My Experience With Natural Childbirth, Part 3

“What was it really like?” That was the question I was asking all my girlfriends who’d gone before me. I learned that woman have such a wide variety of experiences, even between their own children. No labor and delivery is quite the same as the next. Each one is unique. Some women made me a little nervous with their stories of 48 hour labors and 4th degree tearing. Fortunately, my story is not so traumatic. That is why I’m sharing my childbirth story: if one woman can take a breath and relax after reading this, I’ve done my job. I’m … Continue reading

Is Your Favorite Sport Putting You at Risk for Injury?

Health experts (as well as government officials) are constantly trying to motivate people to get moving. They want couch potatoes to get up and walk, run, enroll in an aerobics class, join a bowling league, play tennis, etc. However, doctors are now saying that if the right precautions are not taken, the amateur sports that experts want people to participate in can have unexpected long-term health risks. A new study conducted by a leading occupational therapist found that when leisure activities are not done properly they can have negative effects on the musculoskeletal system. According to the study, in the … Continue reading

Baby Blog Month in Review: July 2008

Two of my three children are summer babies. That is, they were born in the summer and had their first months surrounded by sunshine streaming in the windows, the sound of birds chirping, and days spent wearing nothing but a diaper and a “onsie.” I made sure that they had Fourth of July outfits ready, even though one of them arrived a week after the holiday. I guess he just wasn’t interested in the parade. Do you have a summer baby, too? We had a lot of new information to share this past month, such as recall notices and new … Continue reading

Author Interview – Karen Salmansohn

Today we are joined by Karen Salmansohn, author of the new book “Bounce Back,” a self-help book to help those of us who have experienced difficult trials to find their way back out into the sunshine. Karen, thank you for joining me today. What would you say are some of the most common setbacks people face? I call “setbacks going through “The Vortex.” And it seems everyone has one in their life (at least one)–a time when you are tested in seemingly insurmountable ways and things continue to go wrong, and you find yourself spiraling downward. Some people’s Vortex happen … Continue reading

The Pregnancy Blog Review for November 24 – 30

A wide variety of topics have been covered recently in the pregnancy blog on everything from trying to conceive to discomforts in later pregnancy. If you haven’t been able to keep up with your reading, the pregnancy blog review is a great way to browse the recent topics. Click each link to view the entire blog. Some women find they are hungry much more than usual when they are pregnant. Indulging this hunger without thinking about nutrition can lead to excessive weight gain. This increases your chances of complications in the pregnancy and makes losing the weight after pregnancy much … Continue reading

Putting Off the Natural Man

Last week, I posted a blog about Samson and Joshua to illustrate how their stories were perfect examples of acting on faith. Families.com blogger Mary Ann Romans left the following comment: What a great post! I’d love to see more on this topic, such as how to overcome the personality traits that might influence a lack of obedience or how to recognize the opportunities to be obedient. What a great suggestion. I’ve been thinking about this ever since, and I’m ready to tackle the first element of this question, which was how to overcome the personality traits that might keep … Continue reading

Gearing Up for a Plethora of Photo Ops

Dads, grads, and new pads. The coming weeks bring an avalanche of special photo opportunities, from graduation ceremonies to Father’s Day, weddings and summer moves. If your camera has been hibernating for the winter, now is the time to wipe off the cobwebs and get shooting. For those of you who received a new camera for Christmas but have been putting off using it, the upcoming holidays and special events are prime opportunities to experiment. However, before you get snapping, it’s a good idea to acquaint yourself with your camera’s many modes. For example, even if you don’t have an … Continue reading

The Avengers: The Ultimate Superhero Movie

“The Avengers” blew my mind. How can I ever settle for just one superhero in a movie again, now that I’ve seen what it’s like with six? If you’re a fan of comic book movies, of superheroes, of big-budget action flicks with a whole lot of story and heart, then you don’t need to read any more of my review. Go see “The Avengers.” Now. Go see it multiple times. Tell Hollywood that they need to keep putting director (and script writer and co-story writer) Joss Whedon in charge of movies. If you’re not sure where you stand on superheroes, … Continue reading

Our Daughter’s First Easter Part II

Our daughter spent the rest of Easter Mass asleep. However, putting her into her carseat for our trip back home was enough to stir her out of her sleep. She gave me big smiles while a buckled her in and as parishioners complimented me on her beauty and very pretty dress. Once we arrived home, we made breakfast (and ate breakfast) before our egg hunt. After her breakfast nursing session, we all went upstairs to the children’s room (where I had hidden all the eggs, candy filled and otherwise) for our egg hunt. Our daughter seemed to enjoy her brother’s … Continue reading

Bringing Spring Into Focus

We’ve spent the last two weeks basking in 80-degree temperatures. So much for spring; we catapulted straight into summer… with no complaints. During our March heat wave, tulips and daffodils started blooming; buds appeared on dormant trees; and our front lawn went from brown mud pit to luxurious putting green. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end sometime, and for us, sometime is today. Heavy rain moved in and the mercury slid back to the 40s. I can only imagine what a hard frost is going to do to all of the gorgeous flowers that thought spring had … Continue reading