I cringe when Hamlet asks, "Mama, wanna play with me?" Unlike Rain Dog, who knows just what kinds of scenarios go on in miniature train yards and construction sites, I usually end up operating the "machinery"--but not a story to go with it.

It's not that I have no facility for boy toys. The same blank brain strikes when the neighbor's daughter hands over Cinderella and tells me I can "be" her. No, the problem is that I have no idea… Read More

Almost as soon as I found out I was pregnant, I started to research babywearing. I wanted to take care of Hamlet's new sibling without making him feel pushed aside--but I needed a better solution than the conventional front carrier I'd bought, which I couldn't nurse in and may harm an infant's developing spine.

After figuring out that a wrap (as opposed to a pouch, ring sling, mei tai, or other similar carriers) appeared to meet our needs best,… Read More

Hamlet is a very intense little boy. When he gets hurt, for instance, no one is allowed near him. Ask him if he's okay, and you'll hear, "Nuffing! Never! Go away!"

He's embarrassed, and too young to put it into words. We find the same happens when he's frustrated: when we don't pay him enough attention, for instance. The only problem at that point is that he hits.

Parenting is sort of like disaster management: first comes the immediate response, then the… Read More

We weren't going to send Hamlet to preschool this year. Born in July, he's among the youngest of his peers; until this past summer, he had a speech delay. We just weren't sure he'd be ready.

This past spring, though, his social self blossomed. At the park he'd follow older kids around, engage in their play; at speech therapy his interaction went from parallel to direct play.

When local preschools started to advertise, I called around, did my homework. Only one really… Read More

When Hamlet was born, I had a rudimentary understanding of babywearing: it was said to foster the parent-child bond. Who wouldn't want that? I got a front carrier.

Hamlet hated it, so I ended up holding him almost constantly. When I got pregnant with Boris, I needed a better solution. Research led me to a wrap: a 4.2-meter swath that swaddles the baby against me, and leaves me hands-free.

Right now, at least one of Boris' daily naps takes place in… Read More

Little things count. I never knew how much, though, until I had children.

Hamlet's first months were complicated by dairy/soy-intolerance-related reflux, which made him throw up once a day, cry a lot, and nurse a lot more. I was glued to my recliner most of the day, which was fine for things like reading and even writing.

Not quite enough, though. To avoid the vomit and a second bout with mastitis, I was wearing sloppy old clothes; not… Read More