A lot has changed this year. Two biggies—my daughter Giada was born and we left California and moved back ‘home’. My favorite part about New Years Eve is reflecting on the year that’s gone by and making plans for the future. With reflection in mind, I looked back at all the blog posts from the year…
I’m a rule follower by nature. When Rocco turned one, I immediately switched him to whole milk, per the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and others’ suggestion. But when he turned two in October, I broke the rules. For once, their advice just didn’t make sense to me. Is there a right time when to…
Do parents treat their high needs babies differently when they are older? Do the early years with a difficult baby affect how you see or treat them moving forward? Do parents grow to resent their high needs child? We recently returned from a trip where my parents graciously agreed to watch our two young kids…
Rocco is at an age where he is constantly trying to assert his independence. Jade and I nurture his independence through free-play and letting him explore as much as we can. Despite our best attempts, there is at least one daily battle, usually more, because we won’t let him get his way. The primary tantrum-inducing…
Last weekend, our local Orange County Wisconsin Alumni Chapter hosted a day at Zoomar’s petting zoo in San Juan Capistrano. Jade and I haven’t attended any alumni events since Rocco was born. We also haven’t ventured out of the house with both kids, other than a quick trip to the farmer’s market or a walk…
Colic is Satan incarnate. “She won’t stop crying. I seriously can’t take this anymore. Will this ever stop? Is something wrong with her? Is she ever going to be a normal baby?” I repeated to myself, tears rolling down my cheeks, every day for two months straight. This is life with a baby who has…
I’m so excited! SheKnows recently accepted me as an Experts Among Us contributor. Published this past Friday, my very first article talks about how we decided when was the best time to have a second baby. As I’ve explained before, I’m not a baby person, but at the same time, I’m nostalgic that I’m done with the new mom…
When Willie Nelson wrote “On the Road Again”, I doubt he did a road trip with toddlers. I’m almost certain it wasn’t in a four-door sedan, with excited children asking, “Are we at the beach? How long until we get to the beach?” every two minutes. We are kid road trip veterans. My husband Sean…
Have you ever wanted to give your child the best and couldn’t? What if the best was something that 99% percent of mothers could give but you couldn’t? For me, this happened very early on in motherhood: I couldn’t produce enough milk to feed my first child, my son Rocco. Only 16 months after my…
Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you enjoy some time trick-or-treating with your kids, get dressed up yourself, or make room for a few extra pieces of candy today. This is Rocco’s second Halloween, but the first time he’ll be in a costume. I can’t wait to see how he reacts to his giant pumpkin costume….
A few weeks ago I wrote here about Rocco’s first trip on an airplane. The thought of a four-plus hour flight was not appealing, but whatever discomfort I felt the first time around wasn’t enough to keep me from braving the not-so-friendly skies. Even though I knew better, only a few weeks later, I decided…
Upon arrival at the Center for Living Peace, a soft-spoken woman, who exuded an unquestionable Zen vibe, greeted me. She gave me a quick tour around the center, indicated where to park my stroller, and introduced me to group of women waiting for the class to start. A new friend invited me to attend mommy/baby…
It was our first time in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was a lovely Saturday in May, a little more than three years ago. The weather was in the 70s, the breezes were light, the perfect kind of day to spend an afternoon sipping really good beer, munching salty bar food and catching up with my besties….
Like most new moms, I’m sometimes insecure about my mothering skills. Therefore, I find myself clinging to child development milestones as lifelines in the sea of uncertainty that is new motherhood. However, it would seem that instead of lifelines, these seemingly objective data tend to act more as Mafioso-style cement shoes, drowning my spirit and…