I was recently in Minneapolis, hanging out with the grandkids. I get up there a couple of times of year - usually once in the dead of winter and once to enjoy their beautiful summertime. One way I cement a long distance relationship with them is to have consistent...
5 tips for new parents Anytime you begin a new job there’s a period of orientation. And depending on the complexity of the work you’ll be doing, you might have months of training before you’re on your own with full responsibility. When you become a parent, while...
We really can't help ourselves. Something inside us kind of melts. Have you ever noticed the feeling you get when you see little tiny puppies or kittens, or even a baby elephant at the zoo? Or had complete strangers stop to talk to you as you walk your puppy? We...
That little person is very tuned in to you. From the moment they're born, babies are ready to listen, respond and try to figure out how to be in relationship with you. Research gives us really interesting insight into how equipped newborns are to do this. Let's take a...
I was surprised at the amount of downtime I had with a new baby. I remember the first few months of staying home with my first baby. I assumed I’d be swamped with my new tasks of parenthood: nursing around the clock, diaper changes, rocking baby to sleep, etc....
I’ll never forget the stress I felt about miscarriage when I was pregnant. Every day I worried the pregnancy might end. I remember counting down the days to when I’d be past the first trimester, longing for it to come. I was sure once I made it past that date, my...
The moment a pregnancy test is positive or the foster/adoption approval comes through, you begin to wonder... What am I going to do? What does it feel like to be a parent? How will I be the same and how will I be different? Will I still be able to be spontaneous, do...
Even people who say they have "no clue what to do with babies" will instinctively do exactly what's necessary to enhance development as they singsong talk, make faces and gaze at their face as they hold them. We act differently with infants than we do with adults or...
Odds are, someone else will care for your baby at some time in the first year. The average length of maternity/paternity leave in US is 12 weeks (often unpaid) with many moms returning to work when the baby is 6 weeks of age. In fact, of the 12 million infants and...
All I ever really wanted to be when I grew up was a mom. Like many little girls, I played 'house' all the time as a kid, treating my baby dolls with love and care, teaching them and handing out discipline when they needed it. As a teenager, I did lots of...
Pregnancy is an amazing time. While there are definitely some discomforts along the way, let’s celebrate some really wonderful things that you can ONLY experience during pregnancy… Permission to focus on...
We’re a mother-daughter duo sharing developmentally appropriate ideas for teaching little noggins.
How Much do YOU Know About Baby’s Development?