I didn’t think much about sleep before I was a mom, but it didn’t take long for me to learn that this was one of the most controversial topics in parenting. My husband, Josh, read a bunch of sleep books while I was pregnant, I didn’t read any. It never occurred to me that it would involve anything beyond lying a baby down in a crib and walking out of the room while they closed their eyes to quiet sleep. It’s what I always saw in the moves! Well, HA! [Read more…]
TRIPLETS AND SLEEP…YES WE ARE FINALLY GETTING SOME!!
By Davina Wright
My first goal when we found out we were having three babies was to lower my expectation of sleep! I figured you couldn’t get upset with what you didn’t expect to have in the first place! When we brought our triplets (Willow, Connor and Summer) home after 3 weeks in NICU, it was a creative challenge to figure out how we would all sleep. Lots of people suggested keeping them on the NICU schedule, but it was a ridiculous schedule meant for a single nurse to be able to feed one baby at a time in a constant rotation and totally wouldn’t work in a real life home setting. Others suggested putting them on a 3 hourly schedule where we would just wake them all up at 3 hourly intervals, feed them all and put them back to sleep. This is what the majority of triplet parents do…they will tell you it is all about the schedule. Unfortunately, most triplets aren’t breastfed, and mine were, which to me meant supply and demand, day and night, so no schedule.
My Nursing Toddler Doesn’t Sleep Through the Night. Does Yours?
by guest blogger Wendy Wisner, IBCLC
I’m writing this as I lie in the dark at 9:30pm nursing my 14 month old back to sleep. He fell asleep about two hours ago and here he is again, wanting to nurse. He woke up and I wasn’t there. He let out a small cry, a complaint, and when I came into the bedroom, he was beginning to sit up. Now, two minutes later, he’s rolled away from my breast and is back in a deep sleep. [Read more…]
A Book Review of Sage Parenting: Where Nature Meets Nurture
Sage Parenting: Where Nature Meets Nurture by Rachel Rainbolt, MA could have drastically changed how I prepared for motherhood. When I became pregnant I read What to Expect When You’re Expecting like it was the holy bible for pregnant mothers. Each month I read the corresponding chapter about 12 times. I enjoyed reading about my baby. I didn’t know that there was a whole world of parenting books out there and when I gave birth to Jack, while I spent the whole pregnancy following his growth, I wasn’t at all prepared to be his mother. I wasn’t even prepared for birth or the decisions made immediately after birth. [Read more…]
Attachment Parenting with Triplets by Davina Wright
5.00am – Everyone wakes up
5.30am – Pump for 10 minutes, get 300-400ml (10-12oz)
6.00am – Tandem feed girls, 2 babies breastfed
8-9.00am – Feed everyone to sleep for nap, 3 babies breastfed
11.30am – Snack feed for everyone, 3 babies breastfed [Read more…]
Sex After Birth: The Real Story
Every woman experiences motherhood differently so naturally our return to sex after birth will differ. I felt alone when the women around me were talking about how horny they were hours after giving birth. I felt there was something wrong with me. I never want another woman to feel that way. No matter what is going on you are not alone. This story is not rainbows and cotton candy. This is my experience and mine alone. You’ve been warned. [Read more…]
Dr. Jen’s Guide to Breastfeeding: A Book Review
In my opinion, Dr. Jennifer Thomas is often literally the final word in breastfeeding advocacy. In my group of Admins on my Facebook page, The Badass Breastfeeder, we have what we call a “Dr. Jen Smackdown.” This refers to responding to a question or comment with quotes or articles by Dr. Jen. This information generally brings the conversation/debate/argument to a complete stop, as there’s no way to deny the logic and scholarship of her work on breastfeeding. “Smackdown applied!” someone will message me when they just resorted to posting Dr. Jen’s material. [Read more…]
The Sex Argument Ends Here: Sex in the Attachment Parenting Family
***My angry rant from the summer of 2012 when Attachment Parenting hit the cover of magazines and AP advocates were taking a beating on talk shows and everywhere else.***
I have many thoughts today about people that oppose Attachment Parenting. I can see the pain in people’s faces when they argue against Attachment Parenting. They become defensive, restless in their seat and overwhelmed. They begin to tell us that our kids are dysfunctional, we are over-parenting, what we do is too hard and what we do makes them look bad. It is very easy for me to become angry right back. I often argue with the TV, the internet, the mainstream. But there is one argument that always sends me into laughter.
