World Records held by Moms

The Olympics continue to make us all into sports fans this week. Last time I wrote about my ideas for Mom Olympic events. (Or Momlympics, if you will.) This week, after watching athletes crush world records in the aquatic events, I started thinking about what kinds of world records would be held by moms. You know, if someone had time to keep track of that kind of thing. (I don’t. Don’t ask me.)

Anyway, here are some world records that would be held by moms:

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If Moms Had their Own Olympic Games

Hi all,

Anyone else have Olympic fever this week? In honour of the Olympics I wrote a post for Her View from Home about what would happen if moms had their own Olympic events. Though I realized later that I forgot to add “Baby gate hurdles”, I think the other events are pretty solid.

Here’s a short excerpt: Continue reading

The One Thing I Wish I Knew about Parenting When I was Pregnant

I don’t know about you, but there is a charity coming to my door at least once a week asking for money. As much as I genuinely support these worthy causes in spirit, it is impossible to support all of them financially. The person at the door may assume that I am selfish or don’t care about the cause. They don’t know that I have chosen two causes to support which mean a lot to me. Even though I feel terribly guilty telling the very nice representative that I can’t help the refugees/children/animals that their charity supports at this time, I know that it doesn’t make me a bad person.

I think parenting, especially in the early stages, is a lot like this. I wish I had known that going in.  Continue reading

5 Reasons my Baby is a Tiny (Adorable) Dictator

I am living in a dictatorship. Well, sort of. I actually live in a democratic country. It’s just my house that is a dictatorship. The great and merciful leader? Our baby.

Sure, he looks cute, but don’t be fooled. He rules our house with an iron fist. He has graciously permitted me to have 30 minutes of media time, so I have decided to use it to tell the outside world what is really going on in our house.

Here are 5 reasons my baby might be a tiny dictator:

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4 Reasons Parents of Babies Deserve a Medal

Babies are cute. I think we can all agree on that. They have sweet, gummy smiles and sweet, chubby cheeks. Yes, babies are super cute, but this doesn’t mean that they are easy to live with. On the contrary – babies are like the worst roommates ever.

Being a new parent is hard. HARD. But everyone you meet will want to tell you how great it is and why you should appreciate it. They are blinded by your baby’s cuteness and oblivious to their challenges. But from one new parent to anther – this is way harder than anyone can tell you. You deserve a medal.

Here are four reasons I think new parents deserve a medal:

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10 Commandments for Travelling with your Baby

I. Thou shalt bring all the baby’s toys in hopes of distracting them, but all the baby shall  want to do is play with napkins.

II. Thou shalt attempt to pack a sense of humour and some patience. Thou will not be able to fit those things in thine suitcases because of all the toys.

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The Nap Sabotage: An FAQ for Parents of Babies

Today my baby and I got invited to go swimming. It is quite a hot day here, so I readily accepted. I got my baby to take a later nap to make the invitation time work. We were packed, sunscreened and ready to go. We got into the car and stopped by a bakery to buy some scones. Then it happened. It began with the eye rubbing. Just a little at first, but it soon developed into a few huge yawns.

No, I thought, we just had a nap. But there he was, yawning away. My heart sunk, as I realized that I would have to give up our afternoon plans. I turned the car around and headed back to the house. The baby cried all the way home until I put him to bed. He was asleep in minutes.

And just like that: Bam! I got nap sabotaged.

I’m sure this has happened to you, or someone you know. Maybe you didn’t know it existed. Either way, I have prepared an FAQ about the phenomenon known as the nap sabotage. You’re welcome.  Continue reading

Breastfeeding a newborn vs. a 10 month old

Before I had a baby, I thought that once you got the hang of breastfeeding, it was all the same from there. Not so, my friends!

Turns out that feeding a newborn is vastly different from breastfeeding an older baby. I decided to compare the highs and lows of breastfeeding a baby at different ages. Let me show you what I mean.

Newborn

Positives: Ugh, are there any? Keeping baby alive is one. Cuddling is sometimes another. Also, you can watch TV while feeding without distracting the baby. Continue reading

I work out now. I don’t like it.

So, I work out now.

Everyone who has ever met me if probably laughing at that last sentence, but I really do.

I don’t like it. I am uncoordinated by nature, tripping over my feet while walking in a straight line kind of uncoordinated. I have tried lots of workout classes, but I can’t seem to get the hang of Zumba or other aerobic or dance classes. I know they are supposed to be fun, but here’s how it usually goes down for me:

  1. Watch in bewilderment as the instructor demonstrates the move.
  2. Try move. Get it backwards.
  3. Try again and run into the person next to me.
  4. Try once again and get the first half but fall down on the second half.
  5. Finally get the move!! Oh crap, everyone else is done.
  6. The instructor is demonstrating the next move. See step 1.

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Stuff I can do, now that I have a kid

There is a lot written about the things you can’t do as a parent. (Mostly because those adorable children cramp our style. Yep, they are real buzzkills.) However, no one ever talks about the stuff that you can only do because you have kids.

Let me tell you about some unexpected perks of being a parent. No, not unconditional love and all that crap. You probably know about that anyway.

Here are some things I can do now that I have a kid:

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