Trust Me, I'm the Mom

Today, we celebrate our 8th year of marriage and I think we've both been pretty introspective over the last few days leading up to it. I read something several years ago that really built up the level of anticipation for our 8th anniversary - pretty sure it was somewhere on MSN or something so you KNOW it was both true and worthwhile... Anyways, the gyst of if was that if you survive your 7th year of marriage (otherwise known as the 7 Year Itch), your likelihood of staying married improves drastically. Well, we've done it. We made it through year 8, so our chances are pretty  good from here on out. Our marriage looks a lot different, I think, 8 years in than it did the first couple. The first few years you really work out the kinks - or become aware of the kinks-  resulting from two completely different people moving in together, living together, working together, and building a life together. There's so much "together" that it becomes apparent really ...

In honor of National Breastfeeding Week, I'm sharing some of my top non-technical tips as just a normal lay person who has nothing but actual experience in hopes that they will be helpful. As a brand-new momma, some of the very best advice I received was from friends, relatives, and chatboards - and some of the WORST advice I received was from nurses and lactation consultants. Last year I was somewhat annoyed that this week even exists and was pretty sensitive towards my momma friends who did not breastfeed (a fed baby is a happy baby was and continues to be my belief). However, I also strongly believe in the number of benefits available to both mom and baby via breastfeeding, and am acutely aware of the many ways it affected and nurtured the personal relationship between my son and I. As time progressed, and especially as he nursed well into his second year, I became more passionate about advocating for nursing moms and babies and am excited to see the cultural shift b...