Toddlers

Use eye contact, physical touch, and unplugged quiet time to help develop a closer connection with your child.

We had ALLLLLL the questions about what a doula is, how she can give support during birth, and if this magical lady could walk through all of motherhood with us. (Hey, hey #motherhooddoula.) Cate Wiggins, our friend from First Spring Doula, answered each and every questions -- even the personal ones. Catch it all in this episode of Momfessions! 

It is my role to steward his character well and -- while I'm still working on the whole running-after-a-toddler-with-a-baby-strapped-to-my-chest-and teaching-him-to-stop-when-I-say-so thing -- I hope he never loses his curiosity for open spaces and adventure.

Yes, I have made mistakes -- and I am still making them -- but my recovery time from those mistakes has improved. I am more confident in my parenting decisions and also more laid back on the little stuff. And as for play, I do play -- it just looks different these days. I have been promoted from playmate to director.

That first week I ended up spending anywhere from 60-90 minutes laying with my son, playing dead like a possum until he finally passed out and I quietly snuck out of his room. Not sustainable.

Toddler and tantrums often go hand-in-hand. But, I would suggest that at least 90 percent of the time, tantrums start because the expectations we have of our children are simply too high. We put them in situations they are not equipped to handle and then guess what happens . . . they explode.

When she finally arrived, my generally sweet boy with a mild wild streak somehow transformed into a 42-pound, jealous piranha overnight.