Family

The Benefits of Baby Wearing

new mama wellness baby wearing bjorn ergo
| Jess G.
When I was pregnant with Everly it was the first time that I was exposed to all the “gear” that is available to modern parents. If you think registering for wedding gifts is hard, try looking through the aisles of baby stuff at one of the big box stores. These were places I had never set foot before- I have been to Target hundreds of times without ever venturing near the baby or kid stuff. I was completely clueless with all things baby (I had never seen a woman breastfeed until my sister-in-law Ashley nursed Ella at my house). I was intrigued, kind of scared and amazed all at the same time. Once I became a Mama and was catapulted head first into the “world of baby” I discovered for myself what gear was necessary and what was pointless. One of my favorite tools in the modern parents’ tool belt is baby-wearing.

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Parents helping parents: Bringing back the Co-Op!

| Jess G.
I recently had a discussion with my mom about the differences in parenting nowadays versus when she was a new mama. I was lamenting on the absence of flexible childcare options, specifically for those of us with alternative careers in which we may only need a few hours to go meet a client or get some writing done. Everything is so formalized and strict nowadays and flexibility seems like an alien concept when it comes to childcare. My mom told me about their old neighborhood Co-op- a group of neighbors with kids all around the same age that decided to work together to provide safe, reliable and free childcare. What an awesome idea!! But why hadn’t I heard of on one in my neighborhood? I mentioned the concept to a few of my mama friends who all stared back at me with wide as moon eyes, “you can do that, what a good idea!” but then , “yea but what if the neighbors are weird… I’d rather pay someone and have a background check”. Whatever happened to community guys?! I understand safety is a priority but I don’t think we are any more un-safe than our parents were 25 years ago?! I think with the right mix of like-minded people looking to achieve a common goal there is incredible opportunity to make lemonade out of life’s childcare lemons : )

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Is this for real? Maintaining sanity as a full time parent

wellness, new mom, balance, staying sane
| Jess G.
I recently read an article on Huff post by Erica Ford addressing the topic of boredom as a stay at home parent. Her article is hilarious and I really connected to the “realness” she described of her life as the primary parent. I think parenting in general is a trip, especially for us “newbies” regardless if we are full time mamas or dads, work from home parents, full time working parents or any mixture of these roles. We all came from caring about only ourselves to now being responsible for another human being. It certainly has its ups and downs and for me, I am still transitioning to my role as Mama and my additional responsibility as the primary parent. Trading battle stories from the front lines is the best way to learn more about ourselves and how we parent and I really appreciated the truthfulness in which Erica shared a day in the life of her family.

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Quit Job. Have Baby. Make money?

New mama wellness garlic harvest
| Jess G.
My transition into motherhood was not a well-planned endeavor. It unfolded before me as I made a series of decisions that have altered my life significantly. First of all, Aaron and I always knew we wanted to be parents, we just weren’t so sure about when. There was always a wedding, a trip, a fun festival, a concert or some other fun event that pushed our timeline further ahead. When it did actually happen, it was right in the middle of one of those major events and getting pregnant was not part of the plan.

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