Dude Week: Why Should Dads Cut the Cord?
I have no idea when the practice of paternal cord cutting was introduced, but it seems pretty obvious that it's an attempt to give the father a role in the birthing process.
View ArticleCheck Out My Birth Photos
The NY Times–a little late to the game–has identified the birth photography trend. Apparently, this is breaking news, yet I’ve seen pictures posted on Facebook of almost every little family I know...
View ArticleIn Praise of the Epidural
How do I feel about epidurals? I feel about epidurals the same way I feel about chocolate, sunshine, sex, and Judy Blume books. Sign. Me. Up. Back when I took that one birthing class at the hospital a...
View ArticleFather’s Special Maternity Ward Pass
Remember the good old days when new fathers needed a special pass to get into the maternity ward? Someone on Etsy is selling this vintage pass from 1955, given out at the Jewish Hospital of Brooklyn....
View ArticleEpidural or Not, Giving Birth is the Easy Part
I loved Jordana’s piece on epidurals so much that I wish I had written it! As a matter of fact, my son said he kept checking the byline because it sounded so much like me! I am with you, Jordana! …...
View ArticleWhy Even Bother With a Birth Plan?
On Friday I went to my OB for my regular check up. Unlike my first birth, where my husband anxiously held my hand each month in the waiting room and smiled excitedly when the thumping of the baby’s...
View ArticleI Didn’t Fall in Love With My Baby Right Away
Three days after my water broke, 20 hours after entering the hospital, an hour after reaching full dilation, and approximately 45 seconds after the doctor threatened to give me an episiotomy if I...
View ArticleIt’s Not a Birth Plan, It’s a Birth Vision
I am 36 weeks pregnant, which means out of the high-risk preterm labor zone and ready to think about a term baby coming into the world safe and healthy. I started taking prenatal yoga once per week and...
View Article12 Items to Pack in Your Hospital Bag
This is the most pregnant I’ve ever been and I’m simultaneously elated and undeniably FULL of baby. My doctor commented last week that I have a “sizable guy” (which I’ve chosen to ignore) and my...
View ArticleHaving My First Baby: The Before & After
Wow! Charlotte is 8 weeks old and it’s hard to believe she’s been home for two months now. My life feels like it’s been broken into two parts–B.C. (Before Charlotte) and A.C. (After Charlotte). B.C. I...
View Article“Hey Kiddo, I’m Your Dad”
I can clearly remember the first time I made a decision as a parent. It was around 1:30 am on October 22, 2011, the night my daughter was born. I had just arrived at the nursery of the hospital,...
View ArticleSurviving “Out of Town” Family With a Newborn
“If it’s a boy, I think we’ll come for the bris,” my brother-in-law in Miami told me a few weeks ago over Skype, just before the arrival of our second baby. As an East Coast transplant living in St....
View ArticleMy 3-Year-Old Ate a Sticker (and Other Ways Having a New Baby Changes...
It’s funny how perspective can change in the blink of an eye (or in this case, 14 hours of labor). Before having my son, I thought my 3-year-old was still a baby. She was so little! She could barely do...
View ArticleA 3 A.M. Hospital Visit for my 3-Day-Old Daughter
“There’s something wrong with the baby.” Those are the words you never want to hear about your 3-day old daughter. You certainly don’t want to hear them at 3 a.m. It was barely 12 hours since we had...
View ArticleNews Roundup: Straight Talk About Vaginal Birth Risks, Middle School, and...
All the parenting news you probably didn’t have time to read this week. Here’s a yucky but important topic: vaginal tears that result from vaginal childbirth. Turns out they may be a lot more...
View ArticleHurricane Sandy and the NICU
Five months ago yesterday, my son was born. Yes, it amazes me that time has flown by so fast, but today what is really on my mind is where he was born. I labored, delivered, and cared for my son …...
View ArticleWelcome to the World, Romi!
It is with the BIGGEST smiles on our faces that we congratulate Kveller Editor-in-Chief Deborah Kolben on the birth of her second daughter, Romi! Romi was born yesterday, and both mom and baby are...
View ArticleI Loved My Orthodox Jewish Doula
Last week, Julie Satow expressed her disappointing experience with doulas during her first two births. This week, Avital offers a different perspective. When I was six months pregnant with my son, my...
View ArticleReturning to the Mikveh After Giving Birth
Once a month when I was kid, I would watch my mother remove her nail polish, gather her small bag, and head out from home in our station wagon after dinner. We always knew where she was going. Even...
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