A resource to inspire, inform and empower parents.

Ode to Poop

Read this blog post at Breastfeeding Basics!

Ode to Poop

Stuff in Jack’s Hands

Jack dueling with flowers.

Jack’s arrival into my husband’s and my life has been thrilling. We are never bored by his shenanigans. It is truly exciting to watch him learn to laugh, make jokes and recognize his world. The first time he ran over to me and yelled “duck!” because he heard a truck outside was one of the happiest moments of my life. This little being that just recently didn’t exist is here in my living room talking to me. And he is excited about something! Something he chose on his own to be excited about. [Read more…]

An Insider’s Perspective on Cry It Out and Spanking

By Shae

When I was born my parents were thrilled and determined to parent the right way. Well, I suppose they did the best they could with what knowledge they had. They wanted the perfect little nursery for their perfect little girl. So there I was, newly entered into the world, torn from my mama, and already I had my own room. It wasn’t as cozy as you may think. They did “sleep training” and made me cry it out to teach me to “self-soothe.” I often had bad dreams and woke up crying all night. But they stuck with “self-soothing.” As an infant, or maybe a toddler, I developed night terrors. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, night terrors are far worse than your average nightmare. You wake up panicking, often paralyzed, and absolutely terrified. As in, gun-to-your-head-watching-someone-you-know-being-killed terrified! There just aren’t words to describe the feeling, and no, I’m not exaggerating by any means. [Read more…]

Two Women and Their Little Bean

By Bekah

“So, I mean, how…” and he pauses as I interrupt, “Are you trying to ask me how we got pregnant?” He admitted he was and little did I know this was only the beginning of the onslaught of information seekers. “So, which one of you carried her?” a random stranger asks. I think, “Well, currently Shan is, but I might be carrying her by the time we leave.” “Oh, she is just so cute! She looks just like you. Are you her biological mom?” As I chuckle from inside a dressing room while my partner is wearing our 4 month old in a sling, patiently waiting for me to find an outfit for her brother’s wedding. But my favorite question of all time, posed to my partner by a coworker, “So, um, do like both of you breastfeed the baby?” The real answer to this last question is, I wish! [Read more…]

The Truth About My Home

Read this blog post at Breastfeeding Basics!

The Truth About My Home

Footloose Feasting

Read this blog post a Breastfeeding Basics!

Footloose Feasting

 

Meltdown of the Century: His and Mine

Abby Theuring, The Badass Breastfeeder, babywearing her son.

Today we visited the chiropractor as we always do two times per week. Today I made an appointment for earlier in the day since the afternoon appointment had started to cut into Jacks naps. His naps are so erratic that it is hard to be consistent with a time of day for this appointment. I want him to get his sleep when he needs it and I feel like I am always scrambling from day to day to make this happen. [Read more…]

Inside Out and Fabulous

Abby Theuring, The Badass Breastfeeder's son.

When Jack was about 4 weeks old I was finally able to stand for longer periods of time without feeling like all of my internal organs were going to fall out of my vagina. I started getting dressed more and going on walks. My episiotomy had mostly healed so I could sit flat on my butt without having to tilt my ass to the side like I was about to let out a fart. We chose to celebrate one weekend by going to the grocery store for the first time as a family. [Read more…]

How I Found My Way Out of My Past

Sometimes I look around my house and find scraps of the old me lying around and it gets me to tripping on how much I have changed since Jack was born. Priorities change. It’s such a simple sentence and concept, but when I get glimpses of how astounding an affect this has had on the way I live my life I am truly in awe of my son.

Abby Theuring, The Badass Breastfeeder, before motherhood.

Over the weekend I took some time to dust off and store away my shoes. My husband came in saw the giant pile of mainly black platform high heels and said “wow, do you think you had a problem?” [Read more…]

The Secret of Losing My Sh*t

Abby Theuring, The Badass Breastfeeder's son

It recently came to my attention that people are under the impression that since I practice gentle parenting techniques with my son that I always remain calm. When I told my husband that I suspected people were thinking this he laughed and said “I wish they were here last Saturday, that was a real stomp-fest,” referring to the way I stomped around the house annoyed at Jack’s incessant whining. No, my friend, I do not remain calm all the time. I don’t even know if I remain calm most of the time. My buttons are pushed about 75 times a day (as any mother) and I feel on the edge of losing my shit about 67 of those times. I believe strongly in being as gentle a mama as I can, but I am a human being not a robot. So, let me clear the air. [Read more…]