Mar 31, 2022

It’s hard when your birth plan goes totally off the rails, and it can take time to recover from the experience. Writer Erin Hug didn’t want a Cesarean at all, so she was particularly upset when a gruff doctor informed her they’d have to perform hers under general anesthesia. It made her feel disconnected, and it took time to recover.

“In the movie version of my life, they bring the baby in, and I’m overcome with relief and joy, and I hug the baby, and I whisper to her that I’m her mama. That’s not what happened,” she writes. “In real life, they wheeled in a baby I didn’t know, and she was too tiny, and they asked if I wanted to hold her, and I said yes, but secretly I didn’t want to because she was so fragile, and I didn’t want to hurt her.”

I am not embarrassed to admit that I teared up reading about the moment where everything finally clicked!

— Kelly Faircloth, Executive Editor

PARENTING

Let Your Kids Get Dirty, Even If You're A Neat Freak Like Me

If you hate mess, but want your kids to reap the numerous benefits of nature-based play in the dirt, you’re not alone. Here are some suggestions for how to keep it fun, but contained. Read More

YOWCH

How To (Gently) Stop A Toddler From Hitting

It’s an experience familiar to many parents: taking a hit from a tiny first, then stressing about how you’re going to make them stop. Don’t freak out! Help is here. Read More

EXTREMELY RELATABLE

Guess Which Parenting Book Minnie Driver Literally Threw Out A Window

Not only that, she broke the window! “I threw it out because I felt so overwhelmed and I kept thinking ‘This just cannot possibly be true for every single baby…’” Give it your best shot, then click through to see what it was. Read More

Did I Just Pee Myself?

“For two years, I have had the constant sensation that I have to pee,” writes Angela Hatem. She recounts her journey to actually getting some help, despite people telling her that’s just what happens when you have a baby and medical professionals just directing her toward Kegels. “I wasn't fine, and I didn't need a Kegel. A bagel, maybe but not a Kegel. Beyond carbs, what I needed was for someone to listen to me, to hear the words I was saying and not write me off as a Kegel case.” Her advice to anybody in the same position is simple: advocate.

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