Sabrina Joy Stevens

I had some early clues about my sexual orientation as a kid, but it wasn’t until pregnancy and motherhood that I fully wrapped my mind around my queerness and its meaning. You probably wouldn't guess it to look at me in the context of my family; I'm…

Though breastfeeding is theoretically the most "natural" way to feed a baby, that doesn't mean there's no learning curve involved in getting started, or an absence of little tips, tricks, and products that can make your nursing life a helluva lot…

When I made the switch from my old OB-GYN to the midwives who would ultimately attend my son's birth, I requested all of my old medical records to give them. While scanning them after they finally arrived, I noticed that my blood pressure readings…

Well into my pretty enjoyable breastfeeding experience with my son, I decided that unless my feelings drastically changed, I'd let him self-wean. It seemed like the simplest way to do things, and I was in no hurry to give up one of my most useful…

The third trimester of pregnancy is not the best, by a long shot. That honor belongs to the second trimester, when (if you're lucky) all the worst symptoms of pregnancy subside just as you become visibly pregnant, yet not so pregnant that you're…

There was a point in the middle of the hardest part of my labor where I was hunched over in my shower, moaning and singing and swaying as hot water streamed all over my back, where I asked myself who was doing this to me. Who was making all of these…

I'm not sure how moms in years past made it through the earliest days of breastfeeding before smartphones and Netflix. Those early nursing sessions take forever, so I got in the habit of watching things (or reading) to keep myself occupied. (Yes,…

Soon after my son's second birthday, I awoke in a panic around 3:40 in the morning. I glanced around, didn't see my son, then woke up my husband while frantically reaching for the baby monitor. "Is he OK? Where is he? Why hasn't he cried? Is he…

After the rush of giving birth wore off, I faced my first big challenge as a mom of a new human: breastfeeding the strongest, hangriest baby around. Apparently, my baby hadn't read any of the same stuff about breastfeeding that I had. He also didn't…

About 80 times a day, my toddler wants to do something that could potentially hurt or kill him. That means about 80 times a day I have to set a limit of some kind (“Hold hands with mama while we cross the street,” “I'm going to move this chair so…

Once my son got mobile, we spent a lot of time baby-proofing our house. We put everything not fit for a baby’s mouth in latched cabinets or moved them up higher, then hid all furniture he could climb. When we moved his toys into those vacant low…

For all the (often, exasperated) talk about how "parents these days" are raising "kids these days" to be spoiled, unruly brats, many parents of our generation are actually succeeding at what researchers have found is the most effective parenting…

For the longest time, being a mom — and being an actual adult, really — felt like something other people did, but not me. My parents were real parents, other people are real parents, but me? No. Even though I've known I wanted kids for pretty much…

Even before I got the big fat positive (or BFP, as its known among online mom group aficionados) that let me know my son was on his way, I started noticing little things that made me think it was time to take another pregnancy test. Dressed to the…

Chances are, if you're reading this, you're either a pregnant woman who's rolled her eyes too many times today, or a cisgender man who wants to learn more about how to stay on the pregnant lady in his life’s good side (or needs to learn, in the case…

Making meals for your family is one of the most loving things we can do, so making those meals with our own bodies is extra special. That's why, while I know that breastfeeding isn't the be-all end-all of early motherhood, I'm still really proud to…

I always knew that having a baby would change my life, ‘cause of course it does. Being responsible for a whole other person is a huge responsibility, and completely alters the logistics of everyday life. Still, I was a bit surprised by how much…

As someone who decided to give birth at home, I'm used to a variety of reactions to my decision (though the most common one is some degree of total surprise). I don't blame them; the overwhelming majority of moms birth in hospitals, and most folks’…

There's no question that it's harder to keep your friendships (and other relationships) strong once you give birth. Babies pull your focus and energy like little else, and present all kinds of logistical challenges that make previously simple…