Taking Care of Your Baby Bump

Moms- and dads-to-be have plenty of questions about pregnancy and parenting. I’ve covered the gamut when it comes to taking care of that precious baby bump, from baby’s development to planning the nursery to diaper details. These articles have been featured on SheKnows and Disney’s Family.com.

Pregnancy Health

How to Manage Skin Problems During Pregnancy

Baby Brain? Think Again

VBAC – Is Vaginal Birth Possible After a C-Section? (PDF)

Medications During Pregnancy (PDF)

Postpartum Depression: Gena Lee Nolin Shares Her Experience (PDF)

Food for Mom: The Dos and Don’ts While Breastfeeding

Preparing for Baby

How to Preserve Your Baby Bump

Should You Hire a Baby Planner?

The Great Cord Blood Debate

Should You Find Out Baby’s Gender in Utero?

Tips for Changing Boys and Girls

Feng Shui the Baby Nursery (PDF)

Beyond the Baby Shower – 20 Essential Baby Items

What Does Baby Really Hear In Utero?

Baby Gear and Pregnancy Wear

Get Smart About Buying Diapers

Safety Tips for Buying Used Baby Clothes and Gear

Fall Maternity Fashion

Conception and Fertility

How to Keep Sex Exciting When Trying to Conceive (PDF)

Feng Shui to Increase Fertility (PDF)

Moms- and Dads-to-Be

How to Determine Your Parenting Style Before Baby Arrives

Top 6 Parenting Books for Moms (PDF)

Daddy Fears – How to Take Care of It All? (PDF)

Top 10 Parenting Books to Keep Moms Sane (PDF)

Last Christmas Before Baby: 5 Tips for Expecting Couples

Parenting 101

When it comes to parenting, there is a wealth of subject matter to mine. From determining your parenting style to figuring out nursery decor, these pieces range from serious to lighthearted. Articles have been featured on SheKnows and Disney’s Family.com.

Parenting Styles and Trends

How to Raise Charitable Children

How to Temper Your Type-A Parenting Style

Definitions of Parenting Styles

5 Parenting Mistakes That Can Screw Up Your Teen

How to Marry Two Parenting Styles in One Household

How to Determine Your Parenting Style Before Baby Arrives

Hey Mom, Stand Up for Yourself!

Top 6 Parenting Books for Moms (PDF)

Top 10 Parenting Books to Keep Moms Sane (PDF)

Parenting on a Budget

12 Websites to Help Moms Shop and Save

How to Shop Secondhand for the Holidays

How to Budget with Children

Unique Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Kids

Work-from-Home Ideas for Stay-at-Home Moms

Parenting Tweens and Teens

How to Help Kids Manage Their Emotions

New Teen Relationships

Spying on Kids Online

What Parents Need to Know About College Sex

The First Year of College – A Survival Guide for Parents

Spring Break Safety Tips (PDF)

Is Twilight Hurting Teen Relationships?

Discussing Sex and Birth Control with Your Teen

Parenting for Newbies

5 Unique Gifts for First-Time Parents

Get Smart About Buying Diapers

Tips for Changing Boys and Girls

Must-Have Children’s Books: An Age-by-age Guide (PDF)

11 Ways to Beat New-Mom Fatigue (PDF)

Food for Mom: The Dos and Don’ts While Breastfeeding

Health and Safety Matters

Winter Skin Care for Kids

Developmental Toys for Babies

Safety Tips for Buying Used Baby Clothes and Gear

Learning Toys to Boost Baby Brain Power

Enormous Recall on Fisher-Price Infant and Toddler Items

Nurseries and Kids’ Rooms

Easy Ways to Switch a Nursery to a Kid’s Room

10 Quick Bedroom Makeovers for Your Kids

Princess-Themed Bedrooms for Girls

Feng Shui the Baby Nursery (PDF)

Discussing the Tough Topics with Kids

Is Parental Stress a Cause of Autism in Children?

