After my wonderful experience with it, I have become passionate about breastfeeding and would like to encourage as many moms as possible to start and continue to breastfeed — that is a major reason why I started my blog,
DagmarBleasdale.com. No matter how long you choose to breastfeed — one week or four years — I want to be a resource and cheerleader for all new mothers because I believe most women can nurse their child with the…
Continue
Added by Dagmar Bleasdale on July 14, 2009 at 12:58am —
No Comments
Since I am a custodial step-parent, my perspective is from that point of view. My stepkids
live with me full time, but that isn't the case for many step-mothers. Many of you are
probably spending a lot more time with your stepkids than you are used to doing. This
post is dedicated to those of you that might be experiencing a difficult transition from
part-time to full-time stepparent. Here are my suggestions for an enjoyable extended stay
for your…
Continue
Added by Angie Blackwell on July 7, 2009 at 5:07pm —
No Comments
Children today drink twice as much soda as they did 20 years ago, averaging as much as 20 ounces a day! A large soda not only provides tons of calories and sugar but it also includes at least 100 mg of caffeine. Many parents wouldn’t dream of giving their kids a cup of coffee yet routinely offer them soda, which contains caffeine as well. We also see many families hitting the local café or Starbucks for a café latte or mocha frappuccino loaded with the burst of ‘energy’ we call…
Continue
Added by Joanna Dolgoff, MD on July 7, 2009 at 12:28pm —
No Comments
Relationship guru John Gray says yes...once the birth parent's ground rules are in place.
You can read this article in MarsVenusLiving.com...

Great insights,
—Josie Brown…

Continue
Added by josiebrown on July 1, 2009 at 6:33pm —
No Comments
Healthy Birthday Snack Ideas:
A child’s school birthday celebration should be centered around the child; instead, it has become centered around cupcakes. Parents bring in these unhealthy treats and kids rejoice. Yet with the current child obesity crisis, many are rethinking this caloric tradition. In response, I have created this list of healthy birthday school celebrations. Enjoy them! And please, let me know if you have any additional suggestions.
Non-Food…
Continue
Added by Joanna Dolgoff, MD on June 30, 2009 at 1:50pm —
No Comments
The Cupcake Wars: As Seen in the NY Times (Plus More!)
Last week, there was an article in the NY Times about Meme Roth and her fight with her children’s school concerning school birthday parties and cupcakes.
What sets her off is the junk food served on special occasions: the cupcakes that come out for every birthday, the doughnuts her children were once given in gym, the sugary “Fun-Dip” packets that some parent provided the whole class on Valentine’s Day.
“I thought…
Continue
Added by Joanna Dolgoff, MD on June 25, 2009 at 9:36pm —
1 Comment
Congratulations! Your toddler is now old enough to sit in a “big boy” chair. You no longer need to strap him into a high chair. I bet you think dining out will now be much easier! Unfortunately, the difficulties are just beginning. Your toddler will now be able to explore restaurants without restraints. How can you get your child to sit at the table with you instead of wandering around on his own? Read on for some tips.
1. Be consistent. Teach your child that she must sit with you at…
Continue
Added by Joanna Dolgoff, MD on June 22, 2009 at 8:19pm —
No Comments
Why should a child’s diet be different from an adult’s diet?
A child’s diet can not be the same as an adult’s diet for many reasons. A child’s body goes through many stages of development and his nutritional needs vary depending on which stage he is in. For example, a child in puberty requires more calories than a school-age child. Therefore, providing the correct nutritional plan at all stages of growth is crucial to ensure proper development. Let’s review several diets and why they…
Continue
Added by Joanna Dolgoff, MD on June 15, 2009 at 12:33pm —
No Comments
Advertisers work hard to earn their money. They can take any food and make it sound nutritious. Very few laws protect the consumer from advertisers’ half-truths. It is up to us to learn how to tell what it a valid claim and what is just hype. How can you wade through the misleading information to find the truth? Easy… just look at the nutrition label and the ingredient list! The nutrition label and the ingredient list have all the information that you need to determine whether a food is…
Continue
Added by Joanna Dolgoff, MD on June 10, 2009 at 12:17pm —
No Comments
I listen to a lot of pop and have noticed the increasing topic of sex and partying (in explicit terms) have been coming up. I wrote a post also entitled the same as this and would love to hear your comments as mothers on what you do. (btw, I do return comments)
More at:
http://rouged.org/parenting-and-music-when-to-turn-it-off/
Added by Nile Flores on June 9, 2009 at 4:59pm —
No Comments
Anyone who’s married knows it’s possible to love someone and hate them at the same time. Angelina has that effect on you. You admire her altruistic urge to share her millions with underprivileged kids (well, three to be exact) yet you can’t help but hate her smug pneumatic pout. “Look at me,” she screams from the front pages of the gossip magz, “I’m so great, Brad thinks I’m so great - and I care, too.” But the thing that puzzles you, is just how does the six-kids-high-octane-movie-career thing…
Continue
Added by Siobhan Kalli on June 2, 2009 at 8:13am —
2 Comments
Dedicated to my oldest son, Brandon
We met face-to-face for the first time what seems like yesterday, but years have passed, and I have known you for a lifetime. You have led me on a remarkable journey through this forest of existence, and have taught me to cherish every detail. You have guided my feet toward a less traveled pathway, and on it, you have opened my eyes to a world full of treasures all others have taken for granted, cast aside or completely ignored.
I knew…
Continue
Added by Angela McCoy on May 29, 2009 at 10:25am —
No Comments
My niece invited all the Bleasdale women to New Hampshire to celebrate her bridal shower, and I was exited to go. L is 2 ½ now and I have never been away from him for a night. We practice attachment parenting and co-sleeping, meaning he sleeps next to me. So going to the shower meant that Don had to take care of L by himself for two days, including one night. I am the only one who can get our sweet little boy to sleep, by bouncing with him on an exercise ball or nursing him, so this was going…
Continue
Added by Dagmar Bleasdale on May 20, 2009 at 12:46am —
No Comments
In the beginning....

