Introducing our Parenting Experts!

When I found out I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, I was caught up in the momentary bliss of being a new mother and feeling this bundle of new life growing inside my belly. One day it hit me – I was going to SUCK at motherhood. There was no reason for me to believe that giving birth would suddenly turn me into the kind of mother that I so desperately wanted to be. It was more reasonable that I would remain the bossy, decisive, quick-thinking, controlling, and impatient woman I had always been. This terrified me. Thankfully it did not paralyze me. I began searching for something, anything that would offer a framework for becoming the mother my children deserved.

Being a mother to an infant came surprisingly easy to me. I fell in love with my son, and 23 months later, my daughter. Besides the sleep deprivation part, caring for an infant’s needs – even the lengthy and inconsolable crying – seemed all part of the job I signed up to do. Juggling two was not always easy but it was still manageable, UNTIL… my daughter began to walk and develop a will of her own. The proverbial you-know-what hit the fan for me and my sense of control and patience were tested beyond what I knew was possible. I sometimes found myself angry and I quickly realized that my reactions and strategies for dealing with challenging behaviors were not good for me, my kids, their long term development, or our relationship.