Minnesota Parent’s annual Baby Issue is on stands now!
It’s one of my favorite magazines to produce every year because — in my opinion — few things are more interesting, more complicated, more challenging or more fun (yes, really) than babies.
Babies are the beginning of everything.
Yes, they’re starting their own lives. And that’s miraculous. But they also give birth to us — mothers, fathers, grandparents. We transform. Our children turn us into something new.
Even when we enter parenting as smart, as educated, as savvy, as self-aware and as emotionally prepared as we could possibly be, we’re never truly ready to be reborn ourselves.
Because sometimes change hurts.
Before I had my son, like every non-parent, I had it all figured out. I was even preemptively a bit cynical — no rose-colored glasses for me. It was going to be hard — really hard. But I’m going into this with open eyes, I told myself.
Right. Sure.
But, the truth was, I never knew how hard it was going to be — or really the way in which it would be hard — until I lived it. And you can never know the joy and love that’s possible until you live it either. The best, most vivid storyteller on earth can’t convey the realities of parenthood.
So, in this issue, we won’t try to explain how it feels. You either already know or will soon enough. Instead, we’ve got the skinny on some big baby issues, including the trend of mamas sharing surplus breast milk to help other mothers. (How cool!)
We also have tips for making grandparenting relationships work (hello, in-laws!) and some important safety concerns to consider when hiring a photographer to capture precious images of your newborn.
This month, we’re also taking a close look at a special kind of ceremony that’s helping Twin Cities mamas meet the challenges of motherhood with confidence.
It’s called a Mother Blessing. I love the idea of a Mother Blessing, especially for those mamas having a second or third child. They don’t need another baby shower to gather up gear. What they really need is love and support. And those are the hallmarks of these sweet ceremonies in which friends and family share small gifts, stories and wisdom, too.
A Mother Blessing celebrates and honors birth and motherhood.
And that is a beautiful thing.
Sarah Dorison lives in Minnetonka and is the editor of Minnesota Parent. Her son is now 7.
