Life changes when you add kids to the mix. Sounds like a bulletin from the Department of the Obvious, I know, but you never really appreciate how true it is until you have actually have one around. Since becoming a step-mom, I have discovered a million little ways that my life is different, as well as a few big ways.
I wasn't sure how David would fare being so close to my family. He assured me it would be fine. I suspected that all he really wanted was to own hardwood floors. He had found us a house a mere four minutes from my parents' home that I wasn't thrilled with it but, ultimately, he convinced me that moving there would be best for both my nuclear and extended family.
Perhaps parents of my mother's generation weren't encouraged to share intimacies with their children. Or maybe it was just that way in her family. Which means that even now that she's 85, I still don't know my mother as well as I'd like. We get along, we have a lot of laughs together, but on the subject of herself, she's mom. When I began having kids, I wanted something different. I wanted my children to know me.
Here at LoveMom, we bring you the love. Our weekly Baby Bytes bring you everything else. Here are this week's 7 must-click mom links: how your kids can help you heal from an illness, tips for getting back on the dating scene as a single mom, and why waiting to find out the sex of your baby may be driving your loved ones crazy. 7 tips for making it work from a couples therapist, what working mom staple is now tax deductible, and why midnight feedings may be hurting your career.
The chocolates are gone, the flowers are starting to wilt and the lingerie is now at the bottom of the laundry heap. But before the memory of your hot Valentine's night fades, think about what you can do to make it possible again.
You could be doing childless couples a huge justice by refraining from an inquisition into their sex lives. Because, essentially, that's what you're doing when you push the baby issue. You're prying into their private world and poking in on their Should we or shouldn't we? Are we ready? Do we even want children? conversations.
I often think of being a stepmom as walking a very precarious tightrope: you want to bond with your step-child but you don't want to overstep your bounds and usurp the birth mother's place. It's delicate, being that emotional support without taking over more than you should. I'm still trying to figure out just how to find that balance.
Do you and your spouse argue too much in front of your children? Find out the red flags and learn how to talk about your arguments with your children and reassure them that everything is okay.
Everyone tells you how important it is to stay connected to your spouse once you have a child. What they don't tell you is how hard that is to do, since all you really want do on a night off is sleep. A recent haphazard date night my husband and I had highlights this conundrum well.
Here at LoveMom, we bring you the love. Our weekly Baby Bytes bring you everything else. Here are this week's 5 must-click mom links: Hospitals across the country are banning cameras of all kinds in the delivery room, and one woman describes why she wants her kids to see her open relationship. Plus, creative ways to document your pregnancy, and things you should do even before you get pregnant.
