Parenting
I get an email out of the blue–Parenting.com featured our article on 5 ways to cut down on whining. Wow! Where is all this internet love coming from? First Design Mom {our house}, then What to Expect.com {5 worries to let go of when you’re pregnant}, then Verily {5 signs your boyfriend will be a great dad}, and now Parenting.com {5 ways to cut down on whining}? Feeling like the internet gods are enjoying cackling at my blah blah blahing. So there you have it. Right here, a little love from this sweet writer, Sarah Sager. Check out her other columns here. And just because it’s a quick post, here’s a quick update on the chaos of having three kids: Sometimes SuperBoy tries to feed his brother baseball cards. Literally. And SweetPea rocks her brother very violently in his bouncy chair while I am trying to clean up something. Like maybe the glass from my mom’s hatch-back that smashed to smithereens when I accidentally backed it out of the garage with the hatch-back up. What is WRONG with me? As if my poor mother hasn’t suffered enough, what with me being so slow to recover and my children practicing and perfecting their naughty routines now that mama is trapped under a nursing baby. Or our trip to the allergy doctor for poor SweetPea’s eczema which spiraled out of control in the last few weeks. That ended up with her screaming down the hallway in just her undies, all the way to the bathroom, and then…
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You betcha. We love our dads around here. Why does she always have her finger up her nose??
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How do you like my fancy captioning? The black typeface looks very ominous. POSTPARTUM INFECTION. Well, it is ominous. And something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. If you’re looking for the short shortcut story, here it is: I got a bacterial infection in my uterus after the birth, spiked an insanely high fever, was hospitalized for two days on IV antibiotics and am supposed to really take it easy and just rest for the coming weeks. — Here’s the shortcut version: One week out from BabyLoves’ birth, I felt my worst. Is this normal? After a week of a few different healthcare provider opinions, it was determined I should go see an OBGYN and find out what the heck was making me so sick. The OB was fabulous. Oops–this is the short version. She diagnosed me with “endometritis”–no, not endometriosis–but an infection in the lining of my uterus that’s very uncommon for vaginal births. She wanted me to go to the hospital ASAP for IV antibiotics to prevent, or treat if it was already happening, sepsis. Two days later, BabyLoves & I were happily discharged, bacteria-free. And now it feels like I’m just starting recover from his epic birth. — Longer version? Details on how awesome the OB was and how fabulous our nursing care was at the hoppy? Here it is. BabyLoves’ birth was great and hard. Wonderful labor. Terrible pushing & tearing. But his girth worked in his favor for a great latch from second one, great sleeper,…
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SuperDad AA with our Godson and SweetPea back in February. So it must be that I’m on some kind of a roll! Another humbling opportunity to guest post, this time for Verily Magazine, a new magazine for the modern woman. Let’s just say everything on there is beautiful, real, and makes me want to abandon my wardrobe and poor culinary skillz and only follow their advice. On everything. Speaking of advice, I wrote an advice column on relationships for them: 5 signs your boyfriend will be a great dad. How do I know what the signs are and if they’re valid? Well, I did marry Mr. Perfect and he is Mr. Dad of the Millenium, but more importantly I dated a bit and I talk A LOT with my friends on this topic. Isn’t that the only thing girls talk about? Aside from world peace, chocolate, and Downton Abbey? My five signs are he listens, he is patient, he is sacrificial, he has a sense of humor, and he is a hard worker. My sister Molly says the fourth (humor) should be number 1, but really they’re all number 1. Five number 1 traits! Come over to Verily Magazine and plan to hunker down and stay for a while. It’s a glamorous glorious experience. Read it . . . here.
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Remember when I was expecting? Me neither. Now it’s all baby baby baby. I had the distinct pleasure of guest posting for What to Expect’s “real mom advice” blog. They contacted me and I got carte blanche to dish about a topic near & dear to my heart. Pregnancy. Expectations. Near & dear. It seems as though pregnancy is a time of insane material consumption paired with insane stress about doing everything right. Especially when it’s your first time around. You’re supposed to follow an insanely long list of does & don’ts, as well as heed everyone and their mother (and mother-in-law’s) advice. Also, don’t read the internet, but do read anything germane to your insane fears and concerns. Contradictions galore. I address needless baby paraphernalia, pregnant & postpartum body, state of the homefront, input from family, and baby einstein. And that we should all collectively agree to let go of our worries together! Hop on over to the Word of Mom blog on What to Expect’s website. Read my “real mom advice” and tell me what you’d add. Right . . . here.
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Not my little boy–whine? Never. (oh, yeah, she does too but a 2 year old has nothing on a 4 year old.) Lies. Total lies. He’s almost 4 and has discovered whining a-new. It’s like the cloud burst open, the sun shone down, it’s baseball season, and whining is freshly on his palate. It’s killing me. The tone. The looks. The crocodile tears. The insistence of it. The solemn assurance that this one instance is the worst in his life. ABSOLUTE WORST THING THAT COULD EVER HAPPEN to him. She touched his book? I can’t take it. Besides the fact that it’s a terrible unappealing habit for a little boy, I’m wearing our newborn BabyLoves in the carrier and chasing down the big kids. It’s (duh) exhausting. Thusly, I’m sharing with you my tried & true {in the last month, so take & leave with those handfuls of salt} methods of cutting down on the whining. 1) Ignore. When you can. Simply pretend you cannot understand the language of a whiner. I may actually hum to myself, bustling around the room, saying something like “gosh, I wish he wasn’t whining. I don’t understand him when he whines.” I might even lean over to his sister and say “can you understand him? I just can’t.” That really drive him insane. Maybe even insane enough to cut the tone down. 2) Immediate consequence without talk talk talking. Remember what my great & wise friend Jamie {Behave Your Best} said about not talking your…
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