<p>I remember watching one of my closest friends putting her baby to her breast. It was like magic.  It was as if baby and mom were perfectly connected.  Meanwhile, I sat attached to my pump EVERY 3 hours.  I still needed to use formula. I felt like I failed to connect with my baby.  I’d cry because the sound of my pump parts clicking together made my milk let down…not the cry of my baby.  </p>

If you are already in a rut packing lunches or are just looking for fresh ideas, here are some foods to send with your child!

And even a tiny bit of Play-Doh residue left on her hands or pushed underneath a fingernail has the potential to cause a big-time reaction. It didn’t – thank God. But that lesson did show me that I live in an ignorant bubble when it comes to food sensitivities and allergies – and I will never take for granted my kids’ normal digestive systems ever again.

My son, like most young kids, is focused on a very specific interest. For some kids, it’s dinosaurs, dolls, or sports, but for my oldest, it is construction. Trucks – everything trucks. It is an obsession.

So even though my 5-year-old can’t read on his own yet, he is ready for lengthier picture books and beginning chapter books.  I’ll start with some picture book suggestions and then break up chapter books into a couple of categories.

We all know that toddlers would much prefer some baked nuggets, roasted veggies, and tater tots.  To mix it up for your family this summer and avoid using the oven, try these recipes instead!

March is National Nutrition Month and the perfect time to think about ways to improve your family’s eating habits. We can always do better when it comes to feeding our children and ourselves. My husband and I have experimented with various ways of eating in the past, but now that we’ve added children into the mix, meals (and eating in general) have definitely changed.

We recently asked our pediatrician to get in the battle, asking him to very clearly point out how important fruits and vegetables are to eat.  While his recommendation helped, ultimately it is still up to me and my husband to get our four-year-old, Elsie, to eat well.  So, I have enlisted some of my favorite kitchen gadgets to make fruits and vegetables more appealing.

Parenting is hard and requires a sense of humor.  It also doesn’t hurt to ask for a little divine intervention once in a while.  Thus, we pray as a family before dinner, and the adorable prayers of my twin three-year-olds are both entertaining and impressive.

I went into the final days of my 42-week pregnancy armed with hopes and plans of what my experience as a new mom would be like. I arrived at the hospital on my induction date with a nervous smile and the naive expectations only first-time moms possess.