Today I scrolled through Pinterest to find an activity for my preschooler, S. I came across a pin with a 30 day drawing challenge that lists a different drawing prompt for each day. The first is “yourself”. So I pulled out the oil pastels and S got to work drawing himself.
In my previous post about the reactions to the Time magazine issue about Attachment Parenting (AP) I put “techniques” in quotes because, although people are discussing it that way, it does not feel appropriate. A technique seems to me to refer to something that is developed after research, not something that comes naturally.
When I was pregnant, my husband checked out “The Baby Book” by Dr. Sears from the library. As I read about attachment parenting I grew confused, looked up at my husband and said, “I don’t understand what attachment parenting is. To me, this just sounds like parenting”. Continue reading
I haven’t read the recent issue of Time magazine that covers attachment parenting (AP). I glanced at the website, took the quiz, and read the cover story up until it told me that I needed to create an account to continue. I have, on the other hand, read a lot of the feedback in reaction to the issue, mostly the cover photo.
The first I heard about it was from a friend who was shocked that they could turn something so important to us into something so awkward. Continue reading
Last week my playgroup had a playdate with a discussion about juggling and self-care. I wasn’t able to attend because I was juggling an appointment with my therapist into my schedule so I could do some self-care. The plan was to read an article about balance before the playdate in order to fuel the discussion.
I wanted to participate in the talk despite being unable to attend so I wrote an email with some of my thoughts. Well, it ended up more like a blog post. I share it here with minimal edits: Continue reading
Am I happy being a work-at-home mom (the term I prefer to stay-at-home mom)? It is by far the most stressful job I’ve ever had and I do have a difficult time with the constant vigilance. Continue reading
This week my son will be nine months old. Somehow, nine months became a major milestone to me. Now, Siddhartha is a grown up infant, almost a toddler. Soon he’ll be walking and he’ll say his first word. (If he hasn’t already. We’re still unsure whether he understands that it means something when he says, “hi”.)
In his first few months, the minutes felt like hours, the hours, like days. When people say that they grow up so fast, they fail to mention that you have to get past those first few months first. At that time, we wanted nothing more than for our son to be older. We were insecure, sleep deprived and we felt panicked. Also, he cried. A lot. Continue reading
We got home from the hospital yesterday with baby Siddhartha and sure enough, just hours after leaving he rejected one breast and then the other. In the hospital we had a lactation consultant who was available most of the day. I just had to push a call button for a nurse and request a consult. There are no call buttons at home and no nurses waiting on us. Continue reading
A few months back Dave and I bought a condo in San Jose. It’s a nice place and it was damn expensive. Soon after moving in, I noticed a few cigarette butts on our patio. I had a minor freak out since I usually assume that people who are inconsiderate will continue to be so. I calmed myself by remembering that it could have been an accident and the folks upstairs might not have realized anyone had moved in down below. I reasoned that it might not ever happen again.
Soon after, I woke to discover our patio covered in ash, chew, spit, and more cigarette butts. Yes, it was as disgusting as it sounds. Continue reading
On Friday I wrote that I would post about the book Dave and I are reading that I hope will help me with my desire to raise emotionally healthy children. I started reading the Optimistic Child by Dr. Martin Seligman over a decade ago for a mentor program I participated in when I was in high school for which I studied depression independently. It has a slightly different meaning for me now and I feel as though I understand it a little better.
Seligman’s theory is that depression is caused by learned helplessness. Continue reading
A little bit of wisdom 