STORIES

Obesity is a complex disease with many contributing factors. It’s not always as simple as ‘eat less, move more.’

Maintaining your weight is as great an accomplishment as losing weight when one is dealing with obesity. Recognizing this as an accomplishment is greatly important for mental and physical health.

If you’re looking for some New Years resolution ideas, you have to check out these HILARIOUS and totally relateable ideas that every mom should strive for in the coming year. Have a laugh and try not to pee your pants as you look through these Real Mom Resolutions.

This guest post from Sonja Wasden is a beautifully written perspective about experiencing mental illness in motherhood.

International adoptions have decreased at an extraordinary rate over the last decade. Since 2004, the number of children adopted by US families from other countries has been cut in half, as nations across the world revise their guidelines to restrict overseas adoption. In 2016, only 5,370 children from other countries were adopted by American families. …

Most adults can remember at least one instance of bullying or exclusion they experienced as a child. For some, exclusion defined their lives, impacting how they learned to relate with others into adulthood. In an effort to keep their own children from becoming victims of bullying, these scarred adults inadvertently teach their children how to …

Somewhere along the line, I gave up on myself. The things that once so clearly defined me as a person are now just long-distant memories, and I seem to have forgotten who I wanted to be. Once upon a time, I was a person, a woman, an artist, a lover, a great conversationalist, a daredevil, …

When it comes to Postpartum Depression, I feel like I’ve been through it all. Not only have I dealt with it after each of my children’s births, but I also suffered from traumatic Perinatal Depression, which is depression during pregnancy. Somehow, though, this time around, it took me a while to realize that I was suffering …

When it comes to reading, the earlier you can start with your child, the better. Reading books to your little one is not only fun, but it also is important for growing developmental skills. By reading to your child, you reinforce basic sounds, encourage language acquisition, teach your child about enunciation and more. Why is …

This post was submitted by reader, Miranda DeFabio. It has been edited for syntax and clarity. Publication of opinion pieces does not necessarily mean this site endorses them. However, in this case, the editor is in agreement. Last week was Martin Luther King Jr. day, and it got me thinking about his “I Have A …

Picture this. You’ve just had a(nother) baby and you’re just about recovered from the terror of childbirth. Your body is your own again (aside from 23 hours a day of breastfeeding, of course), and you are ready to get back to the gym. Of course, going to the gym is kind of hard with a …

“It’s just that there’s more blood than we would like to be seeing.” “Someone call the doctor in.” “She’s coming.” “What’s she dilated to?” “She’s at 5cm and about 80% effaced. She just started bleeding.” “Get peds in here. Get them ready. Let me check her.” “She’s complete.” “Oh that explains it.” “Get the team.” …

Maybe you’ve heard this one. This chick has recently split with her husband, and in an effort to move on, she creates a profile on Match.com. She is twenty-seven years old (at least for another couple of weeks) and has never “played the field.” She figures she has a good shot at making some new …

In 2017, we set out to do a year-long photo project, taking a family photo every single day of the year. The rules were simple – however we were feeling, whatever we were doing, stop at some point in the day and take a photo of the entire family together. Of course, this wasn’t as …

I have been hesitating to publish pregnancy updates lately because all in all, this fourth baby has caused me very few issues (unlike his brothers!), and I didn’t really want to bore anyone with posts about random pregnancy things that most everyone deals with. But a few weeks ago, things changed up a little bit, …

Several months ago, a woman in my local Mom group on Facebook posted for advice on a situation. She was recently separated from her husband and had started dating again, and she’d gone out to a club with a guy she’d been seeing for a few weeks. They’d been having a great time, but at …

The following post was submitted by a reader and has been edited for clarity. Names and locations have been changed. It may be triggering to those who have been affected by domestic violence. If you need help, please call the Domestic Violence Hotline on 1 800 799 7233 or visit the website. Raising three children on …

If you’ve ever read my posts on pregnancy before, you’ll know that I’m the kind of mom who complains A LOT. I don’t mean to. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to create life and carry it to term, and I never take for granted my kids or my beautiful ability to have a family. …

It seems that whether we ask for it or not, moms are subjected to advice from well-meaning third parties, hoping to impart their knowledge and be congratulated on their own parenting prowess. The problem is, half the time, those dropping their so-called expert advice don’t even have children of their own. Ironically, this doesn’t stop …

In the beginning… As babies and toddlers, we, as parents, get to pick our kids’ friends. It’s cute at that age. There’s an abundance of cherubic smiles. There’s the melodic giggles that come from a child who is still at the age where they’re learning to crawl, then walk—both literally and metaphorically. There’s the adorable …

Oh help me, OB-GYN Kenobi! You’re my only hope! I can’t believe this is happening again. And so early! That’s right – my body has gone into super crazy overdrive with the unbearable itchiness associated with Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy (ICP). As you may or may not know, I’ve dealt with this in every single …

I know I’ve been quiet on this blog for a while. The truth is that I’ve been spending an exceptionally large amount of time in my bed during this pregnancy. I’ve been struggling with my usual antenatal depression, which has been a little trickier to navigate this time around. There’s been a LOT of personal …

Last week was a doozy. Actually, the last two weeks have been heavy with the crazy, though last week was the worst of it. It began with a cross-country trip to Florida, where I was attending the Mom 2.0 Summit for the third time. Hundreds of blogging moms (and dads!) meeting together to learn, grow …

Well this is unexpected. I woke up yesterday morning, feeling rather hormonal and discouraged because my period was due the next day, and I was cramping pretty badly, had lower back pain that was killing me, and I had had my fifth night in a row of crazy vivid dreams. This current bout of PMS …

I got to thinking recently about how little time I have these days to actually sit and watch a movie. It’s even more difficult to sit and ENJOY a movie. The last film I took the boys to see at the theater was Beauty and the Beast, which was AMAZING, but the fact that I …

This was it. My time to relax. The two older boys were playing video games in the play room (who knew they’d reach that age so soon?), and the baby was down for his afternoon nap. Everyone was fed, and the housework was done. I was ready to take 45 minutes out of my day …

I know this will come as a bit of a shock to those who know my stance on Donald Trump. But on the eve of his inauguration, I feel compelled to speak out about something that has been bothering me. That is the fact that every criticism I see of him is focused on ridiculing …