Teaching Kids Manners in Public

Strategies to Make Your Child’s Self-Esteem Soar (PDF)

How to Talk to Kids About Divorce (PDF)

Stopping Your Phobias from Being Your Kid’s Phobias (PDF)

Get Smart

For people who are trying to get into college, figure out what to do after college, or just survive their education, I’ve covered a wide range of topics when it comes to books, papers, and dirty looks (from teachers or bosses). These articles about education and career have been featured on SheKnows, MSN, AOL, Disney’s Family.com, and in Northern Virginia Magazine.

Getting Into – and Paying for – College

Facebook in the College Admissions Process

How to Ace the College Application

Career Payback: Loan Forgiveness Programs (PDF)

School, Work… and Parenting

Hey Mom, Stand Up for Yourself!

The First Year of College – A Survival Guide for Parents

Fail-Proof Tips for Adults Back to School (PDF)

Work-at-Home Ideas for Stay-at-Home Moms

Must-Have Children’s Books: An Age-by-age Guide (PDF)

High-Tech Education

High-Tech High-Schoolers (PDF)

The Real and Virtual Education Worlds Merge (PDF)

Classroom Bullies Haunt Second Life (PDF)

Choosing a Career

Resume Tips for New Grads (PDF)

Boring Degree, Amazing Job (PDF)

Professionals Shift from Desk to Kitchen (PDF)

How to Feng Shui the Baby Nursery

Whether you believe in the art of feng shui or not, it certainly can’t hurt to arrange your child’s nursery as recommended by the feng shui experts interviewed in this article. When you want to contain the chaos, calm the baby, and create an environment that’s conducive to sleep and happiness, it’s worth trying at least a few of these methods to achieve some yin and yang for your little one.

Any new parent will tell you they’ll do just about anything to soothe their infant and make him comfortable. Taking the time to feng shui your child’s nursery will maintain harmony and alleviate distress in your little one’s environment.

As you pull together your child’s nursery, it’s important to remember that you’re not just “making room” for a child in your house, you’re welcoming them into your life… and into their new world. Help yourself and baby acclimate by purposefully creating a fresh space. You don’t have to hire contractors and architects – but be ready to initiate some serious room rejuvenation!

Featured on SheKnows. Read the full article.

Making Spring Break Events Safe

Your kids are going on that spring break trip whether you like it or not (well… maybe you’re footing the bill for it and you’re letting them go). At any rate, they certainly don’t want Mom and Pop along for the ride. The best thing parents can do for their ready-to-live-it-up kids is stuff their brains full of wisdom before they hit the beaches and bars… and hope that they remember what they’ve been taught when it really counts.

Many people are unaware that Natalee Holloway and her travelmates had several chaperones on their adventure… and even that wasn’t enough to avoid such a tragedy. You can’t take precautions after the fact. Whether or not your child will have chaperones on their spring break, it’s crucial to arm your teen or college-aged student with knowledge so they can protect themselves, no matter what happens.

While you want your child to have the trip of a lifetime and enjoy themselves, there’s nothing wrong with putting a little bit of fear into them through modern representations of student trips gone wrong. Movies like Taken (Liam Neeson’s daughter is forced into the slave trade when she and a friend trust the wrong man on their trip abroad) and Hostel (three backpackers head to Slovakia for hedonistic fun… except it doesn’t turn out that way) may dramatize the worst that could possibly happen but, if nothing else, your kids will recognize the mistakes these travelers made… and refrain from making the same ones themselves.

Follow these spring break travel safety tips from experts so that you can have some peace of mind and your child can get their kicks the smart way.

Featured on SheKnows. Read the full article.

Books for Moms (First-timers and Veterans)

It’s said that mothers know just what to do for their children by instinct. Maybe so, but it doesn’t hurt to turn a page or two every now and then to see if there’s another method that can aid in stress management, bonding, and creating a happy family. This article features books written by experts in parenting and family development.

Amid the chaos of busy schedules, tight purse strings and day-to-day struggles, moms still need time to connect with their family. The books featured here offer fresh perspectives on how to create that happiness, from infancy onward. Find the must-read parenting book that’s right for you.

New moms dream of creating the ideal family and nurturing it into a thriving, happy, content unit. But everyday life can interrupt your goals and distract your focus. Whether you’re looking for a way to bond with your baby, reason with your toddler or reconnect with your spouse, these books have the solutions to family bliss.

