5 of my fave parenting resources
Hi friends! Happy Wednesday! What are you up to today? It’s a short day at school, so I’m just catching up on some work stuff before I pick up P. I’m hoping to sneak in an upper body workout (and a shower! #necessary) while she naps later today.
Yesterday was kind of a tough parenting day. The Pilot had been out of town for one of his airline interviews – he has 3! – so it was single parent mode over here. We’re obviously used to our groove with just the girls (since we did it for quite a while) but by yesterday, everyone was going crazy. Just one of the gold star moments from the day: I had to carry P across a parking lot because she refused to hold my hand and wanted to run around. I carried her to the car while she flailed and yelled at me. Instead of taking them out for Taco Tuesday, I figured it would be smarter to get Chipotle takeout and bring it home so I wouldn’t have to chase her around the restaurant. (99.97% of the time she’s an awesome listener, but we were just having a bit of an off day yesterday.) It ended up being the right choice. Early bedtimes all around and we’re all reset today and doing much better.
It’s funny because the tougher days like that have become so rare as they’ve gotten older. I was chatting with a friend last weekend about this, but when they get to these ages, everything just seems like fun instead of work. They make me laugh so many times during the day and my heart explodes watching them be such sweet little friends and sisters to each other. I mentioned that I was unsure of how to navigate the teen years – she has older kiddos – but she said something that made a lot of sense: there are hard parts and easy parts about every phase. For example, no one likes being woken up a bunch during the night when they’re newborns. But the newborn snuggles are the best thing ever! As they get older, there are still some tricky parts, but obviously way more amazing parts than anything.
For today’s post, I thought I’d share some of my favorite parenting resources. I’d love to hear about your faves if you wouldn’t mind sharing the love in the comments section below. I’d especially love any books or advice you found helpful in the later elementary school and tween years. <3
Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: This book is my #1 recommendation to new parents. This is what helped us get the girls into a routine when they were babies and they learned to sleep through the night without having to cry it out. I also loved that it helped me learn how to interpret their cues (how to tell when they were hungry vs. tired) and it’s a quick, easy read. When the kiddos were a bit older, I loved this book for sleep strategies and tips. You can skim it if you’re in the throws of sleepless nights and just want ideas.
Sleep Shop Consulting: I can’t thank or praise Sleep Shop enough! We chatted with Heather when we were going through out big sleep issues, and with her help and guidance, we’ve been sleeping through the night ever since. Everyone in our family is happier and more rested. (I wake up at 6 or 6:30 am now before my alarm, which I NEVER thought would happen.) Also worth noting that they don’t know I have a blog or anything like that. We did the 30-minute consultation call and that’s all we ended up needing. It was the best $100 I’ve ever spent! You can check out more about our great sleep struggle and resolution here.
The Dad Facebook page because it makes me laugh every single time I check it.
Janet Lansbury Facebook page and podcast: I love that she truly respects children as little people, and recommends teaching and leading with respect. She provides information on so many aspects of parenting, from tantrums, to sibling rivalry, discipline, and so much more. She recommends seeing the situation from your child’s point of view, and I highly recommend her book No Bad Kids.
Coffee and Crumbs podcast: This has become one of my very favorite podcasts! The hosts are fun, insightful, and I love how real and joyful they are about parenting and motherhood. The hosts chat about navigating motherhood, marriage, birth, pregnancy, and always crack me up at least once during each episode.
I hope you have a wonderful day and I’ll see ya soon! Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today.
xo
Gina
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Have you listened to the Mom Brain podcast with Hilaria Baldwin and Daphne Oz? I’m loving it and working my way through old episodes!
We are in teen years and it’s horrible every day I question my parenting
My sister-in-law (whose girls are now in their early 20s) said that she found the little kid years to be physically hard and the teen years to be emotionally hard (as a parent). She also said she thinks God makes teenagers cranky so it’s easier to say, “Goodbye!” when they head off to college. Haha!
I never comment but I’ve been really struggling with the toddler phase since my kiddo turned 1 (he’s almost 2 now) and I like reading the Dr. Psych Mom blog. She’s a licensed psychologist who has 3 kids and writes lots of good articles and answers questions that her readers write in to her about parenting and lots of other things!
I always feared the teen years but we made it through and it wasn’t that bad! Just take it one day at a time and remember to be patient and loving and give grace to yourself (& partner) and your teens. I also reminded myself that my kids love me even though they didn’t always act like they did.
The blog at Invictus Psychology (forresttalley.com I believe) has some really excellent articles on parenting kids and teens, as well as relationships, marriage, peraonal development, and anxiety/mental health. It’s all from the perspective of a psychologist but in a really easy to understand format…even though I’m not a parent, it’s given me a lot of helpful insight into relationships in my own life!
I have a 2 yr old and 7 yr old and I’m at a difficult season of parenting with both. My 7 yr old is in a scared stage and has been coming in our room at night. Did your older one go through this? My 2 yr old started at 12 months old with the fits and tantrums and it’s been rough since. Thanks for this blog post. I will check out your recommendations. Also, I too read the baby whisper with my first- he had always been a good sleeper besides waking to eat, but it didn’t work with my youngest. I tell you, he’s a tough one, but by 15 months old he finally slept through the night and his daytime naps got better
I listen to the Janet Lansbury podcast, too, and plan to read her books. I just subscribed to the Coffee and Crumbs podcast! I have a 5 month old, and I’ve been surprised by how many good resources I’ve found in the form of podcasts and on Instagram. I really love Taking Cara Babies (I took her newborn sleep course and also got her 3+4 month sleep guide), and Feeding Littles (I took their baby led weaning course and plan to take their toddler course, as well), and Days With Grey (I don’t use her activity ideas yet but plan to when my daughter is older!). Oh and this isn’t necessarily parenting related, but I also love following the Vagina Whisperer – she has so much great information to share, and is such a great advocate for women’s health. Someone above mentioned the Mom Brain podcast – I listen to that, as well; they have a lot of great guests on their show.
My kids are 12 and 14 and it’s more challenging for me now. I’ve had to mourn the loss of my young kids and it has surprised me that that is how I’ve felt…the kids who used to run to me with pure joy and think I’m the greatest thing ever.. to now sometimes being embarrassing or “cringey” haha. There are moments of that sweetness and some really great times, but it’s more emotionally draining and worrying that we’re doing the right thing, etc. I’m trying to enjoy these years as they’re flying by! Don’t get me wrong, it’s cool to see them grow into themselves but life is busier than ever and harder to be a larger influence in their lives.
Glad to you know you still have days where P doesn’t want to hold your hands in the parking lot. My kiddo is younger and it is 50/50 if he will hold my hand. It isn’t alway screams and tears but ugh.
Definetly everyone has different favorite ages, and there are always the pros and cons to each stage. I am not a baby person, and I am terrified about having kid number two. Probably more scared than when I was pregnant with the first one because I kind-of know what to expect lol Also I know that my first is great at sleeping at night soooo I can only assume the next one will be terrible at it. lol But I think that I will enjoy the first year more the second time around, hopefully extra endorphins will flood my body with memories. Or maybe not, that will be okay.