babysugar Diaries

It melts my heart to see my daughter fawn over her little brother. She caresses his cheeks, baby talks him, pats his tummy and holds his hand. She often echoes me, "What's the matter?" "That's a good boy!" and "Hey buddy!"

Clearly in tune with her maternal being, she enjoys the role of playing mommy. And, relishes it so much that one night as I gave her a bath, she held one of her squirt toys to her chest and said, "He's having some milk from my chi chis." Tickled to tears, I grabbed my camera and snapped away. I hope I'll have the ripe opportunity to share that priceless shot with her.

Update: Due to the unhealthy comments regarding this post, I swapped the photo to show bath toys.

After six months of renewed motherhood, I am still relishing newborn scents and exciting "firsts" while enjoying my body's return to normalcy and my re-entry to the workplace. In case you missed it, I have highlighted my favorite reasons for being pregnant, not being pregnant, returning to work, the joys of new motherhood and why two is twice as nice. And just for laughs, I've spilled the dirty secrets on five gross things that moms do... you know you're guilty.

Reasons Mama Loves Going to Work	Reasons I Love Being a New Mommy Again	Reasons I Really Miss Being Pregnant
Two Is Twice as Nice as One	Five Gross Things Nearly Every Mom Does	Reasons I Don't Miss Pregnancy Anymore

The card I bought my mom says it all. It has a picture of a woman lying asleep on a couch while childish mayhem surrounds her and a helpless panicked husband stares at her hoping for a beacon of light. Below it reads, "The server is down."

Every year, for one day, mothers deserve to take the day off from the screaming, feeding, whining, bathing, and any other chores they routinely and selflessly do daily. While pregnant, my husband celebrated me as a mother-to-be on Mother's Day. That same day, my sister and I took our baseball-loving mama to a Giants game where we sipped on lemonade and snacked on Cracker Jacks. This year, as a mommy of two, I will not escape all matronly duties, but if I can make it through today without stepping a foot in the kitchen, I'll be as thrilled as couch jumping Tom Cruise on Oprah.

Like many first moms, I was certain I would get my baby on a schedule right away. As soon as she made her debut, plans changed. I spoiled her —letting her fall asleep in my arms whenever she pleased and allowing her to nap as she pleased. Again, I vowed that number two would be different and I would have him following the clock. To see how that plan is panning out, read more

Every parent does what they think is best for their child. With my firstborn that meant giving her vaccinations as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Perhaps two years of media got to me, or maybe it was Jenny McCarthy and all of the other parents of children with autism that made me a tad wary of vaccinations. So I will go a different route with my second babe.

To see what it is, read more

Every night, I give my five-month-old a bottle to make sure he is getting a heavy dose of milk to help him sleep through (a relative term) the night. After gulping down his meal last night, it was clear my son wanted more. Knowing his limits, I held him and patted his back while his head rested on my shoulder. Wanting more, he rooted around until he hit my cheek. To find out what he did, just read more

Every pregnancy is different, but what about the offspring? Some siblings look like carbon copies of each other while others barely share resemblance. Then there are the children who look alike, but act completely opposite. As far as I can tell, my children don't share much physically and though it's too early to know, they have very distinct personalities.

To see what I mean, read more

My guess is that the gift stores in baby hospitals aren't fully feeling pains of the recession. Balloons and flowers seem to be popping up all over my neighborhood as the storks keep dropping off bundles of joy. Passing through the decorated doors and helium inflated pacifiers is parenthood's equivalent of the newlywed tradition of the groom carrying the bride over the threshold.

When we brought home our first baby, there was very little hoopla. I asked my mom to take a picture of my new and improved family outside of our house. Had I not made the request, I am pretty sure we would have no evidence of her "coming home." With my son, however, we were greeted with balloons, flowers and a mini paparazzi on our front steps. I don't know what the difference was the second time around, but I'm thinking I should have another baby just to see what kind of "welcome home" is in store for number three!

Did you experience this?