Featured on SheKnows. Read the full article.

Getting Busy After Baby

Getting busy got you that baby… but what’s the scoop on when you can get back to business again after the birth of your newborn? Doctors chime in on what’s safe, what’s not, surprises you can expect (some good, some not so good), and how your bedroom behaviors may be affected since baby came screaming into life.

Wherever your libido stands after giving birth, before you jump back in the sack again there are some do’s and don’ts you should familiarize yourself with so you know what to expect of postpartum sex.

TheSkinnyScoop.com, a site where moms survey other moms, asked their community the question, “How soon after your first child did you and your partner start having sex again?” 7 percent answered that they had sex again at one month, 50 percent at two months, 36 percent at three months, and 7 percent at six months or more.

Whether or not you fit into that 50 percent category, this stat brings us to our first postpartum sex “don’t.”

Don’t compare yourself to other moms…

Featured on SheKnows. Read the full article.

Helping Your Kids Through Your Divorce

As if divorce isn’t tough enough for adults, it’s even more difficult when children are involved. Find out the best ways to approach your kids about this sensitive subject, communicate with them, and help them cope.

Divorce isn’t kid stuff. It can create irrational fears in your children about safety, as well as their own happiness and yours. Depending on the ages and maturity of your children, each can react to the divorce in different ways. Some children may withdraw while others act out. It can be easy to let your own anger get the best of you when your child’s frustrating behavior seems to be taking over, but remember that their emotions are fluctuating too. Allow and encourage your kids to talk about their feelings, whether they are sad, angry, or confused.

Featured on SheKnows Geoparent. Read the full article.

How to Raise Confident Kids

Make your little ones feel big. Let them make mistakes. Nurture their passion. Play fair. Limit your praise. Get the scoop from pros and moms about how they’ve nurtured self-esteem in their kids.

Laying the cornerstone for your little one’s confidence can feel like a daunting responsibility, but with the proper nurturing, your child’s genetic gift of self-esteem can blossom. It is possible to encourage your child to believe in herself and in what she does while keeping her grounded and cultivating an open mind.

Featured on SheKnows Geoparent. Read the full article.

Protect Your Kid… from Yourself

I hate flying. It’s the most unnatural thing to me, floating up there in the fluffy clouds. I also have an irrational fear of snakes. And cotton balls. (I’ll spare you the story here, but feel free to ask.) So I found it important to examine the danger of parents passing on their own phobias to their kids.

Whatever your irrational fear — and we all have them — you don’t want to stunt your child’s development by re-planting your own worry in their mind. Your little one could be the next Steve Irwin, a fighter pilot, or an Olympic swimmer… but if you’re too freaked out to let them even try the things that give you the heebie-jeebies, they’ll never know what they might really love.

Fears and phobias can immobilize you and prevent you from exposing your child to some amazing life experiences. The thing is, the harder you try to keep your kids away from the things that leave you breathless and shaking, the more they’ll push to experience it. You may reach a point where you feel like your child is punishing you because all of the activities you try so desperately to avoid seem to enthrall them endlessly.

Featured on SheKnows Geoparent. Read the full article.

Gena Lee Nolin Shares Her Story

Even in today’s tell-all world, the affliction of postpartum depression is still too hush-hush. Celebs like Gena Lee Nolin – who has suffered and recovered from PPD – are trying to change the perceptions about this disease to help new moms find relief in a life that should be fraught with joy, not grief. This article includes the symptoms of PPD, the difference between PPD and the baby blues, and how to begin coping.

Actress Gena Lee Nolin, who is best-known for her time as the conniving blonde beauty Neely Capshaw on Baywatch, is in real life a devoted mother of three. She personally experienced the trials and triumphs of postpartum depression (PPD) after giving birth to all of her children and calls it, “One of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through and one of my greatest accomplishments.”

With celebrities like Nolin and Brooke Shields speaking out on PPD you have probably heard the term, but may be wondering exactly what it is.

