As a kid, Mother's Day was about handmaking cards covered in hearts and flowers at school, and cooking mom breakfast in bed. I got it, but I didn't really get it. My siblings and I often wondered why, if there was a Father's Day and a Mother's Day, there was no such day as a Children's … Continue reading Recognising the Hard Work of Motherhood
Babies
Helping Baby Sleep Through the Night – Product Reviews: What Worked and What Didn’t
At this point I feel like an expert on products marketed at helping babies to sleep longer, because I have tried them all! My son started out as a great sleeper, but around 4 months his ability to sleep longer than 2-3 hours went out the window and has never really recovered. He is now … Continue reading Helping Baby Sleep Through the Night – Product Reviews: What Worked and What Didn’t
Debunking Evidence in Support of Cry-it-Out
It's a decision most parents are faced with at some point – whether or not to sleep train their baby. I know it can be a touchy subject, and I know that parents have a number of reasons why they do or do not choose to sleep train. Although for the most part I don't … Continue reading Debunking Evidence in Support of Cry-it-Out
Let’s Talk about Breastsleeping
Breastsleeping: breastfeeding mothers sharing the same or an adjacent sleep surface, (i.e. cosleeping*), with their infants in the absence of all hazardous factors. -- Breastsleeping is a new concept proposed by researchers from the University of Notre Dame. It is an important move towards normalising bedsharing for breastfeeding infants, allowing for proper education surrounding an … Continue reading Let’s Talk about Breastsleeping
Building Trust in the First Year of Life
We track our babies’ progress against many milestones over their first year of life. But one of the most important milestones they can achieve during this time is least prominent for mothers and their health care providers - the development of a secure attachment bond. A secure attachment boils down to the infant’s trust in … Continue reading Building Trust in the First Year of Life
Babies and their Bad Habits
It's so easy to get sucked into the lies about forming bad habits with babies, isn't it? New mothers are a vulnerable group, so desperate to do everything right for their baby no matter the cost (see: sleep deprivation). And since we have been thrown off the deep end into this whole mothering thing, we … Continue reading Babies and their Bad Habits
Parents of Difficult Babies – Your Hard Work is Not in Vain
Sensitive. Intense. Frequent negative emotions. High activity level. Withdraws or doesn't easily adapt to new situations. Irregular feeding and sleep routine. If these terms describe your child then it is likely he or she is what child psychologists would call ‘difficult’. This is in contrast to ‘easy’ children (generally positive moods, routine sleep/wake and feeding … Continue reading Parents of Difficult Babies – Your Hard Work is Not in Vain
On Crying Babies
If your baby is crying, go to them. Don't stand on the other side of the door, waiting and hoping for them to learn something. These little tiny humans need us to feed them, to clean them, to keep them safe, and they also need us to regulate their emotions. They cry because they want … Continue reading On Crying Babies
Sleep Like a Husband
This meme came across my Facebook the other day and it made me laugh because it is SO true! First of all, I don't know why people use the phrase “sleep like a baby” to imply good sleep. Oh really, you slept like a baby – so you were unable to fall asleep on your … Continue reading Sleep Like a Husband
The Mother Who Knew Too Much
For a good number of years I spent my time intensely studying child development - what's normal, what's abnormal, and how parents can help or hinder development. It would seem that I would thusly be very well prepared to raise a child of my own, as I am considered an “expert” in the academic field … Continue reading The Mother Who Knew Too Much
