by Laurie Ganberg, LICSW “I love my baby but I feel trapped.” “Maybe having a baby was a mistake.” “Every part of my life has changed. I miss my old life.” I often hear these statements hesitantly shared by women experiencing ambivalence and regret after a new baby—along with, “I can’t talk about this in the new moms group.” But it is…
I think I just had a true emotional breakdown. In car with Anderson. Not listening ad nauseam. Can feel my stress level reaching cataclysmic, desperate, absolutely miserable levels. I raise my voice, deep, gravelly, shaking—it doesn’t even sound like my own—desperately pleading with my 4-year-old to be quiet. I feel helpless and truly tortured. I have to leave the car.…
by Jessica Towns It’s Toddler Playtime at the community center. The gym is jammed with plastic slides, kid kitchens, and Flintstone-style cars. The primal howls of yet-uncivilized children rattle the bleachers. My mom-friends and I stand in a semicircle, semi-watching our two year-olds, and I’m dying to tell them. I want to tell them that two hours ago, I sat…
The thing is, parenting young children is not an intellectual exercise. It’s an often overwhelming exercise in constant empathy for a sometimes very difficult little person.
Dear Brand New Mom, Being a mother is the most wonderful, magical, powerful things there is. There’s no doubt about it. People will tell you this, and you may not believe them. You may feel that it is painful, tiring, frustrating, overwhelming, and disappointing. You may feel part of the joy; you may feel all of it. You may feel…