Dr. Peter Swanljung, staff psychiatrist at Friends Hospital in Philadelphia, says postpartum depression (PPD) symptoms are similar to depression symptoms that would come on for any other reason. “What makes postpartum depression different is timing. If depression symptoms begin within four weeks of childbirth, it can be classified as postpartum depression.”

Featured on SheKnows. Read the full article.

Mom’s Ready for Baby… Is Dad?

Women spend nine months becoming a mom. Men spend those nine months, well, kind of forgotten in lieu of the big belly and baby furniture and pregnancy cravings. But dudes need some doting too. Here’s how to help him adjust to fatherhood.

You’ve been mentally preparing for everything before the arrival of your newborn. Diapers? Check. Changing table? Check. Plethora of onesies? Check. But before you know it, the ninth month has arrived and you get this panicky feeling clutching at you… what have you forgotten?

Then it hits you. You’ve been planning for baby, but you haven’t been laying out a plan for dad.

Featured on SheKnows. Read the full article.

Raising a Book Lover

Books are phenomenally important. I have an entire bookshelf filled with only children’s books… some from my own childhood and new ones I’ve picked up along the way. There is nothing to replace books, and any child who is instilled with a love of reading will be a very lucky child indeed. I highlighted some of the best books for kids in this piece, but these titles only scratch the surface of what’s out there for the youngster in your life, from Arnie the Doughnut to the Twilight Saga.

Belly Button Book, by Sandra Boynton
For the little folks who are obsessed with this silly body part, this board book from beloved Boynton has the belly button taking center stage. It’s filled with delightful language and priceless illustrations to tell the tale of hippos and their “bee-bo’s.”

Curious George Takes a Job, by H.A. Rey
This funky monkey gets into mischief and learns some important lessons with the Man in the Yellow Hat. Kids will adore the illustrations and the shenanigans that George manages to get into. And there are so many other installments of George – but this one is the standout of the bunch.

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
This classic, enchanting story will never leave you once you’re introduced to the March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. This is a story of humanity and family, love and loss, courage and fear – relevant, unforgettable, a masterpiece of American literature.

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll
Nonsensical happenings, curious language, outrageous characters – this timeless celebration of Alice’s adventures will spark every imagination one way or another. The version to have in your collection is that with the masterful and detailed illustrations by John Tenniel that so carefully match the text.

Featured on SheKnows.com. Read the full article.

Mr. Darcy? Mr. Cullen? Just Call Him Edward

Edward Cullen – not real. Teen girls – wish he were real. Problems arise. Parents are baffled. ‘Nuff said.

Edward Cullen is tall, pale, ridiculously handsome and brimming with secrets. As if that isn’t enough to make a teen girl swoon, he is charismatic, brooding, polite, charming and full of depth. The alluring bad boy has always been hard to resist, and Edward has been lumped into this category, but this character has transcended the leather jacket and motorcycle stereotype (though he does drive one mean Volvo). Absolutely devoted to Bella, the love of his eternity, Edward has become the new “perfect” guy of this generation. Teens everywhere are feeling the impact of this powerful incarnation where love and reality collide. But does the love story between Edward and Bella create unrealistic expectations for teens and their relationships?

Let’s face it. Twilight isn’t the first love story that’s inflated someone’s wants and needs for a relationship. Whether teen or adult, it can sometimes be impossible to ignore the longing for perfection that the fairytale romances of books and the big screen can sometimes leave behind.

Featured on SheKnows Parenting. Read the full article.

Want more Twilight and vampire goodies? Check out one of my favorite Twilight fan sites: Novel Novice Twilight.

Freelance Jobs for Full-Time Moms

Stay-at-home moms already have a more-than-full-time job – it’s called being a mom. But sometimes they need a distraction from daily life… or just some extra cash. If you’ve never freelanced before, take it from someone who does – it’s not always easy, but the rewards far outweigh the demands, risks, and odd hours.

So what’s a mom to do? You’ve got a more flexible schedule, but your free time is almost nonexistent. It’s OK to feel like something is missing from your life. Whether that’s intellectual stimulation, adult interaction or expendable income, it’s possible to fill the gap with the many work-at-home opportunities available in today’s telecommuting world. Here are five ideas to get you thinking.

Featured on SheKnows.com. Read the full article.