The gods were women.
There are still vestiges of this in our modern culture. "Mother Earth." "Mother Nature."
Mankind was so awed by the magical ability of the Earth to bring forth life every spring that they made her a god. Most ancient origin myths, even in later, patriarchal societies, began with the Earth giving birth to the other gods.
The Great Goddess nurtured her people, fed them, and…
Continue
Added by The Mother on May 18, 2009 at 9:57am —
No Comments
Readers Question
Dear Tracy,
How do I stop myself from comparing to all the other, “better,” unschoolers? Here we are, all letting our kids have the individuality the school system tries to stamp out of them, but yet, I can’t help but feel (and some of the online–not real life–community seems to foster) this sense of a Set of Rules for How to Unschool that we all compare ourselves to (and online, get sometimes reamed for not measuring up to) and come up feeling short. How…
Continue
Added by Tracy Liebmann on May 14, 2009 at 3:39pm —
No Comments
The hubby and I are "negotiating" on baby names right now and it got me to wondering... what's with all the crazy celebrity baby names? Check out my daily post on
ChitChatMom.com for more!
Added by ChitChatMom on May 6, 2009 at 10:16am —
No Comments
Looking through women’s magazines and news articles about celebrity moms, you might conclude that new mothers are treated like royalty, or at least the mothers of royalty. By these accounts, new mothers glow, parents and in-laws dote, partners are awed, and girlfriends constantly stream in to help with the house, the kids, and the shopping. But does it really happen? Ask your mom or grandmother what things were like when she had her babies. Was she treated like a queen? How was it for your…
Continue
Added by Tori Kropp on May 6, 2009 at 9:50am —
1 Comment
Please grab a tissue and check out my post all about it
HERE!
Added by Shera on May 5, 2009 at 10:21am —
No Comments
If you missed the segment on
The Today Show yesterday about how important it is to secure your furniture to the wall when you have a kiddo in the house, you can watch it at
ChitChatMom.com. Have you anchored your TV, bookcases, etc. to the walls?
Added by ChitChatMom on May 5, 2009 at 10:01am —
No Comments
As it’s getting closer to Mother’s Day I am doing a lot of thinking about motherhood. Just as with the stages of pregnancy, it changes and shifts as we move through each new stage and phase of our fetus/infant/toddler/child/tween/teenager… ah heck, baby’s life.
I have recently come across two books on UrbanBaby.com that echo my own parenting style: Rattled! by Christine Coppa and Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman. They are both written by witty, honest women who openly share the full…
Continue
Added by Tori Kropp on May 4, 2009 at 11:56am —
No Comments