From the category archives:

Month 2

Activity #564: Reduce postpartum stress

March 25, 2010

Amongst my memories of high school, some of my fondest are laughing so hard that I cried (mostly in inappropriate situations, such as Psychology class or Yom Kippur services). One of the people who was frequently responsible for this behavior is Alison, pictured below. I was not at all surprised to learn that, as an [...]

Activity #566: Find out who else is up all night

March 22, 2010

Though it might feel like it, you’re not the only ones up all night. Find the places that are open all night and who will deliver to your home; keep a running and accessible list of nearby pharmacies, grocery stores, take-out joints, etc. and have these numbers readily available. Program these fantastic vendors into your [...]

Brace yourself: The zero to ten scale

March 12, 2010

The best advice Ryan and I got during our first days with Julian came from a source that I can no longer remember, perhaps the pediatrician who made rounds in the hospital. It was this: Babies need to go from 0 to 10 on a daily basis. A sleeping baby is at 0 and may [...]

Remember your kegels

February 2, 2010

Sorry rookie dads, this one is for the ladies. So, we’re all supposed to do kegels, right? How we’re supposed to remember to do them with all the other stuff new moms are juggling is totally beyond me… so I came up with a brilliant little technique that I can share with you. Do one [...]

Activity #224: Take picture of sleeping baby

December 11, 2009

Sometimes young babies make annoyingly weird faces when you’re trying to take a picture to prove to the world how cute they really are. In the first couple months, I found that Julian was actually a very good model while he slept. He didn’t cry or cross his eyes or make a rooting face. He [...]

Activity #35: Learn baby massage

October 26, 2009

Whether you’re a total zen mama or a skeptic, I highly recommend learning a few techniques of infant massage. You can enjoy some quiet time and get to know your baby’s tiny developing body AND often get the kid to chill out and go to sleep. Win win. I took a short workshop in baby [...]

Practice yoga to ease the strain of breastfeeding

October 22, 2009

When Patti Asad from YogaWorks approached us with some ideas for yoga poses for rookie moms, I was hoping she’d help solve the problems I experienced. I asked her, “Is there one particular yoga move that’s that’s great for the neck and shoulder pains associated carrying around a 12 pound lump of a baby or [...]

Activity #476: Play poker with your baby

September 8, 2009

My very good friend, Crystal, lives in Chicago as a writer with her wee little son, Harry. Harry is a mere one day younger than Milo and sadly they’ve never met in person. We fully expect that one day they’ll be using Crystal’s instructions in poker for their own miseducation. Here’s what Crystal has to [...]

Activity #574: Make your own organic baby wash

March 23, 2009

Toxic goo in the baby bubble bath? WTH?! It drives me CRAZY to learn that our baby body wash has bad stuff in it. Now crafty, cheapo, and organic moms can come together on this activity; it is easier than you think to make to make your own natural baby wash. Here’s a great little [...]

Activity #167: Get calcium the fun way

February 24, 2009

First off, this is not the place to find out about counting pounds or calories… so, I can recommend the following tasty ways to get your calcium: mint chocolate chip ice cream in front of the TV cheese – fancy with red wine or the stick variety in the middle of the night a tall [...]

Activity #284: Tweeze, dye and feel pretty

January 23, 2009

I’ve read in some well-meaning parenting magazines that the secret to looking fresh and awesome despite sleep-deprivation lies in a “quick” makeup routine that is five times more involved than what I would do before going to a party. Thanks but no thanks. I give you two images to consider. First, this is me immediately [...]

Activity #47: Think with your melons

January 5, 2009

You have a special super power in the first months of your baby’s life. Maybe this falls into the very large bucket of “nobody ever told me this was going to happen.” Your boobs might get all tingly for no apparent reason. For me, it could be triggered by hearing any baby cry having any [...]

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