Being a mother is hard. It has joy, definitely, and is the best thing in the world, and maybe that’s why it’s a never ending project. Children keep growing; needs keep changing; personal circumstances keep evolving, and with each change, the intensity continues. I had a small mothering shift a couple of weeks ago. I …
Yesterday was a lesson in digging below my irritation at baby’s choices to understand what might be going on in her world. It was a chance to put aside my own need for control and be a parent who meets her child’s needs. Yesterday, baby did not want to leave the house. At all. I …
In pursuit of a parenting and educational direction for our girl, I’ve just started reading “The Child in the Family” by Maria Montessori. I am the most engrossed I’ve been in years by a technical non-fiction book. Her ideas feel respectful and wise. Here’s one, regarding how we tend to interpret as misbehaviour childhood actions …
I’m all about the paradigms. I like to have a model, masterplan or general theory to guide pretty much anything I do. So when it comes to parenting, I’ve been both amazed at how untheoretical (i.e., random) I am in my approach, and also eager to apply something that I can believe in (i.e., attachment …
The other day my daughter was a bit grumpy because she dropped her straw in the potty and I insisted we had to throw it out (they may be low, but I have standards). Potty took so long that I forgot the warming peanut butter toast in the toaster oven – oops! Too hot, and …
Wow, what an amazing baby day. Okay, I was near my edge a couple of times when she dumped out her food and it took over an hour to leave the house … but a full day of intense time with her leaves me loving her more and more, and feeling more fully in the …
My daughter is all these things, all the time. One of her latest expressions is “no bye.” She really really doesn’t like saying by to anyone or anything. When I leave in the mornings, it is heartbreaking to hear her little voice say “No bye, mama! No bye!” She seems allergic to sleep lately. Whatever …
What would you do if you had an entire evening to yourself? For some of you, this is not simply an elaborate fantasy: this is something you are lucky enough to choose on a regular basis! For others, this is something you try desperately to escape whenever possible. For another group, however, an evening to …
We’re trying. Mornings can be a bit crazy. We basically missed a sit-down breakfast this morning because we were running out the door. But, I’ve been praying morning and evening more systematically and doing more regular/organized tooth brushing. Good! Also focusing on baby more. Once I started paying more attention to her, things started feeling …
Lately baby cries at everything I do. I thought I might be exaggerating or making this up until my husband commented that he’s noticed this, too. Suggesting clothes; putting on diapers; offering food; doing anything myself; trying to get her into a bath, brushing her teeth, brushing her hair. And particularly trying to change or …