Motherhood Articles

Our children are the first generation in history to grow up in a world where the internet has always existed. Many of them know how to work an iPhone before they can talk. They may give you a quizzical look when you talk about things like VCRs, typewriters, and pagers. In many ways, their generation will …

At more than one point in time I have had as many as three children teething in my home. The older children are able to understand what is going on but the baby just doesn’t understand why there is an aching pain in his mouth. It seems to happen the same way every time. After several days …

Stop what? Well, lots of things actually: We need to stop buying unhealthy foods, feeding them too much sugar, and not giving them enough time outside to play. The thing that I’ve noticed in an increasing amount lately that we also really need to stop doing: Letting our Kids be Picky! Yes, I said letting. …

I don’t know about you, but I find that most baby bibs available in the store are of poor quality. Unless you are willing to fork over an arm and a leg for a piece of fabric your baby is going to drool and slobber on, you will often have to settle for what is …

Looking back over the past decade, I realize that even after giving birth to six children (read all of my birth stories starting here), I’ve never had what would be considered a “normal” birth and this one was no exception as I had a complete breech water birth at home. The Beauty of Birth My …

With my first child, I was prepared for pregnancy to be uncomfortable at times. I expected labor and delivery to be intense. I figured I’d be emotional after having a baby. What I didn’t expect or really prepare for is that breastfeeding can be difficult the first few days as well! Don’t get me wrong. It …

I sometimes am asked how I “get it all done” with kids, and the answer is that I don’t. Or at least I don’t every day, or with a patient attitude all the time, or while still managing to get a shower and brush my hair. How the Kids Help Out The other answer is …

I’ve seen multiple recent stories in the news about a “groundbreaking” new way that researchers are hoping to improve gut bacteria and immune health in cesarean babies. In short, they are talking about a way to mimic the natural gut bacteria transfer that happens during the birthing process with microbial wipes (I wrote about this last …

If you’ve read much on this blog, you might have noticed that I don’t post many details about my kids online, other than very general information about how my 4-year-old helped me clean or how one of my kids once spilled activated charcoal all over my kitchen. I am *hopefully* going to give birth sometime in the near …

In my post about the pregnancy and prenatal care options I chose, I mention that I don’t take the pregnancy glucose test that requires drinking glucola (that syrupy orange or grape drink) and that I use an alternate method of testing. I’ve gotten so many questions about this that I decided it deserved its own post, …

This may be a controversial post, although I don’t intend it to be! This pregnancy, I’m making the switch to almost all organic baby clothes. This isn’t something I did (or was able to do) with our other children, nor was it something I considered a priority until recently. In fact, there are several reasons …

I recently attended a hospital birth as a doula and a nurse suggested a new technique to shorten labor that I had not seen used before: a peanut ball. I was familiar with the use of a yoga ball or “birth ball” during labor to help open the pelvis and bring baby down but I had …

Note from Katie: Several years ago I wrote about my own successful VBAC birth, and because of it, I’m often asked by expectant mothers what’s the best way to prepare for a vaginal birth once you’ve had a C-Section. I’ve asked a fellow doula (and student midwife) Jennifer West to write about that today. Jennifer specializes in …

Don’t you love when something really simple and inexpensive is actually the most effective option? Like when simple natural ingredients make the best laundry detergent? Or when children ditch the expensive toys and play for hours with a cardboard box or mixing bowl and spoon? Can Eating Dates Shorten Labor? I recently stumbled across a …

Pregnancy is such an exciting time! From finding out that you are pregnant, through the various stages of pregnancy (some not so fun), to the birth of your child, there is so much to learn and experience. Some couples wait until the second trimester to announce a pregnancy, while others can’t wait to share the …

I’ve shared intimate details of my birth stories, revealed the dark side of blogging, and exposed the extent of my crunchiness writing about menstrual cups… I haven’t written much about homeschooling, even though it is a big part of my family’s life, because I didn’t think it would interest most of you. When a picture of …

It seems like most of my friends are pregnant of late… and for the first time in a long time, I’m not pregnant along with them, so I’m enjoying going to their baby showers and spoiling them with gifts. I realized I’ve been out of the baby item buying stage for a while, since we always handed …

I have a confession to make… and I feel like it makes me a terrible mother… I’ve never enjoyed nursing my babies. In fact, it pretty much drives me crazy. And I feel guilty that I don’t enjoy it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve breastfed all of my children to at least 18 months or …

If a doula were a drug, it would be unethical not to use it. ~ John H. Kennell, MD I’ve had the privilege of serving as a doula dozens of times, for many different types of births, and each time I am still in awe of the strength of laboring moms and the beauty of …

At our house, boredom is not allowed and is never an excuse to watch TV or complain. My children know all too well that complaining “Mom, I’m bored,” is a fast way to get assigned an extra chore or two. Recently, while visiting a friend, I saw an intriguing system she used to help encourage imagination, …

Giving birth to a baby is tough work, no matter how the little one decides to enter the world. Having had a c-section and natural births, I can say that while natural birth can be harder pre-birth, c-sections can be much harder in recovery. At the same time, there are some things you can do …

One of the single most difficult moments of my life was as I was being wheeled down the hall to an emergency c-section and I hugged my husband good-bye and we said our “I love yous.” He was able to rejoin me just as our little one entered the world, but that day and its …

When I was pregnant with my first child, I was given literally 11 bottles of baby lotion by friends and relatives. The smell reminded me of my own childhood and I loved that it was a lotion specially formulated for baby. I figured all of the ingredients must be natural and safe since it was …

Note from Katie: After birthing five babies … I know all-too-well the discomfort that comes with the post-birth healing process. I’m happy to welcome Shaye Elliot to share a recipe I wish I’d had with my first few children. Enter Shaye… If only I had been wise after the birth of my first two children. Advil was …