If you are anything like me, your “mom brain” is always going 1,000 miles per hour. The holidays, especially Christmas, bring that number to about 172,468 miles per hour.

Most people picture doulas in the delivery room — rubbing a mother’s back, holding her hand, whispering encouragement. And yes, we do that. But the truth is, birth is only the starting line.

Over the past year, I have been grieving the loss of a broken friendship. I have been through this before, as I am sure many of you have also, but my kids, especially my daughter, were watching me in the aftermath.

Although winter can be snow-covered and magical, it can also bring about feelings of “winter blues” when the nights are longer and the daylight hours are shorter. It is important, especially as moms, that we have tools in place to protect our well-being throughout these good ol’ Wisconsin winter months.

Mommy Brain is a real thing.  The absentmindedness started while I was pregnant. I would forget to buy milk at the grocery store.

Restraint collapse is the idea that they spend so much of the day holding it together that when they get home, they kind of “collapse” into temporary deregulation.

Congratulations on completing your first year of parenting! As my own daughter just turned one, I’ve been able to reflect on the challenges, joys, and learning opportunities that I’ve encountered in the last 12 months.

I searched and searched for tips that would work for my family and me.  Ultimately, it was trial and error, and nothing quite helped me the way I wanted it to.  Here are the tips that helped me the most.

I’m Susan Frazier, a Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant and owner of Dream Again Sleep Consulting.  I am a Wisconsin girl (GO PACKERS!) and a lover of all things sleep, DIY, and summer.  

As we are getting ready to send our kids back to school after a wonderful summer break, I wanted to share a few things that we will do to support them and set them up for success this school year.