The concept, idea, and practice of self care is pretty prevalent nowadays. Many of us know how important it is to take care of ourselves. Self care helps us in so many ways - mentally, emotionally, physically, and even spiritually. I can imagine that for an average person, when they hear “self care,” they can think of a few things to try and how they’d like to do it. But as a step-parent, does self care feel a little bit …different…?

Read Jeni's blog for more on navigating self care in a blended family.

Having a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) can be one of the most overwhelming, stressful, and emotionally draining experiences for new parents. Parents of NICU babies face a unique set of challenges, from the emotional toll of watching their newborn struggle to the logistical demands of balancing hospital visits with everyday responsibilities. If you know someone navigating the NICU journey, offering your support can make a tremendous difference. But often, people don’t know what to say or do to truly help.

Tomorrow kicks off NICU Awareness Week, so in honor of that, here are some do’s and don’ts to help you support any NICU parents in your life.

It can be difficult and scary when your partner or loved one has PPD. Learn some signs of PPD, how to provide support, and how to encourage professional help - including a resource list.

Having a new baby comes with a lot of unknowns. Emily offers tips to help weather the uncertainty that comes with a new addition to your family.

Jeni writes about her experience of navigating medical diagnoses in her family, and how she has found her own support team.

Katy writes about how to manage two of our biggest roles - while not losing ourselves in the process.

Emily writes about coping with ALL the parenting-related stress.

Self care sounds like a great concept, but why don’t we deserve care all the time?

Chronic stress takes an immense toll on the body. Research shows us over and over that it contributes to everything from chronic disease to more frequent colds. But yet we continue to blow off that exhaustion and maxed-out feeling as “just stress”.

Making decisions about what to do with your kids in a pandemic is hard AF.

Learning to skip the guilt and give yourself some grace.

We can’t just shut down from life when things get hard. Here’s what I do to get my shit together and get back to what I need to do.

There are tons of lists out there of all of the stuff you need when you’re having a baby. But what do you really need? It might not be what you’d expect.