Daniel and I are gamer geeks. Our first memory of spending time together (we met gradually, both being members of a fairly large student organization) is a party where we played Nomic. We started to hang out together more when I came to the game nights he and his housemates hosted. Attending a gigantic game … Continue reading Growing a Gamer Geek
baby
Come Here! Go Away!
My dad used to play this game with me when I was little, and now I play it with my son: Place your child in a swing and stand in front of it. Frown. Say, "Go away!" and push the swing. Now open your arms and smile. Say, "Come here, Nicholas!" [or, for best results, … Continue reading Come Here! Go Away!
Family Bed in the Kid’s Room
It's Works-for-Me Wednesday! Before our child was born, we decided to have the family bed in his room and keep the master bedroom as our couple space. We'd read a lot about co-sleeping and thought it sounded like a great way to minimize the disruptions of night nursing and give our baby a loving, secure … Continue reading Family Bed in the Kid’s Room
Stroller Madness
Long before we became parents, Daniel and I decided we would not be transporting our child in a stroller on any regular basis. We live in Pittsburgh, a city of steep hills, stairs, and sidewalks cracked by frost heave and tree roots. Our neighborhood has heavy pedestrian traffic on sidewalks that are narrow in places. We often … Continue reading Stroller Madness
Impulse Control and Understanding Consequences
Like learning to share, these are skills some parents claim are absolutely impossible in babies and toddlers. I think they're underestimating what those little brains can do! Babies are capable of controlling some impulses, some of the time--they just aren't as good at it as older people. Babies are capable of learning that something they … Continue reading Impulse Control and Understanding Consequences
Cloth Diaper Details
I already explained some of the advantages of using cloth diapers. Now, for those who are interested, I'm going to give all the details of how we did it. Many different styles of cloth diapers are available these days, so there's a lot to choose from, and it can be daunting. Pre-motherhood, I found it very useful … Continue reading Cloth Diaper Details
Cloth Diapers
I always knew I would use cloth diapers on my baby. My parents and most of my extended family had, so I was used to the idea and saw it as a sensible choice financially and environmentally. Also, I had babysat for disposable-diapered babies and found their diapers hard to tolerate aesthetically; they just feel so … Continue reading Cloth Diapers
Tips for Expectant Parents
Disclaimer: This is one of those "This is what works for my family" type articles. We have only one child. All children are different. These are some ideas that have been useful to us that we hope will be helpful to other parents. My favorite online source of information about all things child-related is Mothering Magazine's huge array of … Continue reading Tips for Expectant Parents
Songs to soothe the savage baby
Nicholas had a very difficult first month: He wasn't used to being in this world outside me, he didn't understand the day-and-night thing, and when he was the slightest bit uncomfortable his immediate response was full-throttle shrieking. One thing I learned during that month--which has proven useful ever since--is that singing may calm him, and even … Continue reading Songs to soothe the savage baby
Mothering in transit
The distance from our home to our childcare center is less than three miles. In rush-hour traffic, it's a 20-minute drive. But almost every day, Nicholas and I make the trip by public transit, taking two buses and at least 45 minutes in each direction. I could walk that distance in that time! Am I insane?! No. I'm convinced that public transit is a wonderful way to travel with a young child. The conveniences more than make up for the inconveniences, that extra time is time we spend together, and the trip is full of learning experiences for my child and me.
The POD Concept
Years before we became parents, a childless friend told us about some people she knew who had a new baby and had managed their activities at a convention very effectively using The POD Concept, which she then explained to us. I hope that someday I will meet those people so I can tell them how very useful … Continue reading The POD Concept
Learning to Share
The topic of "sharing" comes up pretty often, in conversations with other parents in real life or online, because every young child eventually has a moment when she yanks a toy away from another child or gets her own toy yanked away. What often puzzles me about discussions of sharing and taking turns is that so many … Continue reading Learning to Share
One Thing and Three Things
[adapted from a post to a discussion board when our son Nicholas was 19 months old] When I was a young adult, having trouble adjusting to working full-time on a fixed schedule with a commute instead of being in the more flexible environment of college, and also was having some other problems that led me to … Continue reading One Thing and Three Things
The Earthling's Handbook 