Blog Entries for smottram

Baby's First Haircut

smottram — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Have you heard the term "helicopter parents?" Well, I ran into a hovering parental unit when I was having my son's hair cut at a local children's hair salon. It was clearly their daughter's first haircut (let's call her Olivia). Olivia's mom told the hair specialist tasked with cutting her hair to please shape up her hair without really taking anything off. As the hair specialist diligently tried her best to cut, without cutting, dad was hold [...]

Is Papa Going to Die?

smottram — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100

It's been a rough couple of weeks to say the least. Long story short, my dad was unexpectedly diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. In a span of less than four weeks he was gone. I should preface this by saying that I dearly loved my father and he was worthy of all my affection and admiration.

When I first found out that there was a serious medical problem I was a mess. My 4 year old picked up on this immediately. "Why are you so sad, Mamma?" he said.&nbs [...]

You're going to be a Daddy!

smottram — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:00:00 +0100

I lay in bed with my eyes wide open. My husband, John was fast asleep.

All the signs of pregnancy were there -missed period, tender breasts, and I just felt like something was going on inside my body. But I had not taken a pregnancy test yet.

I snuck out of bed, opened the pregnancy test and with the first pee of the morning (recommended by my test) took my home pregnancy test. Then, I waited. While it was only three minutes, it seemed like fo [...]

Bringing Baby Home with a Bang

smottram — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:00:00 +0100

We had it all planned out - my Mom came down from Seattle about two days before my scheduled induction. We spent the last few days "pre-baby" relishing in the anticipation and her assuring me that I would have an easy labor just like she did. My induction date was delayed three days - it seemed like three weeks.

After a wonderful experience at the hospital, we brought baby home on the Fouth of July. My Mom had planned a party for our homecoming with frie [...]

When baby is sick

smottram — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:00:00 +0100

For many a working mom, getting the phone call from daycare that baby is sick is something that we dread. Not only, because our precious darlings are miserable and we want to make them feel better, but the work-life balance is such a delicate dance that any interruption to the carefully orchestrated schedule results in immediate loss of order.

For me, the call came twice this week. "Caroline has a fever and you need to come get her." My first reaction is &q [...]

Who do you want in your birthing suite?

smottram — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Have you decided who you want (or don't want) in the birthing suite during the birth of your baby?

Before I had my kids, I was lucky enough to experience my sister giving birth to her daughter. It was not something that was planned, but her labor went quicker than expected and before we knew it, it was time to for her to push. She asked that my Mom and I stay with her for the delivery. How exciting it was to see new life come into the world. It sounds sappy, but th [...]

The Name Game

smottram — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Choosing the names of our kids was no easy task. Talk about responsibility! My husband and I went about it in a very methodical manner. We decided that we would hold off on getting serious about the name game until we found out the gender of our baby. Yeah, right! As soon as I was pregnant I was online tracking down the most popular baby names, putting those names with our last name and even thinking about my favorite names for my dolls as a child (Rachel and Priscilla were at the to [...]

Ahhhhh, Mother's Day!

smottram — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:00:00 +0100

AHHHH, Mother's Day... The one day that is set aside just for us!

Was your Mother's Day just any like any other day or were you treated like a princess (or at least not the maid)? From the start it seemed like any other day for me. My husband went into the office in the morning (yes, even on a Sunday) and I was home with the little ones. My almost four year old had requested blueberry pancakes. My memories of my Dad making homemade pancakes flo [...]

Baby Food to Table Food

smottram — Wed, 07 May 2008 01:00:00 +0100

My daughter had turned six months old and as new moms know, this is a major milestone in the food department. She was ready to join the world of cereal, winter squash, strained carrots, peas, and bananas! At her first offering, she was less than impressed. Her lips tightened, her head turned away from the approaching spoon and it was clear, she wanted nothing to do with this strange smelling substance that looked nothing like milk. I had to get creative. The next time I o [...]

Pregnancy, vulnerabilty and the rite of passage

smottram — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Pregnancy is a time of such vulnerability. Your body is on display for the entire world to see - and comment on. From the sickness of early pregnancy to the cute baby bump of the second trimester and finally "this baby is taking over" feeling of the final weeks before delivery. It's hard to ignore the transformations that occur during pregnancy.

When I revealed I was pregnant, I thought my pregnancy was about me. But in many ways, pregnancy is [...]

Pain, pain go away...but when?

smottram — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:00:00 +0100

It was June 25. My due date had finally arrived! The shear terror about the pain of labor that worried me throughout my pregnancy was gone and I just wanted to get the show on the road and have this baby already. A week past my due date, baby got an eviction notice (formally known as an induction) and it was time he vacate the premises!

I was not against the thought of having an epidural but really wanted to experience labor pain so I could understand what my m [...]

My journey to parenthood

smottram — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 01:00:00 +0100

I remember it like it was yesterday. September 2003, my best friend Mari called to tell me she was pregnant. Mari and I went to high school and college together, traveled throughout Europe, shared in the many highs and lows of young adult life. Our lives had paralleled in so many ways. But, now it seemed her life was headed in a new direction.

While my husband John and I always knew we wanted children, we had not started seriously trying to conceive. I was finis [...]