Read All of Laughing Through Chaos

A seemingly sweet-looking little old lady (let's just call her Granny Panties) at church just about got a knuckle sandwich this morning, but lucky for her, I was holding my screaming child, who was apparently trying to communicate to the entire church that I hadn't fed her in, oh, a good week or so by the decibel level of her screams.

I've got a great support network of other moms online, and one day I told them that I was really irritable and stupid little things were really pissing me off. I told them that I'd cry really easily over stuff that never would have bothered me before. Postpartum depression was brought up. I shrugged it off and said - nope, not me, not depressed.

BUT! These moments of quiet tranquility could end at any given moment, so I'm going to savor them. I'm going to use nap time for what I believe God intended nap time to be. ME TIME. I need my quiet time - my time to sit back, relax and do something for myself.

1.25 million babies (one third of all births) are born each year in the U.S. to unmarried parents. Many people just assume these babies are born to single teen moms, when in fact 41% of these births are to unmarried cohabitating couples.

If the question is "Can I leave my toddler with our twelve-year-old daughter?" the answer is No! Babysitting has not received the attention it truly deserves. Remember, you are entrusting your child's life with this person.

When a baby finds that her signals are validated and responded to appropriately, that troubles are soothed and pleasure enhanced, she begins to sense that her feelings, expressions, of her very being, are of value and important. A baby learns that she counts for something. This is the foundation of the development of self-esteem -- a combination of who you are, how you feel about yourself, and what you think about your future potential.

n reflecting on his role as father, I know that he does not recognize the priceless gifts that he presents to his children -- and his wife. He views our children, each and every one, as a gift versus an ever-growing burden.

On October 9, 1996, at 7:30 a.m., I gave birth to a 1 lb. 1 oz baby girl, Laura Ann Douglas. We spent the better part of an hour holding her before it was time to say goodbye. She was perfectly formed from head to toe. The cause of her death was cruelly obvious. There was a knot in her umbilical cord...