I occasionally (okay–often) sit and stare as our childless neighbors lounge quietly on their patio. No tiny humans grabbing at their eyes, rubbing peanut butter on the brand new beige sofa, saying “mama” for the 1938423th time in 14 seconds. Just a husband and a wife, enjoying the peace. Alone. With no kids. Because they don’t have any. I’m not creepy. Just…wistful. Don’t get me wrong, I adore being atell me the rest!
Category: Motherhood
20 fantastic things about having kids at 20
Since middle school, I’ve known I wanted to start young. At 12, I met my husband, and at 14, I decided he was the one. We officially starting dating when we were 16 and at a mere 18 years of age, we stood at the altar and said I do. That was April. In August, during a vacation to Florida, I spent a week wanting to (in the nicest waytell me the rest!
Twenty things I learned from having two in two years
When the number of children in your family doubles, life changes. Like, a lot. Hello, perpetual chaos! You had better believe I read the mommy blogs when my daughter (#2) was on the way–I wanted to know how to juggle schedules, if tandem nursing was the thing, if I should potty train before or after my daughter arrived, what the transition would be like for my toddler. Most of them basicallytell me the rest!
“Are you sure you don’t want a mirror?”: my daughter’s birth story part 2
7:30am The first contraction washed over me so slightly I might not have noticed if not for the climbing line on the monitor beside me. Breathing deeply, I counted the seconds as the line slowly dropped back down to zero. The room was dark, silent except for the steady thumping of my daughter’s heart over the monitor and the rustle of sheets as my husband stirred slightly in the corner,tell me the rest!
Too much spicy food and an unwanted induction: my daughter’s birth story part 1
When 37 weeks hit, I came to a crossroad. I desperately ached to meet my daughter, the tiny human who had been cooking for the past nine months, but simultaneously I longed to enjoy the snuggles and undivided attention I could give my 22 month old son while he remained the only child. My doctor had told me that after months of painful and consistent Braxton-hicks and all sorts oftell me the rest!
My secret pregnancy
Nine days after I arrived in Malaysia, I did the math in my head. Again. Three pregnancy tests, and they had all been negative. But my math couldn’t be that far off, could it? So I finally stopped waiting and took another test, my heart pounding. The second pink line appeared in seconds and instantly heart rejoiced while my body screamed why are you doing this to me again???? (My pregnancy withtell me the rest!
Ten airplanes by five weeks old: postpartum and alone with my son
I’ve done some impulsive things in my life, and perhaps one of the most impulsive of all was booking tickets from California to Texas when my son was nine days old so he could visit his daddy. We arrived at the tiny airport at 3am and I embarked on a weekend trip to Texas–on my own. With a newborn. What was I thinking? The trip was fantastic and my sontell me the rest!
Two kids under two and an avalanche of too much laundry
I almost forgot about my daughter at a friend’s house on Sunday. She was too quiet and had been sleeping for ages and guys, it still hasn’t sunk in that we have two kids. That’s double the children we had eighteen days ago. My almost-two-year-old, of course, would never ever let me forget about him; that kid is just a ball of crazy and it’s hard to miss a tornadotell me the rest!
Alia Joy, the tiniest secret I’ve ever kept
Yes, I’ve been keeping a fairly huge secret from the world. Or a tiny one, rather. One that’s been kicking and rolling and making my back hurt all kinds of crazy for the last nine months. Isn’t she perfect? Meet Alia Joy Brake, born Monday at 5:15pm, weighing 6lbs 4oz and 19.5 inches long. You know, it wasn’t easy keeping this precious little one a secret from the world fortell me the rest!
“Is he supposed to look like that?!”
Yes, this is the story of my son’s birth, and yes, that is the first thing my husband exclaimed upon the delivery of that sweet little boy. Is he supposed to look like that?! I’ll be honest, it crossed my mind too. You see, my son was born with the cord wrapped around his neck twice and a serious cone head, plus as my husband so aptly says, he was coveredtell me the rest!