The last thing we need is one more thing to feel inadequate about, one more thing to feel like we’re doing “wrong” when it comes to having a baby. I looked at the sample birth plan my midwife handed to us with a furrowed brow. It was six pages long and had questions I hadn’t […]
We’re living in a time when women should be able to control what happens to their bodies, but that isn’t always the case. My mom still gets mad when she talks about the birth of my older brother, even though it’s been many years. Her face gets red and her hand gestures get bigger and bigger […]
For many women, the magic of motherhood seems to sweep over them on the day their baby is born. For me, the magic of motherhood came like a change in seasons—gradually and quietly. In late December 2009, the month my oldest son was born, I was scrolling through the photos in my phone and kept […]
Just before my milk let down, I felt a wave of sadness swell from the pit of my stomach. It was a feeling I described to friends as wistfulness, even homesickness, a scooped-out, hollow feeling. A short, but powerful unmooring. Because my pregnancy had been hard, I decided I would only breastfeed my baby if […]
I was sure that no matter what happened, our son would have everything he’d ever need, even if that didn’t always come from me. “So are you guys getting married?” Not an unusual question for a woman over 30 who’s been dating someone for awhile. I’d been asked this before and understood why they wanted to […]
The goal should not be to steel myself; not to cage my body in armor, but to surround myself with padding and supports. It always starts the same way: Just when I think I’m fine, the rushing in my ears begins, as though I’m swept up in a strong wind. Lost at the end of […]
I’m a full-time stay-at-home dad. Is my ultimate paternity leave from academia disqualified from being called a “success” story? Does that depend on who defines the word? Paternity leave can be a tricky topic, as former football star Boomer Esiason recently discovered. Now a CBS analyst and WFAN radio show host, Esiason caused a firestorm when […]
