Birth & Parenting Series
This is part 18 of our Birth & Parenting Series. Our other parts can be found on the front page under “Birth & Parenting Series” toward the bottom, or linked here. A mother shares how she identified that her grade-school aged son needed extra help to hone his learning skills. She tells us a number of techniques that have helped him tap his learning potential. Talk about trusting her intuition and seeking out the best for her child! A great example to us all, and a set of helpful techniques for any child in his or her learning development. D is nine and going into 4th grade. He is very capable of learning but for the past 3 years D has been inconsistent in his academics. I have been watching him closely. Finally, the mother, and teacher instinct in me told me I need to get him tested. The testing confirmed he needs some help in certain areas. One of the areas he needs help in is in handwriting. This skill is impaired because of poor muscle tone in his shoulders and upper back and his lack of mastering his fine motor skills. Weekly, we are given homework from the OT. I am sharing some of these techniques with you because I think these techniques would benefit any child. I wish I had known about them when my kids were younger. This first picture is of D using the carpet as a surface to write on. Also while doing this, I…
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This is part 17 of our Birth & Parenting Series. Our other parts can be found on the front page under “Birth & Parenting Series” toward the bottom, or linked here. Thanks to Liv for this guest post! She shares with us her method of potty training. Yes, you can train your young toddler with determination and the right tools–way to go, parents and way to go, little V. — I’ve had a great time potty training my 19 month old. Yes, I know, “great” and “potty training” are not words often associated with each other. So, for this reason, I feel obligated to share my experience with other parents. Our approach was simple. We put V in underwear. When she peed (or pooped) in her pants, we took her to the bathroom, sat her on the potty if she was willing, changed her pants, and commented on how nice it is to be dry. Within two and a half weeks she would occasionally go in the toilet, and within three weeks she was almost never wet; and more often than not pooped in the right place too! I knew we’d have success sooner than later, but have been more than pleasantly surprised by how soon, and how easy, the whole process has been. As a preschool teacher I’ve seen more than my fair share of two and half up to three and a half year olds still in diapers. Of course, parents have all different reasons for this. They may…
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This is part 16 of our Birth & Parenting Series. Our other parts can be found on the front page under “Birth & Parenting Series” toward the bottom, or linked here. This is a story of loss, and having to deal with the pain of miscarriage, a terribly common burden on women today but one that goes unspoken all too often. LR writes about her experience here and I hope this can bring some community and understanding around a difficult topic. When your plan for children hasn’t gone the way you hoped, and everyone around you is having children, it can feel isolating. She writes beautifully and poignantly that you are not alone. — We had been trying for over a year, which I mention only to explain my hyper-awareness of anything and everything that could be interpreted as a pregnancy symptom. Over the course of several days earlier this year, I noticed multiple changes that just HAD to be pregnancy-related. As such, a sudden bout with nasal congestion had me in a serious quandary about whether or not it was safe for me to take medication. Though it was still two days before my period was due to start, I decided a pregnancy test was warranted. And just like that, there it was . . . a positive result! Okay, okay, I admit that the result was very faint but a positive is a positive, right? A few days later my period was late and I was ecstatic. It…
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This is part 15 of our Birth & Parenting Series. Part 1 (Thoughts From a Mother of Four) is here, part 2 (Mother of Seven Shares Her Empowering Birth Stories) is here, part 3 (First-Time Mother of Twins) is here, part 4 (How First-Time Parents Braved a Placental Abruption) is here, part 5 (Childbirth Collective Doula Film Premiere) is here, part 6 (First-Time Mama Bravely Faces Transverse Baby & C-Section) is here, part 7 (Homeschooling Mama Shares Her Path to Schooling) is here, part 8 (First-Time Papa’s Perspective on Birth Center Birth) is here, part 9 (Mama’s First-Time Birth and Faith in Women’s Bodies) is here, part 10 (Unmedicated Birth for First-Time Parents) is here, part 11 (Followup on Little V’s Traumatic Birth) is here, part 12 (Beautiful Little Girl Passes Away After Long Battle) is here, part 13 (Our Daughter’s Birth Story) is here, and part 14 (Mama Handles 24 Hours Post Water Breaking and Avoids C-Section) is here. This first time parent couple moved to Alaska while expecting their first child, but happily had each of their sisters come up to help out. Despite the terribly difficult news of the husband’s father passing away, the couple persisted with unmedicated labor. The ending of how the baby girl came before the doctors is a crazy surprise, so keep reading and admire this strong mama’s trust in her body! — I had a doctor’s appointment on a Wednesday, and they wanted to “check” me because my next appointment would be past my due date. I didn’t want her to because I didn’t want to…
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This is part 14 of our Birth & Parenting Series. Part 1 (Thoughts From a Mother of Four) is here, part 2 (Mother of Seven Shares Her Empowering Birth Stories) is here, part 3 (First-Time Mother of Twins) is here, part 4 (How First-Time Parents Braved a Placental Abruption) is here, part 5 (Childbirth Collective Doula Film Premiere) is here, part 6 (First-Time Mama Bravely Faces Transverse Baby & C-Section) is here, part 7 (Homeschooling Mama Shares Her Path to Schooling) is here, part 8 (First-Time Papa’s Perspective on Birth Center Birth) is here, part 9 (Mama’s First-Time Birth and Faith in Women’s Bodies) is here, part 10 (Unmedicated Birth for First-Time Parents) is here, part 11 (Followup on Little V’s Traumatic Birth) is here, part 12 (Beautiful Little Girl Passes Away After Long Battle) is here, and part 13 (Our Daughter’s Birth Story) is here. This first time mama, Katie, planned for an unmedicated labor, and after 25 hours of labor, even though her son was turned, she avoided a C-section with a very attentive and talented health care team. Her husband and mother were fantastic supports and they all held out for the most natural birth possible considering their son’s position. It’s inspiring and amazing that women are so tough, and that a support team can make such a big difference! —– Nell: Tell me a little bit about your beautiful child. Katie: At this point we only have one child. He is wonderful! Vinton is almost 7 months old and is growing like a weed. I enjoy watching him soak…
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This is part 13 of our Birth & Parenting Series. Part 1 (Thoughts From a Mother of Four) is here, part 2 (Mother of Seven Shares Her Empowering Birth Stories) is here, part 3 (First-Time Mother of Twins) is here, part 4 (How First-Time Parents Braved a Placental Abruption) is here, part 5 (Childbirth Collective Doula Film Premiere) is here, part 6 (First-Time Mama Bravely Faces Transverse Baby & C-Section) is here, part 7 (Homeschooling Mama Shares Her Path to Schooling) is here, part 8 (First-Time Papa’s Perspective on Birth Center Birth) is here, part 9 (Mama’s First-Time Birth and Faith in Women’s Bodies) is here, part 10 (Unmedicated Birth for First-Time Parents) is here, part 11 (Followup on Little V’s Traumatic Birth) is here, and part 12 (Beautiful Little Girl Passes Away After Long Battle) is here. Our daughter and I share a birthday. She is the best birthday present I could ever have asked for. I’ve been complaining about being ready to give birth (despite not having hit my “due” date) for a while now. See “False” Labor post here, see Prepared for Baby No. 2 here. She arrived at 39 weeks and 1 day, and not a moment too soon for me. We were dying to meet her! SuperBoy had a rough night on Monday night and was awake around midnight crying. Rather than keep to my new tough mama status of soothing him for a few minutes, but refusing to haul him out of his crib and into the floor bed we keep in the room, I relented…
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