Lisa Belkin to Time Magazine: I'm 'Not Mom Enough'

As this week's edition of Time magazine seems to have produced the cover seen round the world I'm assuming you've seen it. But if not, I've posted it here because I can't get enough. No one can get enough, and commentary is rampant.

The post-wedding blues

My sister-in-law got married this past weekend, a wedding I'd been talking about with family and friends for months.

Anna Quindlen on "Morning Joe"

Please take a moment and watch this clip of author Anna Quindlen on MSNBC this morning, speaking about her new book, as well as challenges modern women face, parenting and aging.

The dinner project

For the first two years of her life, my daughter was a wonderful eater. The kind of eater other parents would often remark upon, saying, "You are so lucky," and I always agreed.

Structuring the Unstructured Life

Ever since becoming a part-time-working-mom or full-time-mom-who-sometimes-works or mom-who-wished-she-worked-more or person-who-doesn't-always-shower-first-thing-in-the-morning, or whatever you want to call it, I've become acquainted with the world of the unstructured day, something familiar to many, especially in this economy.

Babyccinos! Creating Miniature Coffee Addicts

Every once in a while, my brother, who lives near Park Slope in Brooklyn, complains about the parents and children that he sees on a regular basis. I've seen these uber-Brooklynite family units on the playground and in the cafes when I visit him and I know what he means. The kids dress better than I do; they're nearly too hip to be palatable.

Stomach Bug, Day Three

It is Wednesday morning - at least I think so - the January of my discontent, to bum a phrase. I'm looking at a closetful of clothes I once wore out on date nights with my husband or to dinner with friends. But that was in my other life, the one that existed three distant days ago. Pre-stomach bug. So today I will choose...well, I choose sweatpants.

Blog, mamas, blog

Well if this isn't a perfect study for me to highlight, I don't know what is.

Poison In Your Apple Juice? No Big Deal; It's The Calories, Say Experts

Recent reports showing high levels of arsenic in some juice brands have been getting major attention.

Seven Questions With Karla Gravitt, Mother of Triplets

Several years ago, when I was in my mid-twenties and enjoying every second, I attended a New Year’s Eve party at my friend Dan’s apartment. About half way through my good friend, Karla, and I decided that we were going to get on his coffee table and dance to Kanye West’s “Gold Digger.” But not just once. We kept the song on repeat until partygoers were worn out on the tune, whining, “Again?” And we were like, “Yeah. Again.”

Why I Like These Dark Winter Nights

The end of daylight saving time - marked by turning our clocks back - is not a happy time for many, especially parents; as in, "What the hell are we going to do in the afternoon if it is too dark to go to the playground?!"

The Duggars Expecting Their 20th: Must We Judge?

The answer to that question, at least according to all the comments on the internet, seems to be, well, yes.

So Beloved, So Reviled: What's Your Take on TV and Kids?

I'm going to tell you about one of my favorite time of day. 

Kids Watching TV Not Beneficial, But For Real This Time

So, in the "studies that yield fairly obvious results" department, the American Academy of Pediatrics has released a report saying that children under two-years-old should avoid watching TV as much as possible.

Woman Gives Birth After Running Marathon, Writer Feels Inadequate

This morning I was feeling overwhelmed by what is the normal state of affairs in our house. This is the worst kind of overwhelmed feeling, as it seems unwarranted.

Financial Slump = Fewer Diapers

There is little to say about this, except oh...dear. Things are bad.

Navigating Food Choices For Our Kids

My daughter has a sweet tooth, and in executing her best efforts to get at the cupcakes, ice cream and other treats that come into our life from time to time, well, she's pretty adorable. She's only three, and when she's making a bat-out-of-hell beeline for the cupcakes before the party host has even finished the sentence, "It's time to sing Happy Birthday!" you have to laugh.

On Raising A Girl

Our daughter is three, and despite the involuntary hand-wringing and mild heart palpitations I experience when I think about one day being the parent of a female adolescent, I don't think about the differences between the sexes all that much.

Goodbye, Summer 2011

Last night as I looked at the unpacked suitcases situated around our living room - reminders of a glorious late August vacation - I allowed myself to wallow for a moment in the sinking feeling that often comes at summer's end.

The Wooster Square Cherry Blossom Festival

Sunday is the 38th annual Cherry Blossom Festival in historic Wooster Square, which is bound to be an absolutely terrific event.

Is there an ADHD-food dye link? And do you care?

An FDA committee has begun reviewing evidence on whether or not certain food dyes affect behavior in children, particularly hyperactivity.

In which mother Lisa McElroy takes a vacation all by herself

And I stand up and applaud her.

Second Time Around

I was at this coffee shop in Branford the other day and I went up to the counter and ordered a cappuccino and the girl behind the counter sort of looked at me - at this point I'm very visibly pregnant - and, all nervously, was like, "Ok...decaf?" And I was like, "That's hilarious. Regular." 

Pregnancies should last 39 weeks when possible

Those of you who've been reading my various online writings for some time know that when it comes to "medical" vs. "natural" regarding childbirth, I a) think we tend to get way too worked up about the whole subject and b) think slamming the medical professionals who deliver our babies can be pretty detrimental, since modern medicine - without a doubt - has done a lot of good things for our collective health. Whether you're talking about a healthy pregnancy and childbearing experience,...

Annoying Parenting Tip

I usually skip over the various articles and blog posts that are directed my way when I'm checking my email, but this morning I decided to check out this one, "The 10 Most Irritating, Least Helpful Parenting Tips Ever" because it the title immediately sounded both pertinent and snarky and I am in exactly the mood for just that. 

Motherland: Amy Chua: A Different Take

If you've somehow missed all the hoopla, Amy Chua is the Yale Professor whose book, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother," (which I must admit, I haven't read) chronicles her insanely strict parenting style while raising her two daughters. No sleepovers. No television. Ever. Meanwhile, Chua criticizes Americans for coddling their children; not pushing their kids to be the very best that they can be.

A pregnancy moment

I was walking around the North Haven Target the other day, enveloped in my own dazed world. I hadn't left the house even once, mired in an excellent book and in political talk on the news and in thinking about how I was starting to feel - at roughly 26 weeks pregnant with my second child - well, really rather pregnant.

Gisele Bundchen, I Need You To Stop It

I have to be honest, I was going to title this post, "Gisele Bundchen: I Hate You," but then I figured that animosity like that was really the wrong reaction to her recent comments about breastfeeding.

The Modern Day Childbirth Debate

This is a difficult topic for me. Not because I have a tragic story or a huge stake in the matter. In fact, the problem is that I end up siding with everyone. How c-sections are at an all time high and home births are the way to go. Doulas, midwives, doctors, drugs, meditation. I think it's all valid.

On having a second child

First of all, I'm not. Having a second child. Someday, yes - absolutely, I want at least one more child - but for now I am happily a mother to one toddler without another on the way.

I do not like

Let me start out by saying that I'm not sure if this blog post has a point, but if it does, maybe the point is that you should do whatever you want. You know. Within reason.

All in the name of ice cream, which actually, I sort of get

So, this farm, it had chickens. And recently my daughter, Nora, has learned how to make a chicken sound. Sort of. As much of a chicken sound as an 18-month-old can make, anyway.

Pressure

So there was this fairly crazy woman who taught algebra at my high school. Without going into too much detail, she wore a different hat every day and insisted that the best way to learn math was for us to read our text books quietly at our desks and then do the accompanying work. And yeah, that's probably a fine way for a math genius to learn math, but for me it was a total disaster. I got a D in her class, which was a fairly horrifying thing; I was a good student.