Baby number two is here and I’m….happy? Obviously, I’m excited by the birth of my lovely son, but am I happier than I was when I had one child or no children? In my first podcast back after a long long hiatus I examine some of the studies purporting to show a decline in happiness as people have children. What can we make of these studies? Can happiness be defined or measured? When will I sleep through the night again (sadly, that last question isn’t answered)?
Sources:
“One baby or two? Study looks at effect of having second child” by Judy Hill
“All Joy and No Fun” by Jennifer Senior
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After a long podcasting hiatus, I’m finally releasing an episode I recorded a couple months ago. My current pregnancy has been about as much fun as my first (code for no fun), so I apologize to Amy for the late release. I talked with her about the process of adopting her son from Colombia when he was 13 months old. We discussed the ins and outs of the adoption process, as well as the emotional and financial realities of adoption.
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I interviewed Adrienne of the popular blog No Points for Style about her special needs son Carter; this interview affected me more than most and may change the way you look at or even judge other parents in circumstances different than your own.
Adrienne talks about the difficulty in getting a single diagnosis and in coming to terms with likely never getting one. She talks about the way parenting Carter has affected her other children and she explains what parents shouldn’t say to someone struggling with a special needs child. Hint: Don’t invoke video games and leave the word exorcism out of your vocabulary.
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In Episode 25 I talked with Amy, mother to a toddler and wife of a deployed Navy officer, about her experiences dealing with deployment. I got quite a few responses to that episode, so I decided to turn it into a three part series. This is Part II of the series and this time I talk with Melitsa, mother of three boys, whose husband is on a one year remote tour. She is half way through this tour, so I asked her about how she prepared her boys, how she handles the day to day stressors, and how this long of an absence has affected her marriage.
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How do you get a toddler to love vegetables and put the cookies aside? Do you introduce whole vegetables or hide them in more fun foods? What is the feeding responsibility of the toddler versus the parent? How does nutrition affect IQ?
In a free form conversation with my cousin Abby, mother to an almost 16 month old son, I try to answer some of these questions. We explain how we arrived at our feeding philosophies and how our own relationship with food affects the way we introduce it to our children. We aren’t experts, but we are readers, so we share our own experiences in addition to some of our favorite food/feeding resources.
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If you think your life is complicated, imagine having your husband father two children with your best friend, a friend who lives with you and your husband. Imagine being forced to give up your daughter and lover to stay with your other three children. Imagine being exiled from your children for two years.
These are just a few of the facts about Duchess Georgiana Devonshire’s life. She lived from 1757-1806, served as the female figurehead of the Whig Party, and represented the highly elite “ton” of English society. This is the woman who made hairstyles involving ships stylish.
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