Effin’ Bad Language

My two-year-old repeats everything I say. She has an excellent vocabulary and speaks in full, and often remarkable, sentences. I do not refrain from using “big” words with her. My theory is that the more she hears them, the more she will become familiar with them. However, I do refrain from little words, those little four letter words. Read more »

Free Range Kids

I just read a great excerpt from the book Free Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy, a New York mom infamous for letting her nine-year-old ride the subway alone. What I found most fascinating was all the hupla surrounding this scenerio. Does it matter whether the kid was nine or eighteen? As the saying goes, age is just a number. It is the maturity of the child that is most important. In this case, her son, Izzy, was asking to be allowed to ride the subway alone and only after much deliberation and precautions taken did they allow him to.

This enters into a whole discussion about today’s standards of safety as Skenazy goes into in her book. Read more »

First Mother’s Day

Nine Months

They were everywhere,
dancing with clowns,
dueling with foam swords,
bopping each other
on the head with red, Read more »

Madlyn Primoff: Kicking her Kids to the Curb

Primoff Mug Shot

First of all, I would like to know, what’s the big deal? Child endagerment? They were in White Plains for goodness sake. What were her kids in danger of, honing their luxury vehicle identification skills, getting their toes stuck in freshly aerated lawns? The answer, apparently, is that they were in danger of being treated to ice cream by a friendly neighbor. And, worst of all, seeing their mom handcuffed and thrown into jail. Read more »

About the Heartbeat

lost in pounding of
mama’s belly pulse—
first echo of life,
thin vibrato, distant
giggles, tiny chimes,
bouncy balls between
two fused grins,
the wonder of a system
that keeps this sound
safe in unanimously
known and new-found
recesses of body doubling,
body unfurling and
taking what it needs,
filling up,
pumping fuel from
and bringing light to
secrets under skins—
speeding engine, fisted battery,
paper lantern.

by Johanna DeBiase

Grandmas are Great

Why grandmas are great:

1. They are like a second mom. They will come over and change diapers, feed the baby, read books to baby, play with baby, bathe baby and most everything short of nursing. Sometimes they even cook a meal and do the dishes.

2. They always have good tips and new ideas. My mom basically taught me how to dress my daughter. She also decorated and got her room ready for her when she transitioned into sleeping in her own room. My mother-in-law helps to introduce new foods and new games to play.

3. They tell you you’re doing a good job even if you don’t think you are. And when you mess up, they don’t judge you.

4. They babysit, for free. Plus, you know that they are doing it out of total adoration for your child and you never worry when they are on the job.

5. Even mommies sometimes need their mommies.

Learning to Relax

Today, someone else took care of my daughter, her grandmother. I was even left alone for four hours, the whole house to myself. There was a moment when I thought I heard the baby waking up from her nap. I was relieved to realize that no such thing was happening, but instead, I could relax knowing that she was taken care of and I didn’t have to do a thing. I’m not going to lie and say that I used my time productively. In fact, when they returned, I remembered all the things I wanted to get done, but had forgotten while leafing through that gardening catalog. Yet, that’s not the point. And here is why. Read more »

Realization: My World Revolves Around My Child

You may be surprised to learn this, but today I realized that my life revolves around my child. Yes, it took me 18 months to fully come to terms with this idea. I’m still unsure why I hadn’t clued into it earlier. What was the moment that made this epiphany clear? Nothing monumental in the least. Read more »

Spring Break Road Trip ’09: Day 5

Today we had something very special planned for our daughter, the Albuquerque Zoo. Our daughter absolutely loves animals, can’t get enough. And, I can’t deny, we were pretty excited too. Unfortunately, we got off to a rough start. The accumulation of days on the road with poor sleep and a low fever from teething, had put her in a terrible mood and she ended up crying all the way there. Even when she drifted into a nap, she would awaken crying and calling, “MaaaMaaa,” every fifteen minutes or so making her very grumpy.

Elephants at the Zoo

Read more »

Get Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night, Part 2

(continued from Part One)
This is the hard part. A lot of people are totally against allowing a baby to cry themselves to sleep. If you mention it to your mom or anyone of her generation, they would think it was completely normal to do so. Your mom let you cry yourself to sleep. So ask yourself: How screwed up are you? If you turned out okay, then feel free to proceed. Read more »