Ages + Stages

I remember watching one of my closest friends putting her baby to her breast. It was like magic.  It was as if baby and mom were perfectly connected.  Meanwhile, I sat attached to my pump EVERY 3 hours.  I still needed to use formula. I felt like I failed to connect with my baby.  I’d cry because the sound of my pump parts clicking together made my milk let down…not the cry of my baby.  

Yes, absorbency determines if you have to change immediately after a pee or if it can wait until you get home from the grocery store (and if you can make it through naptime).  BUT, the best absorbency doesn’t matter if the first pee shoots right out that little gap into mom’s shirt.  

If you have the words to understand and express ideas, it’s easier to explore and understand ideas about the world around you, as well as communicate more effectively in your world.

Before allowing myself to spend another second thinking of how guilty I felt, I brainstormed something much more doable for our family. An alternative baby book.

A little over a year ago I wrote about surviving my daughter's fifth birthday. I lamented over the fact that her little girl days were numbered. Well, you guys, it's happening. She's growing up.

We did it.  We survived tent camping with three small children and a crazy dog.  We finished off our summer by packing the whole family and plenty of gear into our van, driving thirty minutes away (nice and close, just in case we had to abandon ship), and made a 30’ circle of dirt our home for a weekend.

I’ve been struggling with how to write this letter, because I know I cannot possibly understand what you go through every day. I can’t understand all the things you have to think about and worry about – things that, for me, aren’t “things” at all. Like going to a friend’s birthday party, heading out to a baseball game or eating lunch at school. For me, I only worry about the broad, sweeping safety issues and social implications. You have to worry about whether your child might accidentally ingest something that could make them very – even deathly – sick.

But, there are times I feel it is important to encourage and develop other interests. As an example, when we head to the library, he always wants construction books. I can't help but feel I need to push him out of his comfort zone a little.

One of my favorite parts of the day is when my kids are in bed. You read that correct! You might even be thinking - yes! Me too! I need some peace and quiet around here. But I don't mean what you are probably thinking! I mean the cuddle and reading time we get to spend as a family while they are in bed before they go to sleep. I love reading books to my kids!

Reading is one of the most important skills in life. Yet some children and adults will never know the joy reading can bring. So how do we instill in our children the love of reading? Here are some steps that we can take to start fueling the desire to read even before they can.