Families

When I got pregnant for the third time, I was determined to have an unmedicated VBAC. I had big plans. This VBAC was going to be my birth experience salvation. It was going to be empowering and amazing and heal all my hangups. I was going to be a mama goddess and everything was going to be perfect. I was wrong.

After having three kids in four years, my life IS toys and play. It’s a knee-high jumble of babies and boxes, of little pieces of cut up cotton buds and impossible to transform robots, and it is that stomach-sinking feeling at the whooshing sound of a box of Legos being upturned in the toy room.

Despite endless exhortations to "enjoy every second," the reality of three toddlers is not always a Disney postcard. And it's okay for some moms to admit that they look forward to having a little less mess, a little more serenity.

Many women encounter pressure in the delivery room to opt for surgery. If you're a minority, you might face additional scrutiny. But never forget: as long as baby and you are healthy, the choice to push is yours.

Many women encounter pressure in the delivery room to opt for surgery. If you're a minority, you might face additional scrutiny. But never forget: as long as baby and you are healthy, the choice to push is yours.

My daughter was just reaching her first birthday before the dense fog of postpartum depression started to lift off of me. I didn’t realize it right away, though – and I certainly hadn’t even realized I was suffering from PPD at all.

There is a chasm separating "bad behavior" from "being bad." Our kids have to learn from us that their one-time actions do not permanently define them.

I should begin by clarifying that I am no political reactionary.