Melissa, Participant at Adjusting to Parenthood, a New Mom Support Group in Seattle This post previously published by Perinatal Support Washington. What was your reason for joining the group? My PEPS group had ended, and we hadn’t kept meeting up. As a result, I had no outlet to talk about the challenges of motherhood, and I started having more dark…
Category: Parenting
What’s Next?: The Pressure to Have Another Baby
by Jessica Towns The question is always: what’s next? Two years ago, I was on a walk with my newborn daughter, beelining toward a much-needed Starbucks latte, when an elderly woman approached me at the crosswalk. She looked down and smiled at the baby. “Is this your first?” she asked. Life is always pushing us forward toward whatever’s next: finish…
Baby in Therapy
by Zach Brittle There’s a dirty trick I play on couples from time to time, especially when they have kids. They come in, complaining about one another, and how they don’t have a shared parenting philosophy, and how their kids are taking up all their time and energy, and how intimacy has evaporated, and, and, and… And, here’s the trick…I…
Every family had perfect attendance
Mike Schloss knows about parent support and the importance of community. Before he became a stay at home dad, he worked at Treehouse, a local organization that provides much needed support to foster children in Washington. When his daughter was born, Mike joined PEPS for Dads. Later, he joined Baby Peppers. He was the only dad in this daytime group…
How do you know you’re done?
According to family lore, my parents always just knew they were done after two babies. It was crystal clear from the moment my little sister was born: family complete. End of story. Throughout my own parenting journey, I’ve heard a similar refrain from other parents, usually uttered in a tone of outright certainty: I’m one and done. I’m two and through. Three…
If You’re Quiet and You Know It: My Advice for Introverted Parents
by Jessica Towns Introversion is often thought of as a quiet nature, or just plain shyness, but there is more to it than that. Introverts are people who thrive in solitude, who function best when they’re able to process internally. They are energized by solo activities and drained by social situations. As an introverted mother, I am constantly being pulled…
Spring parenting is finally here
Maybe it was the tickle of the breeze in my hair as I readied the soil for snap pea starts, or maybe it was the joyful ring of my daughters giggling as they splashed at the water table, their feet bare and their sweatshirts abandoned. Maybe it was the realization that our gloves have grown lonesome in their drawer for over a…
On having a baby after a PMAD
by Kaela Koepke I’d like to dedicate this second pregnancy to Prozac. I’m 3.5 months pregnant with number two and already the difference in my mood between pregnancies is night and day; the contrast is astounding. At eight weeks into my first pregnancy three years ago, I was sobbing at my midwife appointment, petrified of a miscarriage, despite having no…
The power of connection
Here’s the deal: We need each other. Yes, we human beings need one another to be healthy and to thrive. Brené Brown defines connection this way: “connection is the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” Thanks to…
Why I’m Learning to Take a Compliment
by Jessica Towns Last summer, I took my daughter Ravenna to a toddler gym class. Children were clambering like termites over elaborate play structures, each with an anxious parent on the floor below. Ravenna ran fearlessly into the action and began to narrate every detail. “Climb stairs…throw orange ball…my turn…jump?!” A father in the class turned to me and said,…
