregnant, we didn’t travel with him. My daughter and I stayed with my parents and we spent about 10 days a months with my husband. Not ideal, but could have been much worse.
We were new back in the area, all my friends from high school with kids were gone, and I had long ago lost touch with the child free bunch. I didn’t really know what to expect about going from one child to two. My mom had vague and fanciful memories from my childhood, as the baby of three. She didn’t offer much advice or guidance and what was happening to me was too shameful to talk about. And so I kept quiet. [Read more…]
Filed Under: Attachment parenting //
Breastfeeding My Preemie
By Badass Courtney
The day William was born.
When I got pregnant with my rainbow baby (baby after my miscarriage) I was so excited and scared. I knew I wanted to breast fed. I assumed I would have a normal pregnancy and breast feeding would just be simple and easy. [Read more…]
Filed Under: Attachment parenting, Breastfeeding //
When They Need You to Fall Asleep: Self-Soothing and Other Myths
By Wendy Wisner
Does your baby or child need you to fall asleep? Is nursing the only thing that does the trick? Rocking? Back patting? Cuddling? Holding hands? Just lying there silently in the dark? Have you been told you just need to leave the room at some point and let your child learn to self-soothe? Have you been told you are doing your child a disservice by not teaching him or her this very important life skill? [Read more…]
Filed Under: Attachment parenting, Sleep //
Dear Moms at the Park
No, this isn’t one of those judgey posts about seeing Moms at the park on their cell phones or what they say to their kids. Who am I to judge anyway? I snapped at my toddler this morning making his already rough morning even worse. No, I can’t look down at anyone from any Gentle Parenting Tower. [Read more…]
Filed Under: Attachment parenting, Breastfeeding, Breastfeeding in Public //
In the Napping House Where Everyone But Me is Sleeping
You’ve had those days. I know you have. Where you are so tired. No, no. Like more tired than you ever thought was humanly possible and still be alive. So tired. Just so flippin’ tired. And you know there are people in the world who are sleeping and you hate them with intense passion. Just the thought that another human being gets to be sleeping makes you so spiteful. How dare they sleep while you, the most tired person on the entire face of the Earth, has to stay awake. So tired that you have bumped into several pieces of furniture and a few walls and door frames. [Read more…]
Filed Under: Attachment parenting, Breastfeeding //
