My husband and I were enjoying a rare and treasured Saturday afternoon away as the leaves turned at the end of 2016. It took me the entire two-hour drive to our favorite city to get out the words in a faint whisper, “Ben…I think I might be depressed.” Motherhood, at the time, presented as the…
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Carson’s birth was physical. Nora’s birth was emotional. Harper’s birth was mental. That’s the way I’ve been categorizing my third birth. To understand why Harper’s arrival was so mental, you need to know a detail that I’ve not shared publicly to this point. I’ve been in regular therapy since January treating an anxiety disorder. I…
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Zwischen Between. Not here, yet here. Baby girl tumbles and twists – just like my heart, waiting for her. (Inspired by these words from a midwife that have been a source of encouragement through all my pregnancies. Photo credit to Crossland Photography.)
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I love surprises. Big surprises, small surprises, I’m not picky. I love the adrenaline-hype build-up and the oxytocin rush that follows. The most startling surprises to take in, I think, are the types when we discover new characteristics about ourselves. Take, for example, this year when I learned a new fact about myself: I enjoy style.…
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When Ben and I announced our third pregnancy, we were met with the usual host of congratulatory responses. And one particular sentiment I’ve heard over…and over…and over again, “I hope you have a boy.” Family, friends, random strangers in the cereal aisle, it’s come from all sides. What’s been equally surprising is my visceral reaction to…
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This idea that mothers bear the ‘mental load’ of the home has been floating around the Interwebs lately. (See here.) Basically, the thought is that even if the father in a household contributes a fair share of house maintenance, the mother is the one with the constant to-do lists swirling in her head. She is weighed…
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I’m long overdue a post! My last writings came from a harder place of life, and first I want to give you an update as to how I’m doing. Through a winding process of medical detective work (which we’re still on!) I discovered that I have a vitamin deficiency. At least for now, that’s the…
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Dear Working Mom Who Feels Guilty She’s Not a SAHM, I see you. I see your posts. I see your teary-eyed selfies kissing your sweet ones goodbye at the babysitter. And I want to give you a big ol’ bear hug. Mama, you want good things. You want to love your family well, to put…
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belly born. science slicing windows into nature’s womb, a kind of miracle. hours clocked – long days, longer nights. by design i cannot, for the life of me, remember the work it took to raise me. only when i look at my daughter, tucked into her own bed, do I know how my mother…
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My goal in writing is to be ‘gut-honest’. That means I tell tough truths, hopefully in loving ways. Not because I think I’m all that and a bag of chips, but because I know the human experience is a common one and we learn from each other. In that gut-honest spirit, I need to say…
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